I’m in the thick of the manuscript connected to this notebook. Thought it might be fun to share again!
I wrote this a few days ago in an attempt to express a piece of my writing process — the behind-the-scenes work that goes into writing historical fiction. You guys. In four years of blogging I can honestly say this is the most fun I’ve ever had in writing a blog post. Writing this poem has reminded me I need to give myself more permission to play. There is something incredibly satisfying in starting and finishing a project in one day and in experimenting with a format I’ve never used before.
Here’s to your own creative processes and the opportunity to find joy there!
I
Oh, notebook mine,
the place I gather records, thoughts
before I know the way a story winds,
unsure whether or not
I’ll need what I’ve written down,
or if the scribbling of a word will be mere passing fact,
a jot to teach, inform me of the world I’m learning,
a collection of phrases to ground
me in the things I sorely lack,
to multiply my yearning.
II
You are a place of lists,
dates, maps, quotes, sometimes a sketch,
this novelist’s definition of bliss,
my source when I long to catch
a whiff of history, a summer berry’s hue,
a sense of place, the voice of one long dead,
the temperature when kerosene solidifies —
truths I can bend and shift, make new,
and like a ball of dough transform to bread
with heat and time. You stoke the fire in my mind’s eye.
III
You are a testament to months of labor,
a tribute to half-formed thoughts and starts,
a vestibule which leads to something greater,
the fresh firsts of a future art,
a net that gathers every object nearer,
sifts and filters, groups and sorts,
until like seeds that push to germination,
truth and story blend, grow clearer:
dear notebook, you help me bring forth
a story to its liberation.
I love every single bit of this…the poem, the handwritten notes, the drawings. Everything!
Thank you! It was a fun way for me to process this early stage of my writing process. And it was so quick! That alone was very satisfying.
I love it even more with the pictures! 😀 This is inspiring….
Thank you! It was so fun to write it and get feedback the same day from my in-town critique group. How often does it happen that you get to finish and polish something wholly in just a few hours? Truly, I’ll be doing more of this.
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Was truly inspired by both the poem and the journal! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kenda, thank you! And now for the writing. Gulp.
Taking a break from the long hours of research to write this wonderful poem about the process satisfies the soul. You should consider linking up to Poetry Friday today at Teacher Dance. I post every Friday and learn so much from the whole kidlitosphere. http://www.teacherdance.org/
Thanks for the tip! I just linked up.
Gorgeous post!
Lovely! I enjoy the snippets of your journal interspersed with your verse. =)
Happy that you linked, Caroline-This is lovely, a peek into the process is always beautiful to see, words and pics! I’m glad you enjoyed doing it, am sure others will enjoy seeing it! I love “like a ball of dough transform to bread
with heat and time.” Thank you!
Thank you, Linda. I’m partial to that, too. 🙂
I love your notebook. Looks so much better than mine. I loved the poem too. So inspirational. Now I have a desire to take pictures of mine and write a poem.
Wow! I can’t wait to show this to my students! You take Writer’s Notebook to a whole new level! Thanks for sharing.
I need to share with with my students!! They will be in awe 🙂
If teachers are looking for a fun example for students, Robin LaFevers is the author who creates an amazing notebook. Look hers up!
Fun seeing this again. Looks much more creative than my Scrivener “notebook”!
How neat to see what all goes on behind the scenes! Miss you.
love this!
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Really good poem! And it captures the whole process. This was a nice start to my day.
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