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[whatho]

Today I wrote a Petrarchan sonnet. No, seriously. If that's what you call one of those sonnets that rhymes after the fashion of my subject line. Yes, I did do a degree in English Literature, but my friend did a degree in geography and I don't expect her to know the capital of Venezuela. She can look it up. That's what I should do.

But I did write a sonnet. It's not an experiment I'm overly keen to repeat, but I'm not entirely horrified with the result. I did it because I had to. It was necessary for the conclusion of my Nanowrimo novel. I've put off the dreaded sonnet for four months now, but I couldn't really edit much more without it, so I kind of wrote it, and there it is. It's very awkward, having to write sonnets. I have an idea for a story that'll only work if I write about 20 Shakespearian sonnets. That one's kind of at the bottom of my list. But I wrote a sonnet! I'm a bit excited about it. I'll hate it tomorrow, but today I want people to know I wrote a sonnet.

Except I think I might've missed the pivot by a couple of words. Never mind. People won't notice if I stop telling them.

Comments

[whatho.livejournal.com]

That would be marvellous. Obviously I don't wish for anyone to kidnap you in order to bring about this eventuality, though if I did wish such a thing I'd only want you to be kidnapped by someone whose company you would enjoy, like Leonard Cohen or something. But that's not what I want.

Though I do think you should lock yourself in an understairs cupboard and pretend you've been kidnapped, just so I can see the sonnets.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm kind of up for being kidnapped by Leonard Cohen right now. And taken to a secret location on a train with Leonard Cohen. His songs are entirely amazing and I spent about three years listening to almost nothing apart from half a dozen of his albums. And I didn't get bored. I just missed them in the very few minutes when I wasn't listening to them.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

I'd sort of grown up with his music because my parents were both keen on him and stuff from 'Various Positions' is some of the earliest music I remember hearing. Then they played 'I'm Your Man' for more or less the whole of 1988 and so as an eight year old my favourite song in the world was the slightly inappropriate 'Everybody Knows'. When 'The Future' came out in 1992 or '93 or whenever it was, my mother apparently used to cough loudly over the mentions of anal sex. But I got into his music properly, as opposed to by proxy, when I was on a cross-country train (vertically, so that's a long journey) and had nothing to listen to except 'I'm Your Man', and so listed to it twelve times in a row. You'd think it would've turned me off, but it didn't.

[jekesta]

Oooh. you are smashing. You should write the shakespearean sonnets WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING and then it will be a nice surprise for your future self should she want to write that story. But not now. Obviously. For now you should be HAPPY AND GLORIED at having written your sonnet yay:):):):)) :;dances you in a sonnet pattern::

[whatho.livejournal.com]

Yes! I should write them in my sleep, or I should write half a dozen random words a day and check only that they rhyme in the correct places and not worry a semi-dried fig about the content. Your plan is truly so sound.

Happy, wheeeeeeee.

[pere-chan.livejournal.com]

I drink to your sonnets!

Also, Petrarch should go on the urban spoken-word circuit...that rhyming system makes me dizzy.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! It's a very dizzying rhyme scheme and it makes you very aware how much you're sacrificing pretty much everything to rhyme. I hope proper writers feel the same.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

You wrote a sonnet? I am terribly impressed. It is one thing I have never successfully done. *admires*

[whatho.livejournal.com]

It's successful in that it rhymes and scans correctly, but I'm not sure I'd go much further than that. Still. Sonnet! Wheee!