A good advice I once got for sketching is “Start the sketch with what catches you eye– then go from there”
I realized that I do much the same when it comes to writing poetry. So my poems always start with something that catches my eye, or ear, a thought, feel, sound, scent — something that grabs me and touches a string – and suddenly I really WANNA write– and the cells start dividing/developing– there’s magic in it… isn’t it?
Sometimes the initial spark stays the main pillar in a poem, sometimes it just serves as a scaffold and in the writing process becomes invisible or gets cut out completely and just stays as a faint feel that gives the poem a specific shade…
How about you?
What sparks your poetry?
What gets you writing?
How do you start your poems/build your poems?
Do you write things down immediately or let it develop a bit first?
Often I just let the first spark sink into that “uterus” and wait what happens – let it develop and grow a bit in this and that direction before I take out my phone to type it down. I often feel the words need that bit of freedom to move and play a bit before being sorted on a page…
What about you?
dVerse 
Many things spark poetry for me. One of my favorite things is to read an inspiring haiku from someone, and leave one in response. very pleasing, but I always hope they aren’t offended.
that could be a nice game if the other responded with a haiku as well again….ha
yes, a couple times it went on for more than a few, “gently raining haiku”
since you like art, if you check over at my non-poetry blog bwthoughts.wordpress.com I posted a print my daughter made.
on my way over…
oh nice… i like it much!!
thanks!
thanks! Hope things are well there, Jan is over visiting in France, she’ll be back next week.
ha-nothing to get offended by. that’s a sweet way to reply… smiles
one never knows, but I always figure they have the delete key just in case.
For me it starts with a thought or phrase that comes to mind, usually at an inopportune moment. I have to save something of it, by recording or a scribble, or it will be gone. Once the flow begins I usually write along with it, very little editing, until I near the end and I slow down to let the ending happen as it should… a very mysterious process, and as spontaneous as anything I’ve ever done in life. I love the satisfaction of a good ending.
nice… i think it’s great to write down the first flow without any editing – just to give the poem space to develop as it wants to – and do the editing later… and i too like the satisfaction of a good ending…
endings are where you really have to roll up your sleeves
totally – if something pops into my head and it doesn’t get written down–I lose it…
Same with me, Anthony. I lose a lot in the middle of the night. Smiles.
I carry around a notebook and pen at all times- so I am ready to capture those little thoughts or phrases- and like you I just write the poem out first then worry about editing.
I think more often than not, I become aware of something I am thinking, which could be inspired by something I have read, or seen. And that thought begins to congeal like jello, and than it seems I have to ‘see’ it on paper, ‘see’ what it is about…and before you know it, I am writing a poem.
nice… it is like making something with just a vague shape visible through the words… very cool
very nicely worded… congeal like jello… amazing
I think it’s almost impossible to write the same poem at different times – selecting the same words, the same emotion – it’s a very ephemeral process until paper is involved
I used to collect words like in a nest and later use them in a poem, like picking them from a hat. Now I go more with what might be occurring in the moment and have to search harder for the words..need to go back to the old method I think..smiles..have a good evening, C.
i like the idea of collecting words like in a nest…and maybe a combo of the two methods would work really well…
Ha! I love doing that… that method is new me… but going back and picking words is working well so far…
I think Claudia makes a good point a combo of your two methods would work amazingly well.
I collect words, too. I highlight them on my kindle in certain colors to tie together later. I also love paint samples at home improvement stores.
Then I make a word bouquet. I love your nest idea, Kathy!
I have been writing trying to process my feelings. My daughter is coming home from college and when she returns I plan on sharing, again.
I love this post, Claudia!
The best inspiration comes to me when I’m walking or looking at the clouds or sunsets. That must be why I write about them so much. A few times a poem has “hit” me spontaneously and I can write it quickly. Most often, I struggle. The ideas ferment a bit, I write, throw away most of what I’ve spent my time on, then the real poem emerges. Sometimes it doesn’t. That’s when my response to a prompt goes silent. I think creativity is a different intimate process for everyone. Mine is s l o w,
challenging, and it’s teaching me a lot.
i love the fermenting bit… it is cool if we give a poem time to develop – i try this as well – very seldom i write down the first thoughts – rather let it brew and ripe a bit…
yes– walks inspire me quite often… The results of the inspiration usually hit whilst sleeping… smiles… Taking time to develop does teach us poets a lot..
I like the idea of ideas fermenting too, Myrna. Sometimes I write a poem, think it is decent enough and put it away for the day; and the next day I come back and make a lot of revisions after it has ‘fermented’ overnight! I like the way you have described the process.
I often get a lot of inspiration when walking. I’ll have to start looking up at the clouds more, and see if that gives me a poem or two. I often use the slow fermentation process on poems, and find it works wonders, but it is slow.
I’m a sloppy writer: mine usually starts with a bunch of random words, then slowly build from there–but backwards. I write from end to beginning…
oh really…? how cool is that… i should try as well as i bet it loosens up things quite a bit…
it really does… it’s a lot more challenging as well; having to keep up the power so it grabs you from start to finish.
Wow, I have never heard of someone starting at the end and working toward the beginning like this. What a cool process!
Interesting to start with a bunch of random words or from the end and working backwards- I will have to try both.
I take the same route in writing, rarely starting at the beginning. I actually find it difficult to determine the perfect opening line or stanza, it takes a lot of time.
Hi, Claudia! The poems I have written and that I like best are poems that were triggered by a line or a quote that inspired me. The words and ideas just seemed to flow from there.
Oh this can happen to me as well. I sometimes can write a poem off someone else’s line…launching it in a different direction.
I am also inspired sometimes by the title of a book.
very cool… i love quotes and glenn often starts his poems with a quote as well…
p.s. was checking out the link you sent me to the sketchskool – i am tempted…oy… smiles
You should do it. 🙂 You would soon catch up and the videos stay there forever.
Hi Claudia. Good question. I think right now prompts spark poems for me more than anything else. When I first started writing poetry (long before my participation in the blogosphere) I was inspired by things that happened, things I remembered, etc. without being prompted. But now that I have written so many poems on so many different subjects I just can’t much of the time come up with a subject on my own as I have probably written about them somehow in the past. The prompts often inspire me to look at something in a new way, and I appreciate that.
I do like the idea of starting to write from what catches your eye, Claudia. You do well with that method. I am not sure it would work quite as well for me. Smiles.
smiles… prompts inspire me as well as they often lead me in directions i haven’t been thinking of – and that is way cool. and oh wow – i can imagine that you must have written hundreds and hundreds of poems already – that is very cool – did you collect them all somewhere?
Actually I have a total of FOUR paperback poetry books that I have published. I save them in that way. I have the majority of them on files on my computer as well, but every so often I like to catch up and make a hard copy of the newer ones so that they can be preserved offline.
I too find prompts a great way to write some poetry. Some days I just can’t find the inspiration, but then I read a prompt and it challenges me to write a poem.
Other things that can trigger poems are photographs or paintings. Sometimes if I am uninspired I will look through paintings online until something strikes me and go from there. Or photos I have taken sometimes, especially seasonal things, I think.
yes – photos and paintings inspire me too – always love when we’re having an artist as a guest in the pub
Funny you mention this! I write them as they come…some come fast and furious, others like a slow drawl…I don’t know really whence they come, but I try to capture them like snowflakes on my tongue…but if they come while I am driving, or showering, they are released into the great unknown place of escaped poems! lol. I hate that but it happens. Sometimes I scribble them (most times) in my journal and then tweak them later. But I probably should tweak them more than I do…I guess I am just afraid I will lose something n the translation …I was just discussing this with a friend. I have one for dverse I scribbled this weekend but with my blog post schedule this month it might have to wait till next time!
ha – that great unknown place of escaped poems… some of mine should be there as well… i wonder what they’re doing all day – you know – maybe there’s a big party going on….smiles
I used to carry a digital voice recorder around with me at all times to prevent any poems from escaping, and boy was that a worthy investment.
interesting…never thought of that…but i do have voice recorder on my phone too…and never thought to use it…might save me a fender bender one day as i try to scribble on a receipt or in my notebook…
I follow much the same process as you do, Claudia–though the last few weeks (longer) I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to start unraveling the string. All that should change withing the next week or so…yippee!
I carry a tiny notebook in a fanny pack when I walk the dogs. And jot down random thoughts or observations when they are gifted to me. Then at home a use a large sketch book and take it from there and see where it goes.
The creative process is truly a wonder. How often do others look back over their work and wonder where that came from and when you wrote it?
I make it a point to go back and read my old notebooks of poetry often- and I am always shocked by the various revelations this causes. I always know when I wrote something as I am meticulous about dating my notebooks.
Great idea (to date them).
i havent dated most of mine individually but i usually put the year and season on the outside of the journal…it is insightful to look back over them and see where we came from and what we were thinking at the time…and even seeing the influences of that time in our life…
haha…you know… my first thought was you are dating them…like going out ona date with them… which would be good fun as well me thinks…smiles..
need a coffee first before i get into reading…haha…smiles
I carry a notebook around with me constantly, and am always jotting down notes for poetry. This often annoys my friends as in the midst of conversation I am sitting there with my notebook jotting away. Then when I am ready to enter poetry mode I pull out my notebook, and build poems from my notes. Other times something just strikes me, and I write it down as a poem instantly. I also use prompts, and occasionally indulge in a poetry workshop to generate new and work on existing poems.
The funny part for me is that if a friend teases me about suddenly stopping to write down an idea, most likely he or she stops constantly to check the phone. 😉
Inspiration comes from: other poets, blog and Twitter prompts, my lovely wife, life struggles, photographs, my son and his cancer treatment last year, Jesus/God/Bible, news…I guess anything could be an inspiration.
I don’t have an exact process. I usually start with a phrase or idea and go from there. Many times I’m whittling down a poem, trying to get it as succinct and direct as possible.
Also, if I don’t write it down or type it right away, most times it’s gone.
i’m sorry to hear about your son justin – is he doing well?
my good friend goes through cancer treatment right now – it’s tough…
Thank you for asking. Yes, he is doing very well. Almost one year in remission now. We had a ton of support from friends, family, and church. Thankfully it all worked out.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. Is he/she doing okay?
oh that is good news…. my friend is doing good as well.. she’s half-way through with the therapy – the tumor is shrinking and the doctors are happy how things go
Excellent! We learned that the road to healing is the second step but getting through the treatment is huge. I hope and pray for a smooth road back to full health.
If I try to start off with much of a preconceived plan the thing will often not want to play. I learned long ago when I tried to ‘write about’ something I didn’t do too good (not to say I do any good now). But to get a general notion and let the flow flow and be unafraid to veer – and sometimes do a random predetermined length and try to tie it up in the last line or two or at least make an effort to show there was a valiant attempt to point the way back home.
Great conversation you’ve started here, Claudia! I keep little notebooks in desks, purses, vehicles so i can jot down ideas. Anything can inspire: a moment, memory, phrase, photo, and especially d’verse prompts! but it’s a creative urge that compels me. Yes, an idea for a poem usually has to incubate for a time. Like Myrna, it can be a s-l-o-w process for me…i sometimes miss linking up but may post later. I like Mary’s idea of printing hard copies too 🙂
anything can inspire…i agree and it’s good to have something close where you can jot down the idea…for me it’s usually my phone… ah this digital age…smiles
Many of my poems come out of dreams. Recently the entire first stanza of a poem was dreamed. I awoke and immediately wrote it down, then finished it later in the day. I think creativity often comes when our minds are at rest and our unconscious thoughts are set free.
oh i have that happen as well…and have become rather adept at writing in the dark…ha…i can usually make out a bit of it in the morning…lol…
Hi Claudia, glad I read this dVerse post. I capture something. I do twitter prompt poetry. The prompts usually relate to whatever I’m going through in life at the moment. Out in nature, any little thing can be a spark. Haven’t written haiku in awhile but I haiku’ed my way through Sedona. Yesterday, lying in the sun, I had auditory cues and wrote about that in a group. I can keep that word, or sound, or feeling in mind and write about it later and it will take me right back to the moment it happened. Lovely question to ask.
i like you capturing a little kernel…like a sound…and letting it embody a moment…i do that just a little with my notes in my notebook…..
I used to carry a poet’s/writer’s notebook around, but after 50 years of that, stuff gets misplaced. My inspiration come from simply being conscious; the news, the media, a film, someone else’s poem, a painting or sketch, a photograph, the weather, a sexy girl walks by, I watch a dog fight or ravens arguing or sea gulls mugging robins, or the way shadows play on everything if the sun shafts are out. But my life is so full these days my 2-3 poems per week come from online prompts, primarily dVerse; word lists, forms, artwork, & every other stimulant or ingredient. I still see myself as the Kerouac “outlaw of the sensorium”.
i wonder if there is not a bit of danger in that g…can we become too dependent on prompts to pull our creativity from us?
I don’t think so, Brian; hell there are hundreds of poetry sites to join up with. I just think that dVerse is the best of the lot; a prompt is just that; each of us still has to find our own hook, do our own research, & furrow fresh poetic soil.
it is usually life…something that grabs me…the ordinary, the unusual…a person…i could tell a story about people that would last until my final breath…people inspire me…shock me…the interactions intrigue me…
yes.. people inspire me as well… the everyday… there are so many stories to be told…
I was listening to npr’s TED talks this weekend. And I apologize to the author, I wasn’t listening closely until I heard the story of her mother – she would suddenly stop what she was doing and take off in a run to get to the house, where she could write whatever she had been given. She explained that is was as if a powerful force was moving across the landscape, rushing through her and if she didn’t race to pen and paper, this poem would race past her until it found another poet.
Now, that is an astonishing image and I think I may have felt that once or twice – but how awesome is that rush!
Most of the time, I will hear a word or catch sight of a written word, that intrigues me, or a phrase starts to play in my head, and it won’t let me be, until I have written it down.
oh wow… that carries quite some energy if it happens that way and a poem like urges you to write it down… cool
Photos i have taken inspire me to write, usually of emotions, beliefs or experiences. This also works in the opposite direction for me. Sometimes I just allow myself to be a blank canvass and my mind begins to paint. I have written poems in 5 minutes when the words flow freely and my mind is very open. No second guessing…just letting go. A little editing later and voila. Then there are others that feel more like a construction zone!
smiles… i know what you mean with construction zone…oy… i too love when the words just flow…
I can be sparked to write about anything – but usually it’s about combining two words in an unusual combination.. But it could be sparked by reading other poem it could be writing to a form – where finding a good rhyme will drive the progression of the poem. Sometimes I have words playing in my head while bicycling .. So many ways the words get into my computer..
cycling is a very poetry-friendly sport…smiles…i too write whole poems on my bike…just mentally though – i don’t write them down while biking…
This is an interesting conversation and thank you all here! i got quite a number of good tips of keeping thoughts from escaping. Off late it is happenign quite often and the steam just goes off when there is a break in tempo. Precisely, that happened when i was attempting to write for Bjorn’s Poetics….i lost the tempo and the poem that became too ‘laboured’ to even keep…But mostly, it is catharsis / impromptu that shoots a poem and sometimes it is the desparate desire to use a particular phase or word when it comes across….it could be as simple as gossamer, mackarel…:) Sorry guys, I have been away from the Pub for too long…a bit into consolidation of thoughts and well past written pieces….
nice… i also love to use specific words that i read somewhere and for some reason like a lot…smiles
hI everyone ……… Nice to be here ……. so many have some many inspiration……. I go with Brian my life revolves around my life……. My day to day work. My son , my life….. feeling it goes on……. Friends like all of u here make it more interesting to write………. That is also my inspiration………
smiles… it’s cool how we inspire each other… that is the gift of the online poetry world
A line comes into my mind and I write it down and the rest follows and that is it.
nice…
what wonderful advice Claudia…I think that’s what I did yesterday in the liferoom here in Warrington at the Pyramid Arts Centre!!! But you have clarified it for me…sometimes we do things automatically or with subconscious action and only later realise that it came from something in the past.
Wow, so many ways to ignite the thought process. Many of mine come from an emotion; how I feel toward something I see, hear, or feel. Nature is one of my most used main characters. Probably because there is freedom from self or life out in the world bigger than myself. Funny how some write life and others need to escape a bit from it to write.
Events in life trigger a poetic outburst for me, as well as inspiration and correlations to mythology. I tend to let a poem fester in my mind for a long period of time to allow the most fitting words to present themselves, which is why it is hard for me to respond to the pub prompts…promptly. Such is the case with my poem entitled “Three’s”.
Sometimes I am inspired by a word, a smell, a picture, a song, a line of emotion I have read in another writer’s works. A story I hear at a crowded social gathering. Life events have a way of stirring many writes esp. loss. Fictional and non fictional. Cleaning house in my writes removing the( ugly). Anonymity but not all the way. Characters in a tv series or movies.
I always stumble across words and, entranced by their meaning and sound and appearance, try to base a poem around them. I’m not sure if that’s the same approach you use, but I can definitely relate 🙂 for instance: “aporia”
I can relate to Claudia. Inspiration comes in different forms for me as well. Sometimes it’s a word, phrase, a color, a photo, something I’ve seen or heard, that stands out. If it’s not one of those, it’s something in my system that I need to get out.
-Benjamin
This conversation is wonderful reading. I would say “all of the above.” Lately, too,I have my notebook open at meetings for worship and note prayers/messages/ ideas and then later find–or fail to find– a concrete object or image to help communicate that truth. Also I love observing events/people/objects/processes and they are there already waiting for me to bury a truth in. I write too many poems with generalizations and not enough specifics. That is the problem I am working to solve in my poetry lately.