Creatively Speaking: Finding Inspiration

When I told a friend recently that I write a poem a day for National Poetry Month and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), she asked me how I find the inspiration for 30 poems.

“It’s like rummaging around in a junk drawer,” I told her. “You’re bound to put your hands on something!”

And sure enough, last April — for the ninth year in a row — I again found inspiration enough to get me through the month. It arrived in the forms of a song on the radio, a conversation with a millennial, a visit to New York City with my nephew, an NRA backpack, and New Haven’s Union Station…among other things. (Click here to see the full tally.)

Now granted, they are not all masterpieces. But that’s not the point. Like any writing challenge — NaPoWriMo, NaNoWriMo, HistNoWriMo, SciFiWriMo — the goal is simply to get into the habit of writing.

“Simply” of course being somewhat of an issue if you are lacking inspiration. Which brings us back to that junk drawer. There are so many things in your creativity junk drawer — think about it!

the first time you rode a bike
your best friend from kindergarten
your mother
what you had for breakfast
your first kiss
last night’s dream
what you saw on a hike
your favorite painting
the song you can’t get out of your head (and why)
an object sitting on your coffee table
your cat

So, GO! Rummage around — see what you can find. Reach way far back if you have to…and then CREATE! Describe, elaborate, enumerate, paint a picture with words (or even paint if you are so inclined).

It doesn’t have to be perfect…as Nike says, JUST DO IT!

Here is some evidence of rummaging. This quirky little poem showed up from a post-it note I found on my desk one morning:

(CHINESE FOOD)
The note says (Chinese Food)
but it is random
out of context on a piece of paper
in a stack of papers
at least 2 months passed

my past included (Chinese Food)

but what?
and with whom?
and what is the purpose
of this little clue
set out for me to pass by
too early even for General Tso,
though I never met him personally

rumor has it, he was a press man…

as a proponent of the written word
do you think he rose early
to consider form and function,
rhyme, reason and rice —
like this poet now hungry
for pork fried repast at 6?

But, fair warning about rummaging: you have to be brave. You have to be brave because you never know what you’re going to find in that drawer. Sometimes, it will be as benign as a post-it note about Chinese take-out. Other times, you may pull out a ghost, some long-lost memory that needs to see the light of day.

Hans Christian Anderson is credited with saying: “Everything you look at can become a fairy tale, you can get a story from everything you touch.”

Ultimately, isn’t that our job as creatives? Telling the story. No matter our medium — poetry, painting, prose — we are charged with the task of putting our hands on the story and sharing it with others.

So, get in there! Rummage around for the inspiration. Reach way in…and then TELL THE STORY! (Maybe even for NaPoWriMo.)

Happy Creating! With Love,

Jen Payne

I’ll be posting my NaPoWriMo progress on my blog
at RandomActsofWriting.net if you’d like to follow
along. Or click here to find out more about
NaPoWriMo and how to participate.