Sometimes, the words just flow. I get on a roll and then after a while I write something clever, like rhyming longer words, or rhyming a word from posh language with one from not-posh language like in my Christmas poem: "Celebrating, we’re all munchin’ some expansive Christmas luncheon," and I know I'm in town.
I had a moment like that the other night when in my current poetry project I rhymed "draw out at random" with "to her we hand 'em" and I got that "we're in town" feeling.
Unfortunately tonight the creativity has left the building. Buoyed by my last two very productive days and feeling a bit of a slump tonight, I dashed out and bought a bottle of Baileys. It's been ages since I've had a bottle of anything nice, and I thought it was time. It turns out that a wee bit of alcohol, while relaxing my shoulder muscles and making me let go of my concerns and my mental lists-of-things-to-do, also stifles creativity.
First, I begin to suspect I have lost my nouns. Then I notice that creative adjectives and adverbs are gone. Pretty soon all those clever turns of phrase and posh-language words are absent and all I'm left with is my brain fluttering around like a butterfly in my cranium singing, "la la lahhh" to itself.
I suspect I may give up tonight, pour myself another Baileys and go to bed to la-la-lahhh away to myself with my butterfly brain. (I should clarify that this is quite a small amount of alcohol involved, and only a small physical effect is noticed. The major effects are noticed in the creative side of my brain, which is currently skipping along holding a daisy, and wearing only one shoe.)
Blind panic will resume tomorrow. There are only three more writing days until the conference.
09 August 2011
Anapaestic Tetrameter - Part 2
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7 comments:
I should admit I have probably been "wasting" my anapaestic tetrameter by squandering it on other projects.
I finished an email to the pastor in charge of this conference with this:
And so I shall finish this lengthy email
with grimacing meter and lack of detail
I'll race to the shops with the list that I drew
I'll grab all my groceries, and bid you adieu.
...and I also wasted some good meter on a dreadful topic when I commented on this post on my sister's blog. Should have saved it up for the conference poem.
Read some Dr Suess... that will get you in the mood.
So to speak.
Wish I could come to your conference! I'm up against a self-imposed deadline in which I am putting together a Shutterfly book of my son's baseball season for the coaches. Special discount deal ends tomorrow. But you, you have to actually get up in FRONT of people! Thanks for making me feel better. ;-)
Bailey's and butterfly brain sounds quite delightful. Wish I could participate. Except for the fact that you have to start panicking again at some point because the work wasn't done in the first place. Your description of folding is highly amusing, although oddly enough, is one thing I can normally master. It's the clutter that kills me. All the best with your busy life!
I love the fact you've lost your nouns.
I, too, have lost my nouns. In Greek, that is, because I'm trying to shove wretched participles into my head and the nouns have fallen out my ears.
By the way, the only words that I can think of that rhymes with participles isn't really the sort of word you want for an obviously serious talk.
I hope all your words come back soon and hey, you've got three days, right? Don't panic yet! the best adrenaline-related work is yet to come.
Participles! Ha ha! Slightly rude!
Occipitals, of course. Perhaps you could mention guinea pigs?
(And this comment will make zero sense to anybody who hasn't read your "About Me" tab up the top.)
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