Poetry and Articles – Quality vs.. Quantity
In all I write, my goal is quality; not quantity.
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As a relative newcomer to Triond (and online publishing in general), I often wonder what motivates people to write. I realized right away that literally thousands of poems are submitted each day from people all around the globe. What I am still trying to figure out is whether people are writing strictly for the money or whether they are writing because they have something interesting or important to say. Are the volumes of material they submit simply for the sake of submitting volumes of material? I read some of the subject titles of the Triond Hot Content list and wonder….
As long as I can remember, I have found writing to be the easiest way for me to express myself. I’ve never been much of a talker, so I write – letters to family and friends, short stories and most of all poetry. I just believe that what I have to say comes out better if I put it on paper. I am forced to think about what I’m saying and lay it out in a way that people can understand it. I tend to pore over each sentence to make sure it expresses exactly what I feel. When I compose a poem, I take the random thoughts that I have scribbled in my composition book and try to transform them into something coherent.
As a young woman, in high school and college, I was enthralled with the poems of those like Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. I said to myself, these women have something to say. Not only that, they have something to say to me, personally. I decided that if I was going to pursue writing, I wanted to write something that speaks to someone else. As a high school senior, struggling with a break-up with my first “true love”, I sat down one night and penned a poem called “But I’m Not Sad” (http://authspot.com/poetry/but-im-not-sad/). I thought, “I hope some other girl out there will be able to someday read and relate to this.”
I continued to write through college until the weight of being a young wife, mother, and full-time engineering student got the best of me. After graduation, once I was firmly entrenched in the working world, I actually started on a novel, loosely based on my life (yet unfinished). But again, life got in the way. Now my children are grown or nearly grown and I can concentrate on doing one of the things I love to do most; writing. Now, even though I have more free time, I still have to be inspired to write. There may be something going on in my life or maybe I will make a general observation of something going on in our society that either troubles me or brings me joy and hope.
In any case, I will only write if I have something interesting and/or informative to share. I will only write when I feel that someone somewhere might benefit from what I have to say. Perhaps someone is going through what I’m going through or has been through it and can understand. Perhaps they are unable to put into words what it is they are feeling. If my words can help them to find their own voice, that would be even better. But trust me; I will not publish ANYTHING just for the sake of publishing SOMETHING. When you don’t hear from me, know that the little wheels in my head are turning and I will be back with something I hope people will want to read. I hope they will be able to understand it and relate to it, as well as apply it to their own lives. I hope it will be something thought-provoking that will spark a dialogue among readers. I’m striving for quality, not quantity.
© 2009 – Andrea J. Shannon
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You’ve written a great article here. Well done! I
You are very talented in your writting somettimes it seams as if your looking in on my life. I have noticed a lot of simularities in a couple of our poems. As I said before, The poetry I write just cometo me and I write then down as they come, I also have interesting thoughts or rammblings i write now and then. Keep writting, we love wht you share with us
very well written
Keep sharing
You’re right. Many people aim at quantity as they would like to get quick money, however this is an unrealistic goal in life. Have my liked it.
Ashan, I totally agree with you. Lately, I have not been on triond that much or haven’t submitted much and it’s only because I’ve had little to write about. I need something to inspire me, not the money, but something; a feeling, perhaps. I can not pore out a bunch of poetry that means or expresses nothing. Poetry has to say and mean something. for me, it’s all about the quality. Great article.
I wish I wrote from the heart but sometimes it ends up being about what will have the most hits.
It’s sad but it’s realistic, practical and in such hard financial times people could be forgiven for altering their mindset temporarily.
We all have the same love but some of us have more pressing issues that control our creative flow.
Keep up the good work =]
that’s great. My poetry does come from the heart. my articles vary. sometimes just whatever pops into my head, sometimes well thought out.
I wanted to a movie maker, but put it off for many years to work as an engineer. I am getting back into writing and movie making now. I always felt as if the stories were calling out to me to be written.
you are a crowd puller
thats why it will take me some time
to join every group
once I read you
you are a wonderful and prolific writer
the world adores you
as much as I do
LH
Many thanks to all of you. Welcome back, LH!
Good article, well thought out and well written. Personally, although I always aim for high quality, I’m struggling a little right now too, so I find writing online produces a slow but steady minor income. I enjoy poetry, but have ended up focusing on practical how to guides or other popular articles which bring in repetitive income. Poems bring in a very eratic income.
In an ideal world, I’d let my creativity run away with me, but in reality, at least for now, I must focus on any talent I might have for teaching or for writing an article that will be read by many, regularly.
Such is life
The only word I can find is fantastic article. Thank you. I hope people will take note and write quality.
Fingers crossed, hannemarie!
Amen! Definitely write things not for the sake of it but for writing something truly meaningful to you and therefore to others. As Maya Angelou inspired you, Henry David Thoreau inspired me. Cheers and good wishes
I am 52 and I still ask myself what do I want to be when I grown up. I wrote my pen/my sword and several sheet of paper, and even on the way to work driving down highway things kept poping in my head, I immediately wrote my thoughts down the moment I walked in the door. I did allot of re-writes before it was finalizedl. I do not have the education background you have, but I still feel like I have made allot of achievements. I do intend on getting a degree and now I know in what. It would involve writing. I can’t hold a great conversation with everyone face to face because I have trust issues. But I can make my words come alive on paper. We have so much in common. Thank you for sharing this article. Keep writing
diamondpoet,
If I ever have even one regret in life, it will be that I followed the money instead of following my dream. I’ve always loved to write and sing, but was too afraid that I couldn’t make a living at either of them. So, now at the tender young age of 46, I am trying to compile enough poetry (quality poetry) to publish a book of poems. Wish me luck!
I will be in the background cheering for you as you launch your dream of getting your degree. You can do it!
I like this one a lot. I manage a daily email devotional (weekdays) and write many of them myself. But when I don’t feel inspired I don’t hesitate to send out something (giving credit) written by someone else.
I’ve played with writing just for the “write” of it but it isn’t any good for me. I want to say something that I have to say not just put “stuff” out. Writing is an art and a passion (as well as a God-given gift I think) and we ought to treat it with the respect of a wonderful gift, IMHO.