5 Further Tips for Writing Poetry

By georgelthomas on 4 May 2021 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well. Today I’m sharing some more tips to help release your inner poet.

Here are 5 Further Tips for Writing Poetry

Use Metaphors and Similes
Metaphors and similes are elements of poetry that can help your reader to connect with a poem in their own way. They help to give the art form a deeper and more subjective meaning, and allow the reader to infer the meaning of the poem as opposed to you being direct and telling them what the poem is all about in concrete terms. It’s nice when you read a poem and feel as though it was written specifically about you and this happens when you’re allowed to make your own interpretation of a poem’s meaning.

A metaphor is defined as a figure of speech that directly compares one thing to another for rhetorical effect. The comparison is not one that is meant to be taken literally, for example, the phrase, ‘life is a roller coaster’ does not mean to imply that we are all living on literal roller coasters, but rather it refers to the emotional ups and downs one endures throughout life.
A simile is defined as a figure of speech used as a method of direct comparison, or as a way of connecting two things using the words ‘like’ and ‘as’. For example: ‘His hair was as golden as the sun‘, or ‘they fought like cat and dog‘.

Bare your Soul
When you’re writing a poem – or anything else for that matter – it’s always a good idea to write with honesty. Write with your emotions and ignore the urge to sugar coat anything – be prepared to tell your truth and don’t be bashful about it. Honesty draws a reader in and helps them to relate better to what you’re trying to say.

Share your Work
When you’ve written something, don’t let it languish in a drawer or a folder somewhere, get it out into the world and let others experience it. You’ve taken the time to craft something, to create a piece of work that didn’t exist anywhere in the world before, why not send it into the world for others to enjoy. Putting yourself out there can help you to gain confidence in your writing and, if you welcome constructive criticism, it can help you to learn and become a better writer.

Find a Theme and Stick to It
In a poem, a single theme running through the whole piece is enough. If you want to talk about love, then talk about love. Starting out with love and then switching partway through to the vastness of the universe isn’t a good idea (though you could draw some connections there if you tried hard enough). Keep all that universe themed goodness for another poem. Don’t over complicate things. Jumping from one theme to another is likely to confuse or irritate a reader.

Tell a Story
Don’t feel as though you have to stick to writing one type of poetry or to one subject or format. Poems can be about anything at all, why not try your hand at narrative poetry? Narrative poetry is a poem that tells a story such as with ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Narrative poems can be factual or fictional or even a combination of the two. Play around and see what you can come up with.

As always thanks for spending your valuable time with my words, I really do appreciate it!

Until next time,

George