5 Tips to Get Started With Writing Poetry
determining your poetry topics, setting goals, and joining a writing community!
Writing poetry is a great way to express emotions, gain self-awareness, and improve your writing overall. With poetry, there are so many options for getting your work out there! You could publish your own collections or contribute to a group collection, have your work published in literary magazines, or even post it anonymously like I did when I first started writing! If you want to write poetry but you’re not sure where to start, here are a few tips!
1. Read a lot of poetry
The best place to start is to read what you want to write. If you want to write fiction, read within the genres you’re interested in writing for. If you want to write poetry, read poetry! Reading other pieces of poetry can help you get a sense of style while you’re developing your own voice as a poet, and can give you inspiration for topics to write about.
If you’re looking for recommendations on poetry to read, I share the poetry I’m reading over on my Instagram!
2. Pick your core topics
You don’t have to limit yourself to writing within a few topics, but it’s good to have a sense of what your main ones will be, especially if you want to form a collection and publish! if you don’t know what topics you love writing about yet, that’s okay. give it some time. ask yourself what you’re most passionate about, and what you want your readers to take away from your poems. that may help you decide what themes are best for you.
my poetry collection, Changing with the Tides, explores themes of overcoming hardships and embracing the future, but I also write about mental health, self-love, and relationships.
3. Think about what your main goals are with writing poetry
What are your goals as a poet? To express your thoughts and emotions freely? To be creative and write for fun? To have readers across the world interested in and moved by your work? Setting a goal at the beginning is important to determine your next steps. For example, if you want to simply share your work with others, it could be a good idea for you to create a blog and get your work out there! If you want to publish, network and create a community. (sign up for my marketing newsletter for tips on building your community!)
4. Free write
A lot of people get overwhelmed at the beginning of writing poetry by worrying about formatting and techniques, and following what they’ve seen in published poetry. Instead, focus on getting the words down and don’t compare your writing to other poets’ writing. your own voice and style will develop over time.
5. Join a community
Writing is known as a solitary, isolating activity, but it doesn’t have to be! Creating a community and networking yourself is a great way to find other authors to work with and readers to sell your book to. If you haven’t yet joined Twitter, there’s a great #WritingCommunity on there!
You could also join The Poetry Club, an online poetry community hosted by me.
The poetry club is a monthly membership for poets of all levels designed to inspire you, educate you, and build your confidence, while providing you with accountability and support from like-minded poets. For more information or to sign up, click here.
If you haven’t written poetry yet but you want to, give it a try! poetry has changed my life, and i think it could change yours too. from mental health benefits to professional benefits, i encourage you to let your voice be heard through words. good luck on your poetry journey—i’m here to support you!