Poetry Forum

Reading out loud is by far the best way to check through poetry.

And just because you're not winning contests does not mean you're not good. There are some poets entering contests that have been writing poetry for longer than you (or I) have been alive! Keep at it and over time you will develop your own style and perhaps start winning some contests.

Poetry is different to prose writing. With prose you need to be quite explicit with your writing a lot of the time. Poetry is more of an implicit art form. It isn't so much the words you write that bring meaning, but the images you create with those words. For example in prose you may describe the sky as as 'black with clouds threatening rain'. In poetry (or poetic prose) you might describe the sky as 'heavy with sorrow on the verge of tears from the days of torment'. The reader infers that the sky is dark and cloudy without you saying it.

Sure, some prose might use language like that, but it would make for quite dense prose if it did.

Another tip is to read poetry. It is obvious advice that if you want to write a fantasy novel then you should read at least some fantasy novels. Yet it is amazing how many people will start writing short stories and poems without having read more than 1 or 2 of those styles. Short stories are not just short versions of novels. Poems are not just pretty versions of short stories. You need to understand the style before being able to write it!


Thanks,
Matt

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