Suffering from Writers block? Here are 10 Writing tips

Every writer no matter how experienced or talented comes to a creative brick wall every now and then. Getting past this can be very difficult or sometimes even impossible. However this article has some tips that can help keep the ink flowing and keep your work interesting

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/art-of-writing/

FEATURE - Saul Williams (Coded Language)

In this feature we look at a legendary performance by the world renowned lyricist Saul Williams on Def Poetry Jam. In this piece entitled 'Coded Language' Saul takes us on a poetical, political, emotional, intergalactic journey through issues very close to his heart. Watch, Listen, appreciate, and most importantly enjoy 

Catherine's Performance at Roundhouse Studios

Our very own Right to Inspire Public Relations Director, Catherine Labiran will be performing at the soon to be showcased 'Roundhouse Poetry Collective.' 

This sixteen year old spark will be performing on two days (3^rd and 5^th December). One of her pieces can be viewed on the Write to Inspire blog.

“Over the past ten weeks, the Roundhouse Poetry Collective have been developing their written and performance styles under the guidance of celebrated beat poet Polarbear. The group have been playing with ways of drawing the audience into their worlds, and this showcase will see the poets asking you to 'get to know us through our writing!'. “

For more information or to show your support and buy yourself a ticket, go to http://roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/days/2010-12-05

Adaora Asoegwu - Wordsmiths

This piece comes from a poet on the right side of cocky. In this almost comic piece her talents run free across the page.

Showing the skills she proudly speaks of. It is truly inspired. This up and comer will be featured again.

“Pounding their hands against their chests “We are better wordsmiths,” 
And I concealingly laugh at their delusions of grandeur 
Praythe I do hope their self-potrayed myths 
Do not cause them harm or irreversible hinder, 
From their true but far lesser potentials 

In possession of Shakespeare’s quill and Marlowe’s scroll 
Indeed, I proudly admit I am the masters’ apprentice, 
Or better still their descendant, or possibly their soul, 
How is it that I’d write and not manufacture a piece, 
Worthy of exaltation and impeccable credentials? 

Ask the blacksmith ‘Are these golden words u see?” 
And he would affirm it is gold like never before, 
With gold this valuable, shan’t you all decree 
That I am the purple blood of poetry, and what’s even more, 
I am the incomparable greatest, so others are non-essential” 

Alas! I humbly with my pen and my paper, 
Will write about things that matter, 
About things that soothe the soul 
Because what else is greater, 
Than Laughter, Music and Love? 
And more greater than the latter 

So, I may not have Billy’s quill or Chris’ scrolls 
Nor even their century aged souls 
But what I have, more special than those 
Is the God-given talent of poetry and prose. 

A Poets Soul (Prelude)

Francis was planning on releasing his first book A POETS SOUL on 10/12/2010 but now he has decided to do more work on it to make sure that the quality of the book is of as high a standard as possible. So for now he will be releasing this book which is a prelude to the actual book. At this moment the plan is to have about 8 poems in this publication. A couple of the poems featured in this will be also featured in the final book but they will be extended versions.

The purpose of this release is to get the audience used to the writing style that he plans to use in his future books, this will not be a straightforward anthology. But we will not reveal too much about what lies in wait for you. At the time this post the book will be available for free download in about one month. It will be the first publication from Write to Inspire Publishing.

Jadean Johnson - Epiphany Untitled

This piece was written by Jadean Johnson a young, talented, aspiring poet.

This short vivid piece has a fresh feel to it and his style of writing, is refreshingly unique.

And deep realisation sinks in: his wavering to tether her to his heart with either love or friendship will surely set her adrift into the harbour of another.
 
And urgency washes over him.
 
‘’Is it too late?’’
 
He turns sharply. He needs to gaze her eyes again...
 
But the sun is strong.
 
And dread drowns him during his temporary blindness.
 
‘’Is she still near?’’
 
His momentary helplessness fades...

feature - G.R.E.E.D.S - What it Means

I shall not bore you with a long description about the contents of this piece, just watch, listen and appreciate this piece of Art....

Angie Nwokedi - My Heart On your Sleeve

Starry skies, summer vibes

Breathing lightly, smiling wide,

He comes to me, I stop him fast.

Love untrue, love, not you

Love, I knew

Love.

I move to strike

I move for pain.

I slap, I hit, I kick,

For love has left my clique

But then you say you love me

But I know my love no more

You smile and I glimpse my heart on your sleeve

And then I know

I feel like im under oath, just not to you.

I breath, I cry, I loved.

I will feel the pain

I will feel the hurt

But I will not feel love

Because love is cheating, cheating on him, cheating with you.

I will not feel love because I have loved and it was taken.

Love was stabbed in the back with a scared mans knife

Love was left to bleed, love was left untended

Cold, alone, dying, then dead.

So, impossibility comes to mind, when I see my heart plastered,

plastered and strewn on your sleeve

On your sleeve my hear t resides

But my heart died

Died with the love I had on the other side.

Why is my heart on your sleeve, when it was long dead and buried?

How is my heart on your sleeve, when I never wore it on my own?

When did my heart reach your wrist? I see it dangling close to your hip and I ask you how?

You say to me;

“It is on my sleeve because you refuse to carry it in your chest.”

The love of Adam by Eve was strong, relentless,

Nevertheless, she caused his death.

I stand as bearer of bad news, regina of regret.

Danger.

My heart belongs to someone else, now stolen by another

I buried my heart with the man that I loved, so how is it on your sleeve?

I should steal it back but you guard it.

So I slap you, hit you, kick you,

Then I kiss you, miss you, love you.

I reach the end, our silvers grey

Our children live and walk astray.

They say “mother, why is your silver always grey?”

And I say to them,

A long time ago, the man who had my heart was buried,

And I buried my heart with him.

But then a man stole my heart and I loved him, married him

But now, that man that died, that man I buried, that took my heart the first time,

Is on my mind

And your father, the thief, the one who cheated me out of my first love,

Is wandering, scamming and lying,

Showing others the same heart he showed me

Now I’m here, alone with you, thinking of the man I buried

And now I realize that he never relinquished my heart,

He kept it safe, protected, with our memories, while I fell for a scam artist with a heart on his sleeve.

One day, my hearts protector I will see again

My knees will graze gravel and my eyes caress rubble as I think of how to beg forgiveness.

For I allowed myself be scammed, scammed for the easy, scammed for the light.

Scammed because I thought I had more than one life.

The truth is, when I buried my heart , I should have trusted it to stay under,

Stay in limbo, stay unknown.

But I believed instead, in fairy tale.

Believed that Cinderella found her prince, that Rapunzel’s hair set her free,

that snow white survived the apple.

Seyi Ezikiboy Noibi - Regular Girl

We Were Regularly On And Off So I Got Used To The Lights Being On Full Blast & Then Suddenly Our Wires Would Cross & Short Circuit The Fuse & All There'd Be Was A Blackout.Then It Got Irregular No More Texts & Calls Blowing Up My Cellular I Tried To Message Her But All I Got Was 'Duck Out' So I'd Act Out Then We'd Repeat The Process.Regular Girl Living In My Regular World Where The Lights Flicker Everytime I’m With Her They Can Spontaneously Combust & Send Our Starry Eyes Shooting Off Like Fireworks Into The Night Or Just Fade & Get Dimmer Fading Into Dust Till There’s No More Light Just A Jammed Off Switch.Back To The Irregular Set Up I Wonder Sometimes Why I Put Myself Through This Uno Choosing To Be Foolish & Stay Where Consistently Isn’t A Game We’re Too Familiar With Playing We’re More Interested In Tank Music That ‘Sex,Almost Love & Pain’ Emphasis On The Almost Cuz I Can Just About Get U To Keep The Lights Glowing But Then When The Going Gets Tough & Crack Starts Showing U Cave Into The Pressure & Retreat Into Ur Cave Ur Lair & As Much As I Try To Illuminate Whats Inside There I’m Stuck In The Darkness Where Irregularities Is All I Can Get To Answer To My Screams For Intimacy.Regular Girl,We’re Back Here Again.On & Off.Hot & Cold.Yes & No.Here & Gone.Boomerang,U Come & Then U Vanish But I Sure As Hell Hope U Come Back.Hoping,Yeah I Guess You Could Say I’m A Glutton For This Type Of Loving.Regular Break Ups & Makes Ups,Not Knowing Whether I’ll Wake Up Next To U Or U’ll Take Up Another Guy So I’ll Just Be Stuck Missing U On Loop Like A Sad Love Song & I’m Broken Hearted Just Tryna Get By.Why Does This Predictable Instability Have To Persist We Could Just Firmly Place Both Hands On The Light Switch & Turn On Instead Of Getting Turned On & Then Turned Off I Don’t Know How Much Longer I Can Handle This Being On Rocky Ground Treating Our Everyday Like Its Fragile A Piece Of China & If Earthquakes Disturb Our Peace & Volcanoes Erupt That Force Us Away From Ground & Into The Sea I Don’t Think It’ll Be Long Before We Drown We’ve Run Out Of Earth To Cover & We’ve Become Our Own Enemies.Friends To Lovers & Then Back Again & Again & Again Its Become Routine So Back & Forth I Think Messages Have Been Telling Us We’re Not Right For Each Other But We Refuse To Listen Till Regular Girl We Finally Become Permanently Irregular.Not Blacked Out But Knocked Out.A Number In Love’s Mortuary....

FEATURE - PERRE SHELTON (Dandelions)

Untitled - by Bukola Epiphany Rose

This is a short piece written by another young and talented poet who goes by the name of Bukola. I told Bukola I wanted a piece from her for my blog and within a few minutes she gave me this freestyle straight from the heart, I was Impressed....

If I could capture his essence I would capture his love.

First I'd start by tangling my heart in the midst of his mind,

and drag it through the deeply buried thoughts.

We'd voyage down the opening of it passively,

embracing each n every last one of my burning desires.

First I'd allow him to fore play with my fore thoughts,

and keep me essembled with stolen pictures of his glazed lips,

smooth skin and alluring eyes.

With his mother tongue he'd caress cages of my soul,

and break free the chains of my past hurt, my past love.

Bukola Amaris Epiphany Rose

Voice of A City

The winds cool breath swept through the barren streets,

On either side concrete estates stood guard like sentinels,

Their grey complexions mute the ‘would be’ voice of the scenery.

If you listen closely you can hear stories echoed through the alleyways,

Round the corner and into the streets.

Listen, can you hear it?

Amidst the fear inducing beat of the police sirens,

Resides the voices of a Couple,

Engaged in the type of conversation you would expect from lovers lost in lust,

Their eyes never leave each other,

Yet their feet guide them in the right direction,

Floating across the ground their footsteps are as light as their hearts,

Ever so suddenly their movement ceases.

Their eyes reflect the moonlit sky.

His loving grip tightens on her palms,

Which respond accordingly,

In that moment of time,

Their heartbeats play the backing track to the city’s song,

A track that plays on,

Until,

A gunshot decides to add its vocals,

Vocals so out of pitch and tempo that they break his heart beat,

Hers plays on, evermore sonorous its tempo quickens,

Her wails and screams now take centre stage.

Thoroughly encouraged by the round of applause given by the moonlit skies,

Reflected in his lifeless eyes

The sirens return, the performance becomes a duet.

As they drag her away, her voices pierces the decibel barrier...

...and becomes silent...the colour drains away from the picture.

The grayscale theme now returns,

Along with the silence,

Another chapter is added to the story of these streets,

If you listen close maybe you will hear them

FXL

Angie Nwokedi - Nigeria

This is a piece by an Aspiring Young Nigerian Writer, Angie Nwokedi. It is a beautiful poem that uniquely depicts her view on her motherland Nigeria

Nigeria

Here, the rain beats harder than anywhere else in the world.

Masquerading the cries of the helpless,

The mourns of the desperate.

Here, lightening strikes brighter than anywhere else.

Smouldering the crimes commited against our nation,

Hiding atrocities in plain sight.

Here, thunder sounds louder than anywhere else in the world.

Roaring injustices,

But here, the sun shines brightest,

So when we dance,

The whole world sees

But the clouds remain constantly,

A perpetual reminder

That on the other side

Of the brightest light

The darkest night

Still remains

By Angie Nwokedi

[FEATURE] Write to Inspire - Catherine Labiran

This is the first of the Write to Inspire Video Feature collection. In this video we have a young poet Catherine Labiran Performing her Poem on Identity

Seyi Ezikiboy Noibi - 'The Beauty Of A Black Woman'

'The Beauty Of A Black Woman'

She’s More Than An African Queen, She’s Beyond Any Of Your Wildest Dreams
Sweet And Nurturing But Knows How To Handle Herself If You Know What I Mean
Is There Really Any Other Option?
I Swear Down I Peeped The Alternatives For A Second & Ain’t Nothing Compatible With My Taste Except That Milk Or Dark Chocolate
I’m Talking About The Beauty Of The Brown, Black Skinned Woman.
You Might Think They’re Highly Irrational But Let Me Give You Some Insight
You See Those Thick Hips And Thick Thighs
Those Sweet, Juicy Lips
That Provide Those Soft Tender Kisses
No Need For Lipstick, Vaseline Does The Business
Not A Bitch But A True Beauty Past Description
Full Body & Brain. They May Complain But That’s Cuz Brothers Don’t Hear What They Have To Say
A True Gem With Unique Names. Now Let Me Take You Past The Exterior
Because The Interior Is What Doesn’t Get A Look In
The Beauty Of A Woman Runs Deep Inside The Black Females, They’ve Got A Lot Cooking
They Stand Up For Their Man & All Those Close To Them
They Know What They’re About Not Running Their Tongue Through Every Dudes Mouth
They Like The Finer Things In Life And Work Hard To Get The Nice
They May Shop For Things Up To Ridiculous Prices But They Manage To Get Out Of Every Situation Alright
Full Of Pride Because They’re The Crème de La Crème
They Don’t Put Up With Just Any Rude, Arrogant Or Obnoxious Men
They Have Sense & A Heart Of Compassion
A Love For Their Family & A Thirst To Be In With All The Latest Fashions
These Are The Women That We Want To Replace With Something Different, Can You Really Imagine?
I Got A Call The Other Day & My Mum Was On The Other Line
She Said “Son, Hows Everything & I Hope You’ve Found A Good Wife
A Real Black Goddess, Someone That Will Change Your Life For The Better
There’s No Lover Like A Black Lover & It Increases Times 10 If She’s A Woman
I Said I’m Trying But Nobody Seems To Have Any Good Prospects
She Said If I’m Being Honest It’s The Guys Nowadays That’s Halting Progress
Too Blind To Acknowledge The Beauty Of A Black Woman & So Intent On Looking Away
That’s A Real Ignorant Philosophy Because, Till Today, I’d Be Amazed If Any Body Could Say
That, With Enough Patience & Commitment, The Discovery Of The Beauty Of A Black Woman Isn’t Worth The Wait"

Ezekiel 'Seyi Ezikiboy' Noibi (c) Copyright 2010

FEATURE - Chaleboy the Poet (Four Letter Word)

This feature is a piece by an inspiring wordsmith Chaleboy the poet entitled four letter word.

Candle lit romance

''Im here, shes gone, all that remains of us...are these candles''

The sheets stained with our sweat and sex,

flashbacks of lip biting,

scratching my back,

screaming all that,

lost in the lust,

love kiss and touch,

me,

her,

us.

The air filled with a burning,

vanilla, strawberry and kiwi aroma

(our candles)

chased by our unique sex scent,

our performance accompanied,

by the finest effects,

as the moonlight highlights her black silhouette.

Donell Jones, Marvin Gaye, Luther V, and Babyface,

provide the commentary to our performance,

...and the beat drops....

....now were lost in indulgence,

feasting on each other as were switching positions,

outside of these walls we know no existence,

our breathing grows heavy,

but our desire is persistent,

thrusting feels good,

but now im the boat in her ocean,

controlled by her waves,

i am lost in the motion

her mouth opens but she struggles to speak,

then she bites on the pillow as she reaches her peak

she shivers and moans,

then collapses,

time passes . .

I lay down with her,

face to face,

I kiss her, stare into her eyes,

there aint nothing clearer.

Through our love making we have become one,

So when im alone and heart broken,

I remember she has the other piece,

as a remembrance token.

''Freedom of Speech''

I like this picture it personifies what the rulers of this world call freedom of speech

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FEATURE- Lauryn Hill - Motives and thoughts

Amazing Poem by miss Lauryn Hill, it was the inspiration behind my poem named social delusion, have a watch

FEATURE- Amir Suliman - Love Poem

This is the first of many features which I will have here on my blog and today I will start with a poem by one of my favourite poets Amir Suliman. He is more known for his political/rebel/revolution style poetry, that is why this piece stands out so much. This unique account of the physical expression of love between lovers shows how versatile a poet he truly is.

Depth of Isolation

This is a poem that i posted on facebook about three months ago. The concept this poem deals with is what if you lost the one you loved, the one you devoted your whole life to, the one that gave her world to you was lost due to your lack of emotions. A few of you may think I contradicted myself in my last sentence by saying 'devoting your whole life to' , then 'lack of emotions' . However it is a concept that is all too common in relationships where one half believes they are giving their all, however the other half feels that something is lacking. Long story short this here is my depiction of the concept as I thought it would play out

Depth of Isolation


Warm wet drops crept down my cheek,
Leaving footprints of shame in their wake,
Tears,
I've heard about them
I’d seen her cry them
But never did I think I would be so weak,
Was I not the emotionless soul that was prophesized?
Hardly, but she was deceived by my act.


The Sun parted the Curtains that draped from my eye lids,
Up until now I had not noticed its light,
The winds icy fingers traced across each and every one of my newly born nerves,
Triggering seismic tremors that collapsed me to my knee’s...
...where I should have been...
...on my knees, the day she left me, taking my air with her,
Although back then I had not yet learned to breathe,
I adorned her with more Gold than Nefertiti,
Treated her body like a temple,
And when I worshipped inside her,
She came eye to eye with God himself.


But the only thing she ever wanted....
.....was the only thing I could not give to her


The tears pace quicken as they race each other down my face,
My soul is aching,
my hands are shaking.
She is gone...
...now all I can do is write,
My fists filled with rage...
...but it’s too late to fight.


They say it’s better to lose love, than to never love at all,
But she was in love alone,
And now I’m in love...and she’s gone,
And now I’m here.... with this gun,
The remedy to my unending pain,
Putting an end to my unequivocal shame,
Out of the chamber and into my brain,
The feeling is... .is now... none




FXL