Ally Aldridge Writing

April, I featured poets – what’s next?

April is the month of poetry. But as I was doing Camp NaNo, I decided to feature other poets on my Instagram. I posted asking for volunteers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvb3BGoHuMf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I was blown away by the number of poets that wanted to take part and I had a lot of fun choosing a variety of poems to feature during April but here they are altogether in one blog post:

Jason Hein

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvukJI5HpRQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Ross Hawse

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv1NeDGHi6y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Mystqx Skye

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv_y0Yan8ab/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Ashley Valitutto

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwKIPN1Ht5_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Ankit Yadav

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwT3JB0nBAB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Paige Hart

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwfVJ4tnioD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Paula Watts

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwknkalHawM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Kva

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwtrXUOHWAf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Prins

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw14o6xnlCW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Alison Aldridge

Here is a Haiku poem I wrote about my novel Jewel of the Sea in March to get the poets in the mood for April and part of the #womenwritingfiction #wwfchallenge2019 on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bviyu8-H58T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

What is next?

This month, I am just enjoying taking one day at a time. I always enjoy featuring bloggers on my blog but this was the first time that I have done something like this on Instagram. And, I would like to do it again and hope that I helped them reach more followers.

Next time, I might get writers to share the tag line of their novel, book cover or quote from their book. I also follow a few artists and would like to give them some attention too. What would you like to see me feature next?

If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy:

I need your help! How to get featured on my blog

Me being featured!

Reflecting on NaPoWriMo

Valentine Poetry Collection

Inner Demons — Ally Aldridge

My Myth of Mermaids and Poem – Siren’s Song

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Writing

Reflecting on NaPoWriMo

30 days of NaPoWriMo

These images are snippets from the 30 days of poems:

The challenge is over and I did it.  It’s time to reflect on how it went.

Three things I learnt:

  1. Reading the blog posts on NaPoWriMo.net has enabled me to learn so much and the prompts have challenged me to try things I wouldn’t have thought to do myself.
  2. I found posting every day a real challenge with my schedule, however, I was late only twice.  I’m really proud of what I achieved and can see the possibilities if I make time for my writing.
  3. Posting daily has increased my followers and engagement.  I hadn’t expected so much support – in fact, I feared I’d scare people off.  In addition, I have discovered new bloggers to follow.

Here are some statistics for you:

Most liked poem:  Day 15 – Grim Reaper (20 likes)

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Most commented on poem:  Day 11 – Flipped (5 comments)

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Most viewed poem:  Day 12 – Haibun (32 views)

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Increase of followers

It was so unexpected and I wish I’d paid attention to how many followers I had before I started. Each day, I have gained a few new followers. Now, I have 100 plus!

Wattpad – Poetry Collection

I have been adding the poems to a book on Wattpad to create a collection. If you’d like to read them all in one place in full, please click here.

April poems.png

Would I do the challenge again?

I think I will give it another go in future but don’t think I will do it every year.  Poetry isn’t really my forte although I think it is a useful learning tool for any writer as it encourages you to think about your use of words and the English language.

I am relieved the challenge is over and the pressure of a daily post is off.  However, I am delighted at how much I produced and proved to myself that if I make time each day I can make progress on a project.  I want to apply that logic to complete another novel.  Novel writing has taken a back seat since starting my CIPD course at work so once that is finished in June, I am going to get back into novel writing.

I was pleasantly surprised by all the support from other poets and NaPoWriMo participants. I didn’t feel like I was doing the challenge alone. The increase of followers and engagement was unexpected but I am so happy to have connected with you all. Thank you – it helped keep me going.

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 30 – Paint

Claude Monet, Claude Monet

Why must you paint?

You could get a real job

Selling fruit and veg

There’s an opening at the grocer

Go put your application into Ed

If you have an eye for beauty

Why don’t you stock flowers

It would attract the lovely ladies

Perhaps you’ll find a wife

There is no money in art

You’ll be begging on the street

This is not the life I wish for you

Be a grocer on your feet

Put down your brush

Get cleaned up

Go find yourself a job

Claude Monet, Claude Monet

Why must you paint?

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 Day 30’s challenge

For Day 30 the prompt is to write a poem ”that engages with a strange and fascinating fact. It could be an odd piece of history, an unusual bit of art trivia, or something just plain weird. While I cannot vouch for the actual accuracy of any of the facts presented at the links above (or any other facts you might use as inspiration!), I can tell you that there are definitely some poetic ideas here, just waiting for someone to use them.”

I followed the links with different unusual facts and I connected with this one on Claude Monet. Many creatives get told to get a ’real’ job, one that can pay the bills. When I saw Claude Monet’s dad wanted him to be a Grocer, I could hear him arguing with his son in my head.

Today, is the last day of April and NaPoWriMo 2018. I am so proud of myself for keeping up with the challenge to the end. I’m so thankful to all the people that have supported me with likes and comments, it was unexpected but really helpful. Thank you.

      

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 29 – Locomotive

Pintrest - Poem April 29.pngDo not go off track

You will reach your course in time

Stay on the iron rails

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 Day 29’s challenge

For Day 29 the prompt is to write a poem ”based on the Plath Poetry Project’s calendar. Simply pick a poem from the calendar, and then write a poem that responds or engages with your chosen Plath poem in some way?”

Strangely, I enjoyed Slyvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar.  However, it’s the weekend and her writing is really dark and depressing and although that matches the weather today (rain, rain and more rain), I don’t want to go there.

I’m breaking against the prompt and I am going to do my own thing.  For inspiration, I am going with the first ‘Free Image’ I found on Canva.  It is a picture of trains.  I also want to have a go at writing a Haiku as I’ve never done one before.

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 28 – Postcard

Postcard Poem - Day 28

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Pintrest - Poem April 28.png

Day 28’s challenge

For Day 28 the prompt is to write ”a prose poem in the form/style of a postcard. If you need some inspiration, why not check out some images of vintage postcards?”

For today’s prompt I was fortunate enough to have time to read the resource:

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Postcard

A poem that captures a moment in time with a strong sense of place. As postcards often are, it is a short letter addressed to someone specific.

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I thought about holidays I’ve been on and googled postcard images to get inspiration.  I tried to think about who the postcard is to.  I thought about writing a postcard based on a disaster holiday.  Then the idea struck for a postcard to someone you long to be there but really can’t be.  At first I thought of a prisoner’s wife and then I decided on a widow.

I’m not confident at writing prose but I’m pleased with what I’ve created.

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 26 – Senses

Like a rain cloud that cannot be seen

You sense the threat of rain

Like energy in the air

Being sucked away from your being

You put on a brave face

To distract them from the shadows

Every breath is an effort

You feel like you’ve run a marathon

Living is like breaking nails

A tireless journey with no respite

Your desperate for the ending

To cut it short with a knife

Food tastes has no appeal

Like eating cotton wool

The weight on your shoulders

Feels like heavy boulders

Hearing others happy and laugh

You want to drown in a bath

Submerged under the watery bliss

Bubbles tickling your nose like a mother’s kiss

You can’t get out of bed

For the doctor to give you meds

Little pills to numb your feelings

Not really offering any healing

Don’t speak and lock your jaw

To others you slam your inner door

Like a fish in the desert

You don’t belong in this world

There’s something not coded right

Disconnected wires on a motherboard

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Day 26’s challenge

For Day 26 the prompt is to write a poem “that includes images that engage all five senses. Try to be as concrete and exact as possible with the “feel” of what the poem invites the reader to see, smell, touch, taste and hear.”

At first, I was excited to write something exploring the senses but when I saw the examples I was blown away and intimidated. This challenge is more technical than I expected and I have just a few hours (or minutes in my bust schedule) to get something written…

Sadly, I am making this entry a day late.  I decided to write about mental health as I think it is tricky concept for those that have not experienced it to understand.  When I was struggling with issues myself, I really got into poetry and I felt it was a way I could express myself more easily.  I decided to be brave last October (for Mental Health Awareness month) and shared a collection of these to Wattpad in a book titled “Inner Demons“.

I promise I am in a much stronger place now.  I hope anyone that is struggling with their own demons can find hope in that, it is a battle but you can win.

Inner Demons
Inner Demons

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 22 – Thirteenth hour

Pintrest - Poem April 20.png

Watch your turns and stay on path

Find what is hidden from your eyes

Deeper into the maze you go

Making friends and challenging foes

Nothing is as it seems

You will grow and you will change

The strike is chasing through the maze

Distraction and betrayal will cause delay

With every step it is getting closer

Can you beat the thirteenth hour

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Day 22’s challenge

For Day 22 the prompt is “to take one of the following statements of something impossible, and then write a poem in which the impossible thing happens:

The sun can’t rise in the west.

A circle can’t have corners.

Pigs can’t fly.

The clock can’t strike thirteen.

The stars cannot rearrange themselves in the sky.

A mouse can’t eat an elephant.”

As a Fantasy writer, I love making the impossible real.  My first instinct is to go with ‘The clock can’t strike thirteen’ because it makes me think of my favourite film (from the 80s) Labyrinth, with goblins, faeries, mazes and magic.

 

Writing this poem feels like it is about something deeper like the choices we make in life that lead to our final hour and perhaps the thirteenth hour is the end.  Perhaps we are all busy living and trying to avoid it.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Poems for April

April appears to be the month for celebrating all things poetry.  I am aware of two groups promoting poetry celebration in April so I shall start by introducing them.

April for Poetry

Small-Blue-RGB-National-Poetry-Month-Logo

Academy of American Poets – National Poetry Month

The Academy of American Poets founded National Poetry Month in April 1996.  The celebration is used to acknowledge the achievements of American poets, share poems and encourage support and awareness of their work.

Click here to find out more about the celebration.

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Maureen Thorson – NaPoWriMo

It was started in 2003 by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC.  She was inspired by NaNoWriMo – hence the similar name.  It stands for National Poetry Writing Month.  The challenge is to write one poem a day for the 30 days of April.

Click here to find out more about how to participate.

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Taking the challenge

So, I am going to dare to take the NaPoWriMo challenge.  It might not be great to start with as it is a while since I’ve written any poetry but I hope we will see an improvement towards the end.  I also hope that I find time to participate everyday.

Please let me know if you are taking part or have a poetry blog. It would motivate me to see what you are doing and I would find it inspirational.

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