While writing poetry might seem a daunting challenge for many people, it is actually really simple on the other hand: you just need to observe the world within and surrounding you. Regarding topics for writing, you can focus on anything: friendship, love, parents and children, nature, pain, loss, etc. Even if you think that you do not have a talent to create something new and draw inspiration from the world around you, I can assure you that with the right approach you can easily share your ideas and organize words into rhymes.
How to Write a Poem?
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Pay Careful Attention to the Preparatory Stage
Starting a poem can be hard. Therefore, follow these pieces of advice:
- Consider doing writing exercises. If it is hard to start writing poems from the very beginning, practice with special writing exercises when you have to insert rhymes into the gaps or finish the line, etc.
- Get inspiration from the world around you. Spend some time in nature, observe the natural phenomena around you, listen to music, and watch inspiring movies, and you will surely find it easier to convert words and ideas into poems.
- Try brainstorming techniques. Collect some images, photos, use mind mapping or lists to help you get inspiration for writing.
- Think of a person who has played a key role in your life. You might want to write about such important figure in your life or dedicate a poem to him/ her.
- Get acquainted with more examples of poetry. Read works of different authors and different styles and forms.
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Go on with the Writing Stage
- Prefer concrete imagery to the abstract one. When describing places, people, and other phenomena, try to do it in a detailed and specific form.
- When describing something, appeal to five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). It will help you to let the images come alive in your poem.
- Enrich your poem with literary devices: provide epithets, personifications, similes, metaphors, and others. It will also enrich your vocabulary and help your readers better perceive your writing. To know what each literary device means and how to use it, please make sure to consult some guides.
- Avoid clichés. You won't impress anyone with the clichéd language as such words and phrases have already lost their unique meaning. Try to instill more uniqueness in the content of your writing.
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After-Writing Stage
When you have written your poem, make sure to proofread and "polish" it. To do it, you might take into account the following tips:
- Read the poem out loud: see whether it sounds melodic, whether it is easy to read and pronounce the words. Check out whether there is logical flow between the lines. In case something sounds strange or awkward, put a tick and get back to it later.
- Ask for feedback from others, ask your family or friends to read the poem and provide you with critical feedback.
