"I think that there are fiction writers for whom that works well. I could never do it. I feel as if, by the time I see that it's a poem, it's almost written in my head somewhere"

Sharon Olds is suggesting that some fiction authors have the ability to write without a plan or overview, which this works well for them. She, however, is not one of those writers. She believes that by the time she understands that she is composing a poem, it is currently composed in her head. This suggests that Olds has a clear concept of what she wishes to write prior to she even starts. She is able to visualize the poem in her head and then compose it down. This is a testimony to her skill as a poet and her ability to craft her words into a significant and powerful poem. Olds has the ability to take her ideas and turn them into a work of art.