Young Writers Society

First things first, head over to the NaPo Forum! Here you'll find fellow poet's threads, information topics, and other relevant event information. To get started, create your own thread! Give it a super fun name, and if you want to get crazy— maybe a theme! To find out more about how to get started, you can always click on the 2023 NaPo Information thread. In this topic, you can read more about what NaPo is, how to get started, and what bonuses are going to be included on YWS this month to celebrate!

Next, you're going to want to head to Badge Information. In my humble opinion, the 2023 badges are the best NaPo badges we've had yet! Collect as many as you can before the month is over! Badge challenges include finishing NaPo (30 poems/30 days), commenting on other YWSer NaPo threads, and attending Poetry Jams. Can you collect them all?

If you're up to the challenge, check out the April Madness competition and consider joining! This is an awesome March-Madness-esque bracket contest where YWS poets go head to head with their best writing from the month! It's a great way to get involved with the community and show off your killer poetry skills at the same time!

Don't forget to check out what other YWSers have posted so far! The forum is already filling up with many prospective NaPoers, and we're excited for you to join us!

One of my favorite things is to check out the threads that are lying quietly in wait for their first sprouts. After careful watering, poeting gardeners can feel confident that their first blooms will be plentiful, colorful, and diverse just like a flower garden. Here are some threads I'm especially excited for this NaPo! Don't worry, we'll be bringing this back every week— we've got too many amazing poets to only do this feature once!

@starshipgirl, my path to the moon and the stories i plan to take with me
Wow, I love the overall tone of this thread! You can tell starship put a lot of work into her graphic design, and it's such a clever take on a very classic image. I'm really excited to see where this imagery takes them!

@Buranko, ink stains and a honey jar
I'm obsessed with how simple this one is. I know this is one to keep my eye on! I feel like there is so many ways this could go, if it's any indication of theme. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Buranko does with this!

When you go to school for psychology, first to get your B.S. and then to get your M.S., you find out a lot about how the brain works when it comes to goal setting and the success or failure of those goals settings. In this editorial, I'm going to take the opportunity to workshop with you all what are some of the factors that can impact if you complete your goal— not just for NaPo, but beyond too! This type of information is so generalizable, you can apply it to any goals you want to set your mind to.

The first factor I think is important to note— mostly because it's the one that always impacts me the most— is you should always set goals that are realistic. Thus, if you're like me and only write poetry when the inspiration strikes you, it might be difficult to sit down and establish a routine of writing a poem every single day for an entire month. The key is, you want your goal to be attainable. Some other factors that really impact goal success are naturally imbedded in NaPo. Which is so awesome for poets! Goals that are measurable and time-based are more likely to be completed. Obviously, we have a lot of accountability baked into the "bread" of NaPo— and it works out great for our goal setting. Additionally, having communal support and peer interaction regarding goals can be incredibly helpful as well— another fantastic element of NaPo on YWS!
Other factors to consider when setting your goals are whether they are specific and relevant. Again, luckily with NaPo, this is part of the experience on YWS. However, next time you're setting a new goal for yourself, you may want to consider these two things. Am I being specific enough with what I want to achieve? Have I outlined that path for myself clearly? Also, is it relevant to me and my other goals and outlook on life? If you're setting a goal in April to write 30 poems, but you also are in graduate school, finishing your thesis, and working 50 hours a week... Well, that might not be the best combination and will require a little more force of will to complete (yes, this is a direct call out on myself, I admit it!).

Other follow-up things you can do to increase your goal success is to make a plan for how you are going to complete your goal. When, where, why, how are great questions to ask. Sometimes, logistics are important to consider. For example, if I know I have daily time during my afternoon to be on my computer, I'm going to factor writing my poem for the day into that time. Additionally, I have a plan for what I'd like to see in my thread. Workshopping poetry, new poetry, plans for other related themes, motifs, or imagery I'd like to work on. That helps me make a game plan when I'm having trouble reaching my goal.

I wish you all luck with your NaPo and future goals! I'll see you again soon for another editorial workshop on writing and psychology.

LadySpark