Poetry Pals in 2025

Poetry (pen) Pals #49 - what I've learnt and where next?

Photo by Stockholm Paris Studio on Unsplash

At the start of the year this poetry Substack was nothing but an idea. I wondered if I might be writing to myself for twelve months. I wondered if in sharing my annual, ‘Year of 100 Poems’ project I might burst the bubble.

I’m SO proud of how it has developed…

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Here are some highlights:

• There’s now an archive (all still completely FREE) of an almost full years worth of poetry prompts and inspiration to write. Some written by incredible guest poets. Not to mention a ton of poetry shared. That’s a lot. We also did a poetry writing challenge in August and a Poetry on a Postcard exchange - that was such good fun.

• I feel like I now have a poetry community!

  I started off back in January explaining that I lacked this. I struggled to get to open-mic nights, I wasn’t sure how I fit in to the poetry scene and as a relative newbie to poetry I wasn’t sure where to look.

  With this Substack I’ve found a group of women who live all over the world and want to come together to write and read and just geek out over poetry. Whether that be through reading along, commenting on posts or attending the live circles. What a flaming joy that is. Poetry might be well be niche but it’s the sort of niche I want to be in!

  If you’re reading this and feeling like you don’t have it yet - come play. Play is very much the aim of our game.

  It’s a small community (currently) but it’s grown (growing) and I hope it will continue to do so. I hope it’s become the sort of thing people feel able to dip in and out of with zero pressure - fun, informal and yet still full of passion and purpose.

• Writing this Substack has undoubtedly contributed to me writing a ton of poetry this year. 103 poems now and counting. The weekly posts have provided gentle accountability and kept me consistent. But that was only half the point. It has also had me writing using new forms I’d never tried and thinking in new ways. Learning from other writers and feeling able to practise without judgement. This isn’t Instagram and it isn’t a formal place for education, it’s a softer in-between space that feels interesting and expansive.

• I cannot tell you how much poetry I’ve read this year. My poetry purchasing ‘problem’ has only got worse in the very best way. I’ve also enjoyed discovering new poets, both on and off this platform. I’ve read more than EVER. Which is one of the best things I could have done for my writing but also, I hope helps in some small way to celebrate and advocate for ‘poetry’ as a genre.

• I’m not going to talk about follower numbers, subscriber numbers, any of the other stats you might find on the Substack dashboard. Mainly because they are not what I am judging success on. Instead, I’m proud that when I look at a piece I wrote back in January, I can 100% see that my writing has improved. Success for me is the sort of community where I can describe how peri-menopause has me forgetting words during a live session and immediately have others scoop me up by sharing personal experiences and advice. Success is that I’ve read and heard poetry that other women have never shared before - I got to hear them spoken first, I mean how great is that! Success for me is even one single poem being written as a result of a prompt, and in fact there have been many. Success for me is that I’ve kept on writing, success is all the poems that never made it to be poems, success is that one single post that I am particularly proud of writing - I’m gonna dig that out. Because these are the sorts of highlights that matter.

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Some stuff I’ve learned:

• In relation to point one, writing on Substack has taken up far more time than I expected. I committed to posting once a week, it became twice (because I’m a poetry nerd and can’t get enough). I later tried to make the second post lighter but that didn’t really happen because, well, see above. Then Notes ramped up which is also fun, but VERY time grabby and feels awkwardly similar to other social media apps in terms of attention stealing. So I do need to reign that in a bit next year because if I am brutally honest with myself, it has come at the expense of a few other projects. Which leads me on to…

• Has it helped with me getting my second poetry book finished? Hmm, yes and no. I’ve written a lot but not necessarily poetry for said book. And I do think some of my creative energy has been re-routed into this Substack and away from that project. However, on the other hand, I’ve been patiently (sigh) allowing this second book to find it’s own narrative and in the last few months this has started to come together - undoubtedly helped by having a writing community. I would just like to be more structured and mindful with my time next year. I would like to consider what my creativity requires away from any platform.

• I switched up how I delivered the ‘poetry sharing’ element of this Substack mid way through the year and I think it interrupted our flow. I tried using Chat. It did not work. I think we all found it clunky and the threads of our conversations got lost. As a result I had to return to writing posts but a bit of the continuity got lost. I felt a bit frustrated about this but I guess you have to try stuff and learn.

• I also eventually made the ‘poetry sharing’ element for paid subs only. Was this a good idea? Well, it obviously reduced the amount of poetry that was shared at the end of the week and I know that not everyone has the means to pay for writing (I have my own limit for how many subscriptions I can have at any one time).

  But I have kept a big chunk of the writing on here available to everyone whilst trying to protect my passion for it from burning out. I’d also like to model valuing your worth as a writer and your own writing. My belief that writers should be compensated for their work. This is something I would 100% encourage in others (if indeed you are ‘writing’ as work).

  Another reason for the change was that I envisaged a place for sharing poems that might later be entered into competitions etc. without fear of ‘prior publication.’ A place to share openly with a smaller group and not the entire internet - which feels less daunting if you’re just starting out. Even if you’re not just starting out!

  So yes, I do think this was the right decision.

• I am learning to listen to my creativity calling - where the joy lies, where the curiosity lives - making this my guiding star.

  When I started thinking about what next for Poetry Pals there were a lot of ‘shoulds’ and ‘coulds’ in my head. And as a people pleaser in recovery, they felt strangely safer than honouring my own desires.

  Safer than creating art for arts sake. Oh my goodness do I want to read and write poetry for no other reason than wanting to read and write poetry. You know?

  It’s tempting to chase the numbers on here, tempting to judge yourself on the numbers, tempting to create based on what will be ‘popular,’ to create based on ‘what other people want,’ or, ‘what other people are doing.’ But surely if you start from this place then you end up creating for someone else’s journey. And I don’t think that’s really what anyone wants? I don’t think that leads to your best art. And then, by default, you are less likely to ‘succeed’ anyway.

  The only way, really, is to listen to your own unique creative calling. Listen to that and don’t stop listening.

• Most people are kind, most people want you to succeed, they want you to be YOU and do your best, and, depending on what that looks like and whereabouts on THEIR OWN journey they are, they might want to be a part of that journey with you. How amazing is that?!

  And if they don’t, that’s o.k. That shouldn’t stop you doing your thing. Being yourself. Honestly, I find nothing more alluring than people who are head-over-heels passionate about their own art. I think you can feel that through the ‘page.’

  This is a project for me that unbelievably brilliantly, others are up for supporting (not just financially) and being a part of. Eeek, that makes me SO happy and excited. A side project that yes, I do hope will grow - nothing wrong with wanting to find readers for your work.

  I’ve learnt that this might be a slow process but if you’re having fun along the way, if you’re learning and connecting dots and discovering new things and people then why would you want it to be anything but?! This platform has the potential to be more stress-inducing and metric-driven, but as a writer I get to choose how I use it. And just like any platform that means with boundaries. I’ve learnt these are necessary but when in place, there’s no-where else I’d rather be writing online right now.

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So what’s next for Poetry Pals in 2025?

Sometimes I get fixated on wanting a ‘clear offer’ for 2025. I’d like a bit of certainty. I worry that without it people will abandon ship (and then I make myself re-read everything I’ve written above, ha).

But this is a personal, real-life, creative adventure. So it will remain a bit messy, honest and wiggly. Hopefully that means it can also be intriguing, fun, exciting.

I think if we stay committed to our truths and our own creativity it will work out. I think we have to trust that, don’t you?

I really like variety, I like people (small groups especially), I like poetry and writing (particularly journaling). I like thinking deeply and know I have idea after idea and like to chase each one with all my heart.

I sincerely hope you’re up for carrying on reading. I hope that in sharing my creative adventure I can encourage and in some small way play a part in yours? I’ve definitely learnt that adventures are more fun with others.

Because here’s what I can say…

• There will be more poetry. Ha, of course there will. There will still be ongoing encouragement to write and plenty to read. I’m gonna keep on being that annoyingly enthusiastic poetry pal who wants to send you beautiful words.

• On that, I’m going to try something a bit new with the weekly Sunday Poetry (pen) Pal posts come January - watch this space.

• I’d like to spend more time within the community:

  • Keep on with the monthly poetry circles for those who like to write, read and listen to poetry read out loud.

  • I have a whole pile of poetry technique books, some of which I haven’t even read past the first few pages (!), so I’m considering how they might form a part of next year and craft development.

  • We didn’t get round to writing any collective poems, I’d still like to do that.

  • I’d like to get more of my words out into the world next year. Be braver. I KNOW that community can help with this. I knew it before, but it is only because of this writing community (and

    Tamsin Chennell (she/her/they)
    ) that I found myself stood on a stage reading a winning poem earlier this year. So, for those who are interested, I’d be keen to find a way to share our own ‘goals’ for our poetry writing in 2025 and help each other to make them happen. Whatever these might be. I know this won’t be for everyone but it will be an optional extra for paid subscribers. Again, watch this space.

• I’d like to share the journey of getting my second poetry book to publication, if you’re interested. And share more of my own poetry on this Substack. Right now the book is about 70% written but I’ve got some really exciting plans in my head for this one. Some slightly unusual ones.

• And I’d like to write another 100 poems! You up for that?

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Thank you again for being here, in whatever capacity (if this is the first post you’ve ever read or you are a regular contributor).

The internet and modern tech scares the hell out of me most days but the ways we can connect with each other, well that’s just marvellous isn’t it.

Paid subscribers - look out for more news on 2025 in the coming weeks.

Oh and a writing prompt…

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Your Writing Prompt for this Week:

It’s not poetry (oops). BUT, it is related to poetry. Kinda.

• Within the context of your own creativity - what do you like?

  I can almost sense your furrowed brow. Bare with me. When I was writing this post and I got to the bit about staying committed to my own creativity, I wrote the line, “I like…” then I paused.

  Erm.

  “I like…”

  This is different to “I want” - which I REALLY enjoy playing around with but can be bamboozling. This is different to “I hope for…” which has future connotations. This is even different to “I feel..” - also beneficial, but different.

  Sometimes a tiny switch up of a word can unlock fresh thinking and once I’d got past my own frown, I started scribbling. I like it when this happens….I like being able to….I like trying….

  And of course you may well leave your ‘likes’ and end up somewhere entirely different. I don’t know if I’ve enthused about journaling on here before, journaling will do that. BUT while we might be considering what creative adventures are simmering (not because it’s January, more because it’s Winter and we are resting and thinking and reflecting - or we might be if it weren’t for ruddy reindeers trashing our silences) or as we muse on how to stay focused on our guiding stars, well, this might be intriguing.

  Maybe what you write could become a poem. Why not.

  You never fail to inspire me with where you go next.

  Never.

  And I like that very much.

  Nelly xxx