What got you writing online?

[Todd]

What I took from school was that I wasn't good at writing. So, when I got around to it I was in my 20s. I wrote hundreds of poems (awful, cringe worthy poems). I came across online poetry workshops later (initially the harshest ones on the web) which confirmed that I had no clue as to what I was doing. I developed a thicker skin and began to interact with this intense crowd that actually liked something I liked. None of my friends were really into poetry (there was one writer thank god but that was it). I saw my work slowly develop in the way a glacier moves across the ocean. I went through periods where I simply read poetry and didn't write for about a year at a time. I slowly migrated away from the uber-intense not very friendly sites to the honest yet not full metal jacket honest versions. I still have friends on some of these sites that I've been interacting with for ten or so years. I like online poetry because it's 24/7, I get to meet people from everywhere that like poetry, and I don't have to meet the poets that are just in it to get drunk and laid in bars or coffeeshops (I get that everyone needs a hobby but I get tired of the seduction routine described as open mike or I brought some of my stuff to read to the group). I think people are generally more honest online. One of the issues all groups, even online have, is that it gets tougher for some people to review another person's work over the years once they have a relationship. They tend to add details to the poem that they have learned about the other person's life--giving it a weight that the poem doesn't actually create, and they tend to soften their critiques. I haven't found that here because people seem to be able to focus on the poems themselves.

I would still be scribbling half-articulate rambles in store bought journals if I hadn't gotten involved with online poetry. Now, I get to post these rambles for your enjoyment or groaning (oh &^#$ not this again).