Yesterday was a good day. Yesterday I found inspiration everywhere. I ended up writing not one, not two, not three, but SEVEN poems! All in one day! About such completely diverse subjects as perfume, children, kestrels, fame, summer and athletics! That last one was a surprise to me. I have already written one book about athletics – Hopes, Dreams & Medals, which was inspired by the Athletics World Championships, and the Olympics. I thought that would be it, but lately I have been inspired to write a few more so, maybe, just maybe, a second book is on the way. However, my usual poetry genre covers inspirational poems about my faith in God and what He means to me, love poems, comedic poems, and about every subject you can think of. In both rhyming and free verse. I am now well on my way to completing the content for my fourth book.
Of course finishing the poems and then publishing are two entirely different matters. Writing the poems? Love it! Then comes choosing the order to put them in the book. Does this one go on the opposite page from that one? Do these work well together? What photographs should I use? That’s always a little tickly. I print over my photographs, and what seemed like a great idea in my head often doesn’t work in practice. Then there’s the other problem. Whether to use punctuation, or merely suggest it by the arrangement of the lines and capital letters. Some people insist on having their poetry well punctuated, others feel it spoils the visuals. Sigh! Maybe I’ll use both. Maybe I won’t. I’m a writer, and unpredictable, so who knows what I’ll do. Some people say poetry should never be centralised, but with all due respect – in my books it will be centralised! I just like the look of it better. For me, poetry is also visual.
Then there’s the edit! And the re-edit! And the edit after that. Reading, re-reading, reading again. Searching for those stupid little errors, to iron them all out before I publish. I take great pains to iron out as many wrinkles as possible because I want to be proud of the finished product. One day, maybe, I’ll be able to afford someone to do it for me, but at the moment it’s all down to me – with a little help from my husband and a friend who loves poetry and is also very good at English.
Ah yes, and don’t forget the book cover! Now that’s a whole other story!
So there you have it – before the end of the year (probably) I shall have my fourth book on the shelves.
Want to read more about me? You can find me on Goodreads. I would add a link here, but I’m not very technically inclined. So please search for me there, Loretta Livingstone.
If you want to buy my books, you will find them on Apple iBooks, Blurb.com (again, search for me under my name) in all editions, iBook, eBook, paperback and hardback, or on my website – click on the picture for that. You can also google me.
lorettalivingstone 