Experimental Writing: Unlock Your Creativity
Learn to write unique texts and poems by playing with word associations, original ideas, and the strikeout technique
Did you know it was possible to write without actually writing? By combining art supplies, colors, and the strikeout technique, you can bring new texts to life out of old ones. This form of visual poetry involves removing words from a text to craft a new piece that’s full of surprises in a process that stimulates the imagination through word play.
In this online course, poet Mara Pastor shows you how to use this and many other experimental techniques to unlock your creativity. For the final project, compose a chapbook of original strikeout poems and discover where experimental writing can take you!
Begin the course by getting to know Mara Pastor and her work. Discover her favorite type of poetry and why she loves experimental writing, along with her biggest influences from both.
Next, learn all about visual and strikeout poetry, and look at some examples for inspiration. See why the writing process is just as important and the composition itself, as well as how to choose the right inspirational material for your project.
Time to experiment with your own strikeout poem. Grab pencils, brushes, and anything you can use to transform the text and start removing words and sentences to create new meaning. Then, work on the visual aspects such as color, images, and textures. Mara also explains how to incorporate a narrative thread into your poem and give it a linear structure.
All that’s left to do is assemble your creation! Once you’ve decided which pages to include, Mara shows you how to collate your chapbook and digitize it to share online. You now have the tools to explore your creativity and write unique poetry based on word association and original ideas.