I’m continuing to share poems connected to writing my novel, The Clock and the Boulder, in the lead up to its April 22 release in this National Poetry Month.
Today I chose two short poems, both about aspects of the process of writing a novel. I think of them as “ars novelica,” a play on ars poetica, which is poetry about writing poetry.
I wrote the first one in February 2019, when I was toward the end of developing the story. I was quite taken with a little note I’d jotted down on a scrap of paper. It became the title of this poem. I like that the title is longer than any of the lines in the poem and has more specific detail than the poem itself.
Anders Will Need to Replace the Hay
a novel is born
and honed
via minutiae
and non-sequitur
captured on
scraps of paper
© Karin Fisher-Golton
I wrote the second poem, a butterfly cinquain, this February during the time when I was putting the finishing touches on the text.
A cinquain is a poem with lines that have 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables in that order. A butterfly cinquain adds 4 more lines of 8, 6, 4, and 2 syllables. When these poems are centered, they look like sideways butterflies. I first wrote this one centered, but I like how it reads better this way.
Character
to start
a character
is a book problem solved,
quirky touches worked in, until
a shift
occurs, it has its own presence,
distinct from the author,
who’ll miss it at
the end
© Karin Fisher-Golton
Enjoy more poetry this Friday and savor it into this mid-National-Poetry-Month weekend! The Poetry Friday round up is at Irene Latham’s Live Your Poem blog.
Karin Fisher-Golton 
Karin, congratulations on your forthcoming novel! What fun you’re having with these poems…I am quite familiar with the birth of writing on scraps of paper! Thank you!
Thank you, Irene! I like thinking of your books having that little-scrap-of-paper journey too.
Karin, Congratulations on your release of your upcoming novel! I am off on a writing retreat to my son’s in Colorado to work on finishing mine – it’s an adult mystery. It does take time to finish! I used to write cinquain with my third grade students – they loved the form – and so do I. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Good wishes finishing up your novel! Cinquains are sure a nice form for all ages.
Thanks! Yes, they are! I should write more of them!
I love how you used the “shift” line in the poem– a wonderful example of form and content emphasizing each other. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for noticing that. I remember giving a lot of thought to how I used those three 2-syllable lines. I love the power of a short line!
Karin, as an admirer of the ars poetica form, I was bound by curiosity to checck out your re-imagining of the form in this way. Your poems exhibit strong connection to the intent of your writing. I enjoyed both offerings and commend you for presenting this impressive deviation. Well done. You have provoked further possibility.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! As both a writer and an editor, I am fascinated by the creative process. I’m so glad I thought to explore it with poetry.
Congrats on your new novel!! Enjoyed reading these poems — what a fun way to reflect on the process.
Thank you, Jama!
I jot a lot of notes on scraps of paper, too. I enjoyed reading your poems and look forward to reading your book!
Thanks so much! And yay for scraps of paper to extend our memories!
In my work as a writing coach, when a child worries about not being “a real writer” because they “never finish anything,” I love to tell them that all the real writers I know (including me) have loads of unfinished pieces, scraps of paper, and bits of inspiration floating around, waiting to find a landing spot someday. 🙂 Looking forward to your book!
Thanks, Karen! It’s so good for kids to know that finished books and other writing don’t just come to people instantly. That’s a great way to convey it.