1. Begin here. READ AND RESPOND

Concrete Poetry OR Picture Poetry
Heart Poetry


Wishing Poetry
Life Poetry (same as List Poetry)
Ex Basketball Poetry
The Writer

Apology Poetry
The Hangman
Fun Poetry

Clerihew
Cinquain

HOW TO YOU BEGIN WRITING POETRY?
I would say after all the years, I'm not sure. First of all, you read. You have to be aware of what's being written. Poetry is a conversation. Often while I'm reading, I start a poem. An image will set off another image, or I think of something I want to say.

Begin by getting words down. What have you got to say? Work with what you've experienced. I think sometimes, who cares about my ordinary life? But often, that's exactly what matters.

What idea, impression, image, do you want to convey? Why should I listen to you?
1) Read,
2) write what you have to say and
3) read it to someone. Listen to their reaction, their criticism, and write again. So much of writing is rewriting.

Do you have something bothering you? Get into it. That will save the trouble of writing boring poems.

Remember imagery, the mental pictures your writing makes, usually through metaphor and simile. Make sure it hasn't been said before. It has to be new. Tell me something I haven't heard before. Let an image connect with a thought, sometimes a memory. Get rid of weak verbs. Watch tenses; make them consistent. Use DETAIL!

Ask what your poem means. What conclusion is drawn from it? Even if it is not a logical thought, but an impression. Good poems are sometimes simple, on at least one level.

What is life life for you? That's what you should begin writing about.

Remember also the richness of language. Make sure there's lots of that in your writing. Read your words to yourself. Listen to them a software that lets you hear yourself, like AUDACITY.

The form a poem takes on a page is integral. Experiment with line breaks, stanzas, the square or prose poem, the words wiggling over the page.

Then, workshop your poem. Critiques are usually common sense. Does the poem work? Do you like it? Does it begin at the first stanza or do you really get into the poem several lines later? Do all the parts form a whole? What central thought holds the poem together? What emotion or impression is shared? What stays in your mind after you've heard it? Is it in the form it should be in? Is the poem clear? Have you said the same thing too many times? Is the reader rewarded for reading it?

Be interested in a lot of things. Be an interesting person; live a responsible life. Start keeping notes.

When I read other books, I think why do I do this? Hasn't it been done better than I can do it? Then, I think that I have to look inside myself and decide, I have something to say too!

By Diane Glancy

NOW, QUICKLY WRITE A BRIEF ANSWER TO THE ABOVE. SPEAK DIRECTLY TO ME, AS IF YOUR WERE TALKING FACE-TO-FACE. ASK QUESTIONS. TELL ME ABOUT THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE WITH CREATIVE WRITING. MAYBE SOMETHING WAS SAID THAT YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH: TELL MY WHY?