By Evan J
Photo by Evan J
I was recently asked if I would share my writing method, and I’m fascinated by the question. Not because I or my method are at all brilliant, but because a writer willing to share their method is vital for how many other writers develop their own method. This sharing is largely how I came up with my own writing method. Therefore, in repayment, I will share my specific method for writing poems.
While my method is largely the attempted adaptation of the methods of other writers, it’s also a method constructed through experimentation and honest reflection. So, I encourage you, when constructing or adjusting your own writing method, to borrow and experiment with some of the things I do.
First, I study the craft. When I’m not writing, I’m reading about writing. Or I’m thinking about writing. Or I’m talking to my partner about writing. Or taking notes about a poem I want to write. Or a poem I want to edit. I’m looking at the world and considering things like tone, politics, energy, diction, and rhythm. Studying the writing craft really just means training the writing brain, and my writing brain never turns off.
I do the majority of my writing during scheduled sessions. These happen in the morning. My brain is most fresh and clear at this time of day (though I often exploit the messy emotional late-night brain). I also try to make my writing space distraction-free. No partner interrupting me. The dog is both fed and watered. Chores are put on a later to-do list. I sit at a clean desk (extra papers or books are distractions, and I need free space in case immediate research becomes necessary; good ideas are too rare and valuable to be lost due to clutter). Even my desk faces a plain blank white wall (the happenings out a window catch my eye too often). I also have a notebook and a computer on hand.
Before I write anything, I make notes about the skeleton of the poem. I answer: What purpose does this poem serve? What part of this topic do I care about? What would I like the tone and energy of this poem to be?
Then I dump ideas down. I handwrite out every idea I have about the topic (handwriting has been proven to activate more creative parts of the brain). Fundamentally, I’m brainstorming. I’m looking for ideas I didn’t know I had, and I’m trying to track ideas to their end. For this reason, I force myself not to stop writing until I can’t think of anything else related to the topic. For me, this often takes 10 to 30 minutes.
This is the first part of Evan’s method. Stay tuned for Part 2!