SM – I took your advice, and am up to page 10. I see what you mean about the emotional venting and, to be perfectly honest and a bit brutal, I can’t help noticing that it is more about the emotional content than the actual writing in those early pages. Yes, there are some good ones, but there’s an awful lot of what what I call ‘line-word epics’ (one or two words per line, no real structure or rhythm and loooooooooooooooooooooong) or ‘it rhymes so it’s a poem’ too. And there’s far too much deliberately poor syntax just so as to make things rhyme (‘I need to make it rhyme it’s true/so butchering of syntax I do…’) which I HATE (I know, strong language…). Whilst, yes, it is wonderful that people feel that they can let out suppressed feelings and that others are there to help and encourage and that writing is a medium that these people can use to express those emotions, I have a hard time equating that with writing talent. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to put people down or anything like that, seriously, but…. I don’t know how to put it… not everyone who enjoys writing poems is talented. I still don’t think I am, despite what people here say. I just know it is something that helps me. And, well, it just seemed to me as if everyone, regardless, was being hailed as a Tennyson in the making in those early pages. I suppose that’s why I don’t really comment on ability here, just whether or not I could relate to the message. Anyways, that’s my rant done for now… And I needed a rant coz I have an exam tomorrow morning and I haven’t the foggiest about the material… aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhh.
And so, to bed.