The Joys of Being a Writer

Broken pens
Screwed up paper
Wrist cramps
Frustration

Sore bum
Sore eyes
Aching back
Aching thighs

Get it wrong
Time after time
Punching your legs
Hence aching thighs

The agony of that first line
It won't leave your pen
No matter how many times you try
Over and over, again and again

Screaming and swearing
Hushes from next door
Palm biting, crazy eyes
Now more, no more

It hits you from nowhere
It stops you in your tracks
An idea, at long last
Your mind sizzles and cracks

Pen up
Paper down
Bum up
Head down

You grab at that idea
Hold it in place
Laugh like a maniac
Tightening your face

As quickly as it arrived
Its gone without a trace
You stare unbelieving at the paper
And scream at it like a nutcase

So it goes
Day and night-er
Welcome to our lives
The joys of being a writer

Hey there!!
I'm so happy that I'm the first to comment because I am totally in awe with this piece. It is exactly what I feel when I write and I think that all writers can totally relate with this. It is simple and to the point and yet so gripping. I can totally see myself sitting down cursing, trying to remember the exact words I thought up before or just praying inspiration comes back. I applaud you dearest. I LOVE IT!
MY favorite lines are:
"The agony of that first line
It won't leave your pen
No matter how many times you try
Over and over, again and again"

"You grab at that idea
Hold it in place
Laugh like a maniac
Tightening your face" ( Yes I caught myself laughing like a madwoman the other day when a light-bulb turned on right over my head. These lines are so true)

"As quickly as it arrived
Its gone without a trace
You stare unbelieving at the paper
And scream at it like a nutcase" ( yes these are all the hysterics my family has to endure, us writers are quite emotional!! hehehe)

Writing is both a gift and a burden to our brains but we do it because we can't resist and we are totally in love with it. This poem totally proved that writing is no walk in the park. Bravo!!! This is ingenious!!
Keep on writing, I'll be reading.
xxx Upile xxx

This captures the essence of my attempts at writing perfectly! I've nothing to criticize, this was so true and very well written. Be proud of it, and do keep writing.

Sorry for the pretty much useless review
|Life|

Not much of a writer so cant relate very well, but this is absolutely well writen
An enjoyable poem
I do think that there is a bit of repetition here and there, maybe use synonyms to get across your message.
Very nice, very witty

Hey Marrzi!

Haha! I'm pretty sure that we can all recognise a bit of ourselves in this poem. This was quite funny and described perfectly what writing at its best - and worst - can be.

I think that, with a humourous poem like this, you should focus on the rhymes more and really make them flawless. At the moment, a lot of the rhyming gets tripped by the inconsistent rhythm and the varying length of the lines. If you want your rhymes to really work and look/sound good, you need to make sure the rhyming lines have about the same number of syllables, for example. If you are unsure of the places that need more work, just read the poem out loud (like you should anyway!) and you should notice it pretty easily. This way, you'll also find out if there are bits that don't flow as well as they could, sound like word jumbles, and so on.

Also, be careful of repetition. Sometimes it works as an effect, but sometimes it just sounds like it's not given as much thought as it should. For example, I think you shouldn't mention "the aching thighs" more than once in this poem.

However, I think that every YWSer can relate to this, even if it's just a little. Isn't it funny -- sometimes it's so easy to hate writing, but still we just keep doing it!


Demeter
x

Hi there. Lavvi in to review.

You know, I think you captured the feeling of a writer and writer's block pretty well I laughed a lot with this, which is good, because I've been reviewing for a few hours now and I'm tired. It boosted my mood, I'm happy to report.

It was nice how you kept lines to a minimum with words, it added more simplicity and frankness to the poem. Very much enjoyed. The first two stanzas were nice, kind of eased you in, prepared you for the writer's upcoming problem, y'know? I especially liked the "sore bum" part. It really reminded me why I like cushioned spinny chairs at the PC.

Lavvi

Broken pens,
Screwed up paper,
Wrist cramps.
Frustration!

Sore bum,
Sore eyes,
Aching back,
Aching thighs. -- I loved these first two stanzas! Not using any verbs here has a great effect.

Get it wrong,
Time after time,
Punching your legs,
Hence aching thighs.

The agony of that first line
Will not leave your pen,
No matter how many times you try
Over and over, again and again.

Screaming and swearing,
Hushes from next door,
Palm biting, crazy eyes
Now more, no more. -- nice play/game of words, now more, no more.

It hits you from nowhere;
It stops you in your tracks.
An idea, at long last,
Your mind sizzles and cracks.

Pen up,
Paper down,
Bum up,
Head down.

You grab at that idea,
Hold it in place,
Laugh like a maniac,
Tightening your face.

As quickly as it arrived,
It's gone without a trace.
You stare unbelieving at the paper
And scream at it like a nutcase

So it goes,
Day and night-er -- night-er?
Welcome to our lives...
The joys of being a writer!

Nice poem, but you have to revise your punctuation. Other than this, well done.

Pahahahahaha I loved this
It's so true, too. And it's funny because most of it makes writers sound like they need to be in mental hospitals with a big poofy room and a straight jacket, but that's okay because that's just the way we are
I liked the repetition in this poem too as well as the shortness of each line and stanza. It makes it seem simple but straight forward and crazy all at the same time (which is a good thing)
I lerved it

haha, it's like I'm reading about myself haha, fantastic poem, absolutely amazing. I'd like to hear more