How to Be a Writer

Destroying yourself for the words inside you

A friend asked me 
how to be a writer.
I wanted to say,
lock yourself in a room,
scream until you have 
a poem and no voice.
Open your veins and bleed 
until you know that your bones
are pure words and sorrow. 
Act as if you slit your own throat
and all you can bleed
are your own regrets 
and all of the darkness
you boxed up for inspiration. 
Write your mom a letter,
tell her you're leaving
and you won't be back for awhile
Because being a writer is traveling 
through all seven layers of Hell
and denying anything is wrong.
Forget loving yourself 
when all you have is a pen and paper
fused to your wrist
and Jesus is tapping at your skull
saying turn back now.
Warn the neighbors that if they smell burning
It's just your soul 
clawing at the front door trying to get in. 
Learn how to be alone. 
Learn how to lose everything you have
in order to feel release,
learn how to only feel deceased 
from now on.
A friend asked me
how to be a writer.
All I said was
don't

Reviews

[Brad Dehler]

"A friend asked me
how to be a writer.
All I said was
don't"
WOw, true pain but authenticity. Thank you for sharing this. I know what you mean, you definitely seem to feel each step in this journey. The last line did make me chuckle.

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

Wow! I felt the emotions dripping in this piece! The ending was wow! Well done!

[Ballpark Frank]

I like this. It's insightful and real. It made me think.

[Trouble]

Truth sister. Preach it. You should read my poem "What they don't tell you about writing" or something like that, can't fully remember the name. The poem is good and the poem is truthful.

[HadesRising]

Nice piece of writing. Well Done.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

wow, again, thanks for entry into my gobsmack competition, good luck to you, am judging this belatedly today,thanks again for a wonderful piece of work

[alanwgraham]

There are lots of great images in here Ally. I often think about the writing process and it can be a painful and solitary undertaking at times. I like to use personal experiences if i can and these can be very emotional. Your ending is great but I'm not sure i agree. Writing isn't for everyone but it can be a liberating process. Everyone has something they can write about.
I did enjoy this!
Regards
Alan

[Tony]

The descriptions you gave throughout the poem were highly engaging and creative and kept the poem moving along at a fast pace.
Oh yea, and the final line kind of had a Bukowski feel to it in his poem "Friendly advice to a lot of young men"

[angel]

The hell of it is, you can't help yourself.

Having a book, or a poem, or a song--any written thing--inside of you is a building thing.
A friend once described it to me thus:(and yes, I did say 'thus'...:It's like being pregnant. The idea is an embryo, and it grows and develops., taking on a full life of its own. You begin to feel a pressure, a desire--no, a NEED--to bring it forth. It becomes your entire life, the reason for your existence--until you labor and push, and suffer as it grows and matures. Now it becomes, he went on, a bird. A bird inside the cage of your head, banging itself against the inside of your skull until you let it free to soar and be appreciated and loved, or catch fire in the atmosphere and go down in flames.
But "don't"? Just don't?
Impossible. When it's ready, it's comin' out. You can't help it.

[Ally Ann]

The "don't" refers to the fact that if you can avoid going through all of the above, try your best to do so. Like Bukowski said "if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. Unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don’t do it". What you are describing is what we as writers go through, but asking how to be a writer goes against the need and desire to spill out these words that are pounding in your head. While I was in the headspace of writing this poem, I was so worked up about not being able to stop the words and the negative experiences that came with those words that I did not want to see anyone else destroy themselves in the name of writing if they were not forced to do so. Those who are born writers have an inability to stop writing, but there are people who are not born writers, who are looking to experience some of the destruction that many writers face. I do encourage people to write, but when I was writing this poem all I could plead was "don't". "Don't" so you don't destroy yourself like I have.

[Perdition]

Hence the name Perdition, and yes I did just use the word "hence". Have to admit I like Bukowski's explanation a little better but this is pretty damn close. Writing is hell and your only reward is the aggravation of being unsatisfied with your work and having to start the process every day all over again, so if you can take that then go for it, I think I have most of those items checked off but I'm sure I'm missing one or two and the muse is not a kind creature so I'll look again. Wonderful definition, advice and checklist. Thanks for the read~

[Ally Ann]

Even to be compared to Bukowski is an honor, so thank you. He was my biggest inspiration while writing this poem.

[Perdition]

A pleasure...and yep...still missing the fire of having ole Chuck around,