Christopher Hivner's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-process"
The Process
I finished a big project recently and it’s always interesting the highs and lows you go through for weeks until you finally have that sense of completion.
It all started when I wrote a 25 page poem. It was a horror/dark humor mix and I loved it but didn’t know quite what to do with it. After some research I sent it to a publisher for an opinion on printing it as a stand-alone chapbook. The editor was interested, but only if the poem were part of a larger manuscript, in the 75 -100 page range.
Studying my original poem was the first step. It was the showcase piece so the rest of the collection had to revolve around and express the same themes. I picked out the three main motifs and created a file with three separate sections. Next was going through all my old poems, picking out those that were well-written and followed the patterns I was seeing in my head. Third was writing new material, then coalescing all of my works into a coherent collection.
I was surprised by how many times I changed the line-up of poems. Pieces that had been in the book from the start, I suddenly discarded. On the hundredth re-read it didn’t feel right anymore. I also kept digging back through my archives of old poems time and again. Poems that I had read a dozen times and rejected, on the 13th reading something sparked in my tired, confused brain and bam, they were in the book. The order in which they appeared changed constantly. It took me several complete read-throughs to realize one poem was in the wrong section.
Then one Friday night I made a few minor edits, settled in and read the book from start to finish. When I was done I sat back in my chair staring at the computer screen. I was planning to close the file and do another pass in a few days but the energy inside my whole body had changed. As I continued to stare at all the work I had done over the past six weeks, I mumbled to myself, “I think it’s done.” A beat of time passed and I knew I had said everything I wanted to say. The way my inner being changed fascinates me. My brain wanted to keep working: write one more new poem, edit some of the older ones again, revise, revise, revise. But the voice inside that I don’t always listen to, knew better.
I’ve often read about a “runner’s high”, a sense of elation that runners get when they lose themselves in a 10 mile jaunt. I get that same elusive release of endorphins when I complete a project, even if it’s just a single poem of short story. When I’m finished I feel like I’m on top of Mt. Everest gazing out at the rest of the world. When this book of poetry was completed I felt like I could climb Mt. Everest.
The manuscript is currently being considered by a publisher, so we’ll see what happens.
It all started when I wrote a 25 page poem. It was a horror/dark humor mix and I loved it but didn’t know quite what to do with it. After some research I sent it to a publisher for an opinion on printing it as a stand-alone chapbook. The editor was interested, but only if the poem were part of a larger manuscript, in the 75 -100 page range.
Studying my original poem was the first step. It was the showcase piece so the rest of the collection had to revolve around and express the same themes. I picked out the three main motifs and created a file with three separate sections. Next was going through all my old poems, picking out those that were well-written and followed the patterns I was seeing in my head. Third was writing new material, then coalescing all of my works into a coherent collection.
I was surprised by how many times I changed the line-up of poems. Pieces that had been in the book from the start, I suddenly discarded. On the hundredth re-read it didn’t feel right anymore. I also kept digging back through my archives of old poems time and again. Poems that I had read a dozen times and rejected, on the 13th reading something sparked in my tired, confused brain and bam, they were in the book. The order in which they appeared changed constantly. It took me several complete read-throughs to realize one poem was in the wrong section.
Then one Friday night I made a few minor edits, settled in and read the book from start to finish. When I was done I sat back in my chair staring at the computer screen. I was planning to close the file and do another pass in a few days but the energy inside my whole body had changed. As I continued to stare at all the work I had done over the past six weeks, I mumbled to myself, “I think it’s done.” A beat of time passed and I knew I had said everything I wanted to say. The way my inner being changed fascinates me. My brain wanted to keep working: write one more new poem, edit some of the older ones again, revise, revise, revise. But the voice inside that I don’t always listen to, knew better.
I’ve often read about a “runner’s high”, a sense of elation that runners get when they lose themselves in a 10 mile jaunt. I get that same elusive release of endorphins when I complete a project, even if it’s just a single poem of short story. When I’m finished I feel like I’m on top of Mt. Everest gazing out at the rest of the world. When this book of poetry was completed I felt like I could climb Mt. Everest.
The manuscript is currently being considered by a publisher, so we’ll see what happens.
