2- White_Feather 
on May 20 2007
Oh, thank you for that sweet, encouraging reply. We'll see. It's humbling, and yet, it's clear this is the place to be if the goal is to learn and get better.
My license? More of a won't . . . than a can't.
3- Alcuin of York 
on May 20 2007
Stephan is right. No one is better than anyone else (except for him; we're all better than he is).
What I'd like to know is what kind of reading do you like? That's often a guide to where you want to take your writing, even when you yourself don't know. The other, is asking the question, "What do I really want to say?" Also, what other arts do you like? Drawing or painting? Playing a musical instrument? That's often a guide to our own personal bent.
Finally, I left one of the sugar-coated sites to come here precisely because it intimidates me. I want to be intimidated (also tied up...but that's another matter). That site became infested with teens who thought that every thought that popped into their head had to be posted immediately, lest its wisdom be lost from humanity forever. To keep that from happening here, we will be hard on you, and hopefully, all of you hard on me. Remember that there are few Mozarts - people who can spontaneously produce masterpieces. There are a few more Beethovens - gifted people who work like hell to produce masterpieces. There are some like us who understand that poems and other writes must be "crafted" - that is, worked and reworked with great care and effort. If you do that, I guarantee you that in a year you will look back on your writes of today, and realize how much progress you're making.
Ditto Stephan on the congrats over your new rugrat.
Alcuin
4- Shannon McEwen on May 20 2007
I'm not a stay at home mom, I'm a working mom, and it's exhausting and leaves little time for my real love. Writing.
COngratulations on the bun in the oven, I'm hoping for one at the end of this year (AFTER I get married to the love of my life, even if it's not my first marriage!)
My advise. Keep writing, and keep believing you can do it.
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Life is what happens while you wait for great things.
Life is what happens while you wait for great things.
5- Anstey on May 20 2007
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- stephan
6- Leanne on May 20 2007
You are here because you are supposed to be here. Blame karma.
As for intimidating -- it's just like starting a new job, really. At first you don't know anyone, you're not sure of the procedures, you worry about making mistakes, but pretty soon you're photocopying your bum like everyone else.
7- White_Feather on May 20 2007
What is intimidating is the talent!!! I can handle the critiques (really appreciate them, actually)!
Congratulations Shannon!
Thanks for the fodder for thought, Alcuin.
8- Leanne on May 21 2007
9- Anstey on May 21 2007
Leanne:
I have argued about talent with a hundred different people -- to the point that i've doubted it even exists. I argue in favor of skill. Skill, Craftmanship, Dilligence. These are the things that reveal talent. I do believe there is such a thing as talent, but mostly I believe everyone has some talent in communicating, so then it is merely whether they work to unveil it.
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- stephan
10- White_Feather on May 21 2007
Diligence and hard work? That's even more intimidating. :o
Actually, I think at some level I know this, which is why I'm nervous about my years of literary inertia and ability to overcome it. I have a theory as to why that is, but I'll be boring about that later. Communities like this are great though. I can see that 'hanging' with other writers might even be enough to keep me coming back and working at this.
11- Leanne on May 21 2007
Between my 19th and 29th birthday I wrote nothing except a couple of required pieces for university. No words were harmed during those years.
4 years after deciding it was time to get stuck back into it and I've written more than I'd ever thought... and poetry! Eeew!
It really does take determination, mixed with insanity and perversion. And sometimes vodka.
OK, it's true. Lots of vodka.
12- Derma Kaput on May 21 2007
Turn that vodka into bourbon, and I agree 100%, which is no help to an expectant mother. And this site is no bright shining constellation, just writers trying to write something and throwing it out there for feedback. If you are going to continue writing, it does take lots of work and diligence just to come across the inspired moments that make it all worthwhile. Sometimes your effort pulls together in ways that are startling. But its important not to do that in a vacuum - we're often poor judges of our own work, especially in the early stages of developing a voice or a style that suits our own creative situation. Critical feedback is critical. And it doesn't matter when you start writing seriously - with a goal to become seriously good. Maybe you pour your life into your children and fall away from writing - no loss there, children grow up and the time you spend with them can never be replaced. You'll make choices that suit yourself and your family. I quit writing for 16 years. When I started again, it was as if I'd never quit.
13- Tracey on May 21 2007
Julie, I think that you (and every other committed monkey member) are here because your artisitic soul is guiding you to keep it nourished no matter what else life asks of us. People here are parents, students, employees, caregivers, successes, survivors, and on and on. Through it all, the one constant is that they remain writers.
I understand your concerns, intimidation, all of it. The trick is to notice those voices, "Oh, hey guys," but not give in to them, "I've got some beer in the fridge. Go help yourselves while I hang out in the banana tree and write for a bit."
Feeding your writer self is feeding your kids in its own way, you know? It's staying in touch with yourself, finding yourself over and over again. When parents lose themselves completely to parenting and deprive themselves of their personal joys and satisfactions I think they inadvertently wind up hurting their kids.
It's been wonderful having you here. If you're thinking of leaving, I'm not too proud to beg you to stay.
Hugs,
Tracey
14- Alcuin of York on May 21 2007
"...but pretty soon you're photocopying your bum like everyone else"?
Now I know why they call it "down under".
Alcuin
15- Anstey on May 21 2007
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- stephan
16- White_Feather on May 21 2007
Tracey,
You know what? I think the title was bad writing right there! I'm not at all thinking of leaving . . . should have titled it "Why I am here,' because the question sounds whiny and conveys something I didn't really mean to convey at all. The truth is I know exactly why I'm here, and I'm really happy about it. And I think you're exactly right about it being good for the kids as I take some time to write. 15 minutes a day. I can do that! I've already done more in this past week than I have in 5 years. So, it's all good. 
17- Anstey on June 1 2007
this makes me smile.
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- stephan
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1- Anstey
on May 20 2007
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! on the impending doom in your belly, that's fantastic. Hopefully it'll be a little girl or a little boy - those are best.
Second of all, if you're having trouble renewing that license, call someone to help you. Don't let it lapse, you'd regret that. Reaching out is the hardest step.
Finally, don't be intimindated! No one is better than anyone, we're all just on different parts of the same journey. Most of us, myself included, feel inadequate. It's the nature of the beast. It's actually a positive sign, it means you realize there's always room to grow.
I should mention names of the people who have said exactly what yo're saying in terms of this place being intimidating, 00 but instead I'll let them be. But let's just say .. EVERYONE can relate to what you're saying.
The real difference between here and some of the other poetry/writing sites out there is an attempt to sugar-coat less.
Look at it this way, when someone here says, "Julie, this is fantastic." You will believe it. When someone here says,"Submit this." YOU will. Of course, most of the time you're going to hear, "I think you need to cut this by half, and focus more on the toes of the ballet shoes" or "Why is there a colon at the end of lines 2 and 4? One might be witty, but two just seems extraneous." -- Personally, I'd rather that.
Most of all though, i want you to know this: I'm extremely glad you're here. You are not the 'dimmest star in a bright constellation.' You're very bright, and you make the whole sky better when you're around.
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