
Feeling stuck? Write a poem - ianki
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02912-x
======
manifestsilence
I love poetry, but think this advice is slightly off. A better way to get un-
stuck is free-writing. Just write whatever comes to mind without stopping. If
you hesitate, just write "I don't know what to write" \- anything to keep
writing.

If you can sustain this for twenty minutes, you are now immune to writer's
block. You know you can always write. This shifts the question to what to
write. You find you can sculpt these chains of drivel. Eventually you start to
generate real ideas again.

Even if you never use the things you write in this way, it can be hugely
freeing to the mind as you set aside the other things that were distracting
you by putting them onto the page and are then clear to focus again on the
problem at hand.

This comes from the Artist's Way, which advocates doing this daily as the
primary activity of the book / workshop.

~~~
__s
I did this for three days back in highschool:
[https://serprex.github.io/w/50k=0](https://serprex.github.io/w/50k=0) (took
some breaks to eat, sleep, attend school)

It permanently changed the way I write, perhaps for the worse

~~~
lkrych
Hey, thanks for sharing!

I recently read A.R. Ammons Tape for the Turn of the Year (1965) and it is
composed in much the same way (although it is a little more polished ;p).

------
bdr
Plugging a side project: if you want to be reading more poetry but don't know
where to start, sign up at [https://verse.press/](https://verse.press/) to get
a weekly poetry "playlist" in your inbox. Sometimes it's a set of poems on
single theme by different authors, sometimes it's a sampler of poems from a
recently published book.

~~~
billfruit
Does it only feature new works or does it take from the six centuries of great
poetry we have in the English language.

~~~
criddell
The about page says

> My goal with the project is help people find great new poems.

To me, that sounds like it's focused on recent works.

~~~
billfruit
That sounds hugely restricting the scope when so much of great poetry has been
already written in the past.

~~~
anamexis
It’s a newsletter dedicated to showcasing contemporary poets. Do you complain
if there’s a radio show which plays new music because it’s excluding all of
the good music which has already been made?

~~~
RaiseProfits
Yes, of course!

------
MrLeap
In my hand I hold a chip.

I skip to the kitchen to grab some dip.

When I return with my liquid cheese,

I drop to my knees and cry out 'Jeez!'

For much to my dismay,

My cat is in my bag of Frito Lay.

~~~
snagglegaggle
Cat, cat, why do you meow?

I bend down to pet you now,

but then you dart away.

~~~
52-6F-62
cat drinks cold water

black as night against half moon

should have got a dog

~~~
klohto
dog goes bark

cat goes meow

neighbor isn’t happy

always raising eyebrow

------
komali2
Wish I "got" poetry. Spent 4 years studying literature and got a degree in
writing, and throughout it all poetry just annoyed me. I think I made a
genuine effort but I couldn't get over feelings of "get to the point" or "so
what?" Everything from Byron to Billy Collins. Doesn't do anything for me.

~~~
iscrewyou
I have a suggestion you might like: Read (not listen to) hip-hop. Old school
hip hop such as 2Pac, Nas, Rakim, or new school artists like Lupe, Common,
Eminem. Hip hop is really poetry. It might help you understand the rhyme
schemes and stanza structure.

~~~
montecarl
I really enjoy reading hip hop lyrics. I mostly use genius.com because the
annotated lyrics can be very helpful. I would also suggest reading Kendrick
Lamar. Here is one of my favorites, lyrically: [https://genius.com/Kendrick-
lamar-sing-about-me-im-dying-of-...](https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-sing-
about-me-im-dying-of-thirst-lyrics)

------
wwweston
Some people, when confronted

with a problem, think “I know —

I’ll write a poem.”

Now they have two problems.

Some poets, when stuck

writer-blocking, think “I know —

I’ll write a poem.”

Now they do not have two poems.

------
eruci
Ant farts are hard to hear

hard to smell yet so near

they cause minor headwinds

in hindsight of tiny hind legs

they cause minor earthquakes

yet nobody is scared, or cares.

~~~
mitchtbaum
ear to the ground

nose to the wind

feet firm in place

heart rich in space

------
devmunchies
I was feeling stuck

~So~ I wrote a poem to help

I still feel stuck though

~~~
mlurp
Because you did 5-8-5!

~~~
juped
That restriction can't actually be adhered to in the right spirit outside the
Japanese language, and isn't 100% adhered to even in that language.

Counting syllables

quickly on the fingertips

before clicking Post

~~~
palimpsests
this haiku is large and has too many words per line

in fact it doesn't even have the right amount of lines

~~~
juped
one may ignore

the prescriptions of the form -

but not blithely

------
MisterTea
Wasn't there a similar article not too long ago which said go for a run/jog?
Not a whole lot of real advice here other than an interesting suggestion to
the age old advice I've heard my whole life: "Stuck? Take a break and do
something different"

~~~
wincy
Maybe making up a poem while going for a run/jog would really help.

------
j0e1
I recently hand wrote a poem for my fiancée with 12 stanzas (3 verses each
with a rhyme scheme ABB) on a paper that I doused in coffee and baked to make
it look ancient. I sent it using regular post with 'love' stamps. The outcome
was far better than I had expected; she was overjoyed :)

------
the_jeremy
Ode to hackernews users:

I enjoy your poetry,

this verse you give away for free,

like all side projects, lovingly

creating content for newbs like me

------
mepiethree
Great, then I can be stuck on my work _and_ on my writing.

~~~
semiotagonal
You'll feel better though.

------
dev_dull
And I’ll add another: Not feeling the creative juices flowing? Restrict
yourself to a particular pentameter or style when writing that poem.

Working with restrictions is one of the not-so-secret prerequisites to a lot
of creative discipline.

~~~
ryan-allen
True, and Mr Fry also agrees! I posted this elsewhere but I love this book and
recommend to people, anyone can get into poetry!

[https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-
Within-e...](https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-Within-ebook-
dp-B000Q360EG/dp/B000Q360EG/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=)

------
i_am_proteus
tried to work, but had the blues

i wasted time on hackernews

distraction, it's the modern curse

but still there's time to pen a verse

and realize that it could be worse:

until you're riding in a hearse, success is yours to sieze or lose!

------
hiccuphippo
Procrastination

    
    
        There's so much to do but I don't want to
        Such a bore to do but someone has to
        Browsing HN the clock's ticking
        Maybe the task will go away but it doesn't

------
partyboat1586
My head hurts, My eyes are heavy. Sleep will come soon, Lord knows I'm ready.

When I awake, I hope I'm well rested. Much work to be done, before I can get
festive.

I really do love this time of year. World dark and foggy, but everyone near.
Close to each other, it's warmer inside. Sit by the fire, laugh and confide.
Tell silly jokes and lighten the mood. Eat till we're fat full up with food.

Yet I still want to wake to the sun in my eyes Feel my mind crystal clear as
the winter time dies. But while it's alive, I'll sieze it fully. For now I'm
wrapped up all fuzzy and wooly.

------
DannyB2
SCO's C.E.O. Darl McBride

To the press he repeatedly lied

Linux stole our IP!!!

GPL'd it for FREE!!!

But no evidence could he provide

------
BlameKaneda

        If moths had eyes, would they be happier? 
        How do they know they're not dead? 
        Cavemen hunting for food 
        But not before they style the hair on their head 
        What would last longer in dinosaur times? 
        A blind man didn't stand a chance 
        Not with all them rocks about 
        I'd rather be a blind moth 
         - Karl Pilkington

~~~
zabzonk
Moths do have eyes - they are very important to their survival and behaviour.

------
reaperducer
I wonder if this article will spur a nerd poetry genre, if there isn't one
already.

There are a lot of niche poetry genres. One of oldest and largest is cowboy
poetry. It has a national radio show, books, yearly gatherings and even a
museum.

[https://www.nationalcowboypoetrygathering.org/](https://www.nationalcowboypoetrygathering.org/)

------
atoav
I would even shorten the imperative and say: “Feeling stuck? Write”

Writing is amazing, and one of the best changes in my life was introduced by
systematically writing things down that I did, experienced, felt. This can be
a poem, a two page essay, a letter never meant to be sent, a simple protocol
of the things I did, a word, a drawing whatever.

Important is that it has to do with the mood and what you did.

This especially helped me when I went through a hard time and started to think
more and more negatively about certain things that happened, because I could
go back and get an instant reminder about the whole depth and nuance of these
situations rather than negatively or positively mutating their memory based on
mood alone.

In a way, writing can help you become really really honest with yourself and
stops you from buying into your own hype (as long as you write to yourself and
not to others).

------
ericmcer
If you are like me, you might have this near constant need to feel productive
throughout the day.

Sitting outside with a notebook and writing poetry or ideas or just stream of
consciousness is a pretty great way to soothe this desire for achievement and
forward progress while being outside and away from the computer.

------
asdfman123
I need to recalculate tax

But my background knowledge lacks

I'll try to learn more

But it's really a bore

And it's stressing me to the max

------
JoeDaDude
Better yet, combine science fiction with poetry. Write SCiFiKu!

[http://scifaiku.com/read/topten.html](http://scifaiku.com/read/topten.html)

------
davidw
Going for a walk or a bike ride or something that's not so intense you can't
let your mind wander is also a great way to get 'unstuck'.

------
ryan-allen
I read this book [0] many years ago, it's awesome if you want to get in to
writing poetry, and it's Stephen Fry, win win!

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-
Within-e...](https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-Within-ebook-
dp-B000Q360EG/dp/B000Q360EG/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=)

------
whichquestion
I want to write code but my progress has really slowed.

It’s kind of a mess without written tests.

I’ll just do my best and implement the rest.

------
billfruit
Perhaps not necessary to write a poem, reading itself may help. Reading poetry
is a more involved task than reading prose, your mind is forced build up all
the details poems leave out.

------
danschumann
Anti gravity is yet unsolved Perhaps no one is enough resolved Truly I say to
you This is my big todo.

~~~
pfd1986
Wrong thread?!

~~~
danschumann
It's a poem. I'm getting unstuck, lol

------
baxtr
A poem

I wrote for the all of you

Stuckness stayed

------
DannyB2
Feeling stuck? Make your code rhyme.

~~~
laumars
You may or may not be aware, but code poetry[1] is a thing. Black Perl[2] is
probably the most iconic.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_poetry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_poetry)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Perl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Perl)

~~~
manifestsilence
Black Perl is a thing of beauty and genius.

------
Pete_D
xterm in autumn

thick red and amber carpet -

unit test results.

------
AcerbicZero
Feeling stuck? Write a mediocre opinion piece.

~~~
jedimastert
Do you have any constructive criticism?

------
kaybe
You don't just.. _stop_ field measurements. They take months to years in
preparation, are usually a group effort and very expensive, and if there is a
gap in the data you will never be able to get that back.

I mean.. automate the thing and then go sit in the shade and write poetry
while you supervise, sure. But stop? Whut?

~~~
tapland
Yes it means end the project, hand in your resignation and then make a haiku.

 _sarcastic what I can 't believe this emote_

