Type a Poem: NaNoWriMo Tip #3

By Jason Boog 

If writer’s block is keeping you from finishing your manuscript, try reading a poem. When you finish, type the entire poem–the process of literally writing poetry will jump-start your creativity.

Author and journalist Jeff Gordinier outlined the method in an essay: “I buy somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 books of poetry each year, and when I find a particular poem that moves me, I’ll hold that page open with a paperweight and meticulously type up the poem, line by line, comma by comma. So my friends weren’t surprised when I told them a Don Paterson poem had moved me so much that I had, on impulse, booked a trip to Scotland.”

You can find pages and pages of poems at the Poetry Foundation. Browse its poetry archive by topic, season or poet to find the perfect inspiration.

This is our third NaNoWriMo Tip of the Day. As writers around the country join the writing marathon this month, we will share one piece of advice or writing tool to help you cope with this daunting project.