How to write a poem

           Many people seem to find it very difficult to write a poem, but I don’t. So, I am writing this essay to give the steps to writing an excellent poem. I going to explain the method that I have used to write the 550 some-odd poems that I have written. I will show exactly how easy it is to write poetry.
           First you have to decide the topic. This is the hardest part for some people, they always wonder, "where do I begin". I, personally, usually only write poetry when I am inspired. In other words I have an idea exactly what I want to write about. I just proceed to the second step. Other people, many of whom have no idea in mind, simply prewrite. They use the various methods of coming up with ideas and then from that they come up with their topic. Some examples of prewriting are freewriting (where you simply write as you think. It’s like stream of consiousness), brainstorming (listing of possible topics or aspects of topic), clustering (grouping together aspects of topic), or some of the many other methods of prewriting. You can any of these methods, whichever one works for you.
           Next you have to write down the ideas. This is the step that I usually begin with. I simply start expressing what I want to express. As I write, I edit and change things as I begin to see exactly which one is better. Usually I am inspired, so therefore everything seems to flow out exactly as I want it to be. I only have to make minor changes. But other people who used the other method of coming up with ideas may have to make major changes. Just simply write the ideas down so that you can organize them later. This stage in the writing where you get your ideas down and not worry too much about organizing them.
           Then you have to organize the poem. This and the step before are combined when I write a poem. Because when I write my poetry, it is usually very organized already. However, for most other people these steps are totally separate. In this stage you take the ideas you’ve written and form them into the structure of the pattern that you want them in. There are different types of poems that you can write. There is free style (Doesn’t have any set pattern), rhyming (Has a specific rhyme scheme), and many other very specific styles. When I am writing a rhyming poem one thing that I find helpful is to, when I think of the word that ends the line that has to rhyme with another, I take it and on the same sheet of paper I write all the words that I can think of that rhyme with it. Then I have more of a choice of words to pick when I write the next line that has to rhyme with the other one.
           And the final stage is to edit your poem. Check the poem for spelling mistakes. And grammar mistakes, if you care about grammar in your poem. Read the poem out loud. Does it make sense? It if doesn’t, take out the unnecessary words or put in the words that are missing. Does it flow? If it doesn’t then decide which part doesn’t and change that part so that it does. Are there words that shouldn’t be there? If so, remove them. Maybe put another word or phrase in their place. Are there any words that would sound better if you used a synonym? If so, check the thesarus. Be sure that the synonym means the same thing and can be used in the context you are using. After All these corrections are made you are ready to print out a final copy of the poem.
           So, there it is. How to write a poem from a poet’s point of view. Hope you enjoyed reading and that it helped you in some way.
Written by:
me


Back