Poetry Techniques

Poetry Techniques From Deal A Poem .com

Don't stare at the paper, waiting for poetic inspiration. Stop waiting and start using systematic techniques for creating poetry. Don't worry if it seems too mechanical or artificial at first. The point is just to get you writing, because creativity is stimulated by work.

If You Have a Poem in Mind

Once you have your topic, ask why it's important, and write down your answer. What do you feel about it? Start writing down those feelings. Start with a line or a scene that exemplifies what you are trying to point out,and then start rearranging the words into a poem. The important thing is to do anything other than waiting to stimulate your creativity.

Poems can come from a simple description, so write down a description of an event. Then find a way to form it into something more succinct and poetic. The poem below, "Religion," was created in this way:

If You Need Ideas for Poems

1. Take a look around and write down what you see.

2. Note anything that you felt today.

3. Ask anyone for a topic and start writing.

4. Use random words, one per line, to create a verse.

The verse below was written in a few minutes using these four randomly chosen words, one for each line: dirty, sorrow, things, and we.

You can break through the worst writers-block, by simply using any "tricks" or poetry techniques available to start writing poems. Try it. Even very artificial, or "mechanical" techniques will get your creativity flowing. You'll find more of these poetic techniques in part two.

I have been been playing with poetry for thirty years. My wife Ana and I created the game "Deal-A-Poem," which can be accessed for free at: http://www.dealapoem.com, where you can find a few more poetry techniques.