Vol 2 NO 4 - Find Your Tribe

I suppose it would be hard think of  writing poetry without the existence of some community. Unless we are reclusive writers who show no one our work and shove it away inside a drawer.

The Three of Muses came out of the deck to me today and I have noticed that she is not a recluse. In fact, she seems to be a very social creature. 

Unless we are hiding our work, then there must be people who at some point will witness it. I believe the muse interested in our well being as poets than the broader audiences to our work. 

The muse is about all things creative. Encouragement, inspiration, commitment, things like these that support us in our work. The muse is telling me that poets need to find their tribe. Find people, peers that share the same fears, same desires, same obstacles to their art. But above all these persons should be about encouragement.

When you are in a rut, you need someone who was maybe there last month but pushed through. You need someone who can reinforce a positive work ethic. Someone who has a vision that is broad enough to encompass others, a tribe of poets.

This tribe or circle of other poet/artists could be of support in many ways. For example:

• form critique groups
• cooperative writing days or smaller periods of time
• an online network or forum
• conduct classes or workshops to share the craft
• support others by showing up for readings
• even contact with artists in other disciplines - painting, music, photographer...
• share victories both small and large (poem published in a journal or publication of a whole collection) 

I'm also feeling that  people in your tribe must be positive influences. Such support is a counter balance to the inclination we all have to get down when the going is tough. Publication dry spell, writers block, they happen to everyone. The tribe can become our antidote to restore our artistic work to health. 

Think about who you interact with. Think about what you can give to that community. The group has to be about encouragement and support. Taking care of each other because that is what tribe do. 

Vol 2 No 3 - Ace of Quills - Get A Grip on Your Creativity

Once again, the Quill suit has come up for a second time in a row.  I'm hearing the word new. Maybe new project or new commitment. 

Presently I have some ongoing projects that I don't devote enough focused time to keep the excitement going. I tend to drift between projects. I'm not sure that is such a bad thing as long as I have a scripted road map to get where I want to be going. I need more focus, less procrastination. Yes, probably less Facebook and twitter.

I'm pretty sure the planner is my friend. There are periods of my life that I have lived by the planner. I think I rebelled at some point and was less committed to detail planning.

My regular job is somewhat crisis driven and I use a planner in conjunction with it, but I also get frustrated that I situations do not allow me to always work within the structure of a well planned day.

My writing, on the other hand, could work perhaps better scripted. It could (if I insist) help
eliminate many of the time grabs that often make my writing sessions much more lackadaisical. (a word that makes me feel like a lazy writer)

I'm thinking that perhaps less spontaneous use of social media would mean less interfering with any creative sparks or momentum that I otherwise would be able to build on.  I'm thinking that Ace of Quills is one smart girl.

Vol. 2 No. 2 - Six of Quills - Sharing the Good Times

I'm late posting this, but on Sunday I drew a new card from the Poet Tarot deck. The card was the Six of Quills. You might note the card on the left has a lady standing in what appears to be a trophy cup.

I think what this lady is saying to us is that in our creativity we all need to seek victories in all sizes. It could be publication in an online venue or it might be scoring an acceptance for your work in one of your very favorite print journals. It could be a contest or the publication of a full collection of poetry. When we have these victories no matter the size, we can encourage others by sharing what has been achieved. Not in a gloating manner but in such a way that others in the community can celebrate with you and benefit from the encouragement of success.

I honestly have never been jealous over another writer's success. I'm all too into celebrating their achievement. It also reminds me that those milestones are real and can happen to others. How frustrating would it be if every poet was busy writing and submitting and no one you knew ever had work published. You would soon feel the whole process was feudal.  You efforts would seem worthless and you might well convince yourself to quit.

I don't think the Six of Quills wants us to gloat, but I do believe she wants us to share the good news. I have known people in other walks of life that are pretty self-centered but thankfully at least among the poets I know, this seems to be a rarity.  The day I get bent out of shape over someone's good news related to their poetry is the day I need to walk away from writing it.

Obviously the Six of Quills values our writing communities as she sees it important for us to both example and encouragement. This takes me back to last week and the Seven of Mentors. Since drawing that card I have been contemplating attempting to put together a work-shopping group to share work on a routine basis. I'm mulling over persons to approaching about this. It is an ongoing result of the last card I drew.