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Constance La France
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TO READ CLICK ON THE + BUTTON. I am a writer of poetry I come from a family of storytellers and this has helped me in my poetry. I have been writing since I could pick up a pen. Have written in all forms and won many, many contests with my poetry.  My poetry has been featured in lots of books.  I have created my own forms that are often used by poets worldwide. And I have extensivley studied the poems of old, the writers forms, word use, punctuation, rhyming and layout.  I have taken some Writing Classes and have been told over and over, I am a born poet, something that can never be taught.  Have been part of several poetry clubs locally. I have helped poets to edit their poems and helped them to improve their presentation. My own poems are quite often sad. I write of death and grief. You could say I write "graveyard poetry." And I write about experiences in my life, to complications of the world,  and not afraid to share my soul. But, I can and do write happy if I want to, and I love to write of nature and poems on spiritual introspective themes, sometimes I even write of romance. And people who know me, will verify that I like using quotes in my poetry and I enjoy writing for contest themes on Poetry Soup. I joke that I can make any theme sad. I enjoy sponsoring my own contests on Poetry since 2008 and have sponsored hundreds and hundreds of contests. I left the site for a brief time in 2011, removing all my poetry when my Muse went missing, but, after a near death experience returned later in 2012 and just picked up where I left off. I love art, all classical music, researching all things, nature, gardening, meditation, praying, peace and tranquility.  I collect books of all kinds, dictionaries, poetry books, art, even cookbooks,  I adore vintage jewelry, colored glass, and old dishes.  I adore the creaking, moaning old building where I live with a few mice.

Ten poems that define me as a poet . . . (from thousands)

1. The Dream Lingers https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/the_dream_lingers_408612 This poem was written after a near death experience, it stills haunts me, I could hear my mother calling me.

2. Safe In My Heart Forever https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/safe_in_my_heart_forever_549494 My mother was my anchor, the wings beneath my feet and my best friend, I miss her so very much.

3. Tattered Pages https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/tattered_pages_688344 At the end of the poem, a baby born, died and I was told he was adopted, my parents lied.

4. Dad's Workshop https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/dads_workshop_714811 I wrote this poem in 1997 but only posted it when I was posting on poetrysoup- it is about Dad.

5. Beautiful Scars https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/beautiful_scars_735565 This poem gives you just a small glimpse of the pain and grief I carry with me every single day.

6. And That Comes From Within https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/and_that_comes_from_within_1127173 My health is not that good, never has been and never will be, and no money will change my outcome.

7. in my green dream https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/in_my_green_dream_762889 I love this poem, dreamy and spiritual, I am all about nature in this one, come on a green journey.

8. A Lost Feather https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/a_lost_feather_783977 This poem is very meaningful to me, it speaks of my Ojibwe roots and of my ancestors in the sky.

9. "Kindness is the Key" https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/kindness_is_the_key_848785 When awful things happen to us in life it is easy to become mean and resentful but kind is better.

10. I Write Fragments https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/i_write_fragments_1243058 This poem sums up my journey in writing, fragments, snippets that drip, drip from my pen and mostly at night.

Constance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

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Writer's Block or My Muse is Missing ?

Blog Posted by Constance La France: 1/19/2020 12:01:00 PM

We  live in a stressed world, so, of course we feel "blocked" at times.  You are not alone, in fact, you have plenty of company and there are ways of overcoming writer's block that are completely painless. Writer's block is the temporary inability to get words on paper.  Like grief it has a life cycle, denial, despair, acceptance and recovery, some things I have tried.

Remind yourself, someone might write a similar poem but no one will write it exactly like you !

If the paramenter such as the syllables, or rhyming is holding you back, abandon it and write a  draft, then go back and reshape it into the specific format

Who says you have to start at the beginning, there's no rule that says you cannot start in the middle or even the conclusion .

Picture the scene you want to write about, the sounds, the smells ... the details

Change your personae, don't write in the " I" but an entirely different voice

Write a Personification, give anything a voice, like a tree, a flower etc

Write an Acrostic, I find these are great for setting the muse free

Go back to older poems and re-write them in a different form..

Sometimes I just put down one word on a paper and with the use of dictionaries and thesaurus I start gathering words, and then a spark will light, even sometimes finding a quotation with that word.

I am sure you all have other ways of getting over writer's block,

will you share them ?

Constance

  



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Date: 1/21/2020 1:19:00 PM
These are all lovely suggestions, Constance. I am with Greg down here. I just write. Usually the block goes away when I just start with some phrase or anything at all to get started. I would say only 5% of the time this does not work for me. Some topics i simply detest and so in those cases, unless I can be humorous or something, I don't even try it.
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La France Avatar
Constance La France
Date: 1/21/2020 10:44:00 PM
Andrea, I think that I am the same about certain themes, they just don't inspire me and try as I might, I just cannot come up with anything so I just move on... I have no block when I write whats in my heart _Constance
Date: 1/21/2020 12:55:00 PM
If only his muse was right* There be no blocks to his write* There be no death and last rite* For his plot clears to be alright*
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Nicole Avatar
Brandy Nicole
Date: 1/25/2020 12:52:00 PM
Seems to be a poem, this comment from Connie. ~ Brandy
La France Avatar
Constance La France
Date: 1/21/2020 10:45:00 PM
Connie, thanks for commenting, but I am not sure I understand your comment _Constance
Date: 1/21/2020 9:57:00 AM
Just write. Seems too simple? Perhaps, but I rarely "feel" like writing, and just put fingers to keys and see what happens. It's a bit harder to do that at certain times than others, but the remedy is always the same, (and almost always works). Just do it, fake it 'til you make it, whatever works, but NOTHING will work if you're not MOVING, and being "blocked" is being at a standstill ... get the pen moving or the keys clicking, the rest will come! :o) <3
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Constance La France
Date: 1/21/2020 10:46:00 PM
Greg, I like what you wrote "not MOVING, and being "blocked" is being at a standstill ... get the pen moving or the keys clicking, the rest will come!" So true and good advice _Constance
Date: 1/20/2020 9:14:00 PM
All those help - and sometimes the best cure for writers block is to step away from writing and READ. What also helps me is to engage with another form of art; I find songwriting to be a good respite from writers block, because writing lyrics feels like less pressure, and messing around with my guitar and working on tunes is relaxing
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Constance La France
Date: 1/21/2020 9:04:00 AM
Agnes, stepping away seems to be the most popular way to fix writers block, that is what I gather from all the comments written here, and it is not a bad idea, I like your comment about writing something different other than poetry, like songwriting... I actually find it inspiring to go to the art gallery, the paintings give me ideas for themes, and then I go to the the cafe overlooking the Ottawa River and let my pen do its magic and also it is a lovely way to spend a day _Constance
Date: 1/19/2020 7:47:00 PM
life gets in the way and blocks me sometimes too...i go to small forms, or acrostics to try and awaken it... now i do my daily little scribbles when i can't jump start my muse for a form...i find when i try and force myself to write for a theme or form, sometimes i just sit and stare at a blank page! I have lost my muse for years at a time, hence why i try to keep it alive with scribbles. Good advice and good blog Constance :) hugs
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Constance La France
Date: 1/20/2020 9:30:00 AM
Sandra, you give good advice with the scribbles, perhaps not even meant to grow up to be poems, just scribbles, nothing worse than a blank page staring back at us... ugh! Acrostics are a great way to wake up the muse.. others could do as Sandra does... think of something like a flower name. ie rose and write about the rose and you have four lovely lines of poetry _Constance
Date: 1/19/2020 4:23:00 PM
Really great advice and helpful tips, Constance! I struggle with writer's block from time to time like everyone else. I usually detach myself completely from writing until inspiration inevitably comes flooding back. I find that when I try to defeat it, I end up with poems I'm not really proud of. I still have a few to improve upon! I didn't fight my writer's block early November last year because it never lasts long. It grips me no longer than a week. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. A really talented poet and contest sponsor---Jesse Rowe--- has been away from this site for months now due to a prolonged cease in creativity! Pretty sad.
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Ibeh Avatar
Edward Ibeh
Date: 1/24/2020 1:35:00 PM
It's really helpful to always carry a pocket notebook and a pen, Constance. You never know when an idea strikes a match in your mind! Once you jot it down, you're more likely to build it up further!
Ibeh Avatar
Edward Ibeh
Date: 1/24/2020 1:21:00 PM
Thanks, Keith...lol. Damn, that way back? Rock em' if you still got em'!:-) Turtlenecks are never out of vogue!
La France Avatar
Constance La France
Date: 1/20/2020 9:22:00 AM
Edward, you give good advise too, sometimes the best thing is to step back, but... caution because if too much time is taken, it makes it even harder to get started again... yes, I noticed Jesse was missing that is very sad, I hope he can get his muse back _Constance
Date: 1/19/2020 12:53:00 PM
Life events can sometimes cause you to hit the wall. I find it's best not to push it, the muse always comes back eventually, we just have to be patient sometimes. Tom
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La France Avatar
Constance La France
Date: 1/19/2020 6:08:00 PM
Tom, you are exactly right sometimes we just need to step back, and when something big in our life is happening perhaps it requires all our attention, in time muse will come back _Constance
Cunningham Avatar
Tom Cunningham
Date: 1/19/2020 2:14:00 PM
Haha sound advice.

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