You're writing methods?

[PhilipCFJohnson]

How do your poems form, and what process do you go through in writing and finalising your work?

All the best
Phil

[Ros]

Some of the best ones just seem to flow fairly easily from an idea or phrase. Or quite often, two thirds of a poem will flow, and the last bit will take ages to sound right. I find it very hard to just sit down and write - I have to have an idea that inspires me. Or other times I'll write for a specific writing challenge -that's a good way of producing poems that wouldn't have occurred to me any other way. I think it's usually best to sit on even ones I think are ok for a few days at least otherwise I don't spot the glaring problems.

Rosemary

[Sharra]

99% of the time I free write around an image or a phrase, then pick out the phrases that form a rough draft of the poem. Then comes lots of messing around with language, form, line breaks etc, oh and trying to work out exactly what the poem is about.

Sometimes I have an idea before I start, but a lot of the time I use a random line from a poem or a writing exercise to trigger at least 10 or 15 mins of free writing.
Sharra
x

[juliadebeauvoir]

I sit on them for weeks--my little hatchlings.
When things warm up I start writing myself e-mails and doing a line or two. This way I can revise and add no matter where I am--work or home if something comes to me.
Then it just comes together. I have a tendency to go through about ten revisions before I post. It''s a process.

Cheers,
Kim

[Raisin]

I normally get an idea, write everything down, and work on it for a few days

Raisin

[amergin]

The 'phrases: work on it for a few days, fiddle with the line breaks, see what I can cut out etc all refer to the crafting of a poem and it is important to remember that writing poetry is as much a craft as it is an art, more craft really than art. Actually reading other's work and commenting as we do here on this site, reading established poets' work, working and reworking our own poems are all to one end and that is to so develop the craft of writing into a polished skill that it becomes a facility that is available to us at any time. I also think it develops the poet's eye, the recognsing of the possibility of a poem in a place, a person, an event that others may not see.
Art,mathematics , science, music, poetry are all efforts of mankind to bring some order out of the chaos of life here on this blue planet, to try to understand and to explain, it helps us as poets to understand better and it helps those who read it to better understand if we recognise that poetry is an act of communication if it is anything.Arthur

[Cat_Brenners]

My ideas usually hit during the night. Of course I don't get up and write them down and the next day I can't get the jist of it lol. But, during the day I usually see or hear soemthing that starts a poem in my mind and I go from there.
Hugs, Cat

[Danté]

Most of my poems are off the cuff and written in a few minutes. I don’t usually know what I am going to write about until I string a few words together for the first line. Once I have a line, other ideas form and I get an idea of where I am going with the piece. Often I have a couple of words in mind that trigger images that I capitalise on, to then use in a poem. I do sometimes choose subjects, but don’t actually plan anything as it always seems to flow naturally. My understanding of grammar and punctuation is my weakness, working here for six months has helped me improve those areas. I write at least one poem each day, and have no problem finding inspiration. As most of what I write comes in a flash, I choose to write it there and then, before another set of ideas gets in the way. I do take time out to improve my understanding of writing the language in an acceptable manner, but that’s separate from the fluid outpourings that are my work. My aim is to spend enough time on the basics to enable my spontaneous approach to naturally be close to correct in respect of grammar and punctuation. I do revise the finished poems, and usually have half a dozen or so, on the task bar that I can tidy up or ditch as I see fit. Writing for various reasons is my weakest form of expression, although my brain is very sharp in dealing with complex musical structures and visuals. Personally I believe inspiration and passion to be the key ingredients in being able to further an aptitude that one has.
I am inspired and passionate, combine that with twenty five years or so, of barely writing anything beyond a shopping list and a brain that records everything in detail.
It means I am now on playback, trying to rectify my own weaknesses in respect of not bothering to learn to write properly. Yes I had a poor education at school, but I have had a lot of years when I could have addressed that by my own volition. Better late than never I guess.