There is a week to go before WoPoWriMo is here, and for those who are panicking we thought it might be a good idea to get you thinking about writing and form.

Though you can’t really count any poems written outside of February, you can collect ideas and stimuli and maybe even get yourself in the practice of writing. There are numerous writing excersises on the Gurgitation Monster Blogs Blue and Red. Although not exclusively poetry based, these are a good source of ideas.

Another thing you can do is go for a walk and collect a few leaves or twigs or pennies from the ground (obviously avoid any suspicous yellow snow or weird smelling puddles). Bring these back and arrange them nicely on a tray or in a box. Then collect some bits and bobs you like from around your house (best if they belong to you and are not your great aunt’s diamante tiara) and arrange these similarly.

This is your inspiration box or tray and you can continue to add to it. You can add photos or postcards; for the more technically minded/entrenched maybe make a list of links to inspiring images or web-sites on your blackberry or iphone etc….

To warm you up each day, just take an object from the box and spend 5 minutes writing about it. Don’t worry what you are writing, just write, even if it is just a description. You may find the seeds of a poem in the dross you write; you may even be lucky enough to produce a full blown poem!

You can of course save this all for WoPoWriMo itself – it’s up to you 🙂 Compiling a list of ideas is another good prep and the longer the list the more likely poems will flow from it!

There will be more exercises and the like during February for you all to enjoy.

Good luck and inspiration to you all!