Learning how to write a poem is one of the hardest forms of writing. There are many rules of writing poetry or sometimes no rules at all. Confusing? Well, don’t be, you’ll be able to clear all the doubts by the end of this article.
Before we move ahead with poetry writing, also check some other writing styles:
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How to Identify Different Types of Writing Styles
Despite all the challenges, writing poetry is a kind of exciting form of writing. As a writer, you are free to use your creativity. Thus as a poet, you must look for how to nail this art form. And today, we’ll tell you how to write a poem like a professional artist. But before that, let’s understand what benefits you’ll have after learning to write a poem.
Why You Should Learn How to Write a Poem
Even if you are not looking to get a job as a poet in the future, it can still help you in other spheres of life. Let’s see how:
- As to become a poet, you must have a good imagination, thus learning how to write a poem will help you to use that imagination in other fields of work.
- Poetry uses strong language. That is why it can help you to be concise and impactful while writing other styles.
- Writing poetry helps you to draw out your emotions in a tangible way. You can express yourself to the world by using your creativity.
- Last but not least, you can become a professional poet in the future and earn good money. You can easily make a full time or part-time income this way.
8 Hacks on How to Write a Poem for Beginners
If you want to become a professional in writing a poem, then you must capture the feeling that you are experiencing. Moreover, the following tips will help you in writing a poem like a professional.
Tip1: Make a Goal
Like any other writing project, you must have a goal with your poem. Otherwise, what is the point of going when you don’t know where are you going? In the same way, you must have a goal in mind while writing a poem.
Plan what you want to write about, like social injustice, the beauty of nature, and any other random feeling. After that, relate all the elements of the poem so that it can serve the purpose.
Tip2: Dodge Cliché
Cliché basically means overused literary devices or elements. It can be in any form like overuse themes, character types, or plots. A work full of cliché works against original content. Besides this, the audience prefers to see creativity in writing rather than the regular boring stuff.
That is why to understand how to write a poem like a professional. It is essential to know how to avoid cliché. Some common examples of cliché are “tired as a dog”, “eats like a horse”, “working my fingers to the bone”, and others like this.
How to Avoid Cliché
As it can create big trouble for a beautiful, that is why here are some steps that you must follow to avoid cliché:
- Use other words for its determination, like “tired as a dog,” which means very tired. So you can use to write it in simple word.
- For avoiding cliché, it is mandatory to prevent borrowed or stolen tales. Write your thoughts, emotions, or story you are comfortable with.
- Keep your stories real by taking your time. Besides this, your writing must contain sincerity and authenticity.
- Eliminate writing ordinary stuff. As your readers are looking for something different, thus presenting regular thoughts can sadden them.
Tip3: Risk Sentimentality
For connecting with your audience, you must invade sentiments in your poem. But you can achieve it without risking sentimentality. There is a thin line between sentiment and sentimentality, which you need to understand if you want to invade emotions in the poem.
Sentimentality is “dominated by blunt appeal to emotions of pity and love” (Minot 416). It might hinder the literary quality of your work.
Tip4: Include Images
Using pictures in the poem must stimulate senses like sight, sound, touch, and others in your readers. For example, the following lines sooth sight “sunlight varnishes magnolia branches crimson.” Thus create images that match your words and emotions. It will create a similar snap in the mind of the readers. For example, Sylvia Plath revolutionizes the poetry word by his works like ‘Daddy.’ The poem utilizes harsh holocaust imagery to depict the feelings of the poet towards her father.
Tip5: Add Similes and Metaphors
Similes and metaphors have their importance in the poem itself. These are useful to bring imagery and concrete emotions in the readers. Both make comparisons. But similes contain words like “life is as beautiful as flowers.” And metaphors provide words like “My life is an open book.” Now here, life is not a book, but it takes the abstract characteristic of life.
So the important tip here is to remember to use similes and metaphors when you have to do comparison, inference, and suggestions in your poem.
Tip6: Use Concrete Rather Than Abstract Words
Don’t get confused with these heavy terms like concrete and abstract. Concrete words are words that describe things that we can experience with senses like warmth, books, or other stuff. It will help readers to understand what you are trying to say quickly.
But if you use abstract words like liberty or happy, then it might confuse your readers. These words probably have a different meaning for different people.
Tip7: Be Clear With the Theme
Your poetry must have a theme that contains opinions with ideas. Suppose your poem has a theme like ‘World Wars.’ So it is not a theme as it includes no idea and opinions. It is only an event. Instead, use themes like ‘Agony of World War.’ Indeed it is a statement. But it shows what the poet thinks about world war. So make sure your theme contains both ideas and opinions.
So if you are looking for tips on how to write a poem, just go through the above tips. These tips will help you to write a better poem. Further, for any academic writing services, get instant English assignment help from our experts.