Unblocking creativity and releasing inspiration – 10 minute writing challenge (1 of 2)

24 June 201525 June 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Copyright 2009 Trug Bui Viet, Flicks, via Wylio

I thought I would share with you this 10 minute writing exercise I carried out after a friend gave me a very special writing book while I was in hospital. This is the very first bit of writing I did as a result of receiving this book. (Try it yourself – set a timer for 10 minutes and just write whatever comes into your head.) This was written in January this year. I have in the past month started my story … I just need to return again. This 10 minute extract conveys the kind of autobiographical fiction I would like to write.

‘Heart of my life. This moment. Where am I? I am in a new life. I am boarding a train at Platform Life. I have my ticket to an unknown destination. It is calling me. I have no idea where I am going but I have my inside filled with the fuel of inspiration. I am alone. Yet I do not feel alone. I feel that I have my spirits with me. The special light of those I have loved and lost. Yet there is the call of mystery. This is my story. I recall when I was given a signal to get on the train and know that I was on a special journey. I received texts telling me that I was not alone. It was scary yet somehow exciting. I love trains and I was on a journey to my mystery story, the one I am going to start.

I feel it is a fantasy story. It means I can go on any plane of life. The now, the future, the past, the unknown. The hidden depths within me. I may get lost but the fragments of me will collect themselves and save me from the hardness of life as I know it at this moment. I am on a soft journey to a fantasy world. I am going to soar into a story of such powerfulness that inspires me and connects me with the people who I love now and those I have yet to meet. I feel blessed to have this opportunity. And it is going to re-alight my creativity. Take me to a place that is beyond the bounds of special. A unique, timeless experience that is so touching, so enchanting, that I will create many special characters to join me on this journey. They will be colourful, fantastical, special, heartwarming …’

The Trapped Butterfly – Poem

18 June 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Copyright 2009 Donald Duss, Flickr, CC-BY, via Wylio

The following poem was written in 2010. A woman I had met in Brighton had talked about being a trapped butterfly and other things she spoke about encouraged me to get on and write my book. Yes, even back then I had the intention to write a book – maybe 2015 will be the year! I have recently made a start on two books – one is a fiction story based in Brighton which I started writing a couple of weeks ago. The second is a book on Memories and Creativity which I started writing today. I have made many ‘starts’ over the years – I just have to keep the momentum up and see it through … Anyway, here is my poem.

The Trapped Butterfly

Thoughts of freedom fill her mind

not knowing what to do

She cannot leave it all behind

to find that something new

Life has done it once again

entrapped her in its web

Amongst it all it is the men

that cause a constant ebb

The journey has been happy

it has not been all bad

Such gifts there’ve been for all to see

yet now she feels so sad

The spiders web surrounds her

it’s not a pretty sight

And nothing feels the way things were

so taking all the might

Yet through her fragile being

comes wonder and such light

That lifts and is so healing

she’s not giving up the fight

To break through all the limits

and fly to reach the sky

To take a look to where he sits

with not a tearful eye

So from this day now forward

she knows what she must do

To lift her high as like a bird

and give a happy coo

A butterfly is special

it flutters here and there

But her wish is now to settle

with one that wants to share

And the choices that she makes

are hers and hers alone

And it will be for all their sakes

though some of them may moan

Time is slipping through her wings

the moment is now here

To feel the joys of all life brings

there’s nothing now to fear

Oblivion – poem

14 June 201514 June 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Copyright 2008 David Ohmer, Flickr, CC-BY, via Wylio

I wrote this poem when I was attending a creative writing course in 2013. It was at this time that I learnt about different types of poems and editing. It was my first (and only!) attempt at a Villanelle style of poem. Most of my poems have been written spontaneously and rarely edited. I’d love to know what you think.

OBLIVION

Across the trapway looming dwellings queue

I struggle with thoughts of others’ feeling

Shimmering isle inspired by blue depth hue

Eery emptiness fakes tempting trespass

I’m drawn to chance the shake of such stepping

Across the trapway looming dwellings queue

Furtive steps melt along the curving path

I feel the heat of the orange glowing

Shimmering isle inspired by blue depth hue

Hidden echoes of the privileged few

I hear aching voices softly calling

Across the tramway looming dwellings queue

Tippling boats and boys seared by rich sun rays

I bless them from the heart for such dreaming

Shimmering isle inspired by blue depth hue

Shedding golden light on secret ways

I feel lured in by those that went sailing

Across the tramway looming dwellings queue

Shimmering isle inspired by blue depth hue

Journal find Summer 2014 – poetic lines written following spiritual experience by the sea

3 June 20153 June 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 2 Comments

Copyright 2013 Matthew Hartley, Flickr, CC-BY, via Wylio

Just found these words scribbled on their own following journal entries on a very special visit to Tenby in Wales, a lovely place.

Happiness draws me through the tunnel of light

the whispers so precious have given me fight

Where will it take me? Oh I know not for sure

but now it’s life’s journey, so precious, so pure

Words – what would we do without them? Random poetic writing

30 May 201530 May 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 2 Comments

Copyright 2012 Denise Krebs, Flickr, CC-BY, via Wylio

I have just stumbled across these verses written early one morning in the summer of 2010 sitting by the river whilst holidaying at Statford upon Avon. The desire to write and getting stuck seems to have remained with me!

Aren’t words the wonder of all

they bring such treasures our way

Without them we’d fall with nothing to call

and life would be dull day on day.

We’d sing, no lyrics would come

we would hum, laa laa, dee dee

What would be the point, well ok for some

but for most so lost would be.

So writers what would they write

no way to convey their thoughts

However they tried, as hard as they might

they would drift and be out of sorts.

How would we share all our joys

that come bursting through our voice

Whatever we feel, whatever the noise

the message is not our choice.

With no words no wonder is

unless an artist could be

With colour and light, some pencil and vizz

would say all there is to see.

Words are the key to my life

without them what would I do

Be lost for a while, my thoughts would be rife

till vision could see them too.

A lesson it is for me

to be the best that I can

A story will write, for all it will be

for children, for women, for man.

A puzzle this has become

it didn’t set out to be

I will paint and draw, I will sing and hum

till the words they come to me.

The Impact of Place – Wellbeing, Inspiration and Creativity

20 April 201521 April 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 2 Comments

A short while back I talked about my creativity being blocked and trying to overcome this. I’ve not yet overcome my inability to immerse myself in a creative zone but I will share my thoughts and progress. Having spent two months in hospital, and a further month at home, mainly but not exclusively in one room, I have had little chance to get out and about and when I do most visits are for appointments at the hospital. In the past few days I have realised what is perhaps the obvious, the effect of place on my ability to relax, switch off and become entwined in my creative quest. At a basic level, I have had to relocate my bedroom to a lower floor, losing the broad view of the sky and my cosy writing corner. Then there is the effect of being restricted, not going out to walk and explore different places. So I turn to my memories and love of water. Water in all it’s natural forms is inspiring, be it sea, river, waterfall, stream or lake. In pondering this blog I recalled a holiday at Lake Bled, a most magical place in Slovenia. When I visited many years ago I had not started writing but I recall how I felt when I surveyed the view from the hotel balcony on the night of arrival and the many hours enjoyed walking alongside the beautiful lake. Perhaps if I can allow my mind to drift and recapture the essence of the special places I have visited – with a notebook to hand – I will be able to move forward with my creative pursuits. Even on a rainy day, Lake Bled is a magical place.