I need help..

  • Kara !
    18 years ago

    I want to get back into poetry writing, but I feel so uninspired all the time. It's been two years since I've wrote a poem (well, I did write a couple of songs (one turned into my latest poem on this site), but nothing very serious, or romotely good in the past two years).
    I know a big part of this is because I'm very critical of myself these days (I've been looking back at old poems, and if wasn't for the fact that I only have few, I'd deleted the majority of them).

    So anyway, I can't live up to my expectations, and I'm not writing anymore. Every now and then I'll come up with two or four lines which I think have potential, but can never find anything else to fit in.
    It's annoying. I'd like to join a club, as I haven't done that in the two years that I've been here, but I don't want to do that until I'm able to write again. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm seriously stuck for ideas now.

  • Ed or Ian Henderson
    18 years ago

    I've written this elsewhere, and recently. But as a poetry writer of about 22 years I feel my advice is valid, and hopefully helpful:

    1) Watch the news. That winds us all up. You might find inspiration there.

    2) Dig out some old photos: reminiscing about times gone by can be hugely inspiring. Still stuck? Did your folks' old pics out and see if you can do something in the 3rd person from their era. Relatives that lived through wars, disasters or economic depressions are a huge help!

    3) Go for a walk: Make it somewhere you don't normally go. Living in a rural area given to urban spread I find my own community constantly inspiring. But anything can spark the poetic fire, be it a shopping mall, a new housing project, or a run-down ol' factory.

    Hope this helps!