Try This: Newspaper Blackout

I admit to holding on to the ridiculous belief that engaging in playful, no-destination creative activities are “wasting time.” But when I do let myself work on creative projects, it ends up feeling like time well spent. There is always a payoff, whether it’s inspiration to create more things, a therapeutic benefit or just having fun.

I’ve recently been revisiting Austin Kleon's books, and decided to try some newspaper blackout poetry. If you’re not familiar with this, you choose a section of a newspaper article (though I tend to prefer a magazine piece), and use a marker to cover everything except the words you want to remain shown. It’s an enjoyable creative exercise that can result in interesting outcomes.

I’m sharing two very simple and short ones I made last week, as examples. These are more on the personal/inspirational side, though blackout poetry can be whatever you want.

The three-word one could apply to a number of things, but to me it felt like a hopeful message about my potential contributions to the writing world, which I sometimes doubt. So, doing this type of redacted poetry can be just for yourself, about anything you want.

Newspaper blackouts are just one of the types of exercises that I do in my journal, with others that are equally satisfying. Maybe you’d like to give this or something else new a try. It will be worth it.

-Marcia Peterson