napowrimo #7: nicknames

by Carolee Sherwood

A full week of NaPoWriMo and you’re still with us! Congratulations! No matter if you’re on schedule or playing catch-up, I’m happy you’re here.

Let’s write today about nicknames. Do you have one? Is there something endearing or embarrassing that other people call you now or have in the past? Fess up! Do you refer to yourself by something other than your “real” name? For instance, I have been known to name some of the different aspects of my personality: Lola runs marathons and is generally a real go-getter, Ripsy parties with her girlfriends and Bernadette abandons her family and travels the globe with her writing pal Penelope. (See how creative you can get with names? If you don’t have an alter ego, invent one!)

Maybe those mean, mean school kids taunted you with a nickname when you were growing up? Four-eyes? Buck-teeth? Or maybe you have pet names for people in your life: Snookums or Pumpkin or Princess. Write a poem about one of these little gems or write a poem about someone going by a different name. Maybe she’s a spy. Maybe he has 11 different dating profiles online. Maybe the wife is in the Witness Protection Program.

Still stuck? Perhaps I can help. (I’m only doing this because I care about the poems you’ll write this month, and I believe in throwing myself into my work.) In hopes of inspiring you to think about your own stories, I’m going to confess something about my own nicknames.

My name is Carolee. Not Carol. Not Cara. Not Carol Lee. It’s Carolee. I’ve always been pretty strict about that. I’m also not “soccer mom” or “hockey mom” (although I’ll “throw down” and fight you like one if you insist on calling me one). I’m Carolee.

However, somehow, in college, the jazz band started calling me “Toots.” It is the only nickname that ever stuck. Ever. I am still “Toots” (affectionately and flirtatiously, not disrespectfully) to the people who knew me then. This is what happens when you hang out with musicians: You marry a trumpet player and get a nickname like Toots. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

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A note from “admin”: This month, since we’re all trying to write every day, we’re leaving the comments open with each prompt so you can post links to your poems as you write them. So, go ahead and write your poem, post your poem (with a link to Read Write Poem and a Read Write Poem tag, if you would) and come back to this very spot and share your link with us.

Of course, if you’re a creature of habit, you can always wait until Thursday, when we’ll have our weekly “Get Your Poem On” post. Who are we to mess around with what works for you?

And don’t forget to go read the poems of others in this wonderful writing community. We’re all in this NaPoWriMo “mess” (ha ha!) together; let’s support each other in the insanity that is writing (every day)!

napowrimo #7: nicknames

by Carolee Sherwood

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