I hvant written anything good latley and i was just wondering if ya'll had any ideas on how to get that going?? i mean serioulsy i am so tired of not being able to write anything, honlesty it is starting to REALLY piss me off. sorry mak eme mad. that used to be the way i could get things out but now i couldnt write to save my life.. does anyone have any ideas on how to get inspired???
ROze

angel,

instead of writing a poem,
write a list

write a list of what you want,
write a list of what you'll never have,
write a list of what you had once and wish you still had

when you write this list,
don't write it for someone else to read,
(no one in this world will see this list),
write a real list.

then read it carefully,
then tear it up and throw it away,
then go for a long walk alone.

tell yourself you'll never write another poem,
it can't be helped,
Accept that every thing you look at or think about
will never come to be a poem,

It's alright, relax, it can't be helped, just keep walking.
Don't write a poem, write a list.

(writing is not a saying, it's a listening)

Hi ROze...

I'm happy to see you here again; those of us who know and love you have missed you.

I'm sorry your post on the personal help board went so long unanswered! We went through all sorts of shenanigans around here with flamers and crazy people; we had, literally, a hell of a time just dealing with all the hostility and hatred coming our way. In fact, I think there still might be a few unknown quantities lurking in the shadows, actually. But we have learned a lot; we are "sadder but wiser" now.

It's good to have you back with us. People like you are the reason I keep doing this; otherwise I would have been driven away long ago as so many have been; moderators seem to burn out around here pretty fast. But I'm no mere mod; I was here first and I will be here last. It's a little crazy, but it's home.

As to writing: that old cliche about writing what you know has--like many cliches--a kernel of truth in it. We can only write in an informed and aware manner of what we know, whether within or without us.

You can look into your heart and see and feel what is there, and write of that, or you can look around you and see and feel what is there--how you are affected by it, how it makes you feel--and write of that.

What people call "inspiration" is the stimulus: you see / feel something; then the response to that stimulus is what you write about it. I respond to stimuli--that sounds rather cold; I could say "I am inspired by" with the same meaning--and write my sonnets about all sorts of things. They are like journal entries, they are observations, grumbles, musings, sighs, love songs, news flashes... but more like journal entries, perhaps, than anything else. I feel like I have to write. Maybe I would be really frustrated if I didn't; I suppose I would be. I have always needed to make things, and, for the past two years and some odd months, I have been making poems, chiefly sonnets, every day. The sonnet form works for me, it's a short and concise poem of fourteen lines; it's the way I keep a journal, a journal which I share with anyone who wants to read it.

Just write what you know, what you see, what you feel. I understand what you mean about writing when you are angry; Martin Luther said--and I have found this to have a lot of truth in it--"I never write so well as when I am inspired by anger."

Actually, in my own experience, I would substitute the word "love" for the the word "anger." I never write so well as when I am inspired by love. By Silke, to be exact.

I send you every good wish for every success, every happiness, ROze. You've been a good friend to me for a long time, and I am grateful to you.

Best of luck with your writing. Just open up and let it happen. Start scribbling and let cosmos form of chaos. It works! The hardest part is just to begin. Another cliche which has a kernel of truth in it is the one about a journey of a thousand miles (just like a journal of a thousand sonnets) beginning with a single step. That first stroke of the pencil, pen, or key, that first opening is the most important part, the "primum mobile." I know you have stories to tell, ROze, and I wish you all the best in telling them. We will read them with interest and understanding.

Respect and solidarity to you, my dear friend.

I think both these guys give some really good advice. Personally, I write. I don't write poems or rhymes; I write about what is on my mind. It's hard to just freely write whatever you are thinking, but remember: only you will read this.

I think we all have different ways of expressing ourselves and getting our creative power moving. I firmly believe you will not be able to write what you do not feel inside. So I try to find out what is inside (through writing!). Good luck. I look forward to reading what you create.

ej