The Camp Rebel Files: How Writing an Epic Poem Taught Me to Write Without a Net

The challenge: Write an epic poem – 22,500 words in 30 days.

What was I thinking? 

I hadn’t written a poem in years. I barely remembered the definition of an epic. It would have been smart to do some research and have a clearer goal. I should have thought about my character, plot, setting… but suddenly it was April. It was time to pursue the Noble Path of the Pantser.

How did it go?

Writing the poem was surprisingly similar to writing a novel, but that might be because of the way I approached it. I wasn’t bold enough to try to rhyme or have a consistent rhythmic pattern; it was mainly just a bunch of short lines instead of long ones!

It’s not easy to remain poetic for 22,500 words. I’ve written a terrible poem, but it was worth doing anyway. There was gold hiding in that mind of mine, and now I can see a small gleam in the dark. I could stop now, or knuckle under and do more digging. It could become a great poem, or might morph into something else—maybe even my next November novel.

What did I learn?

Pantsing is fine if you have the right attitude. You’ve got to be open to wild fluctuations in character and plot. You’ve got to have a flexible relationship with “the rules’. Remind yourself regularly that it’s a rough draft, not a finished piece. It’s all good if it exercises the muscles of your imagination.

Know yourself, but have a backup. If you don’t know your optimum time, place, and duration for a writing session, figure it out. If you’re best in the morning, write in the morning. But don’t become dependent on a particular kind of session; you don’t always have a choice. If all is not perfect, write anyway. And don’t chance the loss of any ideas that come your way. Make sure you have a way to capture inspirations from the middle of the night, the shower, and when you’re out in the world.

Write when you don’t feel like it. You don’t have to write every day, but if you leave it too long, you lose your fire. One trick I use is grabbing seven random words and making a nonsense sentence, then continuing to write. The nonsense loosens me up. Sometimes, that’s enough.

Emily Bristow is on staff as the NaNoWriMo Program Facilitator. She supports our army of dedicated volunteers by moderating the Municipal Liaison forums, overseeing the Mentor Program, editing the ML Guide to Life, and helping with yearly region setup. Emily has participated in NaNo since 2002 and is astonished to win every year.

Photo by Flickr user Jemimus.