A Writer's Notebook, Day Five-Hundred-And-Sixty-Five-Hundred-And-Sixty-Nine

Each day, I set out to write as much to hone and practice as to create finished work.  That is not to say that I don't strive in writing even the most hurried-off sketch of a poem I don't seek to give my entire effort, indeed I often find the act of writing with that sort of abandon can focus the effort in some ways.  That does not deny the need for more careful and methodical work, but often that comes in revision, but the energy of the first draft cannot be faked, or at least I am not skilled enough to do so.  I often have thoughts about ideas that are interesting and even poignant but do not shape up to poems.  At times, I can turn these ideas around in my mind to find an angle that works, but not always.  In writing so much, I often have the issue of wanting to use each idea that comes to me, so it is not uncommon for me to spend a good deal of time attempting to get an idea to work when it is simply not fit.  This leads me to think that one of the major challenges I face may be in discovering the poetic content and images that are most valuable for me to explore in order to progress as a writer.

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