Try Day Poems

Day poems are just what their name implies.  They are poems
you write every day.

I avoided poetry for years because of my college experience. At
college I read and wrote the most dour, dark, depressing (well,
you get the idea) poems.  They clung to me like styrofoam
packing peanuts.  When I shook off the last one I swore I’d
never go back.

Then I attended the Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA
program.  My focus was on children's literature, but the program
was also stacked with poets.  Poets are dangerous people.  
They work hard for no money and they don’t care.  They love
words. They are literature’s infectious disease.  That’s where I
learned about day poems.

How to Write Day Poems

• Find a day poem buddy.  Choose a good friend who isn't
  going to faint at what you write.
  
• Email each other a poem every day.  My buddy and I don’t
  always meet that goal, but we reach for it.
  
• Make it a two-draft poem.  I pencil the first draft in my
  journal, and then edit while I type the poem into my email.  
  If I spend over ½ hour on the poem, I've spent too long.
  
• No feedback.   This is writing practice. If you knew
  someone was going to comment on your poem, you would
  turn on your internal editor.  No worries.  No critiques.  
  When you get your friend’s poem, print out a copy and file
  it.   
  

Why Write Day Poems?

Day Poems keep my writing flowing.  If I have something that’s
bothering me, it either plugs up my work or shows up in my
novel.  Day poems give my mind a safe place to explore.  Daily
worries and joys are given room in my poems.  

Quantity produces quality.  I  produce at least 100 poems a
year.  Most of them die in my filing cabinet.  One or two I  fall in
love with. I may take them out and play with them a little bit.  It’s
better than having a jewelry box full of treasures.  Day Poems
remind me to touch the real.