What are some tips on writing good poetry?

4 Responses to What are some tips on writing good poetry?

1. RicinCrispyTreats!

   April 21, 2011 at 2:53 pm

   How to write good poetry:

   Don’t. All modern poetry is pretentious and self absorbed. All the good poetry has already been written.
2. Kelley

   April 21, 2011 at 3:44 pm

   i love poetry and recently finished a two or three week course on it. i learned that there are different types of poems that can help you if you feel stuck because it will help with format. however, i find that my best poems are the poems that i write free verse, with no set structure. Also, not all poems rhyme so dont force it. all poems with forced rhyme schemes sound childish and amateurish. take note of punctuation and the end of lines because depending where you cut lines or stanzas can create a pause in the reader because their eyes see white or a period and its a small pause that creates dramatic effect. a lot of times i have lines that are one word long. also i like to use repititon. oh and poems are hardely ever revised, idk why thats just what my creative writing teacher said. hope i helped and good luck :)
3. BlueFeather

   April 21, 2011 at 4:10 pm

   You already have some good (and poor) advice here but one thing that is seldom mentioned is Vocabulary.

   It is not necessary to become a sesquipedalian (someone who uses big words) in order to write good poetry. However, a “good” poem often hinges on its words, and finding a “best” word is often a matter of trial and error. The larger your vocabulary, the more choices you will have at your command.

   Read a lot, keeping a dictionary with you as you read. In addition to looking up the new words you encounter, you should also stop and look up familiar words that are used in different ways.
4. classmate

   April 21, 2011 at 5:00 pm

   The best thing you can do to help your own writing is read lots of good poetry. Read the great poets of the past, and read a wide variety of the poetry being published today. Don’t read just one kind of poetry. Stretch your imagination by reading both formal verse (poetry that uses rhyme and meter) and free verse. You’ll be amazed how much your own writing improves as you expose yourself to the work of more experienced poets.

   A couple of things you’ll notice about good poetry:

   Concrete images are better than abstractions. Instead of making statements about “love,” “life,” “truth,” “justice,” and so on, write about things that readers can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

   Specific details are better than vague generalizations. Don’t just tell your readers that a person is smart, brave, kind, etc.; show those traits in action. Don’t just say that a scene is beautiful or peaceful or scary or whatever; give details that let the readers experience for themselves what it’s like.