What's in an Inkling?

I am someone who loves complex ideas and concepts - my mind is a cluttered and chaotic mess. Often, I'm told that my writing is definitely more wordy than it needs to be. (Aren't you glad you're reading this?) And I like setting ridiculous challenges for myself when I already have too much going on.

Which is why it was laughable, but not out of character, for me to start a poetry challenge - especially when it wasn't a genre I was particularly experienced with writing - just before the start of holiday season, with a recently turned one year old, volunteer responsibilities, and normal life stuff. (I believe I mentioned this somewhere in the first two posts.) And I failed at keeping up almost immediately. Still, I didn't give up, finding it rather cathartic and enjoyable, even when I didn't quite get around to writing the actual poem(s) on the day of the quote. Actually, having the time and space to reflect often made them come easier and made me feel even better.

So for about two years, this went on. I would overhear, read, or have someone say something to me and then I would use those words as an inspiration for a poem. Honestly, I collected waaaaaay more than 365 quotes. (That overstuffed brain again . . .) I started to keep record of all kinds of things I wanted to write about until the project grew into something I was not at all expecting. I was months behind, drowning in prompts, feeling all the emotions, and writing whenever I got a spare moment.

Then I let it sit for nearly a year.

Oh, I would add to the mass poetry documents every once in a while, but I eventually just left all of them to attract digital dust. Then one day, after a particularly bad week, during a rough year, I finally decided I needed to do something to prove it wasn't wasted time and effort. So I gathered every single piece of (non-blackout) poetry I had and got to work. And emerged from my editing and arranging stupor with three, full-length poetry manuscripts.

Inkling is just one of these works. The first in name only, since they were all created simultaneously, but it is the longest and was the first one I entered into a poetry contest. It was the first I submitted to publishers and the first I one I let others see. Which is also why it's pretty aptly named. While all of my manuscripts cover several themes within themselves, Inkling is probably the most broad.

"Inkling" itself is one of my favorite words. (Though I'll admit that with how long that list is, it may be debated that I don't actually have favorites.) It's something that is both whimsical and practical, innate and learned, and just all around useful. And I love the implication that there are further depths to be explored just beyond the letters. So I decided it was my best choice for a title for that particular manuscript - as the poems provided just an Inkling into my mind, emotions, and myself. It's an invitation to try things out without getting too deep, but also a promise of more to come.

So whenever it actually becomes available (hopefully really soon!), I invite you to give it a try, to see if it resonates in any way, and to get a slice of life from a stranger. It won't tell you everything you need to know about me, but maybe you'll start to get an Inkling.