Heartstorming vs Brainstorming

If you're used to writing articles, training manuals, blog posts, shopping lists, and the like you'll know that you often plan out what you are going to write before you begin to write it. This is what we're taught at school, and it's often referred to as scaffolding or brainstorming or planning. 

These rules don't necessarily apply in poetry. 

If you listen to podcasts or read books written by poets about the act of writing, most will often say that sometimes the idea of the poem comes to them in a flash and that first draft is captured on the page without any plan. In poetry, we come to the page with an idea, perhaps a theme or maybe a line where language has inserted itself in our brains for some reason and often the planning out of the poem is not necessary - sometimes the act of writing the first draft itself is the planning -  and then we move forward and edit with clarity a bit later on. 

When submitting to journals and competitions that request you to write on a theme you need to find something in that theme that inspires you. So if it's climate change, for example, that's a massive topic. You can get political, you could get personal - there's a million different ways to tackle that one topic. Don't try to guess what the publisher wants to read. Feel it in your heart first - it has to come from there or it's not going to feel authentic and it's not going to work.  I know this because I've done this before and the rejections that I've received have always been when I've tried to think about what the publisher wants rather than what I feel. 

Because poetry shines when it’s heartfelt and authentic.

Knowing your own self, and your ideas and passions will improve your poetry. So if you tap into your own unique perspective, while using the submission guidelines as a base, you’ll be better placed for publication selection. 

How to Heartstorm

This can be unnerving if you're not used to this method of writing, but please give it a try.  In this activity I ask you to “heartstorm” or “Soulstorm”. These words are a paradigm shift away from the traditional notions of brainstorming. Rather than use our brains to come up with multiple ideas, plan and plot like you might in other forms of writing, we are going to use our hearts. It’s a bit of an abstract notion, but here’s how it works.

If you are familiar with meditating, or using your body and intuition to decide if something feels right, then you will be able to do this.

• Sit quietly and take a few deep breaths.
• Notice any tension in your body and let go of it.
• You can take as long as you like to do this. 
• And as you relax, slowly bring the word or topic to your mind. See what inspiration comes from your heart, from your higher or deeper self and list them down. See which ideas just feel ‘right’ in your body. Maybe it’s a feeling of anger, or being fired up - that’s ok, I didn’t say that you needed to be calm. Is there tension creeping back in at the thought of an idea - great, go with it.

Tapping into the themes at an emotional or physiological rather than a cognitive level will allow you to create deeper, more authentic work.

Heartstorming is one of the techniques that I discuss in my free guide Increase Your Chance of Poetry Publication in 10 Critical Steps.