Category: Poetry
Creating Atmosphere in Writing: The Ultimate Guide
One thing many writers struggle with is creating the right atmosphere for their book, story, poem...
Read MoreWhat is Free Verse Poetry (and How do You Write it)?
Free verse. Have you heard of it? I mean, I am sure that you have. But the term floats around all over the place, what does it really mean? If you ever wanted to know more about free verse poetry, you’ve come to the right...
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5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing
Crafting clear, simple sentences that connect with your readers sounds simple.
But it’s really, really not.
Many academic institutions teach you the exact opposite of how to write in this way.
That means that when you’re blogging, you want to write a commercial book, or even when you’re a poet, it can be very difficult to convey your ideas clearly and sharply.
In fact, writing clearly and expressing your ideas in a simple way is one of the most difficult challenges you’ll face, particularly when you first start out.
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How to Analyse a Poem
The beauty of poetry is that it’s open to interpretation. Yes, some images can only mean one thing, but the best poems mean something different to everyone. That’s not because they’re poorly written, but because we project our own experiences onto what we read.
Poets must make deliberate decisions about every aspect of their poem. Things like a poem’s structure, its title, and even its use of punctuation are deliberate decisions made by the poet to reinforce—or sometimes contradict—the overarching theme or message of the poem.
In this post, we’re going to look at some of the areas you can analyse when reading a poem.
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How to Give a Great Poetry Reading
Poetry readings differ from other kinds of public speaking events for many reasons.
Firstly, they’re more of a musical performance than a fiction or nonfiction reading.
Secondly, you need to embody the character of your poem. In fiction, you can get away (a little) with reading in a fairly normal voice. But if you don’t put passion and pizazz into your poetry, you’ll lose your audience, and fast.
Many poems are written to be read aloud.
So, as a poet, you need to embrace this.
Even if you hate being on stage more than anything else, you can learn to love reading your poetry aloud.
And the more you read your work in front of people, the easier it gets.
Promise.
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Get your free Essential Writing Ingredients ebook!
Last week, I had an idea. Since then, it’s been pretty much all I’ve been able to...
Read More7 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking
Public speaking has long been an important part of getting your writing out there. Charles Dickens spent years touring and performing his work. Public speaking doesn’t come easily to everyone, though. Some of us enjoy it,...
Read MoreVIDEO: Restless Minds at Dagda Publishing’s Speak Your Mind #2
A few weeks’ ago now I performed at Dagda Publishing’s Speak Your Mind #2 event. Some of the poems that I read were recorded, and here they are.
Read MoreVIDEO: Restless Minds at Jazz & Poetry
To promote and sell copies of Restless Minds, myself and a couple of other poets performed at local event Jazz & Poetry in November. Here I read out my poem from Restless Minds ‘Portrait of my Nan as an Armchair’, as well as two of my other poems: ‘Hypoglycaemia’ and ‘Domestic Bliss’.
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Every Poetic Form You’ll Ever Need
There are so many different forms of poetry that it’s hard to keep up. This is by no means a complete list — there are always going to be some that get missed — but I have tried to include as many as I could, and will update it as necessary.
This isn’t an in-depth list. You can click on the links under each for more detailed explanations and examples. I find the best way to learn about a new form is to read as much about it as possible, then attempt to write one as close to the rules as possible. What works for you may be different.
Lowercase letters represent repeated lines.
Read MoreThe Reason Poetry is Being Taught All Wrong
I have asked so many people why they hate poetry, and it’s because they see it as something ethereal, something impossible to understand. They were forced to study highbrow poetry at school, and never introduced to younger...
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7 Ingredients You Need to Consider When Writing Poetry
Poetry is one of those awkward little gits where just because something works for one poem, that doesn’t mean it’ll work for another. There are so many types of poem, and you can do much more with the look, content and language of it than anything else. Poetry offers an unbelievable amount of creative freedom, but people often run away from it for reasons I don’t fully understand.
Poetry needn’t be something to be scared of: with the right tools and the right direction, anyone can find the right type of poetry for them.
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(Un)likeable characters
Do your characters have to be likeable? Or are other traits more important?
Discover how to write (un)likeable characters in my new guide!
