Tips for Writers: How to Write a Poem
From Mind to Page
Begin with an idea or image.
It all begins with an idea, or perhaps, an image. Creativity is shaping words around the idea or image. The idea will eventually become a poem, an essay, a story. I’ll describe how the process works for me. This process may work for you also.
The focus here is mainly on poetry, but these tips can help with any form of writing.
Incubate the idea.
An idea pops up. It might be a topic or it might be no more than a phrase. I begin to write in my head and the idea becomes more concrete. There may be several ideas in my head at one time. At odd moments during the day—when I’m walking, cooking, taking a shower--they pop up and they start to be developed. Finally, the idea demands that I write it down. Which ever idea is shouting loudest is the one I write.
Write your ideas down. Carry a pad and pen with you so when an idea pops into your mind you can make a note of it. Often ideas will come to you at night because that is when the mind is most relaxed. Keep a pad and pen by your bed. If you get an idea as you are falling asleep or when you wake up with a fragment of a dream in your mind, write it down. Do not think you will remember it. You won’t. Don’t try to write in the dark, You won’t be able to read the scribbles the next day. Keep a small flashlight handy or use one of those pens with a built in flashlight. You could also enter the ideas into your smartphone.
I transfer the ideas to a master list. I review the list every now and then. I am always surprised when I see a great idea on the list that I had forgotten. Now the forgotten idea is back in the forefront of my mind and it may end up being the one shouting the loudest.
The image of the words in rattling around in my head being like the ever-changing patterns of a kaleidoscope popped into my head.
A Kaleidoscope of Words
A Kaleidoscope of Words
Words rattle around in my brain
Like the bits of colored glass inside a kaleidoscope.
Shake them up
And they form beautiful patterns.
Shake them again
And they reform,
A totally different pattern
As beautiful as the one before.
With each shake a pattern is lost.
The words demand that I write them down.
The instinct for self preservation.
Let it flow.
As I begin to write, I just let the words flow. I will free associate. What thoughts or images or memories does the original idea bring forth?
All good writing benefits from the use of imagery—simile, metaphor, the connotations of words. Write down the images that come to you.
Now begin to shape the piece. What comes first? What is next? You may be surprised to find that the writing is going in a very different direction than you intended at first. Go with it. Don’t censor; just write.
At one time, poetry was about adherence to strict form--the number of stanzas, the rhyme scheme, the meter. Modern poetry gives the poet much more freedom. My adage is: “It’s a poem if you say it’s a poem.”
Listen to the poem growing in your mind. The poem will tell you if it wants structure or if it wants freedom. It will tell you if it wants rhyme. It will tell you if it wants enjambment (a line that breaks mid-phrase) or end stop (a line that ends at the end of a phrase or sentence).
Generally speaking, I find rhyme works for light verse—poems for children and humorous poems. Free form or a very structured poem, like a sonnet, work better for more serious topics.
What is A Poem?
What is a poem?
A poem is rhythm,
and meter,
and sound.
A poem is words,
and image,
and metaphor.
A poem is an idea,
a memory,
a unique way of seeing.
The pen in your hand
will become a dowsing rod
that will begin to tremble
as it hovers over the hidden wellspring
that is your creativity.
Your poem is there, just waiting
to bubble up to the surface.
The pen in your hand
will become a hardy shovel
that unearths a buried treasure,
when you follow the treasure map
that is your intuition.
Your poem is there, just waiting—
hidden riches for you to dig up.
Your poem is there, just waiting
for you to share it with the world.
Edit your writing.
So far you have been using right-brain creativity. Now it is time to apply left-brain reasoning. You have to edit. Is the writing clear and well-organized—does it flow from one thought to the next as smooth as water in a stream? Does it begin with a “grabber”—something that makes the reader want to read more? Is the point of view, the tone, and the style consistent? Have you used exactly the right word to express your meaning?
If you are writing a poem, read it aloud. How do the words sound? How does they rhythm feel? Are alliteration (repetition of initial sounds), assonance (repetition of vowel sounds) and consonance (repetition of consonants) working for you or against you? Sometimes, I will find that words are rhyming in a piece where I do not want rhyme—I either remove the rhyme or rewrite the poem using rhyme.
Poems are all about reducing communication to its essence. Often poems will use only sentence fragments for this reason. When you edit a poem, you should look for more economical ways to convey your meaning. You should never use two words where one will do. Look for places where you can use an image instead of explicit words. An image can replace a whole sentence because images have so many associations.
Prose uses full sentences, but the same advice applies. Are you belaboring a point in an essay? Are you explaining too much in a story? Give the reader an opportunity to do a little work. The reader will be more engaged with your writing because of it.
Words! Words! My Precious Words!
Words Words! My Precious Words!
Words! Words!
My precious words!
I cast them out
like bread upon the waters
in the hopes that a hungry fish
will come to nibble.
Sometimes the words
are like a brook bubbling along;
Like a cresting river
sweeping forward, ever forward;
like a cascading waterfall,
freely flowing with great force.
Sometimes the words
are like a new-born fawn
struggling to unfold his spindly legs;
legs barely strong enough to bear his weight,
but still he stands
and takes a tentative step.
Sometimes the words
are like a string of pearls
knotted one by one on a cord
until the ends, joined together
form a seamless circle
of lustrous illuminating beauty.
Sometimes the words are
dull as tarnished silver.
I must polish them until they glisten
like the fiery white heart of a diamond,
like starlight encased in crystal,
like a lightning bolt captured in a prism. .
I labor to find the right word.
It must have just the right meaning,
just the right connotation,
just the right feeling
to express some subtle emotion,
to create a peerless image.
My words are cast out into the world
like wandering orphans,
seeking a welcoming home.
I share my words,
my precious words;
I hope to feed hungry souls.
The imagery of meaning.
Throughout this essay and with my poems, I have used lots of different images to describe words. This last poem delves into the imagery of meaning.
I used enjambment in this poem to give a feeling of flow.
Comparing Onions and Oranges
Comparing Onions to Oranges (Enjamed)
Some poems are like onions with
layers and layers of meaning. Peel
back a layer and you find another
layer. Layer after layer.
Some poems are like oranges with
their first layer laid on thick. And,
then the second layer is no more
than a flimsy gauzy membrane.
Onions are sassy, odiferous,
pungently attacking the tongue.
Sauté an onion in oil. Add it to
a sauce, soup, or stew. Watch how
it changes, forfeits its assertiveness,
becomes mellow. Its transformation
subtly flavors everything else in the pot.
Oranges are bright, gaudy; there’s
no mistaking an orange. Bite into
an orange and the sweet juice
squirts into your mouth and dribbles
down your chin. Peel an orange and
fan the segments on a plate. Enjoy
the golden segments one by one.
Onions are introverts, hiding
themselves from view. Onions
whisper, “Tease out my flavor.”
Oranges are extroverts, keeping
no secrets. Oranges boldly
shout, “Here I am.”
Maybe it is better for a poem to be more like an orange than an onion.
Maybe it is sour grapes to think so.
Variations on a theme.
Nothing is random in a poem. Even the placement of a comma is well-thought out. A poem may use enjambment to keep each line with a certain meter .Enjambment is not done randomly either. The word that ends a line in a poem, no matter what form is used, gets extra attention by virtue of that placement. Therefore, the poet must chose the end-line word with care.
As an exercise, I wrote the above poem twice, one with enjambment and once with end-stops. Notice how it changes the feeling of the poem and even its meaning.
I used an end-stop format to give a feeling of no-nonsense directness.
Comparing Onions and Oranges
Comparing Onions to Oranges (End Stop)
Some poems are like onions.
Peel back a layer.
Find another layer.
Layer after layer.
Some poems are like oranges.
First layer—laid on thick.
Second layer—a thin membrane,
At most.
Onions are sassy on the tongue.
Odiferous and pungent.
Sauté an onion in oil.
Add it to a sauce, soup or stew.
It forfeits its assertiveness.
It becomes mellow.
It subtly flavors everything else in the pot.
Oranges are bright and gaudy.
There’s no mistaking an orange.
Bite into an orange.
Sweet juice squirts into your mouth.
Peel an orange.
Fan the segments on a plate.
Enjoy them one by one.
Onions are introverts.
Onions hide themselves from view.
Onions whisper, “Tease out my flavor.”
Oranges are extroverts.
Oranges are bold and forthright.
Oranges shout, “Here I am.”
Maybe it is better for a poem to be more like an orange than an onion.
Maybe it is sour grapes to think so.
"Writing Down the Bones" is book that you can use to free your creativity.
Please give me your opinion.
Which of the two versions of "Comparing Onions and Oranges" did you like best?
A Guide to Writing Poetry: A short video with some tips to get you started.
If you enjoy poetry...
You might want to take a look at my found poetry blog, News Print Poetry 2012.The discipline of writing a poem a day was very useful to me to improve my poetry writing skills.
© 2014 Catherine Giordano
I'd love to know what you think about this topic or the poems.
I write in onion and oranges. What fancy the moment and what the inner self is saying in my mind.Free verse that make sense. I still use poems from my youth to carry me through adulthood. Thanks for all the tips.
I read your hub The Tao of Balanced Energy : Exercise for Life. I tried to spin a poem from it. What do you think ?
Your poem was beautiful. How many poems have you written ?
I loved your hub on poems. It makes us all think of different varieties and letting your true voice come through.
You have such a gift. I'd like to hear more of your poems.
You make a good suggestion. It is hard to believe Mom has been gone 16 years come the end of this month (Sept 2014). You would think I should have recovered by now! But, I was an only child; Mom was my best friend...I took her loss very hard...it was sudden and unexpected.
I will try using your excellent idea!
Congrats on HOTD. Wow, well done.
oh whew, thanks Catherine-- I didn't want to come across as too critical, but I knew that you would want to correct your "evergreen" hub if it were incorrect info... great hub!
Beautiful! Congratulations on your HOTD!
I would just like to point out that it is the "left side of the brain" that is attributed with verbal, logical, and analytical thinking. It excels in naming and categorizing things, symbolic abstraction, speech, reading, writing, arithmetic. The left brain is very linear: it places things in sequential order -- first things first and then second things second, etc. The right brain (right hemispheres) functions in the non-verbal, intuitive, creative. Under "Edit Your Writing" you state: "So far you have been using left-brain creativity. Now it is time to apply right-brain reasoning." I apologize for mis-reading this, if that is the case. ~Cynthia
Big congrats on Hub of the Day! Nice job!
Thank you. It's good to see poetry on the HOTD stage and your neat comparison of poems is a very good introduction to enjambment. That Onion poem brought tears to my eyes. Congratulations.
Hey, I just read this yesterday! Congratulations on its being picked as HOTD! Very deserved!
Wow! I have not heard of a poetry as HOTD. Congratulations! Very well done. A well deserved hub.
Congratulations on this well deserving HOTD! I think this is the first time I saw it in poetry category but then again, this is an excellent piece with lots of useful tips.
I absolutely enjoyed it. Voted up and sharing.
This is really helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm glad poets are getting noticed here on HubPages. Congratulations of receiving the Hub of the Day award.
I am not a poet, but I enjoyed reading this hub. I voted heads-up! Cheers!
Congrats on HOTD!! Very nicely explained piece.
I have reams (well, binders, anyway) of poems I've written in years past.
I have very rarely written a poem by intent and design, except perhaps as a class assignment. My poems just "come to me," and I must scramble to get them onto paper, before I forget. For as you so wisely put it, you WILL forget! ;-)
Trying to write a poem on purpose, for me, does not work. They come out sounding stilted and forced, and do not flow. I struggle. I've not written much at all since my mom died in 1998--she wrote as well, and we shared--I think my muse died with her.
Voted up, interesting and useful.
Congrats on HOTD ! This is a great stuff plus very interesting and useful. Catherine, you have penned a wonderful hub on a great craft called poetry. Poetry is to life what makeup is to a woman ! Thank you, voted up.
Excellent. This has to be one of the best hubs around - winner of HOTD or otherwise! Voted up!!!
Good ideas, very well thought out, one thing I would say however is always proof read, I look forward to your next hub.
Congratulations for HOTD!
I don't remember any poem getting this recognition. That itself is a reward.
A well written hub with so many meaningful examples. Voted up!
Wow, I can't believe a poetry hub has won HOTD....hope this is the start of things to come. Congratulations Catherine.
A HOD on POETRY?! Never thought I'd see the day on HP! Congrats! And good for the selection committee - breaking new ground.
Though words just simply needs a smooth path to flow...but paths are never smooth to remove those tiny obstacles that do not allow words to flow freely.....these tips are really worthy...I liked your hub Catherine :)
Great ideas. Poetry has never been my strong point, but sometimes I've got to get something out in verse. Nice hub, congrats on Hub of the Day.
A very useful lesson for beginners like me. I also always bring along a pen and a small piece of paper wherever I go, to ensure ideas are quickly noted before they are forgotten. Nice hub and congrats on HotD!
I voted for the enjambed one, but I loved the end-stop one, too. I think it's whatever a writer is in the mood for! Nice hub--and great examples!
Powerful knowledge, I will use them when I am writing my next poem. You have make a great contribution, keep it up!
Sounds good to me , thanks.
Sorry to make you have to go over it again Catherine. I had to just go back over one of my hubs for the umpteenth time after a friend pointed out some errors. I'd rather they point them out and get it sorted rather than everyone read the errors and just say nothing.
A very thorough and informative hub Catherine. The poetry examples are great too. It seems as though I'm alone, but I preferred the directness and no-nonsense end-stop version. Thanks for sharing your personal writing process. Voted up. p.s. The Naughty Grammarian hasn't been through this hub with a fine tooth comb though :)
A very helpful hub esp for amateurs like me...! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us :)
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this-definitely enjoyed the Enjambed version almost a modern Elizabethan.
What a great hub! I also like the enjambed version. Sometimes enjambment is the difference between prose and poetry for me--
I think I like the Enjamed version better because it seems more organic... which poetry is all about. Great tips for connecting thought with paper (or screen). Voted up, useful and sharing!
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