Bubbling for Ideas

A stack of bricks, a work shirt billowing on the line: 
epics in the making. Each set of doubts a garden                                            
     - Lance Larsen from the poem, "Chancellor of Shadows"                       

How do you generate ideas for your prose or poetry? At times, inspiration 
may seem mysterious. Connection, collection, and collation promote 

idea development.

Consider all the stimuli received each day. Take time to use all your senses as antennas to locate and pick up bits of conversations, body language, scenes unfolding and opportunities for further investigation.

If you keep a small notebook handy or use a recording device, ideas will land in a safe place. Later you can return to see how they dovetail or grow additional wings. Don't worry about beginnings, middles or ends. Become a collector of life's mysteries and events that unfold around you. 

Stephane Mallarme said, "Poems are not made of ideas, they are made of words. An idea, a possibility, may be in my head - or in the world - for hours or years, with nothing coming of it. Then one day, maybe taking a shower or a walk or driving, into my mind or mouth come a few words in a certain order, or maybe not even words, maybe a shape of grammar, sentence-sound: And then a poem begins, I hope."

Stay on an idea hunt. No matter where you find yourself you can attract them. Take an hour to visit a park, coffee shop or other place where many people gather. 

Watch body language, sounds and add scents and tastes. Observe the seasons and their subtleties. Notice the animals that populate your days.

Look up and observe details others miss. If you begin this observation, a habit will form and you'll always attract bubbles of ideas. Let your ideas-in-training percolate. They will arise when you least expect them.

How will you bubble for ideas today?