You’ve probably heard the saying, “Write what you know!” but a professional approach might advise you to “Write what you know after you research to verify the accuracy of what you thought you knew!” Such care rates high in writing educational materials, Bible stories, poems, and poetic nonfiction, especially if you’ve been relying on what you learned or heard as a child.
Besides the importance of refreshing childhood memories and seeing familiar information from an adult perspective, poets and writers do well to look up every topic in an encyclopedia or dictionary. Then:
Research the age group, interests, goals, and hopes of your reading audience.
Find out what’s on the minds of your readers and other poets and writers by joining group discussions on social networks and following Favorites on Twitter, LinkedIn, Poets & Writers Community, Writers Digest Community, or Facebook.
Find accurate information on reputable websites such as those sponsored by educational associations, museums, universities, and the U. S. Government.
For a broad world view, scan the headlines of newspapers published in other regions and also other countries.
Visit your State Library online and sign in with the numbers on your local library card. This gives you immediate access to scholarly and popular journals for every age group of readers.
If you want to write for publication, research the poetry journals, e-zines, children’s magazines, and other markets who welcome poems. Study their writers' guidelines too.
And study poetry. On The Poetry Editor website - http://www.thepoetryeditor.com you will find the poet-friendly book, Poetry: Taking Its Course.
If you would like a private writing consult, edit, or critique of your poems, poetry book, book proposal, or children's picture book text, that's also available on The Poetry Editor website.
The Poetry Editor
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Why Do Poets Write Poems?
Why do people write poems or manuscripts with poetic qualities? The reasons may vary from one poet to another, but these characteristics commonly occur in varying degrees at various levels of professionalism:
• Artistic Expression - Poets who begin to write in childhood or as young adults often have a special gift for playing with words or writing poems with a strong sense of musicality. These poets may later have fun writing poems for children or writing highly poetic fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages.
• Connection with Other People - Eventually poets want to show their work to others, who may or may not be too encouraging! Frequently, however, a parent, grandparent, teacher, editor, or another poet will recognize at least a hint of literary talent and nurture the person's interest in poetry.
• Therapeutic Value - People in all age groups and cultures often begin to write poems as a creative outlet for their potent feelings, memories, or emotions. These poems can serve an expressive purpose similar to journal-writing and can bring interesting histories or even healing to family members. Since publication is not the purpose for this type of writing, the poems might not connect with readers in general or be suitable for print. However, when revisions have other people in mind, therapeutic poems can speak for readers who cannot express themselves well.
• Publication - As poets begin to gain confidence in their poetic abilities, they usually want their poems to be accepted for publication in print journals, magazines, anthologies, or online e-zines. Since many, many other poets want the same, those who love poetry and take it seriously will be more apt to read and study poetry, including the time-tested techniques and diverse forms of traditional and free verse poetry before submitting a batch of poems to an editor. When these poems begin to place, poets often discover they have repeated a single theme around which they can collect relevant poems, arranging the individual pieces into a chapbook or poetry book manuscript.
• Literary Contribution - Once several poems have placed in a literary journal or other publication, poet sometimes begin to see the value of their work as a contribution to the literary arts. This glimpse of a literary world much bigger than oneself often encourages poets to improve their poems, for example by spending more time in revising and also studying in more depth the works of classical and contemporary poets who have won such prestigious awards as the Nobel or Pulitzer prizes for poetry.
If you have not yet studied poetic techniques, traditional verse, free verse, and/ or other forms of poetry, you will find this help in the reader-friendly book, Poetry: Taking Its Course, available on The Poetry Editor website - http://www.thepoetryeditor.com .]
• Artistic Expression - Poets who begin to write in childhood or as young adults often have a special gift for playing with words or writing poems with a strong sense of musicality. These poets may later have fun writing poems for children or writing highly poetic fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages.
• Connection with Other People - Eventually poets want to show their work to others, who may or may not be too encouraging! Frequently, however, a parent, grandparent, teacher, editor, or another poet will recognize at least a hint of literary talent and nurture the person's interest in poetry.
• Therapeutic Value - People in all age groups and cultures often begin to write poems as a creative outlet for their potent feelings, memories, or emotions. These poems can serve an expressive purpose similar to journal-writing and can bring interesting histories or even healing to family members. Since publication is not the purpose for this type of writing, the poems might not connect with readers in general or be suitable for print. However, when revisions have other people in mind, therapeutic poems can speak for readers who cannot express themselves well.
• Publication - As poets begin to gain confidence in their poetic abilities, they usually want their poems to be accepted for publication in print journals, magazines, anthologies, or online e-zines. Since many, many other poets want the same, those who love poetry and take it seriously will be more apt to read and study poetry, including the time-tested techniques and diverse forms of traditional and free verse poetry before submitting a batch of poems to an editor. When these poems begin to place, poets often discover they have repeated a single theme around which they can collect relevant poems, arranging the individual pieces into a chapbook or poetry book manuscript.
• Literary Contribution - Once several poems have placed in a literary journal or other publication, poet sometimes begin to see the value of their work as a contribution to the literary arts. This glimpse of a literary world much bigger than oneself often encourages poets to improve their poems, for example by spending more time in revising and also studying in more depth the works of classical and contemporary poets who have won such prestigious awards as the Nobel or Pulitzer prizes for poetry.
If you have not yet studied poetic techniques, traditional verse, free verse, and/ or other forms of poetry, you will find this help in the reader-friendly book, Poetry: Taking Its Course, available on The Poetry Editor website - http://www.thepoetryeditor.com .]
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Getting A New Vision For Your Re-Vision
Editing focuses on things like correcting mistakes, improving syntax, cutting unnecessary words, and generally preparing a poem for publication. You might do similar tasks as you revise, but revision mainly seeks to improve the literary or artistic quality of a poem. How do you do that? How do you get new vision for your re-vision?
Most likely, the strongest of your senses helped you to begin a poem in the first place, so another sense can now help you to revise. If, for instance, you have a “poetic ear,” your poems just naturally express that natural sense of musicality or rhythmic beat. If you have an “artistic eye,” your poems may paint visual lines. If you’re a keen observer or have an analytical mind, you might find fresh comparisons in a simile, metaphor or other figure of speech. If your feelings provide your dominant sense, your expressive poems may speak to and for readers, saying what they cannot express well themselves.
Regardless which of your senses prevails, go with it. Let each poem flow to you with a new thought, musical phrase, sudden insight, fresh comparison, or whatever catches your poetic attention. Without censoring yourself, get your poem onto paper, then let it sit while something else occupies your mind.
When you return to the poem for your re-vision, use another sensory connection -- preferably one that’s opposite the original. For instance, if you have fluently expressed your feelings, let your mind now do most of the work as you analyze the connotations, sounds, and subtle nuances of each word in your poem. If your ear has been doing most of the poetic work, train your eyes to see what visual aids you might include.
By using one poetically attuned sense as you write a poem and another as you revise, your poetry can reach a new level of professionalism. More importantly, you may discover you connect with your readers in ways you had not imagined, for instance with humor, wordplays, sounds, insights or images that your readers will be glad to see and feel and hear.
Try these solutions too:
Read each poem or poetic text aloud.
Listen for anything that hinders the flow of sound or sense.
As you identify a problem, you will usually be able to identify a solution too, so be alert to that.
Correct any flaws, even if that means finding a new rhyme scheme for a traditional poem or recasting the lines in free verse.
Read aloud each revision.
If you’re not satisfied with the results, ask another poet with a similar level of experience to do a manuscript exchange, so you can provide each other with free feedback.
Also consider getting a professional critique of your poems. An objective, one-on-one response from a well-published poet or a practiced poetry editor can help you to improve a particular batch of poems, but then you can use that information to improve each of the poems you have yet to write.
As a Follower of The Poetry Editor Blog, you can send one poem of 3 to 25 lines for a free online critique similar to those posted below. If you would also like a private critique, writing consult, or edit of your poetry book, chapbook, or batch of poems, you’ll find information and reasonable fees on The Poetry Editor website – http://www.thepoetryeditor.com.
Most likely, the strongest of your senses helped you to begin a poem in the first place, so another sense can now help you to revise. If, for instance, you have a “poetic ear,” your poems just naturally express that natural sense of musicality or rhythmic beat. If you have an “artistic eye,” your poems may paint visual lines. If you’re a keen observer or have an analytical mind, you might find fresh comparisons in a simile, metaphor or other figure of speech. If your feelings provide your dominant sense, your expressive poems may speak to and for readers, saying what they cannot express well themselves.
Regardless which of your senses prevails, go with it. Let each poem flow to you with a new thought, musical phrase, sudden insight, fresh comparison, or whatever catches your poetic attention. Without censoring yourself, get your poem onto paper, then let it sit while something else occupies your mind.
When you return to the poem for your re-vision, use another sensory connection -- preferably one that’s opposite the original. For instance, if you have fluently expressed your feelings, let your mind now do most of the work as you analyze the connotations, sounds, and subtle nuances of each word in your poem. If your ear has been doing most of the poetic work, train your eyes to see what visual aids you might include.
By using one poetically attuned sense as you write a poem and another as you revise, your poetry can reach a new level of professionalism. More importantly, you may discover you connect with your readers in ways you had not imagined, for instance with humor, wordplays, sounds, insights or images that your readers will be glad to see and feel and hear.
Try these solutions too:
Read each poem or poetic text aloud.
Listen for anything that hinders the flow of sound or sense.
As you identify a problem, you will usually be able to identify a solution too, so be alert to that.
Correct any flaws, even if that means finding a new rhyme scheme for a traditional poem or recasting the lines in free verse.
Read aloud each revision.
If you’re not satisfied with the results, ask another poet with a similar level of experience to do a manuscript exchange, so you can provide each other with free feedback.
Also consider getting a professional critique of your poems. An objective, one-on-one response from a well-published poet or a practiced poetry editor can help you to improve a particular batch of poems, but then you can use that information to improve each of the poems you have yet to write.
As a Follower of The Poetry Editor Blog, you can send one poem of 3 to 25 lines for a free online critique similar to those posted below. If you would also like a private critique, writing consult, or edit of your poetry book, chapbook, or batch of poems, you’ll find information and reasonable fees on The Poetry Editor website – http://www.thepoetryeditor.com.
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