How do I get better at writing poetry?

02/06/25 6:59pm

I'm trying to write more poetry (maybe even start writing songs, too!) but its hard to write something that doesn't feel trite or cheesy. How can I write poetry with interesting ideas or metaphors and get better at it?

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For a complete guide to this topic, read the wikiHow article How to Write a Poem .

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wikiHow Editorial Team

02/14/25 10:09pm

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to become a better reader. Read lots of material, and seek out poetry you enjoy and poets you admire. By absorbing lots of high-quality writing, you’ll improve your vocabulary, you’ll develop a critical eye, and your creative juices will start flowing!

A few more concrete tips:
1. Make time to write. Spending time putting pen to paper will help you feel more comfortable with your writing.
2. Try using writing prompts. Creating constraints will help you develop as a writer.
3. Study meter and try out different types. Your work will be rhythmically interesting and you’ll discover what types of poetry are to your taste.
4. Be precise with your word choice. Poetry is often about communicating deep concepts with minimal text.
5. Find inspiration that excites you. If you find your subject interesting, others will too. Instead of concerning yourself with what others think, focus on material that you're passionate about exploring!

Good luck developing your poetry skills!

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Andrea Stolpe
Songwriting Instructor and Artist Development Coach

07/02/25 11:02pm

Number one, do a lot of sensory writing, because it's the imagery that drives a lot of lyric and poetry. It’s also about having the ability to substitute a verb like slide or cast or beam or waft for a boring verb like put or go, because the motion in lyric often lies in the verbs rather than in the nouns or the adjectives.

I think what we’ve come to understand about songwriting is that it's more about structure than it is about what we say many times. We teach in terms of phrasing and the rhythm of the language. So, it is how the language carries with it on a syllable level, a rhythm. And then the lengths of the lines and the lengths of the sections are the other structural elements. Become aware of how structure affects the impact of the words themselves.

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Reader Comments

WikiToadDiver848

02/07/25 8:46am

I find that reading poetry is the best way to get better at writing poetry. By reading lots of poetry, you'll expose yourself to lots of different styles of "good" poetry, which will help you recognize elements you like and can incoporate into your own writing to develop your own style.

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WikiCheetahTamer414

02/08/25 2:55pm

If you have friends who are willing to read or listen to your poetry and give you feedback, that can be really helpful for improving your writing! It's even better if that friend has experience with writing poetry or prose of their own. If you don't have those kinds of friends, there are probably local poetry groups you can join to find people who are willing to give you feedback.

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WikiAxolotlKeeper936

02/09/25 1:16am

An exercise I enjoyed and found helpful for honing my ability to draw creative parallels is randomly picking an abstract noun and a concrete noun and coming up with connections between them.

For example, I just asked ChatGPT for a random abstract noun and concrete noun and got freedom and chair. It makes me think about how different chairs give you different amounts of freedom. Like when I was a kid, I hated being put in a restrictive car seat, but now that I'm an adult, I bought myself a really nice gaming chair with wheels and freedom to lean back or move up and down. And already, you can see an idea for a poem where I talk through the different chairs associated with different phases of my life and the different amounts of freedom I had in those phases.

It my seem like a silly exercise, and some of the parallels you draw may make you laugh, but it's good to get the reps in! Have fun with poetry :)

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ProseBeforeBros

05/07/25 10:41pm

I used to get in my head a lot when I was writing poetry. I'd spend far too long staring at a blank page, or poring over and over the same line trying to get it perfect before I wrote the next one. What helped me improve as a writer is encouraging myself to just write, without listening to the critical little voice in my head. You can always go back and revise your writing. Try to let your thoughts flow freely onto the page, and then work from there. Write tons of poems! Some will be bad but some will be incredible! And the bad ones can get polished up with a few rounds of revision.

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