Section 2: Inspiration

To write a poem, you must have a subject to write on. This section covers some methods for discovering ideas to write about.

27.	Open a book.
28.	Think about a painting, sculpture or other art.
29.	Research people in history.
30.	Open your mind to random thoughts.
31.	Write something descriptive about where you are.
32.	Read a newspaper or magazine and base your poem on an article.
33.	Base it on a life event of yourself, or of someone else.
34.	Base a poem on a dream you had.
35.	Play a game.
36.	Elevate and celebrate something mundane.
37.	Take a walk in the woods. Go row a boat. Get inspired by nature.
38.	Write about someone you respect who shaped your life.
39.	Write about a childhood memory.
40.	Write about change.
41.	Write from a viewpoint people don't normally see about an occupation.
42.	Compare and contrast.
43.	Parody!
44.	Commemorate a special event in a life or history.
45.	Investigate urban legends.
46.	Base a poem on wordplay such as puns or double entendre.
47.	Make up a character that is an author and let him or her do the writing.
48.	Write as a companion piece to accompany a play or novel or other artwork.
49.	Tell the same story from a different perspective.
50.	Fall in love.
51.	Ask someone else what to write about.
52.	Exorcise your demons!
53.	Turn it upside down.
54.	Take a ride.
55.	Fill in the alphabet.
56.	Write a book requiring poems to illustrate points.
57.	Write a vocabulary stretch poem.
58.	Cheer up a friend!
59.	Make fun of yourself.
60.	Talk with a friend and listen.
61.	Write your dreams as having come true.
62.	Get religion!
63.	Write about an ancestor or relative.
64.	Challenge yourself to write in a style new to you.
65.	Incorporate a phrase you hear and like.
66.	Honor a veteran.
67.	Craft a magical spell.
68.	Sneak up on your subject.
69.	Get things “not quite right.”
70.	Think like an alien.
71.	Create a frisson.
72.	Pay attention to life.
73.	Fixate on the details.
74.	Look at other writings with poem or song-length ideas.
75.	Eavesdrop.
76.	Try a catalog poem.
77.	Write about recent inventions.
78.	Go back to your unfinished poems and songs.
79.	Write about a previous incarnation.
80.	What’s the word of the day?
81.	Envision the future.
82.	Start a company offering custom poetry.
83.	Use pre-existing rhyme words.
84.	Write about a friend or pet.
85.	Write something for a child.
86.	Context is everything, but lack of context is more fun.
87.	Get a metaphorical dictionary.
88.	Look at the eyes alone.