A Mix of Ideas on How to Write

Here's my quick overview of How to Write, before I share a poetic mix.

Think about your audience. Read short stories. Tell a story. Don't wait for inspiration. Write every day. Rewrite. Be specific. Read the classics. Edit. Keep a journal. Take notes. Doodle. Read poetry. Listen to people. Flip through a dictionary. Get to the point. Have a point. Keep the journal with you. Don't edit. Go to an art gallery. Help someone. Keep sentences short. Use active verbs. Use your eraser. Listen to music. Go to the zoo. Feel alive. Go for a drive. Know the rules. Use the rules. Break the rules. But only with purpose.

Ask yourself: What's that like? What if I mixed two of my loves, writing and baking? Could I have had an idea as lovely as this poem?

A Loaf of Poetry -- ©Naoshi Koriyama
you mix
the dough
of experience
with
the yeast
of inspiration
and knead it well
with love
and pound it
with all your might
and then
leave it
until
it puffs out big
with its own inner force
and then
knead it again
and
shape it
into a round form
and bake it
in the oven
of your heart
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I knead this blog well with love fairly regularly. I don't always pound it with all my might. So here's another key to good writing: Remember that you can always do better. We can all do better. Isn't that wonderful?