Most people who love writing poems want to learn how to write a good poem. You want to feel accomplished once you write a poem that evokes the right feelings in yourself and your reader. I always say, allow the poem to write to you. Let the words take over when you write each line and feel all your senses taking a deep dive into your thoughts and feelings.
For each of us who writes a poem, the experience may be the same for some and different for others. Either way, poetry is an expression of your creative side. If you want to get creative, it’s time to drink some coffee because there’s going to be some real mental energy spent here.
Do you want to learn how to write a good poem? Let’s explore a few simple steps.
Quick Guide to write a good poem
- Know your goal: Determine the desired impact on the reader based. Consider the emotions and thoughts you want them to feel when they read your poem.
- Be original: Avoid overused ideas and topics. The magic is when you can present something that is unique and powerful.
- Use vivid language: Use metaphors and similes, meters, rhymes (optional) to help the reader visualise what you have written.
- Be clear: Use concrete words and avoid using overly complex language.
- Retain a consistent theme: Throughout your poem, maintain a consistent theme. If it is comedy, retain the element of comedy, if it is horror or romance, retain that specific vibe throughout the poem. You must clearly define the underlying message of your poem.
- Experiment with form: Rhyming is not the only form of poetry. Try writing your poem using different forms of poetry.
- Revise thoroughly: Do not submit your poem the moment you have written it. Make sure to read through it several times before submitting. You must edit your poem based on the emotions it should evoke within the reader. Check whether the poem has the right flow and does it sound right. Is it giving out the message you intended to convey. Proofread your poem for grammatical and spelling errors.
Six Technical Steps to write a poem
Why do we want to write a poem? Most often, it’s because we’ve gained wisdom, learnt an important life lesson, or want to express our emotions.
Poetry is not just about telling someone what the poet felt. It’s about handing over your emotions to the reader. How can you make your reader resonate with the words in your poem? Let’s learn how to write poetry:
Step 1: Choose a topic based on your end goal
Think of a topic. If you already have a topic in mind, great, let’s build on it. When you have a topic in mind, dig deeper, and find out what other people think about it. Talk to your friends, trusted family members, and even strangers you meet on the bus. You would be surprised at the insights you get.
Step 2: Structure your thoughts, make a description
If you are a beginner then while learning how to write a good poem, you must know how to structure your thoughts. To do this, you can write a description of your topic like writing an essay. An essay sounds elaborate but when you already know what you want to write, it just takes a few minutes.
Example of a description:
I missed her immensely but with each passing day, she cared less and less. I felt an ache in my heart because this friendship turned into a sour memory. First, my friend was a friend. Today, she acts like she doesn’t even know me.
Step 3: Divide your description, section-wise
Once you have written a description of your poem, divide it into sections. Check the flow and review it to see if each section flows in the right order. By this, I mean to check if your poem does not have any missing links.
- Section #1: I missed her immensely but with each passing day, she cared less and less.
- Section #2: I felt an ache in my heart because this friendship turned into a sour memory.
- Section #3: First, my friend was a friend. Today, she acts like she doesn’t even know me.
Step 4: Write stanzas
Take the first section and write a stanza on it. If you want to learn how to write a good poem, you must understand the significance of a stanza. A stanza is a group of lines that form a recurring metrical unit in a poem.
For instance, take section 1 from step 3 as an example.
Description – section 1:
I missed her immensely but with each passing day, she cared less and less.
Stanza for section 1:
My heart ached for her like hot coals under my feet
Every time I walked, the burn was anew
But she was blind to my scars like a cloak over her eyes
With each passing day, her heart beat less for me
So, as you can see, the two lines are clubbed together to form a stanza. Therefore, I have written two stanzas in a poem.
Write as many stanzas as you want to complete section 1 from the description you wrote. Once you are certain you have written enough for section 1, move on to writing more stanzas for each section in your poem.
Step 5: Learn these three Habits
Once you have completed writing stanzas on all your sections from the description, it’s time to edit. This is one of the most important steps in learning how to write a good poem.
Editing your poem requires two habits:
- Habit #1: Edit at least three to four times today. Do the same tomorrow; edit three or four times tomorrow.
- Habit #2: Proofread for grammar and do spellchecks.
- Habit #3: Check the flow of the poem from the reader’s perspective. While checking the flow, ask yourself whether your poem makes sense to a person reading it for the first time.
Step 6: Submit your poem for publishing online for free
If you are confident that your poem deserves publishing then you can submit your poem to me for review. Email me at poeticiapoems@gmail.com. You can read more if you want to know how to publish your poem online for free.
Read my article on Medium that define when a poem is a poem.
FAQs
- Why does my poem get rejected for publishing?
If you do not take the time out to first practice how to write a good poem, there is a likelihood that in comparison to other poems, your poem is not as competitively written. You may have not followed the proper guidelines of that specific poetry website. Many submissions contain spelling errors, which are not taken lightly. Furthermore, some submissions read more as a letter than a poem. This means that any poem written must have poetic elements.
2. How long does it take to get a poem published once it is approved?
This depends from one poetry website to another. At Poeticia, it may take 7 business days to 30 days. If the submissions are plenty, a poem approved may take up to 60 days.
3. What happens after I submit my poem?
Your poem will be reviewed and decided whether or not it is fit for publishing.
4. Will I get paid for submitting my poem?
No, there are no payments to poets who submit their poems to Poeticia.
5. Do I have to pay to get my poem submitted on your website?
No, you can submit and get your poem published on the Poeticia website for free. The only time you have to pay is if you are participating in a poetry anthology.
6. How do I write a good poem?
If you want to know how to write a good poem, you can read the steps provided above, and in addition, read these blogs:
- This poem made no sense or am I just plain stupid?
- Is my poem good enough to be published?
- How do I write a poem good enough to be published online?
- Poetry and its different forms
Featured image credit: 1tamara2 from Pixabay