The best way to learn about poetry is to read lots of poems. "Poems are the best teachers" Mary Oliver.
I try to read at least one poem a day. This is achievable because they are often short, so even when I have little time I can read a poem and learn something new each time. Learning to write poetry is a continuous journey. When you read poems, read them first for pleasure. Read them again, and again, and again. The poem will reveal itself to you this way, if it's any good, it may not give up its gifts straight away.
Think about:
The shape of the poem. Why the line breaks where it does and what effect that creates.
The sounds of the poem and how they come about: assonance, consonance, alliteration are examples of how poets wield sound into poems.
Meaning may work its way into the mind like magic (you may not be able to explain its meaning, but you feel it). Ask yourself what the poem made you think, feel, see, hear and taste. What did you learn from the poem? Did it change your life?
My life was once changed when I heard Martin Luther King speak his poem/speech:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today."
What was his intention? Freedom! "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Not all poems have such brave intention, they come to us quietly, they come carrying metaphor and sit on our shoulders awhile to guide us through life. They whisper, bother us, disturb us, excite us - and we can't always pinpoint why.
"Metaphor drives the engine of poetry. Figurative language—figures of speech and thought—guides the interaction between poet and reader." Edward Hirsch.
Good luck with the beautiful experience of reading poems.
You can find many great poems online:
The Poetry Archive:
Wendy Cope
Roger McGough
William Carlos Williams
The Poetry Foundation:
Pablo Neruda
Margaret Walker
Carolyn Forché
The Poetry Library
For magazines and publications.
https://www.nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk
Poetry can now be found in the form of films. Take a look at these.
Poetry Film: http://poetryfilmlive.com/
Animated Poetry - Billy Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuTNdHadwbk
We looked at many poems and discussed the devices and forms they used:
Form
The Poetic Line (See 'The Red Wheelbarrow' by William Carlos Williams)
Metaphor
Simile
Ambiguity
Syllable
Rhyme
Rhythm
There are many more. You can learn much on the Poetry Foundation website: LEARN
Keeping reading a wide range of poems and you'll find the way forward to suit your style and voice.
Creative Writing Week 2: An Introduction to Writing Short Stories
Warm-up: Exercising your voice
Having a good rant on the page can be a great exercise for warming up the voice. See this poem here by Steve Scafidi: “To Whoever Set My Truck On Fire” from Sparks from a Nine-Pound Hammer (LSU, 2001).
The writer gives himself permission to be firey, strong, kind, murderous and bewildered all in one poem.
Ask yourself: What do you feel strongly about? Then freewrite on the subject. Don't hold back!
Short Stories:
When I grow up ;) I'd like to write a novel! Writing short stories has been a great place to start. Many of the elements of writing a novel: plot, character, theme, point of view can be found in the short story. The length of a short story can vary but usually between 1000 to 6000 words. Anything under is usually labelled 'Flash Fiction' or 'Micro Fiction'.
It took me a long time to gather enough resources and to learn the skills I needed to get started with short story writing. I'm still developing this skill, but many of the ideas and elements below have really helped. I'm sure you can discover more helpful tools, there are many books and blogs on this subject, but here's a few to get started.
How to begin?
Which of these short story beginnings make you want to read on?
'They can't shave their heads every day like they wish they could, so their tattoos show through stubble. Little black hairs like iron filings stuck on magnets.' From Mines by Susan Straight.
'The woman showed him into a small room, not unlike a doctor's waiting room except all the magazines on the table seemed to be about fish packing and frozen foods.' From Trawl by William Bedford.
'Dear Friends and family, by the time you get this this letter I will be dead.' From The Last You'll Hear From Me by David Sedaris.
'In the kitchen, he poured another drink and looked at the bedroom suite in his front yard. The mattress was stripped and the candy-striped sheets lay beside two pillows on the chiffonier. Except for that, things looked much the way they had in the bedroom - nightstand and reading lamp on his side of the bed, nightstand and reading lamp on her side. From Why Don't You Dance? by Raymond Carver.
In 1972 my father came back from the moon. From Prison Moon by Molly Black
How will you start your story?
Appearance. Gives your reader a visual understanding of the character. Action. Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives. Speech. Develop the character as a person — don’t merely have your character announce important plot details.Thought. Bring the reader into your character’s mind, to show them your character’s unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.
Plot:
Try the 8 - Point Story Arc as a way of understanding stories and how they work. Read some short stories to see if you can discover these plot elements.
From, Nigel Watts' Writing A Novel and Getting Published.
Watch Kurt Vonnegut on The Shapes of Stories
Having a good rant on the page can be a great exercise for warming up the voice. See this poem here by Steve Scafidi: “To Whoever Set My Truck On Fire” from Sparks from a Nine-Pound Hammer (LSU, 2001).
The writer gives himself permission to be firey, strong, kind, murderous and bewildered all in one poem.
Ask yourself: What do you feel strongly about? Then freewrite on the subject. Don't hold back!
Short Stories:
When I grow up ;) I'd like to write a novel! Writing short stories has been a great place to start. Many of the elements of writing a novel: plot, character, theme, point of view can be found in the short story. The length of a short story can vary but usually between 1000 to 6000 words. Anything under is usually labelled 'Flash Fiction' or 'Micro Fiction'.
It took me a long time to gather enough resources and to learn the skills I needed to get started with short story writing. I'm still developing this skill, but many of the ideas and elements below have really helped. I'm sure you can discover more helpful tools, there are many books and blogs on this subject, but here's a few to get started.
How to begin?
Which of these short story beginnings make you want to read on?
'They can't shave their heads every day like they wish they could, so their tattoos show through stubble. Little black hairs like iron filings stuck on magnets.' From Mines by Susan Straight.
'The woman showed him into a small room, not unlike a doctor's waiting room except all the magazines on the table seemed to be about fish packing and frozen foods.' From Trawl by William Bedford.
'Dear Friends and family, by the time you get this this letter I will be dead.' From The Last You'll Hear From Me by David Sedaris.
'In the kitchen, he poured another drink and looked at the bedroom suite in his front yard. The mattress was stripped and the candy-striped sheets lay beside two pillows on the chiffonier. Except for that, things looked much the way they had in the bedroom - nightstand and reading lamp on his side of the bed, nightstand and reading lamp on her side. From Why Don't You Dance? by Raymond Carver.
In 1972 my father came back from the moon. From Prison Moon by Molly Black
How will you start your story?
Characters
Your job, as a writer of short fiction–whatever your beliefs–is to put complex personalities on stage and let them strut and fret their brief hour. Perhaps the sound and fury they make will signify something that has more than passing value–that will, in Chekhov’s words, “make [man] see what he is like.” -Rick Demarnus
Appearance. Gives your reader a visual understanding of the character. Action. Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives. Speech. Develop the character as a person — don’t merely have your character announce important plot details.Thought. Bring the reader into your character’s mind, to show them your character’s unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.
Dialogue
Make your readers hear the pauses between the sentences. Let them see characters lean forward, fidget with their cuticles, avert their eyes, uncross their legs. -Jerome Stern
Point of View
This is a good place to find all the information you need about Point of View. The Beginning Writer.
Point of View
This is a good place to find all the information you need about Point of View. The Beginning Writer.
Try the 8 - Point Story Arc as a way of understanding stories and how they work. Read some short stories to see if you can discover these plot elements.
From, Nigel Watts' Writing A Novel and Getting Published.
- Stasis
- Trigger
- The quest
- Surprise
- Critical choice
- Climax
- Reversal
- Resolution
Here's a short video to help you get started.
Some short stories to try this method on before writing in this way:
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and some free short stories by Anton Chekhov. Think about the stories you have read in the past, do they fit into this plot structure?
Here is a piece in the New York Times about The Seven Basic Plots. Again, try to organise the stories you love into these types of stories.
If you'd like to read and understand sub-text, I recommend David Baoulene's book: The Story and he has a very helpful bog on the subject HERE
The Bridport Prize accepts stories up to 5,000 words (no minimum). See Short Stops for more ideas of places to read short stories and start learning this craft.
Goodluck writing short stories!
If you'd like to read and understand sub-text, I recommend David Baoulene's book: The Story and he has a very helpful bog on the subject HERE
The Bridport Prize accepts stories up to 5,000 words (no minimum). See Short Stops for more ideas of places to read short stories and start learning this craft.
Goodluck writing short stories!
Creative Writing Week 1: Introduction.
Week 1: The Art of Free Writing:
Free writing can be a great tool to get writing started and improves with practice. The best time to practice is first thing in the morning before you are fully awake, perhaps still in the dream state. I like to free write just before falling asleep (this works for me) and I do this on my phone in the notes section. My notes are full of surprises and I get my best work from this process. See here a post about Virginia Woolf and her approach to writing daily:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/01/25/virginia-woolf-on-keeping-a-diary/
Free Writing: Begin to write without stopping for five or ten minutes. Put down everything that comes to mind on the issue or question. Do not stop to think about spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Simply, write everything possible on the topic freely without stopping. Do not stop at this stage to evaluate the results or worry about sentence structure. The goal is to pour out as many ideas as possible in a steady stream of writing.
See further information about free writing here:
https://writingprocess.mit.edu/process/step-1-generate-ideas/instructions/freewriting
See further information about free writing here:
https://writingprocess.mit.edu/process/step-1-generate-ideas/instructions/freewriting
Try a focussed free write using the word 'Waterfall' as a stimulus word. Try any word at home for a timed 5 minutes.
Note: Free writing is not the same as automatic writing.
Note: Free writing is not the same as automatic writing.
Here are some examples of short pieces of writing:
Daniil Kharms: http://www.sevaj.dk/kharms/kharmseng.htm
Gertrude Stein: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gertrude-stein
Here's something more contemporary and narrative from writer Tania Hershman:
http://www.smokelong.com/coat-and-shoes/
Here's something more contemporary and narrative from writer Tania Hershman:
http://www.smokelong.com/coat-and-shoes/
You might also like:
If you would like to read more short fiction I recommend the following websites:
See The Bridport Prize, a writing competition featuring a flash fiction entry: https://www.
And more locally, Bath Flash Fiction: https://
Look through your material and write a 250 to 500 word short piece, or poem on any subject.
Here's some recommended reading to help further your writing:
Short Stories: That Glimpse of Truth: The 100 Finest Short Stories Ever Written (Profound, lyrical, shocking, wise: the short story is capable of almost anything. This collection of 100 of the finest stories ever written ranges from the essential to the unexpected, the traditional to the surreal. Wide in scope, both beautiful and vast, this is the perfect companion for any fiction lover.)
Poetry: Staying Alive Staying Alive is an international anthology of 500 life-affirming poems fired by belief in the human and the spiritual at a time when much in the world feels unreal, inhuman and hollow. These are poems of great personal force connecting our aspirations with our humanity, helping us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves.
Here's some recommended reading to help further your writing:
Short Stories: That Glimpse of Truth: The 100 Finest Short Stories Ever Written (Profound, lyrical, shocking, wise: the short story is capable of almost anything. This collection of 100 of the finest stories ever written ranges from the essential to the unexpected, the traditional to the surreal. Wide in scope, both beautiful and vast, this is the perfect companion for any fiction lover.)
Poetry: Staying Alive Staying Alive is an international anthology of 500 life-affirming poems fired by belief in the human and the spiritual at a time when much in the world feels unreal, inhuman and hollow. These are poems of great personal force connecting our aspirations with our humanity, helping us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves.
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