Are you a fan of Frozen, or are you ready to Let It Go?
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| This is how one classroom teacher coped (or didn't) with Frozen-crazy students. |
But first...
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| Happy Host Day to talented super-poet Irene Latham! All of the Poetry Friday links are up Irene's blog, Live Your Poem. |
With suggestions from my editor, I wrote a lot of new material for my novel this fall. I tend to overwrite when I'm drafting. Testing out new poems helps me feel my way through the characters and plot. Then I put the draft aside for awhile and see which poems have staying power. Some will need revision. Others will be cut.
Before I head back into the revision cave -- my deadline's not In Summer, after all -- I'd like to share one of the new poems for Poetry Friday. This parody of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" won't make it into the published novel, but I think your writing students will like it. Especially when they're feeling frustrated.
I Don’t Want to Write a Sonnet
I
don’t want to write a sonnet.
Sometimes
I’ve got nothing to say.
I
can never think of words that rhyme.
It
takes too much time
writing
every day.
Counting
syllables is awkward,
too
much like math,
It
makes me want to cry.
I
don’t want to write a sonnet.
Does
it have to be a sonnet?
Tell
me why.
I
don’t want to write a sonnet,
a
limerick, or triolet.
A
writing break sounds really great.
Why
don’t we pick a date?
How
about today?
It
gets a little tiring
sticking
to rhyme schemes
when
my thoughts would rather fly.
You
say I have it in me
and
it’s only fourteen lines.
You
say this is a sloppy draft
and
I’ll have time to craft
when
we all revise.
We
only have ten minutes
of
writing time.
What
am I going to do?
I
don’t want to write a sonnet.
Here is a great cover of the original song from Frozen.
Why cut this piece? Not because I have a Frozen Heart. I think I wrote it for myself, rather than for one of my characters. The speaker feels a little too generic for THE LAST FIFTH GRADE, which is told in the 18 voices of one fifth grade class. I had a great time writing this parody, though. I was totally venting some revision frustration.
Speaking of writing, February is coming up. That means the annual Author Amok Poetry Project is almost here. Thanks so much for all of you who suggested sounds we can use for writing prompts. When I need a break from novel revisions, I'm going to get our list of 28 sounds together. For the First Time in Forever, I can't wait to start writing!
And remember, it doesn't have to be a sonnet.
