It happens. You’re immersed in a writing practice, drafting, revising, drafting, revising, in the flow from day to day, month to month. Then, one day—bam, just like that—not a single image or phrase or word flows from your mind onto the page. You don’t know how you ever managed to write those poems you wrote. And you’ve written a lot of poems.
The poet Robert Hass said it best: “It's hell writing and it's hell not writing. The only tolerable state is having just written.”
Ruts came up in this week’s Poet to Poet community gathering. Here are five things to try, recommended by the smart, dedicated poets in that group.
Try erasure poetry. The poet Mary Ruefle starts every day by creating an erasure poem. Because you’re starting with someone else’s words, the technique relieves pressure to produce something new while stimulating a creative response. Like Mary Ruefle, poet Janie says she does an erasure every day as a warm up to other writing. And poet X.P. recommended a book called Make Blackout Poetry. Check out erasure examples on poets.org.
Work with your own poem snippets. X.P. brought up her clippings file (I have something similar), a file full of fragments or failed poems that one can return to when new work doesn’t seem available. Sometimes it’s like receiving a gift from your past writing self.
Hand write—in fragments only. Celeste, a poet and visual artist, says she’ll move away from working on her computer and write with actual pen on actual paper. She notes phrases and lines but doesn’t pressure herself to write anything resembling a poem. Even when a state of flow remains distant, the tactile experience of handwriting has a grounding and pleasing effect.
Write an imitation. Take a poem you love and write your own “version” of the poem, imitating elements other than subject matter—the rhythms, syntactical structures, lineation, forms, etc. It’s like poetry Mad Libs. Another fun exercise: Take a poem from a foreign language (ideally a language that you don’t know) and “translate” it by how it “sounds” to you.
Don’t write. Lately, I like to take the dog down to the creek and watch leaves floating in the slow autumn water. If I had more time, I’d draw or paint. Doing something else signals to your brain that it can relax. The poetic mind, after all, can’t be summoned by effort. It requires non-effort.
Sometimes we really just need to rest. Period. We can’t keep creating without taking time to replenish. For me, that means being out in nature sans phone, sans schedule, absolutely zero expectation of myself to do any mental work, not even gathering images for poems (they sneak in anyway, but I consciously let go of trying).
At a conference I attended this summer, the poet Camille Dungy advised: Poetry is hard work, often the hardest work. It takes a toll on our psyches and bodies. Replenishment has to be part of our writing practices, too.
So please be gentle with yourselves.
Which practices lift you out of a rut?
New Course! Finish Your Manuscript in 3 Months
Enrollment for the Winter 2023 3 Month Complete Manuscript Course is now open.
This new course synthesizes everything I've learned about book development from 20 years of writing, publishing, and teaching. (If only I'd known what I know now back when I started sending out manuscripts.)
Whether you’re working on a first book or a subsequent collection, the course guides you through the entire process—from selecting poems to structuring the book to the details that make a memorable first impression with publishers.
Dates: January 18-April 8, 2023
There are just 10 spots available in this cohort.
The early-bird discount is available until November 30th.
Paid members of the Poet to Poet Community are eligible for an additional 10% off (If you want to join before purchasing, please do. Membership is currently just $15/mo)
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–Katherine Indermaur, 2022 Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize Winner
"Radha’s feedback has been invaluable, allowing me to see new ways of organizing the work, as well as new ways of looking at each individual piece. It’s a much better manuscript—and I’m a much better writer—for the work we’ve done together."
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These are very helpful suggestions. Lately I have been struggling with problems that have prevented me from producing at the rate I am usually capable of or shall I say at all. So these suggestions are right on point and timely. Thank you so much! Beverly
Fallow times can give rise to great bursts of energy - if we let them. Think winter into spring.