Unblock
When the page feels empty
When the cursor blinks and nothing arrives — a five-minute exercise drawn from Richard Hugo's idea of the triggering subject.
Some writing sessions begin before a word arrives. The cursor blinks; the page waits. This is not a crisis of talent — it is the ordinary condition of a writer at the edge of what they know. The exercise below borrows a technique from Richard Hugo: begin with a subject that holds no feeling for you, and trust that a real subject will surface in its shadow.
Try this
Pick an object nearby that holds no feeling for you — a cup, a window latch, a street name. Write one sentence about it. Then another. Keep going for four minutes without lifting your pen. Read back what you wrote and underline the line that surprises you.
Share your poemFurther reading
- The Triggering Town (opens in a new tab) — W. W. Norton & Company
Hugo's idea of the "triggering subject" — the surface subject you write toward until a real one surfaces beneath it.