Distractions

Tobacco Bay, Bermuda
Photograph by Gail M. Pfeifer

It’s pretty easy to think of something else to do besides writing, even when you are a writer. Making the ideas you have in your head clear enough on the paper so that a reader can understand your point of view is the big challenge. One of the things that helps me jumpstart my writing is to collect great essays and poems. I keep them in a file and, when I read them—for distraction, of course—they inspire me to start writing again. 

Try it for yourself. Here is one suggestion: Billy Collins, our former US poet laureate (2001-2003) reads his poem “The Lanyard.” It’s terrific in print, but his inflection puts the sense of wistful humor in the work.