Until then, I was just thinking about describing images and dancing around feelings. I was reusing the same old words and, it seemed to me, running out of ideas. I was starting to feel a little down on myself: if my well of creativity ran dry when it comes to poetry, how long before the same thing happens to my fiction?

Thankfully, I came across one exercise that completely changed how I approach writing poetry. Take a picture, any picture. It could be from nature (ex., mountains, rivers, fields, flowers), from a cityscape (ex., sky scrapers, city lights), from your home, your backyard, your pets, your family. It could even be a picture you yourself didn’t take; borrow one from the internet and take a look.

From there, set a 3-minute timer. It doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but while you’re wracking your brain trying to dig up ideas, the time passes slowly at first – especially as you’re getting used to the process. The more you get used to this stage, though, the faster the clock will tick.

You have 3 minutes to fill out your word bank. What I do is type those words in all caps at the top of my page, start the timer, and then scribble down as many words that come to mind as possible as I stare at my picture. Sometimes it helps to zoom in on one portion if you want more abstract words to pop into your word bank. Nothing is off the table here – colors, shapes, textures, any words that come to mind.