Writing poetry can be an amazing way to express your thoughts, passions, or even make a statement about your particular point-of-view. But getting started can be daunting. Do you love poetry and perhaps dream of getting your work published, but find yourself often struggling with how to craft your words?
Poetry writing skills are something you can expand on and cultivate. Perhaps there are times when you see something during your day, and it actually inspires a poem to flow easily from you. At those moments the words you seek seem to find you, rather than the other way around. But what about those other times when you know what you want to say, but can’t seem to make it work on paper?
Reading more poetry helps your writing skills grow.
Here are some things you can do, and focus your attention on, to help you grow as a poet and unlock the secrets of creating poems you love with greater ease:
- Read more poetry: The more you read the more you learn, but this does not just mean instructional text, it means reading the poetry of other writers. Something stirs in your own creativity when you read well-crafted poems. You see how these writers used a theme to carry their words throughout a poem and nothing can help you more with your writing than to see examples of how it is done, and done well.
- Learn to Write on a Theme: Many poets write based on an inspiration that simply came to them, like spotting a flock of birds heading south for winter, or seeing laundry hanging out on the line. But others take a theme and tell a story, express the emotion behind the theme or use it to send a message. It can be the inspiration you are seeking for your next poem.
- Use More Expressive Language: According to an article in The Talent Bank, really great poetry is one that is rich with adverbs. You should work to find a different, more descriptive approach to writing. Rather than simply saying an envelope, for example, is thin, describe it as fragile or find words that express how it feels to hold it in your hand. This method lets you describe something by creating an image, or evoking a feeling, rather than using a simple word to do the job.
Expand your descriptive words to create an image, feelings or emotion.
Working with a Theme
Now you may wonder, how do I take a theme and really make it work for me in a poem? It actually can be your guide if you keep the theme within focus as you write:
- If you have a theme you wish to write about, jot down all the words that come to mind that you associate or are linked to that theme.
- According to an article about good theme-driven poetry in thegaurdian.com, let each of the words you have written down connect you to your memories, thoughts or feelings, and any ideas that come to mind.
- Next think about where you want the poem to take you. If your theme is autumn, for example, you may have written down many words that connect you to that season, as well as memories you have, or how you felt as a child jumping into a freshly raked, colorful pile of leaves. This theme can lead you to the feelings of freedom and joy in childhood, traditions, the passage of time, and the change of the seasons. Basically, a theme can lead your poem anywhere you choose. Let it be your guide.
- Look at your work with fresh eyes. It is wise to put your work aside for a few days and revisit it with a fresh perspective. This helps you see how it truly flows for the reader and if it expresses your theme well.
Should you Publish?
Once you have a compilation of some of your work you may wish you could get it published, but have no idea where to begin. Digital book-making with a site like Bookemon, one of the first such sites to allow consumers to print professional looking books of their own, offers you the perfect tool.
You can create a memorable, professional looking book of poetry easily with the site’s free digital book-making software. First register for a free account, upload your poems from PDF or Word Files, and then customize the pages with special fonts, borders or backgrounds. Next decide if you wish to upload photos or drawings to compliment your poems.
Save as an e-book, order a few hard copies to treasure forever, or give them as gifts. Start creating your book and see your poetry published and preserved.