Following are some simple ideas for exploring poetry and using your own experience to create a poem. If you’d like in-depth technical information on form and poetry structure, there is a brief list of recommended books at end of this article.

* Practice using your voice by writing a poem about a life experience, a memory, a desire, or a belief.

* Write a poem about your name. You may do this in either a positive or negative light—whatever is meaningful to you. You may even pick a name you like and write a poem about that name, making it your own.

* Select a poem written by someone else; write your version of poem.

* Select two poems by different poets which contain same theme. Write a couple of paragraphs comparing poems.

* In your own words explain what you think makes a “good” poem.

* Pick a topic you dislike and write a poem about it.

* Try writing song lyrics. Compare your lyrics to a poem you’ve written.

* Read some material on different structures of poetry (iambic pentameter, rhyme, sonnet, etc.). Write a poem with same theme in each specific structure. Pick at least three different structures.

* Write a poem explaining poetic rhythm.

* Explore and write examples of lyric and narrative poetry.

Some books on poetry worth owning:

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

In Palm of Your Hand by Steve Kowit

How to Interpret Poetry by Laurie E. Rozakis

The Poetry Dictionary by John Drury

Exploring ideas listed above may help open new doors for your writing. In addition to your poems being well crafted, they must be submitted regularly and extensively. Beat odds with strong writing COMBINED with a powerful and tenacious submission strategy.

When you travel, you open yourself up to lots of new and exciting experiences. New sights, new sounds, new smells, new tastes, new textures. And they all have ability to form a reaction with something else.

Don't have time to hop on a plane to India? Take a day trip to a town you've never visited. Or, if you can only spare a few hours, seek out a park you've never been to or a museum you've been meaning to see or even that new cute little shop that just opened. You can always find somewhere new to visit no matter how long you've lived in same city. And if you're truly desperate, try walking around your neighborhood on opposite side of street in opposite direction you normally walk. (It can help jolt you out of rut.)

3. Open yourself up to new things. Of all of these, this one is probably scariest. But, it also has potential to be most powerful.

Take time to try new things. Meet people outside your normal circle of friends. Attend associations, nonprofits, hobby groups outside of ones you usually go to. Listen to speakers on topics you know nothing about. Take a class at a community college about something outside your scope of knowledge. Or even have dinner at an ethnic restaurant you've never tried.

Now I'm not just talking about "typical" creative things, like taking an art class or learning to belly dance. If you're a creative professional, take a class on doing your own taxes or budgeting your finances or repairing your car. (Oooh, I bet all you creative folk felt a chill when I mentioned that.) The point is to really stretch yourself past your comfort zone. Make yourself uncomfortable. It's not only a great way to grow, but it's a fabulous way to keep your muse fat and happy.

And that helps keep ideas flowing.

Creativity Exercises -- Prepare banquet

Over next month, I want you do to at least one tactic from each of above three techniques.

1. Read something you know nothing about. Even if you only spend five minutes skimming an article about quilting when last time you tried to sew a button on a shirt you stabbed yourself with needle and got blood all over material.

2. Travel somewhere you've never been before. Even if it's an antique shop and most antique piece of furniture in your house is a bookshelf your parents bought from Sears when you were a little kid.

3. Stretch yourself in a different and potentially scary way. Even if it's attending one of those Home Depot gardening workshops despite every plant you've tried to grow didn't and if your thumb was any blacker it would fall off.

You know how you work better when you're not hungry, see how well your muse starts churning out ideas after a good meal.