Question

Which writing exercise (s) did you find most helpful in generating ideas for your poems? In my own words

Answer 1

Here are several ways you could say it in your own words — pick one that fits your voice or mix lines from different ones:

1) Short and direct
Freewriting was the most helpful. Letting myself write without stopping unlocked unexpected images and phrases that I could shape into poems later.

2) Reflective
The exercise that helped me most was sensory listing: I’d write down what I could see, hear, smell, taste, and touch in a short burst. Those concrete details gave me strong, specific moments to build poems around.

3) Process-focused
Timed prompts and stream-of-consciousness sessions opened up ideas fastest. When I gave myself only five or ten minutes and didn’t self-edit, surprising metaphors and themes kept appearing that I wouldn’t have reached otherwise.

4) Creative/imagistic
I found ekphrastic practice — responding to a painting or photograph — most inspiring. Translating visual details into language pushed me toward fresh images and comparisons that became the heart of my poems.

5) Experimental
Constraint exercises (like writing a poem without the letter “e” or using a fixed syllable pattern) were the most useful. The limits forced me to find inventive phrasing and unexpected associations.

6) Casual conversational
I like walking with a notebook and jotting odd lines or single words as I go. Later I cluster those scraps and a few of them usually spark a full poem.

Tip: Be specific about what you tried and why it worked for you — that makes your answer more personal. For example, say how a freewrite revealed an image you kept returning to, or which painting in an ekphrastic exercise sparked a poem.