Kenning Your Way Through Writer’s Block
Contrasts are a powerful method of constructing new ideas and new trains of thought.
Writers of all experience levels and ages encounter the dreaded bane of writer’s block, but seasoned wordsmiths know the tricks that change the pattern and get the pen flowing once again.
The kenning is an ancient Norse poetic convention that contrasts images to create poetic meaning. It’s a form of circumlocution, where more words than are needed are used to expression an idea. What emerges is a powerful form of metaphorical imagery.
While many of us have heard that we need to write in a “straightforward” manner, kennings force us to do the opposite. By using them, we force ourselves out of the habit of simplistic writing, and into the fey world of possibility.
Kennings were often formed to facilitate the poetic flow of a story. We can use the same principle, today, as a way to practice playing with our language and breaking ourselves out of a writing funk.
Examples of kennings:
- Sea-steed: ship
- Feeder of ravens: A warrior
- Wound-sea: blood
