"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" by Connie Inglis

My connecting points with other writers have been few. Yes, I am taking a writing course but that is all done online so there is limited interaction with other writing students. For me the most significant interaction I've had and continue to have is through you, fellow InScribe members. And even then, most of my involvement has been in one of the many InScribe writers' groups. What a beautiful gift from God. If that writing group should end tomorrow, I think that what this group has instilled in me would be more than enough to energize my writing for the rest of my life.

Sound a little dramatic? Maybe. But after meeting together with these fellow-writers for 2 1/2 years, I also believe it to be true. Out of gratitude I wrote a sonnet for the Inscribe Anthology, 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers and I dedicated it to my writers' group.

              As Iron Sharpens Iron

The writer’s road “less travelled by” is fraught
With curves and climbs and questions unaware,
E’en those whose lives in God are soldier-taught
Can find the solo march too much to bear.
So writers too have need of comradeship
To trudge beside when wearisome the way,
For mutual bonds can strengthen and equip
In prayer, united force can fight the fray.
And with each step a surge of hope is found
That bond of perfect Love, it casts off fear,
Then each word written springs from common ground
To own the voice, to fight, to persevere.
As iron sharpens iron dull to bright,
Writers sharpen writers, reflecting Light.
(Dedicated to Writers Café: Edmonton Writing Group)

But why a sonnet you may ask? Well, now is my chance to compare my writers' group to a sonnet. Let me count the ways:
(And here is my disclaimer: Every writing group is different. Since this is the only writing group I know, I am sharing from my heart what I've learned and how I've grown from it.)

1. What is most obvious with sonnets is the structure. They are 14 lines long. My poem is an English sonnet which is comprised of three quatrains and a final rhyming couplet. This is a structure you can rely on in a sonnet. So too in my writers' group--there is a reliable structure. Our monthly meetings are led by an organized leader. I can rely on that. I also know that as I share my heart goals and struggles, my writing goals and struggles, I can rely on the help and encouragement of each member of this group. I have experienced this support multiple times in the last few years and it is good.

2. Within the structure of the sonnet, there is a consistent flow, an iambic pentameter rhythm that is maintained throughout the poem. So too with my writers' group. Yes, there is a rhythm of hearts and dreams but more importantly, there is a God-centered rhythm that begins and ends all our meetings. We seek to write dangerously for God individually and corporately and it is good.

3. A sonnet also has a consistent rhyme scheme within the quatrains and final couplet: abab, cdcd,efef,gg. Just as end words "play" off each other, so too we in our writers' group "play" off each other: bouncing ideas around, giving each other feedback, direction, technology advice. Our monthly prompts have started some exciting ongoing writing. And it is good.

 4. Sonnets explore universal elements of human life with themes such as love, war, mortality, change and hardship. I can honestly say that as writers we have discussed every one of those themes in one way or another within each others' lives. We have shared our weaknesses and strengths. We have battled in spiritual warfare through prayer for each other. We have laughed together and we have cried together. And I know for me I have come out the other end stronger in my faith, with a fresh understanding of God's goodness.

5. Imagery is a vital part of a sonnet, whether it is through word choice or other figurative language. In my sonnet I chose to use the extended metaphor of a soldier's long march. As believers we are all soldiers marching through this life. And when writing is added to the journey, persevering alone is painful drudgery, sometimes impossible. That's why we need each other. That's why I've needed and leaned on my writers' group. They have upheld me with hope and God's love. It is so good.

www.teamxyofyakima.org

 6. The English sonnet ends with a resolution or volta (Italian word for "turn") found in the rhyming couplet. These two lines make a powerful ending statement. That is why I chose the reference to Proverbs 27:17 to end my poem. Being part of a writers' group has sharpened me--not just in my writing but even more importantly, in my faith, in my relationships and in my understanding of the world.

So is that enough to propel my writing life? I think so. And I think too that God looks at it all and says: "It is good."

I am a Noob. Is that buzzworthy? by Connie Inglis

I must be honest at the start of this post; I struggled with knowing how to respond to the prompt for this month. As one who just started writing seriously, I have no, 'How To' tips to share and no new resource that I wish I had when I first started out. But then yesterday I got a brainwave when I thought about selecting three words I didn't know (which I believe was the Holy Spirit helping me when I couldn't help myself).

It has only been in the past four or five years that I've started to intentionally write, so I decided to look at new words that have appeared in the dictionary in the past five years and implement a number of them in a piece of writing. What fun this has been. It also helped me realize that resources in technology have definitely advanced opportunity in the writing world--exciting but also a little scary.

The following piece of writing is also an example of the genre I love to write in: poetry. And in a continuation of my focus on writing sonnets over the summer, I have taken the sonnet, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and tweaked it to reflect life and relationships in today's day and age. (This is meant to be fun so I hope no one is offended by my use of this poem.)

How do I meet thee? Let me count the ways

How do I meet thee? Let me count the ways.
I browse the web, its depth and breadth and height
With laptop, smartphone, phablet all in sight
The infomania shocks my mind--no grace.
My drive to meet thee haunteth every day's
Femtosecond, by wifi day or night.
I scroll on facebook, as men strive for right;
Looking for selfies, photos tagged in praise.
I question friends with passion put to use
From past loves and with ebullient faith.
I tweet, twitter, retweet yet seem to lose
All hope. Then bestie texts--I hold my breath,
And laugh for lost is found; now I must choose,
Courage to connect or dream unto death.

Stretched by a New Style: The Sonnet by Connie Inglis

This summer I set the goal of reading and working through the book, Writing the Life Poetic by Sage Cohen. The exercises have been both instructive and fun, although I'm not near as far along in the book as I'd like to be. Sometimes life just gets in the way and I need to be content in that.

With this month's challenge of trying something new in my writing, I thought I'd be more deliberate in writing rhyming poems instead of free verse. To be more specific, I thought I'd try writing sonnets throughout the summer, something I've never intentionally focused on. This has definitely been stretching for me. I've been re-reading many of Shakespeare's sonnets for inspiration and have fallen in love, once again, not only with the iambic pentameter that floats the reader on but also with the poignant word choice and deeper meaning behind each word and each rhyme. Shakespeare was a genius! My attempts are feeble in comparison but they are attempts, nonetheless, and so I press on.

Last week I attended my nephew's baptism. It was a beautiful celebration. A few months ago my nephew's mom and I discussed how the pre-baptism and post-baptism time can be difficult because Satan does NOT like this outward proclamation of faith. In fact, he hates it. My nephew needed to be aware of this attack, to stand firm in Jesus' love and be ready to fight. The following sonnet comes out of this discussion. It too reflects the battle we have as writers to fight the darkness with our words and to do it because He loves us and we love Him.

For Love, In Love -- 1 John 4:13-19

Unknown servant enlists and arms for war,
With shield and double sword prepared to fight,
Spurred on by faithful ones who've gone before,
Against dark, evil foe in Spirit's might.
He questions not his good and righteous King
And sacrificial Son who speaks his name;
This spoken Word gives strength and joy to sing,
In defense, offense, watchman--he remains.
The enemy quits not, his hate severe,
To cut the soldier down, to cause to fail;
Then soldier cries the Name dispelling fear,
In life or death his peace and hope prevail.
In love the soldier heeds the battle call,
For Love has paid the price and won for all.

Hezekiah's Insomnia - Nesdoly

(April is National Poetry Month in Canada. So please indulge me when I post a poem...)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to know when you will die? In the poem below, I try to imagine Hezekiah's thoughts when the 15 extra years he was promised by Isaiah are nearly up.


Hezekiah’s Insomnia

“I will add fifteen years to your life. . .” 2 Kings 20:6

And what exactly did Isaiah say
those fourteen and three quarter years ago?
My brain was fevered on that deathbed day,
perhaps fifty not fifteen was the toll.

I need more time; fifteen is not enough
to do exploits, to sire, conquer, groom
Manasseh for the throne, his callow stuff
Hephzibah’s spells mold to a cursed doom.

Men long to know the number of their years.
How foolish and short-sighted such a thought.
Each beast and man I meet now raises fears. . .
Is this the one? Is he hatching a plot?

That sound! Those footsteps! Is there someone there?
Will this night sneak death angel up the stair?

© 2010 by Violet Nesdoly

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Website: www.violetnesdoly.com

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