How to Write Poetry
Some writers have a natural talent for expressing their thoughts and feelings in a few well-crafted lines. Others have to work on developing the necessary skills. Whether you're a 'natural' or not, if you can produce inspiring work you can find outlets where it will be welcomed.
Writing Poetry
Poetry - the Olympic Games of writing. There's no money in it, unless you're lucky enough to win a major competition, yet the battle for publication and recognition gets keener by the day. Every poetry magazine receives thousands of submissions every year. Few have space for more than 50 or 60 in each issue, but that doesn't deter hopeful contributors.
Getting Published
Read other people's poetry
Writing good poetry is not just a matter of setting words out in lines, like chopped-up prose. Editors despair at the lack of craftsmanship displayed by so many would-be poets. You need to know how to combine the various elements of poetry to achieve the effect you want. The only way to do this is to study poetry closely, to analyse how its elements work - sound, rhyming patterns, rhythm and form, all have a part to play.
Research the market
Read what is being published today. Unless you're in touch with current poetry publishing, you can't know what editors are looking for. Too many poets are sadly out of touch. Some are still sending work of 'Prithee, I come my troth to plight' vintage to contemporary magazines. It isn't that editors only want 'modern' or experimental poetry. Far from it. Good contemporary poetry takes many forms. But editors still receive hopelessly archaic verse sent by poets who seem to have read nothing written this side of the Boer War.
Get to know the magazines you like, and support them
Every poetry magazine has its own distinctive flavour. When you find one whose poetry is in tune with your own tastes, concentrate on that magazine, at least to begin with. Don't even think about sending your poetry to a magazine you don't feel comfortable with, or in which you wouldn't be proud to be published. Subscribe to at least one magazine, more if you can afford it. It's in your own long-term interest to help keep the poetry scene alive. You need these magazines as much as they need you.
