Last week was the annual Muse Online Writers Conference. The Muselings have a history with this conference.
Our group emerged from this conference, we learned the tools to create our poetry collection LIFELINES. We pitched our book to publishers at a later Muse Conference, and it was during Muse Con of last year that we got our acceptance letter. We owe the success of this group and our book to Muse Conference.
And this year we paid it forward. For the first time, the Poetic Muselings presented a workshop. Poetry: Not Just for Writing Verses.
It was a great experience all around. We talked poetry, wrote poetry, critiqued poetry. Hopefully those that attended learned something and made their own connections to continue in the days ahead.
On Saturday’s topic, Michele brought up some questions to help us look at how poetry can enhance our other writing. It made me take a look at the relationship between my two types of writing. Sometimes I try to keep them in two separate boxes, a poet in one moment and a fiction writer in another. But they are both a part of me, and they definitely bleed into each other.
One thing I’m still working on is taking my strengths from each form and applying them to the other. I need to be more descriptive in my fiction, and use more story in my poetry. My best writing has elements of both.
I spent most of my week in our poetry forum, but I also dabbled in some of the other workshops. One of my favorites of the week was Creating a Writerly Logo. I learned the importance of choosing good font and color, spacing and shapes. It was a lot of fun coming up with a logo that represented both sides of my writing.
Here is my final result:
If you have different hobbies, or write different styles or genres, how do they overlap?
annewestlund
feywriter
lin52
Margaret Fieland
Margaret
Michele
Poetic Muselings 
Comments on: "Mary’s Muse Conference Experience" (9)
That is one beautiful logo!
Thank you!
Great logo! Even though I didn’t take time to participate in your workshop, I read the lessons and this week have played with the anagram site in preparation to try writing an Aragman (hope I spelled that right). You also reminded me of a writing workshop I took with author Sharon Darrow and her book Trash. It made a strong impression on me because it was written in several styles of verse. I will be dabbling more with verse because of the Muselings’ workshop. Thank you!
Hiya Julie! The Muselings workshop was wonderful, I am glad you’re getting to see it. If you want to post there to talk shop, I still check the board (and will until they close). I promise you will have someone getting back to you in some form.
-Jennifer Ruth Jackson (JacksonJerunnth)
Oops, sorry Julia! I didn’t mean to call you the wrong name. **cringes**
Julia – Glad you’re getting something out of the workshop. I’ll be popping in until it closes as well, so feel free to post on the forums. I’d love to see your Aragman.
Jennifer – Great to see you again! So happy you enjoyed our workshop. 🙂
Hi Mary, that’s a great idea! 🙂
I’m still new to writing poetry, but learned a lot from the Muselings Workshop. 🙂
I am intrigued by the idea of your various genres being connected but having separate identities . . . roles? And, of course, I love the focus on your writing strengths as applied to these genres. I look forward to hearing more about this.
[…] you’re interested, you can read up on my experience from last year’s conference. I think this will be my sixth(!) […]