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Ask the Editor…

July 1, 2014

Q: I want to build a habit of writing regularly, but I often don’t know what to write about. It’s easy when I’m feeling a strong emotion like sadness or joy, but how do I keep my momentum on an average day? —Stumped Poet

A: First of all, anything that contributes to your writing can “count.” For example, instead of forcing yourself to write, you could spend the time reading poetry. You could talk to friends or family about a piece on which you’re working. Another great idea is to get involved with a poetry group—either in your community or online. Being amongst like-minded creatives will help keep you in the writing mind-set. Don’t forget about revision: every poem written needs to be edited and revised.

Here are some topics to spark your imagination:

• Look at pictures or photos 

• The colors in nature 

• Three wishes 

• Travel or a special place 

• An animal or pet 

• What poetry means to you 

• A person you admire 

• Love or heartbreak 

• Loss and grief 

• View from a window or mirror 

• Compare two things 

• Something never done before 

• A childhood experience 

• Your greatest fear 

• How to do something 

• The passage of time 

• A word chosen at random 

• A historical event

Related

Category: Improving Your Poetry
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2014 at 12:00 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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  • Editor’s Note

    The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”

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