One of the great things about writing in community is that you have the opportunity to learn from each other—if you think about it, all of life is a learning experience. Recently, I wrote a poem where I started with the last line and ended with ellipses—I stole that idea from reading Hemingway.

It’s not just style but the way people use words that we can learn from. I love seeing someone pair words that I never would have thought of but work to create a new image. Maybe it is a form challenge you try, and while you may not appreciate form (I mean, who wouldn’t) perhaps you pick up one piece of it that radically affects the way that you write.

Glenn Buttkus is writing another series of screenplay style poems—personally I love them—one thing that I can definitely borrow is how the random images build the mood of the overall piece. I could list numerous things that I have picked up on from reading poems at OLN or one of our other forums.

Today, I want to talk about the tricks of the trade that you have picked up—what is something you have learned about writing in the last year or two?

Perhaps we might borrow it from you & make it our own as well.

Note: It is open house at school so I will be greeting parents until 4 hours after the pub opens, so if I am not around, know I will read and catch up with the conversation—in the meantime, talk among yourselves. Never know, you might learn something. Smiles. ~Brian