"Stop Smothering the Paella"
And other weird advice I give writers
Over a year ago, I founded a writing community that I hoped would feel better than a MFA. Having received my own masters in poetry a decade ago, I wanted a community that could offer some of that same momentum without the relentless competition and academic ego. So I focused on a community that would support writers in craft, inspiration, workshop, and true community. Thus Sustenance was born. At nearly 200 members, we offer weekly office hours, challenges, monthly guest craft speakers like Ellen Bass,
, , and , along with bi-monthly generative sessions and ongoing community support.Today, I’m sharing the top 5 strange but resonant things I say to writers during workshop:
Stop smothering the paella
In cooking paella, too many ingredients muddle the flavor. If you add cheese, you can’t taste the clams. Toss in cumin and you’ll spoil the saffron. Similarly, writers often add too many language-ingredients to a sentence and the read suffers. Alliteration gets sing-songy. Phrases begin to buckle. Images become claustrophobic. Restraint will always be a poet’s best friend. When you have a decent line, learn to leave it alone.
Write the weird
I notice that writers, especially in the age of social media, are afraid to take risks in their work. My hope is that writers will resist this fear and still push for the strange, the surreal, the odd, and memorable. Is the sky so blue, it exhausts itself? Does the dying sun make her hair roar red? Does the mango sweat in your palm? Train your brain to wilder, more evocative associations and then dare your reader to go with you.
Trouble the waters
The greatest catalyst for a writer’s growth is to become unsatisfied with niceties. To get bored with safe poems and their expected endings. Ask yourself—where can I complicate my piece? How can I subvert expectations? If your poem ends with birds taking flight or light coming in, look for an opportunity to deepen, subvert, or add nuance. Resist easy answers and neatly tied bows. Tension is what gives our work energy and muscle. Refuse to let your poems be placid. Don’t be afraid to make waves.
Be a poet, not a preacher
Especially on social media, poets seem hellbent on teaching us something. Some grand lesson or eternal moral. I know this comes from wanting to add value, but my best advice is to skip the sermon and instead haunt the unsayable. Want readers? Articulate the strange/confusing/exhausting nature of being human. A poet’s true job is not to offer advice, but, rather, to aptly name the ache.
Gnarl the oak
Our brain naturally thinks in cliches (see gnarled oaks or babbling brooks). It’s how we expedite and communicate efficiently. In poetry, we resist cliches not because they are evil but because they don’t create excitement in the body or brain. Most of the time, we simply need to push our first idea further. Squeeze, gnarl, or spin the cliche until you find freshness. Twist tired language until it becomes new and experiential.
For example, you might say death was dark. That’s a perfectly fine start. Now all you have to do is get specific— a dark what? Perhaps death was a dark bird. Better. Now let’s invert and add context: Death’s dark birds hunted us like prey. Bingo. Now you have something terrifying. Now you have something true.
Best piece of writing advice you’ve received? I’d love to know in the comments.
If you’re looking to join a supportive writing community in 2024 and revitalize your process, we have 10 spots open in Sustenance for the next year After that, we will move to a waitlist. First come. First serve.
Curious what current members think?
Take it from a Sustenance writer,
:Joining Sustenance has enriched my life in ways I didn't know I needed. This group and Joy's guidance has been the catalyst for so much good and necessary change.
Or
:I am so incredibly thankful for this community. I looked at a piece I wrote in March, thought about the most recent poem I finished and almost couldn’t believe the difference. I’m so grateful for all the friends I’ve made here, all the writing I have been exposed to, and all the emotional support I’ve received along the journey.
Or
Joy is, by far, the most skilled and generous guide I've encountered. She is the kind of teacher who is passionate about her craft, skilled in the art of communication, and responsive to the needs of her community.
P.S. What’s new:
🍊 Introducing The Poetry Market
I have a new shop where you can snag templates and a few of my masterclasses! Shop here.
📚 Best recent reads:
First Love by
I was honored to get an early read of this stunning collection. It’s a beaut exploring the complexity of female friendship. You can preorder here.
From the Back of a Cop Car to Book Deal by
Devoured this piece on how resistance to creativity is killing us.
is a great follow on Substack.Ugly Music by Diannely Antigua
Obsessed with this collection of poems that unpack religion, early childhood, and identity. Highly recommend.
📺 Best binge watch:
I cried. I cringed. I binged.
Dark, gritty, British, complicated. Just the way I like it.
It might have been you that said this, but “writers are here to say the things no one else can say” has really stuck with me. And also, Ms Estes quote: “Writing, real writing, should leave a small sweet bruise somewhere on the writer . . . and on the reader.”
I really like this list! It can certainly apply to more than poetry. Thanks!