[stylist] Gathering Ideas

[Andi]

I to am inspired to write not only poetry but stories by sometimes random
bits of input, but I don't know how to write like you, planning everything
out.  I wish I could.  My stories are somewhat planned but I am surprised as
I write because I don't always know what will happen until it does.  With
poetry I can not plan at all.  I don't know how to write specific types of
poetry, sometimes I do but it is purely accidental.  When I write poetry it
is free flow.  I just start writing and do not pay attention to what I am
writing until it is done.  I just let myself feel all my emotions and
release them to the page.  I then make miner corrections like spelling and
change a few words.  Sometimes my poems are beautiful even when it is a
horrible subject and other times it is not worth saving.  Also I rarely
write poetry when I am happy.  I haven’t written in quite a wile actually.
Don't get me wrong, I love happy poems, but writing it for me is usually a
coping meconism when I am going through something hard to handle.  I do have
some happy poems though, mostly love poems and such but I still cant plan
out what I write.  How do you do that?  I might have more success if I
could.

Andi
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:40 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Gathering Ideas

Good Morning Poetry Writers!

How do you gather ideas and images for use in your poetry? 

Ideas are everywhere.  They surround us all day long when we are actively
engaged in the mundane chores of our day. Ideas and images are in the night
skies,  in the pouring rain, romping in the sunshine on the beach, found on
the front page of this morning's newspaper,  sent in a letter from a dear
friend,  in the wag of your dog's tail as she begs for her treats; packed
away in great grandma's old trunk in the darkness of your attic,  and buried
deep in the rich black earth in the woods beneath the stately Hemlock tree
where you have buried all your pets through the years.  
Can you recall the bloom of Queen Ann Lace in the early fall fields?
How about that dragon- fly that landed on your shoulder as you sat quietly
along the edges of the brook when you were a small child? Did you hear it
rattle around in the back seat of your car yesterday?
What idea was blown by the winds across the foggy surface of asphalt in the
parking lot at the strip mall? 

Are you remembering some things right now that just might be the stuff of a
poem?

I think I could sit here for hours on end writing about where I have been
surprised and delighted  by  the quickly fleeting sliver of an idea, or
softly echoing lyric of a soulful idea for a poem. I think I spotted the leg
of a new poem this morning, lurking there inside my new pair of Reebok
cross-trainer shoes! I saw that slender strip of yellow zig-zagging across
the bottom of the shoes - calling out to me to pay attention and not be in
such a big rush to get going on my journey today.

And, then as I sat down to look over new messages on my Face Book page
today, I found a gem of an idea there.

 Delight was right there in print on that page. And, there was a picture,
too! The picture there was of a Lotus Flower, all in violet, lavender, deep
greens, and periwinkle blue colors.

An idea for a poem  came to me as I scanned through this  new FaceBook
message. 

One thing you eventually find on social media are like minded individuals
who share a world view that can be similar to your own.  These are the
"friends" you always look for because they often post messages that lift you
up and encourage you, and give you new insight - a little glimmer of some
truth that rings true inside your body.  I had one of those moments this
morning!

I choose Face Book friends who love the arts, care about the earth, work to
find homes for animals and to restore them to health, friends who love old
things and cherish them, some who love flowers and gardens and birds, and
those who love to travel and enjoy the culture of other places and respect
other people who live in very different places from my own.

The poetry folks here on the NFB Writers Division list have been talking
about saving some of the comments and poems they find so they can return to
them and read them again. What a good idea this is! I have a couple of files
started for this purpose, too. I have read some poems that are so
nourishing, rich, memorable that I want to savor them again and again. I
also want to see more poems from these people, and watch their path unfold
as they write.

I have started a folder  for saving "ideas" from some future works for
myself, too. An idea will come to me and I like to record it and save it to
my files. I will collect information on that idea until I have sufficient
material to begin the work on a new poem. I gather ideas and put them in my
files before they fly off to become someone else's poem! 

In my FaceBook pages today, I found the message that I will post below. The
message uses the métaphore of the Lotus Flower. It is a keeper and is now in
my folder that is called _Poem_Ideas_ and at some point I will return to
this message and begin the work of writing a poem. The idea has been
captured and saved for me to return to another day when I am able to put the
work into the idea.

I will attach it and I will also print it out in the message here. Have a
great weekend, and gather ye ideas while ye may.

Lynda

"The lotus flower sits upon one of it's leaves, having risen to the surface
as the sun, held in the hand of God, invites it upward to the light. This
unique plant is rooted in the mud and muck at the bottom of a body of water,
it's stem reaching up to the surface, where the leaves rest quietly. At
night, the flower closes and sinks below the surface, only to rise with the
daylight and once again, gradually unfold it's petals. 

What we learn from this amazing plant is how our own spiritual path unfolds
and opens to the light, then at times gently folds in on itself for a proper
rest when the daylight fades. 

Your spiritual unfoldment is occurring at all times, whether or not you are
aware of it. It is inevitable as long as you put your trust in the hands of
the Creator, the One who holds the Light. 

Like the Lotus, your soul is always reaching for the light to fulfill its
karmic destiny, but even in that process, there are periods of darkness and
times to rest. It is a natural cycle, one that cannot truly be coerced or
halted. 

It has an innate rhythm of its own, one that is unique to the Being that is
you!"

~Earth Magic by Steven D. Farmer






Lynda Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117

724 758 4979

My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com