New Beginnings for Poetry

This Phoenix notebook represents new beginnings – fallen behind on writing or never got start – don’t fret it is time to truly start!

Now for some that new start may well just be beginning to write or making sure that are actually leaving themselves time to write but for those who are already writing it is time to shake things up a bit!

If you are more of a freeform poet why not try writing using structures such as a sonnet or villanelle, if you write long form or epic poems try a haiku. If you do not rhyme then rhyme! You get the idea.

For those writers who already work across these sorts of structures and forms of poems why don’t you get a collection of classic poems – your local library will have lots of poetry collection or if you are like me you might have your old school texts about. Select a poem at random and write down its first line, now write from that line in your own words – not copying the poem from the book but new words, your own words inspired by that first line. They do not have to follow on directly from the words and often it is better if they don’t as you need the freedom to change concept and imagery. Once it is written let it sit a while and then re-read – does it work without that first line? If not add a different first line.

You may need to completely rework the poem, these are just ideas for creating the seed of a poem!

Frosty Bramble

Have a look at the needle ice growing all over this leaf, what do they remind you of? For me it is an ice cityscape but for others it maybe the remembrance of winter walks as a child.

The colours is this image are also interesting as if the seasons have decided to have a battle.

Write from the image for 15 mins

Week One and What Have You Done?

It is one week into our poetry writing drive and what have you done? Have you managed to get through all the exercises? Been inspired by our guest bloggers or have you been struggling? Not written a thing?

If you are in the first category then fantastic and keep going but if you are in the second then don’t despair! There is still plenty of time and perhaps you should look at where and when you actually get to write… maybe you need to make yourself a little nook or walk to the park and sit on a bench. Maybe you have a fine writing practice but it just isn’t working for you at the moment – something just isn’t working any more – if this is the case then try just changing what you are doing ie work from home? Go to a cafe… normally work in a cafe? then go for a long walk and sit outside to write! This shift in activity may just be what you need to get you writing again.

Just to get you going why not look at these faces in the mirror – what are they thinking? Why are there so many? Make notes on each face and then take them one at a time to write about. Alternatively just look at the image and start writing.

Missing Letters

Write the alphabet down the side of a page so each line starts with a new letter. Now write a line for each letter except no word in that line must contain that letter! So if it is an A you must not have any A’s in the words – do this for each letter. Once that is done see if you can make it flow as one continues piece of work with a little editing. If not start again with this goal in mind. Write each line as a follow on to the first.

If you have an alphabet page that didn’t flow you can expand it out doing a whole page of no letter for each line starting with what you have already written.

There are letter combinations that can be fun to omit during writing too such as -tion, str, oo.

Moon Over Mountain

The night sky can be amazing especially at sun rise or set – this image was taken at Sunset and shows a finger nail sliver of moon and the drop of planet star that is Venus. I would recommend going for your own walks at dusk to see if you can capture such a sight as often poems form whilst you are walking and awe inspiring sights like this one can spark that creativity – but if that is not possible or it is too cold etc… then write from this photograph for 30 mins.

The Promise of Spring

For some this is the cusp of spring, with rituals surround Iambic or Saint Brigids’s Day, for others it is a slight lessening of the winter – a hint that the world will unfreeze. We have just had the Chinese New year and others yet have this as the end of their Christmas celebrations when the wise mean came to visit. I call this time of year the Promise of Spring and the light coming through the window can be bright and pleasantly warm.

What does this time of year mean to you? What of the picture? A summer creature the lady bird is imbued with the winter sun and something magical has happened – write about this magic or if you want just write from t he image. Write for 20 mins.

Or read up on the myths and practices that go with this time of yeah – what are the over arching themes? What deities are associated and what are they like? Write for 10 minutes about 5 of these facets.

The Beginning 2025

Today is the first day of the 2025 writing challenge – so crack your note book out or electronic devise of choice and let’s get writing!

First off look out the window…. what is the weather doing? If the weather was a person what would they be like? Do they like travelling? If so what type of travelling and to where?

Write for half an hour.

If this exercise doesn’t suite you there are plenty more in the archive under Exercises.

Happy New Year 2025

Happy New Year – well we’ve made it through the fist quarter contrary of the New Millennium!

So what have you got planed? Anything interesting? If not don’t worry you can just roll with the universe and see where it takes you!

But if you are in between the ultra organised and the go with the flow then you might want to grab some paper or electronic device of choice and start thinking about what you want achieve this year… do you want to write more? Submit poems to magazines and journals? Read more? Make a list of these and make it a BIG BOLD list and put it up on a wall or door or cork board – somewhere you will see it regularly every day! If they are obvious finishable task then tick them off as they are completed and if you need rewards to be motivated then sort out some rewards for finishing off the hard stuff (we all find different things difficult and if say submitting poems is hard for you then reward yourself when you have completed the task!). If it is an on going thing then maybe make a mark to count how many times you have work towards or done a repetition of these kinds of tasks.

Obviously we are interested in your New Year Poetry pledges!

Here are some ideas of pledges or resolution to make:

1) Write for 5 minutes before bed every nights

2) Spend 1 hour a week editing and sending poems off for publication

3) Get a new note book and see how fast you can fill it

4) Make little notes every time you come across something inspiring, if you made one of these books last year then start writing from the notes.

5) Take a phone or other recording device on walks and strolls and adlib poems whilst looking at and recording interesting spaces such as fish swimming in your local pond. (different countries have different rules on photo taking and video recording and some parks may have their own rules so make sure you know what your local areas is.)

6) Read a poetry book each month.

7) Go to the local poetry reading night.

8) Take part in your first poetry slam or performance night.

9) Take up journaling and see what snippets and poems natural arise from the pages.

10) Enroll on that course you’ve been thinking about.

These are just ideas – try coming up with your own.

Happy New Year and good luck with any resolution you choose to attempt!

Winter’s Sun Burning Away the Mist

This is a photo of the sun burning away the mist on a winters morning but it might well be an alien world or just swirls of colour in a paint pot – what is it to you? What do you see? What happen in that sky, in those tree branches or around the roots? What is this landscape and what is its story?

Begin writing for 15 minutes – if you are initially stuck try just describing the image.

Opened

This building is open to the elements but how did it get that way? Is it part of something lost or forgotten? Or is it something old being shredded back down to basics so something new can arise? Have the fairies taken over?

Write down what you think for 20 minutes, then take keep points or phrases you like out of the writing and see if it fits together nicely, you may find changing the order the phrases appear in helpful.