Hi!
This will be my first official post (and not an intro!) for PoetryWithPip!
Thinking about what I should write gave me such a headache! I have so many things I want to talk about that I was struggling with what I should actually write for this first post.
The more I thought about it the more I realised, as I’m staring at a blank word document, that when it comes to writing poetry it can be difficult to put pen to paper too (so to speak ;] ).
When I think about my processes for creating Poetry, I find that I need an overflowing idea or image or emotion to help me get started. I use this ‘thing’ as a main image and try to describe as it best as I can in a … ‘poetic’ way (hate that term, please forgive me for using it!).
I also find that reading and editing other people’s poetry really helps inspire me to create. It gets me thinking about how I would write their poem or even writing a response poem (there is a fantastic collection that focuses on response poems called ‘Answering Back’ edited by Carol Ann Duffy, I highly recommend reading it!).
I have tried different creating processes, pulling words out of a hat or using a random generator on a computer ect; but I always find myself waiting for that one moment of inspiration to hit me in the face!
Which has obviously gotten me thinking about other people’s creative writing processes. I know some people write every day, just to start the juices flowing! When I tried this I found I just got more frustrated the first few times, but you do end up getting into a flow. I find that I can’t write every day just for the sake of it and that I need to gather ideas and images together and then set one day in the week that is my ‘creative writing time’; editing after this initial ‘writing time’. I find this very helpful but it really does help to stick to a routine.
Does everyone find trying different routines and creative processes helpful or is it different for everyone who writes poetry? Do us ‘poets’ share this struggle?
Drop me a response to this post and tell me how you start your poems!
I look forward to hearing how you write and trying your processes myself!
Speak soon!
Pip x
PoetryWithPip 
Wonderful first post Pip! Really enjoyed reading it. You write with a really welcoming sense of enthusiasm, and it’s really interesting to hear another writers perspective on their art.
I think that it’s probably different for all writers; but, I personally find myself agreeing with you. I think it’s very difficult for a writer to just sit down and search for ideas, in fact I’m not convinced this is a particularly healthy way of approaching a piece of work. As you say, an idea has to hit you and consume you to write a decent piece.
Great first post, I look forward to the next one!
LikeLike
Hi Dan!
Thanks very much for your response!
I am please that I’m not alone in my thinking.
What would you say is the most effective way to got you writing and does reading other poets work help you to create?
Pip x
LikeLike
Oooo, this is interesting, I think much like you say in you post, I too find that particular images and/or emotions are usually the foundations of anything I write.
This could be from an experience, or simply something I’ve found which has inspired me. I think for a writer to write there has to be something wrong with them. They have to feel overly angry about something, or overly passionate about something. It is this which fuels a writer someone to wright, I don’t know whether you’d agree?
Other peoples work is certainly an influence in the creative process, as is the editing process of other peoples works as you comment in your post. Not only in what we write, but also how we go about it, encouraging us to try new things and experiment outside our comfort zones.
Cheers for the reply 🙂
LikeLike
I love the term you have used here ‘for a writer to write there has to be something wrong with them’!
This sums up creative writing for me! This way, the writing is releasing this chaos of emotions and returning the writer to a state of equilibrium. It is then in this happy and balanced state that we are unable to create!
So, yes, I completely agree with your statement!
I also agree that as writers we need to try something out of our comfort zones else we will never be able to expand and try to improve our writing. This for me is something that I believe all writers need to try because, if you never try you never know!
I for one, would hate to miss out on something!
Pip x
LikeLike
I try to write every day, and very seldom have problems finding subject matter. What “inspires”me? Sometimes it’s one word, or an image, a phrase, even a title. Going deeper into the inspiration –looking more closely at that particular word, perhaps its etymology, or researching an image and uncovering interesting facts — almost always opens additional paths.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your reply.
I find it so hard to write everyday, for me its finding the inspiration in the world out there where I struggle (I suppose my line of work isn’t very creative!).
Sometime a word is all that is needed, and research is vital in understanding the hidden depth of meaning. Many of my poems come from a new understanding of an everyday word (I have written lots inspired by floriography!)
Would you say that the little everyday things inspire you most? Or is it a look beyond this, into something more mystical?
Pip x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find poetry everywhere. It certainly exists in the ordinary, which is where much of mine originates.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have read some of your poetry on your blog, its beautiful in its fluidity, thank you for leading me to it!
Pip x
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very kind. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person