5 Tips for Poets: How to Improve Your Poetry Writing Skills

Nothing beats the feeling I get when I sit down to write a poem.

Especially if something really unique catches my attention. I love it when an idea gets sparked, or any number of other things all come together, and I find myself thinking, this would make a good line in a poem.

But, if you’re like me, you also find yourself wanting more from your poetry than the same things you’ve already been writing. You’re hungry to say something that’s purely and uniquely yours. But how exactly do you do that?

The power of practice

You want to take your writing to another level, to say more, do more, to share more than the same-old-same-old. You want to tap into whatever it is that the great poets tapped into before.

I get it. I’m there with you. I want to write the kind of poetry that absolutely moves my audience at the deepest levels. But how the heck do we do that and do it consistently? How do you improve your writing skills?

The simple answer is to practice your craft.

Come at your poetry from several angles, trying new things, embracing curiosity, making a connection between things, getting at the mechanics, and always keeping a slightly hungry imagination.

Your poetry is your responsibility to grow and develop, and I won’t lie to you. Of course, it takes work to develop your poetry writing instincts and skills. But it is worth it in the end, I promise.

Let’s take a closer look and see how these things and more all work to help us sharpen our skillset.

Try something fresh

Masterclass offers some great advice, writing that, “There are many different types of poetry available to you. Even if there is a specific type of poem that you consider your bread and butter, it’s worth experimenting with different poetry forms.” (Note, this isn’t an affiliate link, just sound advice)

This is simple advice to implement. Just shake things up a bit and see what happens. If you use a specific type of poem more frequently, why not try another form or two for a while? Push yourself to see what might happen, or at the very least to learn something fresh.

Learn the mechanics

Tip number two comes from Melissa Donovan, at Writing Forward, who writes, “Poets have their own language. So when they mention couplets and iambic pentameter, you should know what they’re talking about. Study literary devices and learn how to use them in your own poetry.”

Learn the rules? Learn the mechanics? Learn the boring stuff? I get it, it isn’t the most exciting or outright sexy piece of advice to hear, but it is good advice anyway.

Suppose you want to be a professional in the field, even just a part-time one gets published casually, you owe it to yourself, your poetry, and your audience to sharpen your skills wherever those skills feel a little dull. That includes the tricky bits that are sometimes a challenge to crack.

Let you in on a secret, I need a bit of a refresher on some of the rules and devices myself. I’m far from perfect and have gotten a bit too comfortable lately writing loose and claiming this rule-bending and rule-breaking as part of my style. And it is, but I think sometimes that’s just an excuse if I’m being honest.

Now, let’s go a little further and see what else we can do to improve our poetry writing skills and get better at learning how to write poetry.

Put your work out there

The only way to truly sharpen your skills as a poet is to practice poetry.

You have to sit down at your desk, roll up your sleeves, and sling out some words from that keyboard. But even after this, you have to take your work further. You have to revise it, edit it, probably even rewrite it. And the most painful part of practicing poetry, and an extension of that early work, you have to share your writing with others.

It can feel scary, especially when you’re trying new things. But feedback is an essential part of the process. So write, write, write, read, read, read…and share every bit as much as the rest. That’s the best (and arguably only) way to grow your poetry.

This could include writing on Medium, sharing drafts with a writing group (not family and friends, your work needs the red pen of a stranger to really help you improve), and submitting your finished pieces to markets of every variety.

Take all the feedback you get, and see what is familiar, what you keep repeating. Look for strengths and areas that need some work. Then learn from it.

Become a life-long student of poetry

Earlier, we talked about learning the rules and mechanics, which contribute to being a student of poetry, but you need more than just the mechanics alone. Being a student of poetry means studying the craft closely from many angles, engaging with the genre in the immediate future, as well as putting things in place to sustain your learning for the long term.

Ask questions about the poetry you’re reading, study it closely, try to figure out what makes it work. Go further than the form, the rules, the style. What specifically about that poem stirs a response in you?

On the flip side, what poems aren’t working? Why, what is it about them that just isn’t working?

The point here isn’t to limit yourself to just these questions but to learn to ask questions of the craft. Learning to look closer, to seek the right questions to ask, ask them, and above all, being actively curious. Feed your mind, become involved with the learning process, and look for ways to constantly improve it.

Keep this in mind: Becoming a student of poetry isn’t just one or two moments but a life-long endeavor. So, give yourself some breathing room, stretch out the process, trust it, work it, keep improving how you go about doing it, and keep practicing.

Next steps

The poetry you’re hungry to write, share with the world, that you hope might even change the world will make a lot of demands of you. It’ll require both hard work and intelligent work.

You’re not always going to like doing the work either, but it’s necessary, no, it’s vital, that you never let up. Not if this is what you want.

Your poetry is your responsibility. Who you become as a poet is yours to decide every time you sit down to write another poem. Your legacy is written one line at a time.

So, let’s commit to embracing practice. Let’s commit to trying new things, learning the rules, even if it is just to break them with greater purpose, putting our work out into the world, and becoming a lifelong student of poetry. Deal?