The Lotus Eaters Forum EX#18: Criss Cross

This is almost like a free write. In a free write you write whatever comes to mind without editing yourself. The important thing is to follow your stream of consciousness without damming the whole thing up with grammar, punctuation, and even logic. Figure that out after.

Start with a random word in the middle of the page. I like to use words I pick by pointing a finger to any page in a book that I know has lots of imagery. Add the next word that comes to mind that can cross the first word, like in the game of Scrabble. Keep building on.

I found this helps me to throw out logic for a little while. It can lead to alliteration as you may think of a word that starts with the same letter. I found it lead to rhymes that weren't typical as letters on the board were already suggested. And sometimes I will take the time to fill in what fits between the words on the board. After you've done this comes the revision that will make it more understandable to the reader... or not. I added a poem earlier this week, Lemon Zest, that came from this exercise. It's a good way to create dream poems.

That sounds really interesting. Looking forward . . .