Resist narrative when drafting poems

When writing poems, the temptation could be to twist the poem into a flash story, to have narrative closure at the end. Everything-is-a-Story is a story and we are narrative beings after all.

However, try to resist this impulse. Instead, focus on concrete images and metaphors, building up a tapestry instead of an explicit narrative. This is useful when drafting as it forces you to focus on the language instead of the story.

I am guilty of twisting poems to story too soon.

Like all writing advice, this depends on the poem you are writing.

This comes from the [[ Monday Night Write club ]] with Chris-Redmond.