How To Compose Poetry To Impress Other People And Yourself?

tips to write a poem

Do you want to write a poem? Creating stanza from beginning to finish might teach you to enjoy the process of playing with language in various ways. 

Are you curious about poetry? If you want to try yourself at a few verses but do not know how to begin, here we are to help you. 

Main Steps of Writing Poetry

What are the standard template and correct ways of composing poetry? Note that if something might work for one poem, there is no guarantee that it will work for another one. So every writer must define the most appropriate method of composing poetry. Also, you should keep in mind that there are various poetry types. Check out the main 8 steps of how to write good poetry.

Step 1. You Should Brainstorm the Starting Point

You should not force yourself to compose the poem in order, from the initial line to the final one. On the contrary, you should choose the starting point for your brain to elaborate on. It might be either a phrase or a line that you wish to develop in your poem. However, it should not necessarily take the language form at all. It may be a specific picture in your mind. For instance, it might be a sea or a curl of hair. It might be even a complicated memory or feeling that you want to return over and over again. Make sure you are connected to the experience you have in the everyday world.

Step 2. Begin Free-Writing in Prose

As soon as you have a starting point in your head, you might use a pen. However, you should not write the actual lines so far. You should take some time to develop a theme, feeling, and image at your poem’s heart and select the right words. You might take 15 minutes to write down everything coming to your mind while you are thinking over the starting point. You might use a mind map, bullet points dash, or paragraphs. The target of this exercise is not to generate an outline. You should produce a raw material trove, a loosely connected fragments repertoire to depict as your poem’s draft. The essential thing in free-writing is not to censor yourself. Just catch yourself mentally grousing, overthinking a specific rhetorical device, or scoffing a phrase turn. In other words, you should close the mouth of your inner critic. You should just refine the off-the-cuff and slapdash ideas into a poignant and sharp line. 

Step 3. Select the Style and Form of Your Poem

Фs soon as your fifteen minutes are up, you should glance at your free-write piece. Of course, you might have a kind of a beautiful mess. For instance, there might be grammatical chimeras, trailing off sentences, inarticulate emotions, and unruly metaphors. It is absolutely okay about that! Somewhere there in between, there is a poem. So your next step would be to liberate it from the language morras. You should begin to consider your free-write richly glitter veined and marble hunk that just lacks in form. The next thing you should do is to grab this block, chiseling a sculpture out of it. You should decide on the kind of shape you want to discern. For instance, it might be either restrained or classical, free-flowing and naturalistic. Ideally, you should decide on the tone and texture of your language.

Step 4. Read Prose and Poetry for Inspiration

As long as a poem is not a historical novel or a non-fiction book, you should not accumulate research reams to compose a good one. You will just need some outside reading to keep you inspired along the composing process. Create a personalized and short syllabus around the poem’s subject and form. For instance, if you are writing about the daughter’s and mother’s jealousy between each other, you should read some poems on difficult parenthood visions. 

Step 5. Begin Writing for an Audience Like You

With at hand inspiration and some free-write, you should begin the fun part, which is your draft. As soon as you are done with all the exploratory thinking, you should begin the actual writing. So keep your fears at bay and write for yourself, not for other people. If you want to publish your poetry, you should polish your work. However, treat the first draft as if it is supposed to be for your eyes only.

Step 6. Read the Poem Out Loud

The proper poem must not always be very beautiful. Nevertheless, it should not also contain consciously crafted rhythm, no matter whether it is discordant or hymn-like. To reach this target, you should read the poem out loud. For instance, begin reading it line by line and finish it with reading the complete text. When you read the text out loud, you will troubleshoot the lines that do not feel right. Make sure you like the effect of your poem, and the reader has the room to breathe. 

Step 7. Pause to Refresh Your Mind

Your first draft might not be an ideal one so far; however, our congratulations because you have composed a poem. Now, you should put it away for some time. Slow down and take a break for a week. Get back refreshed to finish composing your poem.

Step 8. Revise the Poem

This process is open-ended and requires patience. Do not take the poem too seriously. So find a quiet place to really listen and be alone with yourself. You might need some pair of eyes to make sure your poem is perfect. So you may ask a beta reader to help, join a critique group, or ask a professional poetry editor to assist you. 

Once you decide to fly solo, do the following things:

  •  Seek cliches. Capture the sentiment in more vivid and stronger terms.
  • Make sure your poem starts where it must. Begin your poem further down.
  • Your every line should belong. Ensure every line contributes to your poem as a whole. It should clarify the imagery, advance the theme, subvert the expectations of the reader. If it just makes the poem sound nice, you would better cut it. 

Rules Writing Your Poem

Listen to Live Recitations of Poetry

Visit the poetry readings because they are both instructive and fun for aspiring poets. If you listen to the good poetry sounds, you will discover the construction beauty. For instance, it might be clever line breaks, properly placed internal rhyme, assonance and alliteration, unstressed and stressed syllables. 

Begin Small

It might be more attainable to write a short poem if compared to a narrative epic. You might begin poetry writing with a simple rhyming poem. Avoid mistaking quality for quantity. 

Do Not Obsess Over the Initial Line

You should not give up even if you feel you do not have enough proper words to begin your poem. Just continue to write and get back to the initial line once you are ready. The first line is just a single component of the whole masterpiece. Avoid giving it more outsized necessity than needed.

Use Tools

Use a rhyming dictionary or thesaurus if you need it to complete a poem. Make sure you understand the real meaning of the specific words you want to add to your poem. For example, some thesaurus synonyms you select might deviate from the sense you want to convey.

Boost the Poetic Form With the Help of Literary Devices

You might enhance the poetry with literary devices. For instance, you might insert imagery, metonymy, synecdoche, allegory, metaphor, and more into your poems. It might be simple when writing a free verse or difficult in forms that feature strict rules about rhyme and meter scheme.

Tell a Story With the Poem

The vast majority of ideas you may express in an essay, a short story, or a novel might come out in the poem. Use communication game rules to tell brief stories in the poems.

Express Big Ideas

As long as good poetry is all about language precision, you might express the complete philosophy in just a few words you select. Moreover, even light poetic forms might communicate bold and big ideas. Just select the proper words.

Paint With Words

If it comes to creative writing, you should paint the pictures, referring to generating an obvious picture of scenes, objects, and people through written words. 

Introduce Yourself to Multiple Poetry Forms

Every single poetry form features specific requirements such as subject matter, meter, number of lines, rhyme scheme, and more. The poet needs them to make every poem unique. 

Connect With Some Other Poets

You might keep in touch with other poets through poetry readings or even poetry writing classes. They read their poems aloud and give feedback regarding first drafts. Just find a poetry group where you might hear various poetry types, write down new ideas, discuss the art form, and learn from your peers’ work. With supportive community help, you might influence your artist’s state of mind, brainstorm ideas, and share the exercises for good poetry.    

What Should I Do if I Need Some Help?

If you feel like you are not the next Wordsworth but still want to write a good poem, you might use our help. We can always help you create a real masterpiece to impress your teacher and peers. Just keep in touch with us now!