Poetry Tip Jar!

We’re a third of the way through National Poetry Writing Month, and in the interest of helping everyone complete their poem-a-day quota, we’re accepting tips!




Do you have any tips for writing poetry? For finding inspiration? For revising poems? For motivating oneself?

Do you have any tips as a reader - for how to make a poem more enjoyable?

Post below, we accept all currencies ^_^



Thread brought to you by Daily NaPo Mini Events! Tune in tomorrow for a new event!

Also helps to read lots! Try different prompts and sometimes when I feel like I've got writer's block, I would turn up some music and write like I'm posting a blog entry. Blog entries help me because I don't worry about anything - there's nothing neat about them, but I know that from them, I can arrive at sincerity. At some point there's going to be a line or phrase or gem from a long rant of feels that I can sort of steal and craft later.

Also! Find out what your best writing time is. Some people do late nights. I kind of like early mornings with the coffee pot brewing.

And what else... Hmm. Don't be afraid of nonsense. Nonsense is like finding a heavy rock in a mine, you take that and you chip away at it for that diamond, but you've got to start with nonsense first.

Put solid, concrete things in poetry. Emotions are best delivered when you have a physical scene, thing, or moment to attach it to.

Write poetry. That's how you write poetry.
It doesn't matter if it's good, if you keep writing and keep reading, the goodness will come.

This is more so a tip to NaPo than poetry! But really, as fun as it is to write what comes to mind, try experimenting with forms. It's such a challenge - so much thought and effort has to go in it. And when the whole poem fits together: now that's a lovely moment

water imagery is delicious.

I second Deanie about experimenting with form. I lean toward free verse, but it's fun to try different things.

The Reboot
Step 1: Find a published poem.
Step 2: Think about it. What was the author trying to accomplish? What poetic devices, word choice, structure, etc. did they use to do that? What could they have done differently?
Step 3: Twist it! Play with the message and add your own flair. Change the form, change the wording, add some new imagery. Or use similar wording but subvert the meaning entirely.

One of my own attempts: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Post-It Note

Harness the Roller-Coaster

So we all go through ups and downs--a roller coaster of emotions. Thankfully, we spend most of our time fairly close to the baseline (trust me, being at an intense "high" or "low" all the time is not healthy). Of course, those intense highs/lows are often the best sources of poetic inspiration, but trying to write something decent while you're still feeling that intense can be difficult. Instead, I suggest having some "cooling-off time" before trying to make a poem out of it. When you've got some distance from the event, then brainstorm. What images come to mind? What poetic tools capture that feeling best?