How to Grow in the Art of Poetry

As a hobby, as a profession, as a release from the world around you - poetry can be the wings you need to fly, the words you find to express your experiences, your life, your loves, your hates, your soul.

Becoming a painter of words whilst using make-shift canvas of scraps, lines and receipts; however you write, sestina, open or spiritually - here are some tips on reading, educating and improving your skill.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Time
• Access to a library or the internet
• Pen/Pencil - your preference really…
• Journal/Paper - whatever you use.

1. 
    
   Magnetism - Through Words

   From novice to printed professional - you are an artist. No matter the mask you hide behind, man or woman, child or adult - chances are you have written something intrinsically deep or minimally obtuse.
   
   
   
   Now, as a hobby, goal, craft or profession - you are eager to improve your skills.
   
   
   
   Here is your first step:
   
   
   
   Take an hour every day and dedicate yourself to an online forum or local poetry/writing club.
   
   Below is a list of commonly used forums which range from hobbyist to critical.
   
   
   
   www.poetry.com - vanity publishing site: if you want the opportunity to order your haiku on a product or in a book, it will be available to you through this site. Little to no commentary or criticism will be made or left. Your poetry, however, will be copyrighted through this site for the year.
   
   
   
   www.originalpoetry.com - critic site: if you want feedback and criticism on your works, this website is highly recommended.
   
   
   
   www.deviantart.com - criticize, share, copyright, edit, etc…: this website requires you sign-up for a user account. Once activated, you are free to post your works and use their copyright offers, allow others to view and criticize your works, or just post for the fun of it. This site is the best, by far, having many options for any sort of writer.
   
   
   
   Writing Groups:
   
   Barnes &Noble and many book stores offer local writers an opportunity to get together and divulge interests, secrets, technique and criticisms. The first-hand experience of setting goals and writing at a regular pace is exhausting and challenging at the same time. This is a highly recommended activity to join in on.

2. 
    
   Words are the Power. With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility. :)

   2
   
   Study and criticism are the two best ways to improve your skills. Some days your writing will be lax and others will be bursting with mind-blowing phenomena. Don’t be nebulous about the potential you have or your talents - rather, hone, practice and accept every tongue-in-cheek comment, sly-witticism, joke, or other form of commentary your critics will have to offer you.
   
   *Remember, feedback is a two-way street.
   
   
   
   Begin studying by:
   
   
   
   Reading your favorite authors - find paragraphs and terms that capture your eye. Write them down, study them. Break into pieces, the metaphors and similes. Use these ideas and visuals as a base for your own constructive works. Do not borrow or copy, however, but be original. That’s the challenge of this study.
   
   
   
   Imitate the steps above with music and television. Life will suddenly change from tunnel vision to 3-D kaleidoscopes of thought. Trippy cool.

3. 
    
   Ah. The Light is Bright Upon Us!

   Challenge yourself.
   
   
   
   Write about specific items, such as Coca~Cola bottles, dead flowers, the street you live on, the sounds you hear if you close your eyes. The mellifluous harmony of the sublime. Find it! You can if you look hard enough. There is never anything that isn’t beautiful or enticing in some way. The ugly is only “ugly” because there is beauty to compare it to. If beauty did not exist then…well, you get the idea.

4. 
    
   Illuminate.

   Finally but definitely not Fin:
   
   
   Embolden your writings with new words, new adjectives and descriptions. Grasshopper - it will end too soon if you do not expand these ventures of thought and mind. There is an endless light that will accompany the words you write, that will invite others in or keep them out.
   
   Words were meant to indemnify or cultivate the nature of man. Use them wisely.

Tips & Warnings

• Read and Study the works of others.
• Be patient - greatness does not always occur as once was popularly believed - overnight.
• Dream big; your words may be small but they store a lot of power.
• Have fun. If it begins feeling like work to you - step away from the paper and grab a Starbucks drink.
• Converse with others, share your work (carefully) with others.
• Be modest, humble and as clean as a slate - let others impress upon you their emotions or questions or whatever-may-be. It will pay off.
• Many works are copyrighted. Do not steal, "borrow", or directly imitate works. Be original. Be terrible and fiendishly "bad" through your first works and earn your wings.

[paintedlibra]

on 9/18/2009 Thanks this Article really helped me.
and I'll remember it all ways.

[Magentaslb]

on 9/18/2009 Comprehensive, well written article. 5*s, and recomended!