Two Sylvias' Weekly Muse: March 3, 2024

Issue 97

Welcome to March, Writers and Poets!

Grant Faulkner, author and executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), has written an inspirational article which serves as a “pep talk” to writers who might need a late-winter lift. Faulkner reminds us of the mantra at National Novel Writing Month—your story matters. This phrase can seem trite when said over and over to ourselves, but if we resolve to take the mantra seriously (and for the Muse, we’ll adapt it to your poetry matters) it can positively influence various aspects of our writing and artistic lives.

By truly believing that your poetry matters, you will:

• View yourself as a real writer not as an imposter who will eventually be found out.

• Be able to make it through the “muddy middle” of a poem or a collection—the point where self-doubt and writer’s block can paralyze you.

• Understand the importance of sharing your story in terms of the readers who will be touched by your words and will feel less alone in their struggles.

• Acce…