Poetic Insights for Your Fiction

My effort to keep the act of writing pure during my journey as a contracted novelist has led me back to poetry. I recently spent a week reading the writings of two poets: Billy Collins, the former poet laureate of the United States and Dennis Schmitz, the former poet laureate of
Sacramento.

I read these two poets because of their ability to transform the ordinary into the unique and I wanted to be reminded that writing is art, not simply mechanical. One poem in particular reached out to me as a fiction writer.

 “You, Reader.  

I wonder how you are going to feel
when you find out that I wrote this instead of you,”

And so begins the introductory poem in Billy Collins’ The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems from Random House. My emotional response was first to laugh, but then as I read through the poem it got to me. I felt I’d shown up late, slept in too long, and missed the boat. The poem was profound, yet simple in its subject. It was careful in detail, but the details were ordinary and every day. Yes, I could have written it, surely! But, not in the same way.

Was it King Solomon who first said, “There’s nothing new under the sun?” Your story isn’t new, but your special way of telling it should be what makes the story groundbreaking to readers. Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself, what makes Ruby Among Us different than other novels? What perspective or experience have I written into this tale of mothers and daughters that is new? When Ruby Among Us finally comes out, will it be riddled with the mistakes of a first-time novelist or will my story be told in a more innovative way?

Billy Collins’ poem goes on to say,

“Go ahead and turn aside,
bite your lip and tear out the page,
but listen – it was just a matter of time 

before one of us happened
to notice the unlit candles…”

Isn’t that true? It is only a matter of time until one of us notices the significance of a detail that has been in plain sight for so long it is completely obvious. One of us will eventually write it down and our insight into the ordinary will become something fresh.

Take the details in Billy Collins’ poem. The poet knows that unlit candles, salt and pepper shakers, and a clock on the wall are nothing new to the reader, but his view of those ordinary things suddenly makes his poem relatable and new at the same time. As I read through his poems and those by Schmitz this week, I began to ask myself how I can say things differently in my prose. Am I saying things in a unique way or am I just telling the same old story in the same old fashion?

What about your story? Whether it’s literary or genre fiction, what have you done to make your story stand out from the slush pile and get an editor really excited about your book?

Billy Collins’ book was given to me by the Editor in Chief at my publishing house, accompanied by comments about how much he likes Collins. “Thoughtful insights” is one quality he mentioned. He gave all his authors who were present a different volume of poetry and a few of us continued the discussion of poetry through the remainder of our evening. I left inspired to take a much closer look at my prose and to reconnect with poetry.

If you want to get an editor excited about your work, make sure you are taking a unique approach to your stories, rather than using the same old way of organizing words on paper. You might try studying a bit of poetry, as well. May you be inspired.

(This article appeared in the June issue of the Rocky Mountain Writer)