Four ways to stimulate creativity & cure the writing blahs, part 2 of 4

Writing feeds my soul. I do it because it makes me happy. But too often my writing time gets whittled away by other things. I have my excuses—it’s because I do so many things: run a business, keep my clients happy, take care of the house, act as servant and maid to our three cats. It’s easy to get scattered and before I know it, the day’s over and I’m asking, “What did I do to feed my soul today?”

My intent is to write first thing in the morning but that doesn’t always happen—often I end up squeezing a bit of writing in between work-related projects. So, how do I switch gears and jump-start my creative process if I only have a few minutes?

Read a poem.  Poetry is that delicious art form that resides somewhere in the gray area between left brain (words) and right brain (emotion evoked by images and imagination). Reading poetry out loud brings my consciousness out of the muck of daily life to a place of transcendence or, if not transcendence, then at least to a different reality. And sometimes that’s all it takes.

One benefit to reading poetry aloud is that it will make you more aware of words—one by one and symbiotically.

Read a variety of poetry. When you find a book of poems that moves you, keep it nearby. Memorize a favorite poem. Some of my favorites within reach: A New Path to the Waterfall by Raymond Carver, Rumi, Pablo Neruda, The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser. Open the book at random. Let it swirl through your mind and body. Feel the places inside you where it lands, where it takes off again. Notice what it stirs up. Then place pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and write.