Images in the news and current events move us almost like planetary forces. When we see images like those that are coming out of Israel of rockets bombarding cities, hostages spirited away on motorcycles, fences bulldozes, houses razed, and families brutally slaughtered, we are  rightly overwhelmed with emotion.

As writers and creators we feel somehow it's our job to respond to earth-shaking events, no matter how morally inexplicable or horrendous they may be.

We should feel this way. And it is our our job to respond as artists. But what I want you to consider today is how to respond to mind-shattering current events. And since the topic is so huge and important, I'm only going to make a single suggestion, but it's a pretty important one.

Avoid the urge to be "epic." Sure, you can write a 500+ line poem or three-book series on the abduction of Noa Argamani by Hamas terrorists, but the odds greatly favor that your epic will fall flat. I've no doubt that the event will inspire someone to write a successful epic, but it probably isn't me or you.

Instead, what we can do is use the image of her abduction, the feeling of it to inspire smaller,  heart-first responses.  I could cite any number of examples here, but I'm going to just use a single poem. The poem is by Yeats and it's called "Easter, 1916."

​This poem grapples with many personal and political themes, but it never loses its touch of personal intimacy.

Without that touch anything you write about contemporary events will tend to gravitate toward editorializing, then degenerate to opinion, and finally collapse into some form of jingoism. 

What you bring to the table as an artist is the touch of intimacy the rest of the world seems to often lack. You're the heartbeat, the conscience, and the soul in a world that often seems heartless and soulless. So engage with current events, but do it with artistry.

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And if you'd like some expert help with editing or polishing your poems  or you just want a bit of feedback, hit the links below. I look forward to reading your work!
  

Here's a really simple branding tip that can be used by any writer or poet and, if you do it right, it can be oh-so-powerful. Ready?

Here it is.

Add a touch of mystery to your brand. Whether it's a secret ingredient, a guarded maker's method, or an exotic family history, people are naturally drawn to mysteries. Sometimes not knowing who the author is can be the best method of all, as in the case of the unjustly famous "Simon" Necronomicon.   

But that won't really work for us. And despite appearances, I'm not suggesting that you really need to do anything dramatic. A simple touch will do. For example, in your author bio you could write something like Banna Bestpoet once lived in a  haunted apartment building and her experiences there are reflected in what she writes. Or, Ned Novelmaster was once bitten by a colorful and (currently) unidentified species of snake while hiking in Indiana. 

You could also dig around into your past or your family lineage to see if you can find something interesting to base your mysterious touch on. Another route is to posit an iconic goal like: Sarah Screenwriter has spent years studying the principles of perpetual motion and hopes to someday build  a perpetual motion machine. 

The most potent mysteries have to do with (of course) sexuality, cultural heritage, money, religion, death, and crime. I'll leave it at that. 

Is it OK to lie? Well, yeah, but if you do, don't say a lot of lies, just slip one in. I learned that when a talkative and deceitful Sherpa rescued me from freezing to death during a failed climb on Everest.

Meanwhile, if you find these branding posts useful, please consider supporting the site. Your contribution is invaluable in allowing me to offer the content.  

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You can get Five Big Branding Tips thru the link below.

Pick up my Seven Secrets of Poetry Manual also linked below.

And if you'd like some expert help with editing or polishing your poems  or you just want a bit of feedback, hit the links below. I look forward to reading your work!
  

The most important thing in business is branding. The same goes for celebrities. But what many writers don't realize is: it's also true for poems, stories, and novels. It's obvious if I mention someone like Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, but it's just as  true for Lord Byron and Jericho Brown.

When it comes to iconic writers in any genre, you get a picture and a feeling just from the sound of their name. You can also spot a piece of their work in an instant. 

This is what it takes to really get over the top as any kind of artist. You need to create an immediate association between your name, image, and a particular niche, archetype, or signature style.

For most artists this means some degree of self-restraint and submission to audience capture. Mick Jagger at 80 years old just released a new Rolling Stones song and guess what, it sounds like the Rolling Stones sounded in the 1970's because that's what people expect and desire. The Stones and Jagger could play anything at this point, and have done so. Go listen to Super Heavy. But no-one liked Super Heavy, not as much as they liked the Stones, anyway.

So how do you do this? And if you're already doing it, how do you do it better?

The good new is, there are answers to those questions. The bad news is, they're not a simple answers. If it was easy, we'd have even more celebrities running around than we already do!

I'm going to give you the answers over the course of the  next few blog posts. So stay tuned.

The place to start even if you've already published or posted and have fans and followers is: always do good work. Think of your work as food you're offering to people. If it's burned or bland, why give it to them. They're not starving. The only reason to offer your work is if you feel it's delicious, or deliciously bitter!

So, the first step in any brand is: consistent quality.  Don't hurry to get your work out; focus on making it taste good. And serving it in the right place at the right time with the right atmosphere.

I'll dig in deeper on how to find out what your brand is and how to push it to the front of your creative efforts in my next post!

Meanwhile, if you find these blog posts useful, please consider supporting the site. Your contribution is invaluable in allowing me to offer the content.  

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Pick up my 7 Secrets of Poetry guide to help write and polish your poems on your own, for a mere $5.00  right now through the following special link:

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And if you'd like some expert help with editing or polishing your poems  or you just want a bit of feedback, hit the links below.

Most of us write with at least one poet always on our minds. Some of us have numerous poetic "ghosts" flitting around us as we hammer away at our work. Whether it's Shakespeare, Tupac, Diane (or Dr.)  Seuss, some of the voices in our heads aren't our own. Not wholly anyway.

It's a kind of cognitive alchemy where we read our favorite poets, the words take up a living space in our imaginations and they become part of us, where, in doing so, they change into something new altogether.

This process of mingling minds is what poetry's all about, really. It's a soul to soul contact sport. And here's the really interesting thing about it: it doesn't matter who you are, or where your work is presented, if you do a good enough job as an artist, your words will  pitch a tent in someone's mind, potentially a lot of someones.

So think carefully about what you're offering. If your poems rub people rawly, this can be a very good thing for sparking thought. But if your poems leave people with a sick or miserable feeling, they'll avoid them in the future, unless they are one of the rare types who wants to feel miserable.

I'm not saying you have to write happy things all the time; I'm saying: be aware that poems are like songs. They infect people. They're sticky.

A great poem sticks even more than a great song. Even a single line such as :  "Rage against the dying of the light" or "To be or not to be" can ring for centuries.

The voices of poets in your head aren't trying to tell you how to write. They're trying to tell you why we write. If you remember that, you'll make better poems.

If you find this poetry tip useful, consider picking up my Seven Secrets of Poetry guide. It's packed with tips and tricks. You can get it through the link below!

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And if you'd like some expert help with editing or polishing your poems  or you just want a bit of feedback, hit the links below.