Knowledge is power, and that includes knowing how to overcome fear of the blank page. The important thing is to learn what makes something frightening and how to whittle away at that fear. Here are five common sources of fear and how to overcome them or minimize their power:
- Maybe I'm Not Cut Out to Be a Poet. Some get nervous because they believe that if they were "real" poets, they'd be compelled to write, and that once they felt a poem coming on, all they'd have to do is sit down and write it. The truth is that writing poetry can be as plodding as the most tedious task. What seems like a spontaneous outburst of creative talent may be the result of many, many drafts and blind alleys. In the words of Ellen Bryan Voigt: "It's all a draft until you die." The important thing is to write and keep writing.
- Who Needs Me When They Could Have Shakespeare. Reading such icons of the past, not to mention great contemporary poets, is enough to make someone give up before they even start. How could anyone be good enough to compete with them? The good news is that no one has to. In fact, what's "good enough" (and in fact is essential for good art), is what comes uniquely from a particular individual. So, all else being equal, the best poets are the ones who are the most themselves.
- I Don’t Have Anything to Say. Writing poetry is a journey, not a destination, so the best way to get started is to take a step, any step. There are many tools one can use to do that, including journaling, recording dreams, free writing, picking five words at random to write about, and a whole slew of exercises that are available for that purpose. Or try letting go in another way, by writing "into the unknown.”
- I Hate Everything I Write. You can't write a great poem by setting out to write a great poem. Just start writing, to get something on the page. Later, you can edit and revise what you've written. That's often where the real magic occurs. So just be patient in the beginning.
- I Can't Say What I Want to Say. Sometimes the problem is "fuzzy thinking," not knowing what you really want to say. Writing it out in prose first can help. Once you say in a flatfooted manner what you mean, you'll be able to express it better in a poem.
- I'm Stuck. A good remedy is to go outside, walk, run, exercise-anything that involves movement. Movement is liberating in ways that can open the mind's spigot to a fresh flow of ideas. Even just "sleeping on it" can help. Educational research has shown that "distributed" learning is often better than "massed" learning (i.e., cramming for a test the night before). The value of writing “breaks” may be based on the same need.
- Do I Dare Write About This? Sometimes, it's not about the writing at all, but about the feelings that emerge or the fear of being overexposed (or exposing others who are in the poem). This one is trickier to handle because sometimes those feelings mean the poet is on to something authentic and powerful. On the other hand, it may mean that it's something the poet is not ready to deal with. The best solution may be to at least get it down on paper, then decide later whether it feels "safe" to pursue.
Writing poetry is extremely rewarding to those who are drawn to it. But even well-established poets struggle at times with the process. Anything that is really worthwhile requires dedication, practice, and sometimes overcoming fears that can get in the way of that process. Fortunately, there are poets who are driven to do whatever it takes. But there's no reason why it has to be any harder than it needs to.
Elizabeth Harrington - Poet, Freelance Writer, Marketing Research Professional, Blogger (www.allaboutqualitative.com)
