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Saturday, April 25, 2009

How To-34: "How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry"


How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Writing free verse poetry is a great release of feelings, emotions and thoughts. Writing poetry in rhyme also gives you the ability to release emotions, but is more constricted in that you have to find words that rhyme. Here is how to express yourself in free verse.

Steps

  1. Think about something you feel strongly about.
  2. Be in tune with your feelings and allow your emotions to stir within you. You will need these emotions to inspire you.
  3. Sit at a computer or wherever you do your best writing and thinking and let the thoughts flow out of your mind, your heart and your fingers.
  4. Don't stop if you feel you are misspelling a word. When your feelings have been released, your poem will, like magic, come to an end. Now is the time you can correct.
  5. Sit back and read what you have written, correct only the spelling. Do not change the poem's meaning or content. Make sure your name and date are on the bottom of the page.
  6. Read what you wrote and read it to others if it is not too personal. Much great poetry is personal; part of the fun is finding the courage to read that to others.

Tips

  • Some inspirations can come from any walk of life:
    • Look out the window and see the sunset.
    • Be glad you are alive.
    • Sit in the Mall and observe a mother and a child.
    • Look at the young woman in a wheel chair. Be thankful that it is not you, and write about those feelings
    • Think about a lost loved one
    • Think about the big piece of cake topped with a big scoop of ice cream that you just pigged out on, after you announced you were on a diet.
  • Not all poems have to be happy. Not all poems have to be long. Not all poems have to be short. Some poems can be silly.
  • Be thankful for good health.
  • Do not put restrictions on the style you use. Although choosing a certain style for one poem may help.
  • Save all your poems, no matter what they say or how you feel about them. One day you will look back and see that you have somehow, without knowing it, written the story of your life.
  • Safeguard your poetry. Place it into a plastic cover, and store it in a looseleaf binder set aside for just your poetry.
  • Download a photo or clipart on the poetry page that relates to your poem. Dress the page up.
  • Be proud...you have just finished the first page of your first 'book.'
  • There are many other poetry styles that most people are not even familiar with. See the url at the bottom for information.
  • Relax.

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-33: "How to Overcome Writer's Block in Poetry"


How to Overcome Writer's Block in Poetry


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you are suffering from writer's block, you are in good company. Many people feel this problem and it is mostly due to a feeling that one is not a good enough writer. How do you overcome the block when it comes to poetry? Poetry has a rhythm and emotion of its own that cannot be compared to writing novels or short stories, so it is not necessarily helpful to compare writer's block in those fields with that suffered by a poet. Here are some ideas for the stuck poet.

Steps

  1. Think of a topic that moves you deeply and fills you with emotion. The topic might involve love or hatred, deep affection for someone or something, nature, (for instance, trees), or even parts of the body, such as feet or eyes. In other words, focus on something that is fascinating at the moment or something that is moving you in a passionate and interested fashion. Another stimulus trick is to combine your emotions and perhaps connect love and hate or trees and feet. The resulting poetic feeling may be quite exulting.
  2. Brainstorm on rhyming words or rhythmic phrases. The words or phrases should have a common theme to do with your topic and provide you with further sources of inspiration. Even if you have no idea why certain words keep occurring, write them down for use as you develop your poem.
  3. Organize your words. After brainstorming the words, collecting them and writing them, now is the time to place them into an order that will serve your poem best. Perhaps group the words relating to one theme together and words relating to another theme together and any words that might link the two themes in yet another grouping. This is something that will improve with practise.
  4. Write to your heart's content. A poet must let the words flow through herself or himself. The poetry will only come to life when the poet relaxes and lets the passion flow through unabated. Correct and perfect grammar and tone are for the editing stage, not the creative writing stage. Just write and write and write, whether there is a clear order to the writing or not. You have the words - use them. And follow the path that your mind leads you down.

Tips

  • Go beyond the ideas listed here; they are only by way of example.
  • The combination of love and hate is fairly cliched and time-worn; if you are looking for a different style of poem you will probably do better to either avoid this combination or learn to craft it anew in a clever and magnificent manner that will grasp the attention of your reader and rivet his or her attention.

Warnings

  • Do not be obsessed with perfection as you write - that is what the editorial stage is for. If you are waylaid by this idea, ask a friend, family member or professor to assist you with editing. A good poet's writing will always be clear to a fair and smart reader - find one and this will be the ideal person to assist you with improving your poem after it has been written.

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Overcome Writer's Block in Poetry. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

TED Talk-1: "Poetry for all seasons of life" by C K Williams



For detailed article on "TED Talks":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TED_Talks

Grateful thanks to TED.com, C.K.Williams and Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.