So you are a beginner in poetry and need some easy tips to get over “the block”? First and foremost, remember that you are not alone! Any aspiring poet needs to work hard to produce a good poem. Do not be scared. If you write a lot, strive for the best expression, trust your instincts as you go and remember the following points, you may find that you have written a memorable poem!
Before I pass on to my tips though, perhaps I should warn you against building your expectations too high! Naturally, this mini article cannot turn you into the best poet that you know. This article can only be a guide. Writing is, after all, a little bit like skiing. If you're not experienced, you will need a ski instructor to accompany you and ease your fears; yet, you are the one who must eventually complete each manoeuvre. You can learn tips from your instructor but he cannot ski for you -- you have to do it yourself. I know it looks scary but only so at the beginning! If you ski a lot, you can become a good skier. If you write a lot, you may or may not become a good poet, but at least you will learn to listen to your inner voice, face the “contents of your heart” and enjoy this special and fulfilling activity! Here are my tips. Ready? Steady? Go!
1. Dare it!
Although there are many sources that claim they can teach you how to write poetry (such as this very article!), keep in mind that there is no perfect recipe that anybody can give you for a good poem. This is excellent news because it means you will be free to experiment on your own (mostly in a sink-or-swim fashion) and produce your own unique poems. This is crucial as each poem will be both a process and a product of exploration and discovery – not only of your “self” but also of the world around you. Exploration is a difficult thing but as author Octavia Butler points out: “Poetry forces you to say what you have to say”. Indeed! So a good tip to start with is: Dare to say what you have to say and do not be shy or intimidated. Your poem is unique, it is an exploration of yourself and the way you see the world. Nobody but YOU can produce this particular poem! Dare it!
2. Write it!
Remember that content comes first! The rhythm and rhyme and other stylistic features will arise later if you write from your heart. Choose a topic that provokes your thoughts and emotions because otherwise you may find it difficult to be sincere.
So, you have a good topic now, what next? Are you going to sit around and wait for the muse to appear and give you the magic formula for your poem? By all means, NO! Start writing this very minute! Write systematically. Write freely. Write even though you run out of ideas. Close your eyes and try to visualize your topic. Then play around with it in your head. Look at it from different angles. Write freely any thought and any feeling it inspires in you. You do not have to use all of these ideas in your poem later but remember that you need ideas and free-writing is a good way to generate them. Also, ideas are sneaky. They can (and mostly do!) come to you when you least expect them and then they go away quickly before you even know it. So when an idea comes to you, note it down. Do NOT rely on remembering it later because you may not. Go around with a notebook that you can fill with ideas and NEVER discard an idea because it is not good enough. All ideas are important –some of them will just need more time to grow. So treat your ideas with respect, write them down, play with them often, and let them grow.
When you feel you have enough ideas, draft your poem. (Yes! A poem needs multiple drafts too!) And go on doing that until you feel comfortable with your content, word choice and language. Once you have a draft that you are happy with, the next step will be styling your poem.
3. Style it!
When you have a draft, read your poem out loud and remember that a good poem sounds at least as good as it looks on paper. So read it out loud and listen to your words. David Mc Cord, the poet, says “a poem, like rain, should fall with elemental music”. Decide if your poem does that. No? Then the best thing to do is keep your content but play with the words and their order to achieve rain-like music. But do not get caught up too much in this. The only true concern here should be your own feelings about the poem. Does it sound right to you? Yes? Voila! You have finished your poem.
Before I close, a few final words by Ruth Gordon from her anthology of poems Peeling the Onion:
“Like the onion, poetry is a constant discovery. Peel the onion, layer after layer, until its very heart is reached . . . it adds taste, zest, and a sharp but sweet quality that enriches our lives”.
So are you ready to add your life that extra zest? If so, ready, steady, go…
Aylin Graves is a teacher trainer and writing instructor. She owns MaviZebra Communications, an online writing and editing center. Visit MaviZebra at:
http://www.mavizebra.com.tr.
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