What I did on my Thanksgiving staycation

Of course we're not going anywhere.

So, I am taking myself on a writing retreat of sorts. I have Diane Lockward's book, The Practicing Poet. I'm supposed to be reviewing it, but... I haven't actually been able to read all the way through it, because I keep wanting to stop and do the writing exercises!

My goal for Thanksgiving is to get through a couple of prompts per day. I'm not sure if it's going to work: I could get depleted. I have plenty of time, but there may not be enough duration in a long weekend. (For the difference between time and duration, see my other blog.

Two today so far. One of the poems, I'll post shortly. The other, maybe not.
Update: I've written eight poems in four days. It's been extremely fun, and at least of a couple of the poems are sound stuff. I'm prepared to declare this phase of the experiment a resounding success.

One of the issues I'm having to overcome is thinking "I already did that in a poem." That doesn't mean I can't use the same trick again, in a different poem. It's a bad old reflex from student days: I already did the exercise, and learned everything I need to from it. The point is not just about the learning, it's about the creating.

Having four days off to do nothing except write (Not that that's actually what happened! I went for a long wa;l, did yardwork, cleaned up around the house, etc.) is a luxury I won't often get. I don't expect to keep this pace. I'm going to try to work through one prompt per day during the work week: I think that's reasonable.

Books Available
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside