Poetry - Poem Writing Guide

Have you ever wondered how to write a poem? Poetry writing gives writers— who wish to delve deeply— the chance to search through their experiences for fresh insights. Even if your motivations are less noble, creating a poem from start to finish can help you discover new ways to appreciate language.

Let’s start at the beginning, where all poets start: learning the basics.

This course provides a complete overview of the poem-writing process. We begin by addressing the query, “What is poetry?” We then proceed to discuss the literary elements of poetry and demonstrate various approaches to the writing process, including our very own seven-step method for writing a full poem.

Poetry expresses emotions. A poem can occasionally be thought of as boring, arcane, and challenging to comprehend. Poetry isn’t actually about being unusual or difficult, even though some verses may be composed in this manner. Poetry is a lyrical, passionate method of self-expression that highlights feelings and concepts through the use of poem’s various components.

Some of the topics and tools we will talk about:

Consider Your Starting Point

If you’re having trouble writing your poetry from the first line to the last, start with the first concept your brain can grasp as it develops verse-based thoughts is a successful strategy.

Free-Write in Prose First

It may seem contradictory, but if you have trouble coming up with lines that resonate, you might want to start by writing some prose. Spend some time right now thinking about the image, sentiment, or aesthetic at the center of your poetry and learning how to express it in words. Give yourself a chance to deliberate before composing the poem.

Silence your inner critic for now

The final thing you need to do is self-censor since this is the basic material. Can you hear yourself angrily complaining, “This metaphor will never ever make it into the final manuscript,” or mocking a figure of speech or rhetorical device? Tell your inner critic to be quiet for the time being and record it anyhow. Simply put, you might be able to turn that clumsy, impromptu proposal into a poignant sentence.

Choose Your Poem’s Form and Style

Before you finish the first draft of your poem, give form and style some thought, whether you’ve free-written your way to the beginning or have a few lines written down.

Read For Inspiration

You don’t need to amass reams of research to compose decent poetry, unlike writing nonfiction or historical fiction. That being said, doing some outside research can help you avoid writer’s block and maintain your motivation while writing.

Write For an Audience Of One — You

The strain of actually producing knowledge can awaken your inner claustrophobe even with preparedness (or poetry-fearer). What if people misinterpret or fail to understand what you’re attempting to say? What if they are not drawn to your line of work? Lauren advises designing for oneself rather than an external target market to keep the stress and anxiety at bay.

Read Your Poem Aloud

Instead, perhaps your goal isn’t to create an effortless, melodic charm but rather a good rhyme. But whether it has a hymn-like or dissonant rhythm, it should come to life on the page. Read your rhyme aloud, first line by line and then as a whole message, to achieve that.

Take A Break To Refresh Your Mind

More about it in the course

Have Fun Revising Your Poem

More about it in the course

The Working Poet’s Checklist

More about it in the course

Okay, I Know Now How to Write a Good Poem. What’s Next?

More about it in the course

Tools in the app:

1. Use the in-app notebook for your poems, ideas, and thoughts.

2. Use the scheduling system to set constant weekly time for writing.

3. Live update stream – check it out the get new content, news, and ideas.

If you have a passion for poetry, or if you want to try to explore and express yourself in new and deep ways, download and learn for free.