How to Unblock Writer’s (Poet’s) Block: A Three-Step Guide

Jan 6

Written By The Poetry Society of New York

Revision is a matter of addressing questions about the work and how to best change it. The next time you’re bashing your head against a stanza, try taking a look at these.

1. What is the most interesting line of or idea in the poem?

Use this to address: how you change the rest of your poem to then amplify or contrast that moment.

Next steps: free writing/reducing the soup.

Reduce the Soup!

Looping is a common name for the strategy of using something you’ve written as a prompt for a free write. “Reducing the soup” is a strategy of looping I was taught where after each free writing session, you then choose the most interesting line from your previous loop. Here’s an example:

hierophant's house

craving structure despite its caveats

a cross before the masculine

a moon for the feminine

pillars divide secrets the curtains between worlds

profound admiration for aligning one’s actions

When I highlight the most interesting language in the poem, I might choose to save:

pillars divide secrets the curtains between worlds

Reduction

pillars divide secrets the curtains between worlds

floral curtains made by my mother

the carpets in my grandparent’s apartment

dark purple background white blossoms

kneading ground beef to make cutlets with Babau

visiting their kitchen in Manhattan when she was in Florida

the apartment felt bleak and horribly empty

Above, I’ve shifted from writing about a more esoteric and abstract topic to something autobiographical and very tangible. If I wanted to write a second reduction, I might grab the line “kneading ground beef to make cutlets with Babau” or “the apartment felt bleak and horribly empty,” depending on what themes I’m interested in exploring.

2. Does the end of my poem change how the reader understands the beginning?

Use this to address: the sense of progression and depth of a poem

Next steps: read and write your poem backwards

Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is the classic example of how a poem’s ending changes the entire tone. Instead of taking a ‘less traveled’ path, the speaker reflects on a false front they intend to put on later.

Put Your Thing Down Flip It and Reverse It

This step works just as well for concrete or sound based poetry. It just takes a bit of playfulness.

Start by reading your poem from the last line and work your way up. Mark any moments of transition, rupture, or sudden shifts. Now, with the original version in mind, write the poem backwards. This can be done on either a literal or ideological level. Here’s an example using the last stanza of “The Road Not Taken.”

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Inversion

everything was different in this life

for the road I took was uncommon

the options appeared in the woods

yes– in some some uncanny future

that will be the tale I weave

For example, writing the stanza backwards brought the significance of the em dash forward. While we won’t be making revision suggestions to Mr. Frost, this technique can similarly tell you how a poem is (or isn’t) working. You can also read more about the em dash from Louisa Varni.

3. How are my words arranged on the page?

Use this to address: rhythm, breath, and form

Next steps: scoring

Music and musicality has always been tied to poetry. Modernism, however, popularized fracture as a mode of poetics. You can pair this step with Raymi Hidalgo’s advice on enjambment!

Scoring the Sounds of Your Poem

For this strategy, read the work aloud and mark where you pause. You now have three questions:

● Do I like how the line breaks and spacing made the poem feel?

● Is this reflected on the page?

● What do I want to change?

Study these three versions of the same sentence as an example:

daring I strode forward

Help! I’m Still Stuck!

If these three strategies didn’t work for you, don’t sweat it. You can always:

● Take a day or two away from the poem!

● Read the work of other writers.

● Check out PSNY’s other guides on How to Poet.

Senia Hardwick is an educator and cat parent located in NYC. Their first book, An Exchange in Demonology: Improvement of the Self and Others, is available from CLOAK. You can read their work at https://seniahardwick.neocities.org and on IG: @necro.pharmakon.