Letters to Numbers and Numbers to Letters - A Rather Complicated Way to Make a Poem

Next time you find yourself bored and/or stuck while writing, why not try out this fun little poetry exercise? I'll step-by-step it with lots of clear and detailed examples:


1) Find a book.


I just picked up a text book titled "Brilliant CV".


2) Take a key word from the title.


I'll take 'Brilliant'.


3) Display this word like an acrostic.


B

R

I

L

L

I

A

N

T


4) Identify the chronological number of each letter's place within the alphabet (e.g. A=1, B=2, C=3 etc).


B=2

R=18

I=9

L=12

L=12

I=9

A=1

N=14

T=20


5) Pick up the book again. Find the page number that matches each of these numbers.


B=2 = page 2

R=18 = page 18

I=9 = page 9

etc


6) Find the first word on the page that begins with the original letter. Write down all following words until you reach the end of a line or sentence.


B=2 = Best Buy

R=18 = Reliable information

I=9 = is that things that are unusual

L=12 = life history

L=12 = life history

I=9 = is that things that are unusual

A=1 = attempted to put together

N=14 = needs to make far more of her ten years

T=20 = Training Manager


7) Fiddle around with the syntax, the layout and/or omit certain words until you have some form of contextual coherence. Or not.


Here is the (rough) final product:


Best buy

reliable information,

things that are unusual


life history

Life History


Things that are unusual

attempted

to make far more of her

Training Manager.


That's the idea in a surprisingly retentive nutshell. If you're still scratching your head then please ask your questions in the comment section below.