Overcoming Writer's Block Using Lists

Writer's block is vile. It's soul-destroying, and can render even the most experienced writer mute. However, as debilitating as it can be, luckily, there are also an infinite number of ways to overcome it.

Sometimes, approaching that 'block' directly is the most effective method; simply sitting down, and eking out every sentence, word by painful word, is enough - what you produce may be terrible, but at least you might get enough raw material to later re-write, and edit.

But that's a demoralizing process.

Although 'pushing through' may give me something to work with, the damage done to my confidence can be vast - I might now have an array of words, but the process of getting them could put me off writing for days. Often, it's not a bargain I'm happy to make.

Instead of trying to smash through, I much prefer to approach the problem obliquely, via a tangent, circumnavigating those imaginary sentries that stand guard by the gates of my sub-conscious, barring my entry.

And one of my favorite methods is by using lists, something that seems to work particularly well when it comes to poetry.

Lists are effective because the starting point is not overtly a literary one. At the outset, my 'blocked', calcified brain isn't aware I'm asking it to do anything creative. I'm 'blocked', remember - it'd only resist such an obvious approach.

But, a list? Well, it's just a list, isn't it?

My inert sub-conscious doesn't need to fight against anything so mundane, so innocent.

Granted, this is all a very cheap trick to play on my mind. However, as it seems to fall for it each time, I'm okay with continuing with the parlor trick.

You can start with any topic. It doesn't have to intellectual. Pick anything. Even the weekly grocery shop.

Bread. Milk....

Make that list as long or as short as you like. The length doesn't matter.

... Eggs. Flour...

All you're looking for is that tiny spark, that small flicker of interest, that is stirred by just one of those words. That spark could be anything - it could be ignited due to the rhythm of the words, or an image that suddenly pops into your mind; it doesn't matter if - at first glance - the image's relation to the word itself appears random.

... Toilet paper...

Bingo! I felt it when I typed the words ' Toilet paper.' As soon as I wrote that word, images of people selfishly panic-buying toilet paper, at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, swum into my head.

Greedy shoppers stockpiling...

No, it's hardly likely to have Byron quaking in his boots, but it's a start. Are there any more associations?

Greedy shoppers stockpiling. Cowardly politicians denying...

It's trite, and cliched, but there's something there. I'm not sure I want to write much more about Coronavirus at present - I've unquestionably got Coivd fatigue. However, if I wanted to, there's the genesis of an idea there. It'll need refining, polishing, but just following that train of thought will give me material. Certainly enough for a poem.

Viola - block bypassed!

I also find colours to be inspiring. Much like the shopping list, just start by naming various shades.

Blue. White. Red. Black. Green...

So far, so dull. Expand it - what images or feelings do those colours inspire?

Blue - cold, frozen, alone. White - innocence, snow, barren. Red - fire, heat, passion, love. Black - space, nothingness, style. Green - England...

Maybe because it's the less obvious of the five colours, but my mind was instantly drawn to 'green.'

Green - England, meadows, deer...

As soon as I wrote the word 'deer', I recalled seeing a photograph, taken during the first 'lock-down', of wild deer roaming an urban housing estate in the English county of Essex. With people confined to their homes, and their cars sitting idly in their garages, the creatures that had been pushed into hiding in nearby woods and forests, had reclaimed the streets they used to prowl before man arrived.

Deer reclaim their meadows...then, wild, verdant grass... now, grey, inhospitable concrete...

Again, it's raw, and - quite honestly - not very good. But, there's an idea there. Something to work with. Five minutes Googling other animals that have been seen spotted in our towns and cities whilst we've been hiding in our homes, will probably give you a lot more.

Before you know it, you might even have to begin making decisions about where the poem might lead, thematically.

Is it an optimistic piece eulogizing the beauty of nature, or a more scathing, ecological one, about how mankind's actions have impacted on nature? Either way, just asking yourself such questions should give you more material.

But you can do all this with any words, really. And some incredibly talented poets already have.

There's an amazing poem by Nicholas Laughlin titled, 'Strange Currencies' which is basically a (very skillful) extension of this exercise.

River traffic, sea traffic, heart traffic, lung traffic, head trade, heart trade, hand trade, gun trade, heart wars, night wars, river wars, rum wars, night saints, blood saints, gun saints, knife lessons, knife tricks, night tricks, night sleep, milk sleep, river sleep.

One phrase generates the next, and the next...

Try it. Use one of Laughlin's 'lines' as a launching point, and just see what your mind throws up. I've chosen 'night sleep':

Night sleep. Night terrors. Night awake. Night tired. Sleep deprived. Waking eyes. Waking brain. Tired body. Tired brain. Night sleep. Night terrors.

Yes - it's awful. But, again, there's something there. Something. I've now got the words 'night terrors' knocking around in my head. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I do know I am going to use it somehow.

All of this is no more than mere word association. A straightforward, literary improv. Whatever is generated will require work (so, so much work). But it beats staring an empty page, and it's a mightily effective way to get your poetic gears turning, and sneak passed those mental gatekeepers when you're 'blocked.'

It's also a very effective exercise to do when you're not 'blocked', and just want to give your authorial muscles a workout.

Either way, lists - a simple, yet wonderful, way to get your creative juices flowing.

Now, 'night terrors'...

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