Perfecting Poetry

Tags

experiment, improvement, perfecting poetry, poet, poetry, reading, writer, writer's block, Writing, writing prompt

I have determined there are a four key things to do in order to write better poems. Two of them I already knew and one other I suspected. But the third has completely caught me off-guard.

Over the past few months I’ve been taking a Poetry Writing class, which has challenged me in many ways. These challenges, although sometimes frustrating, have allowed me to grow as a poet.

I’ve been writing poetry off and on since 1999. During these thirteen years I’ve taken English classes, creative writing classes, read poetry books, read poetry essays, written poetry essays, and written a poem a day for a month. But I have evolved more as a poet in these past three months than the previous thirteen years.

The highest point so far from this course came this week when the rough draft of my latest poem came back with no suggestions for revision from my professor. She always finds some word choice, structure, or other element in the poem to critique and recommend a change on. But not for this one.

I can’t say I’ve “arrived” yet as a poet, but I have a feeling I have at least a few poems that will be accepted for publication. My confidence in my poetry is at an all-time high. And it is all because of these four things:

1. Write More Poetry – This really should be a given for anyone who writes. The more you do something, the better you will become. A blank page won’t get accepted for publication, and the words don’t just magically appear on the page. And, no matter how busy your schedule might seem, there is always time to write. Even if that means waking up earlier or carrying a small notebook and pen with you everywhere you go. If you want to write more often, you will find the time.

2. Read More Poetry – This is another given for writers. A person who writes Mystery novels will read a lot of other mystery novels. Poets have it lucky because there aren’t many novel-length poems that we would have to read. I personally think that the best thing to do is read a variety of poems, spanning across different poetic movements. Read the old, the really old, and the new. Read local and read poems from around the globe. It is easy to stick to a poet or an era you love the most, but that can only take you so far.

3. Use Writing Prompts – It seems like so many of the prompts are meant for poets because they focus on one moment, one scene, one idea. This is a free idea factory for any poet, which takes away the whole writer’s block excuse before it even starts. They also serve another purpose, which is to move you out of the comfort zone. We all have those topics we return to over and over. The prompt moves you into uncharted territory, which is why it also goes well with number four…

4. Experiment – This applies to topics, but also to something far more beneficial. Write poems (note this is plural, meaning do each one more than once!) in new formats, like the sonnet. If you always capitalize the first word of each line, try writing poems without capitalization. If  each line is always a complete thought, write poems where the only line ending with a period or comma is the last line. Mix things up, sprint so far past your comfort zone that you can’t see it any more. This class has forced me to do just that. One of my best poems was also the hardest one to write the rough draft for. I’ve not only discovered new formats for poetry, but I’ve also found that my natural style of writing a poem isn’t anything like what I wrote for thirteen years.

What are some of the things you think are most important for becoming a better poet or writer? Is there one thing that has helped you grow more than any other?

Advertisement

Writing Prompts

Tags

challenge, poetry, struggle, writer's block, Writing, writing prompt

Sometimes the writing well seems to be tapped dry. Ideas are nonexistent and so the blanks pages remain blank. Every writer has experienced that situation at some point in time. There are simply some days where you can’t come up with an original idea to write about if your career depended upon it.

Those are the days when a writing prompt can be a blessing. There are numerous ways in which a writing prompt can be given. Sometimes it is a starting line. Sometimes it is a subject to write about, or a scene. Other times it can be parameters for a poem or a list of things. There are more websites that share writing prompts than I care to count. Google it sometime. The number of prompts out there is incredible.

Since these are perfect for kick-starting a writing session on those anti-idea days, how is it that writers can still struggle with writer’s block?

Because we also hate being told what to write. Somehow it feels restrictive to have your story or article idea chosen by someone else. I like to think that it flares up our rebellious side, which sits atop the giant writer’s block and taunts us like the French in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The poetry class I am taking this summer has exposed my love/hate relationship that I have with writing prompts. Every week we have some sort of requirement for the poem. Sometimes it has been easy, like writing a poem about Spring. Other times it has been really restrictive, choosing how many lines or whether or not there can be any rhymes at the ends of lines (as well as the topic). Some weeks the poem has come quickly and I’ve been able to walk away.

Other times I think I’d have more fun slamming my head through a wall.

At the end of the first few weeks, though, I will admit I have some really good poems from this class. I have started to discover a new style to go along with my preexisting poetic voice. Perhaps the frustration is worth it, after all. So tonight I’m going to share a few of my favorites from the class so far, and then this weekend I am going to challenge myself to write a post relating to the prompt featured as the image for this post. Feel like joining in on the prompt? Comment below with a link to your post and I’ll come check it out and mention your response during my own prompt post.

RUNNING AWAY

You see me running by

every day, yet you do not

know who I am, how I feel. You

smile as I pass then

return to your own

little world. Did you ever stop

to consider I might

not be running past

the bookstore, the Capitol, the bars

along this brick street because

I enjoy this daily run?

 

You are not alone. They all

smile when I run by the library and

turn back to their day. The children playing at

parks are friendlier than

you. Maybe because that is

how children are. Or maybe

they sense I am not running by but

running away – from ghosts who haunt

my life – hoping to someday

outrun them.

 

CLOUDS

Drifting at a snail’s pace, shifting form,

floating without a care in the air.

At first a lion, then a lamb

and then a fluttering butterfly.

Was the change imagined or

are you the greatest shape shifter around?

Fluffy clouds, transforming clouds,

Crawling through the sky.

POUNCE

She stalks her prey without

sound, shadowing its every motion

as it scurries about the

room, making much commotion.

She crouches low to the floor in

anticipation, coiled like a tight spring.

She leaps, she pounces, and pins it

down. She is hunter of everything.

What are your thoughts on writing prompts? Do you think they help by challenging you to approach new things, or do you feel restricted by the prompt and struggle to generate something satisfactory?