suggestions

hey peeps

got any ideas for some new poems
the ideas in the poems became really repeated..
I just need you to post some new ideas and we cud make a poem abt this idea..even make it here together...maybe this will be inspiring and will make us write more new ideas and improve our way in writing :)

any suggestions???

Hi,
I am not sure if this will help or actually responds to your question specifically(probably should be in writing poetry section) but I've been asked for advice/help from many members and this is an expanded response I'd sent one young lady.It's more to do with writing habits/advice than with actually ideas, but some of these things can help spark ideas I suppose, so am going to re-copy the advice I'd sent to this particular member.Hope you can find something of use here.

Read.Read the professionals-Walt Whitman,Michael McClure, Sylvia Plath, Jim Carroll, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Shelley, David Berman,T.S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, Lorca,Stevie Smith, William Blake,Tupac Shakur, Ogden Nash, Cummings, Jim Morrison, Longfellow, Rod McKuen,William Carlos Williams,Robert Bly, Anne Sexton, Leonard Cohen, Bukowski, Dylan Thomas, Lord Byron, W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson,William Wordsworth,Sandburg,Ted Berrigan, John Keats, Ralph Waldo Emerson,etc.Read the academic poets and the street poets, the Beats and the Surrealists, the Traditionalists and the songwriters, all forms and genres..Read the stuff on the various websites-you can learn as much from a bad poem as you can a good one (there are some great ameteur poets out there, but also some truly horrid stuff).Check out some of the on-line zines or some of the poetry collections in stores(there's a ton-from the well known poet collections to collections of this particular year's contemporary(and usually lesser known) poets).

When reading over other people's poems-famous or ameteur, pay special attention to how they use images or unusual word combinations or phrases.Some find it easier to write in straight forward simple terms, which is fine, but a good image or unusual use of language(such as words you normally wouldn't associate as going together) can really make a piece stand out.Study poems, see what you think the author is saying.Study up on metaphors and similies.There's another good writing maxim-show don't tell, meaning use images or mood rather than blatantly hitting the reader over the head with the message.Avoid the cliche, especially in rhyming work(which is why I prefer the freedom of free verse, so much rhyming work is full of cliches or mundane words, it's hard to write a good rhyming piece but it can be done).Check around on the net and learn about different forms of poetry.

Challenge yourself, try traditional forms/styles/techniques(rondels, Kyrielle,blank verse, doditsu, tanka, villanelles, acrostic, etherees,pantoums, haiku, chain verse, Balassi, sonnets, ghazal, alliteration, rondeaus, pleiades, triolets, metered verse, cinquains, etc)(for some good examples read the excellent works of Steven Beesley and Sunny(at the bottom of their poems they define/explain the form used), also read the stuff by Meena, Bob Shank, Ann*stareyes*, Hansrick and others(sorry I know there are others but they aren't coming to mind as I write this) on this site. Try free verse, try experimental stuff, off the wall stuff, be surreal or abstract, etc.A lot of my stuff is like that-sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm saying, it seems to just come from the subconscious and many of my poems have an ambiguity that allows each reader to find their own meaning, or different meanings then others(kinda how two people can view a painting or a film and each have different impressions).I jokingly say my style is having no style-but really I use so many different forms and styles, the poems, the thoughts, emotions coming out into words seems to dictate what form or style I use, start with what you are comfortable with, but always be open to try other things..Have fun with writing.Or use it to express yourself.That is how I started out, I wrote because I had to, I wrote for myself at first(and guess I still do).So write for yourself, with no inhibitions, no holding back, be brutally honest and emotional.Or if it works better for you to write for someone or with someone in mind reading your poem, do that.I, and others, can offer all the advice and suggestions under the sun, but eventually you will forge your own voice, your own style.Listen and use what works for you.

Don't tackle the broad, grand themes-Life, Love, Death, God, etc. in a big way-use specifics.When I say this, I mean, yes, write about those subjects we all know and can relate to, but in a more intimate way rather than trying to explain the meaning of life or God or cover too broad and general an area.This I found is important and so true:
Sometimes you'll find the more personal you are, the more universal your work is.
-all people can relate to certain things.Though I write for myself, many of my poems are born of sadness,happiness,melancholia, pain, loss of love,being in love, depression,the ecstasy of feeling/being alive, things I think sometimes only have meaning to me, then someone will write and say, "I know what you mean" or have felt similiar or can relate in some way(again the more personal, sometimes the more universal it is).There is a lot of satisfaction(in many ways) when you can write something that touches the heart and mind of someone(the reader).

Write from the perspective of an inanimate object(a rock, a house, a tree, the ocean, a door, a cloud, etc.) or write from the viewpoint/perspective of someone/something totally different than you( a rich person, a homeless person, an old person, a child, a man, a woman, a cat, dog, fish, wolf, bird, etc.).

Listen to music-sometimes a song can spark an idea.Some of the best poets are the singers/songwriters.

Write something true.Write something made up.

Try a stream of consciousness piece-set an alarm clock for 10 or 15 minutes and just start writing-anything and everything that pops into mind, do not stop to re-read what you've wrote until the time is up, don't pause to analyze the what, whys, and where these thoughts/feelings are coming from, sometimes the subconscious can produce some wonderful or disturbing thoughts and images(for example my piece Reflections from the Living Room Floor was an exercise in stream of consciousness, with a little revising later it turned out to be a poem published in many literary journals).

Write seriously.Write nonsense.

Approach well worn subjects that seem to have been written about to death from a different viewpoint/angle.

Sometimes I'll browse through the dictionary just to discover new words, and many have sparked off a poem, plus it improves your range of vocabulary.

And I forgot to mention the importantance of solitude.Every writer needs time alone to think, to reflect, to find oneself in a poem, to create, to not be distracted.Solitude is being alone which is not the same as being lonely by any means.Though writing can seem so solitary and lonely sometimes, but a quiet period to yourself, or just some time to think alone really is essential.

There are also some excellent books on poetry exercises(or even on the net).Check these books out.I highly recommend them.

And even though there are set rules/guidelines/etc. for forms and stuff, really, when it comes down to it, in poetry there are no rules.

Ideas/subjects are everywhere as long as you keep your mind open and a broad vision.

I know there is a lot of stuff I've left out or forgotten to mention, but hope this helps a bit.

Write from the heart, write with passion for your subject, idea, emotion.

The bottom line is, write,write, and write! Also read, read, and read.

And the most important thing of all-trust your instincts,
and always, not just in poetry,
but in everything in life, always trust, and
always follow your heart.

Peace, Love, Good luck & Best wishes,

Gary Jurechka

(NOTE: I have revised and expanded this response and placed it in the WRITING POETRY section, as your question fits more into that category.Check my other posting below for more info)

I agree, so I revised and expanded the above posting a bit and posted it in the
WRITING POETRY
section/forum.I covered a few different aspects of poetry writing, so check that out and hopefully amongst the ramblings you can find something useful.It is posted under the topic/post:

Poetry writing habits/advice/suggestions/writer's block/exercises/etc.
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Apethetic Soul-Thanks for the suggestion!

GaryJ

Sorry, ApAthetic Soul, but hey, lighten up.I only posted this with the intentions of offering some advice/suggestions because I have had many personal messages requesting such advice/help and figured some may get something out of this (and again, from personal responses, many have).And I didn't see an articles section(I'll check again) but it does definitely apply to the Writing Poetry forum/topic(by the way, that post is much longer, heh, heh, heh).So chill a bit, 'kay?It's casual, it's all good.Take care.

(oops-my bad, I did find the articles section(it was back on the main page and I'd overlooked it as it wasn't on the headings of the forum pages), but still feel it fits in the Writing poetry section)

Yes, I agree brevity has it's place, but at the same time when trying to cover many things-such as the various different suggestions and tips I put forth- it is bound to be a bit lengthy, though I do see what you mean about tightening up some areas(I tend to over-explain sometimes).That said, if you were interested in learning/reading all you could about a certain subject, would you purchase a ten page book or a hundred page book on that subject?But advice taken.Thanks.

(Just trying to help out after receiving so many personal requests for advice/assistance-didn't realize this would cause such controversy!(Ah well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.........)

thanx guyz :)