How to Write and Publish a Poetry Book: My Step-by-Step Process

“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” —T.S. Eliot

When I start writing a book, specifically a poetry book, I begin with two foundations to ensure its success: a poetry book outline and a poetry writing process with a template. The poetry book outline is the broader picture of the book, asking the following questions:

• What is the book about?
• What’s the overarching narrative or theme?
• How many poems will it include?
• What sources of inspiration and research will aid it
• What is the title of the book?
• How do I want to arrange it: alphabetical, chronological, or closely 
• Related sub-themes, e.g., the book The Cool and Warmth of Hearts, is about romantic love with similar poems section together under a sub-theme of pining, in love, and heartbreak.

I go into more detail on how I answer these questions when planning a poetry book and before I map out each poem in the collection. However, when I came up with the outline, it was not something I found in a specific book… well, none I could find in my online search about the poetry writing process, not even on a poet’s website. Maybe, some creative/artist out there believes having an outline stifles creativity. 

On the contrary, it helps me reign in some of the chaos in producing a quality poem because you’re not a prisoner to the whims of your muse, and frankly, when you show up to write and be clear about what you’re working on you’re far more likely to make progress once the writing flow of creativity takes its course. 

I’m sure there is a superstar writer who can crank out a thousand words of prose or five poems in under an hour-I’ll take my chances to finish a book with my approach. Here are the steps in my poetry writing process:

• Ideation
• Freewriting in Prose
• Theme
• Structure
• Word List
• Poetic Form
• Sources of Inspiration
• Three Phases of Writing & Revision

Despite the linearity of the steps, there is a fluidity between them. For example, once I clearly grasp the book’s overall theme, I can seek which authors, books, poems, or other sources will inspire me throughout the process. 

As I read through each poem, I remember the various steps in the writing process to stay focused and determine if I need to change a specific area, like working with a different poetic form or revisiting a poem’s structure. 

Last, as you read through this post, it helps to reference the Google Doc poem template to follow along in the poetry writing process, which is also included in my free poetry writing process with examples, infographics, and more.

Ideation

There are many ways to generate ideas for your poem. Still, I suggest beginning with a list of words or phrases or drawing inspiration from various subtle sources, whether in real life or from media like movies, books, or poems. Then, write it down as soon as possible! Here are some examples with the help of Lady Muse, where to discover ideas:

• History — what you read and learn, e.g., maybe you want to write about the fall of the Roman Empire, your own, or someone you know.
• Emotion — what emotion/feeling is powerfully evoked in what context and pervades our life often enough to warrant scrutiny
• Location — Where are you looking? Are you looking at people in a café, on a seat in a park, or nearby ducks swimming in a lake? Or are you looking at things in your home?
• Phrases — watching a movie, reading a novel or poem, and a particular word sticks out as the impetus for something later.
• Philosophy — you could ask and address what is good, true, and real, why we are meaning-seeking beings — which can help you navigate life’s decisions and expand your point of view through a narrative or deliberate contemplation as you map it out
• Psychology — studying and observing how people think, act, and feel. Convey how personality plays into it or the meaning behind recurring dreams
• Mythology — creation, end of world myths, how sacred stories still resonate with us today, mainly present in today’s books; The Harry Potter series alludes to many mythos through symbolism and the like — Myths explore mysteries; they do not explain them.
• Themes — for example, playing a narrative video game and discovering the overall theme that recurs in the play through symbolism/motifs or a hero’s journey in which they conquer their inner demons about the human condition and bring back the elixir of life.
• Narrative — relate a series of events and problems with a theme in an arc.
• Writing prompts — there is an array of prompts you can find online to kickstart a project.
• Serendipity — inspiration born from drifting
• Journaling — sometimes, unexpected reflection about life strikes an idea.
• Market research — write something about what people want more of or combine two disparate genres to pioneer it.

There are a few more ways to brainstorm or receive inspiration, but what’s important is you have methods for noting these ideas before they flee from your psyche. In my case, I use Evernote, Google Docs, or a notepad to take down notes, and when I don’t have access to these, I jot them down on a sticky note. Sometimes I find myself struck with inspiration in the middle of the night. I quickly jot it down on paper because we should never take for granted something that serves as an excellent source for our writing and, more importantly, for our lives.

Free Write in Prose

When writing poetry, the best place to start is with free writing. Free writing is a process where you write without stopping or editing, and it can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Here are some tips on how to get started with free writing for poetry:

1. Find a comfortable place to write where you won’t be interrupted. Then, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and start writing. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation; just let the words flow.
2. Once the timer goes off, read over what you’ve written and see if phrases or images stand out to you. These could be potential starting points for a poem.
3. Repeat this process until you feel you have some material to work with. Do not think about figurative language yet; you want to capture concrete imagery.

What are some things to keep in mind during free writing for poetry?

When free writing for poetry, there are a few things to keep in mind to make the process more productive and effective. First, choosing a specific prompt or topic to write about beforehand can be helpful. This will give you something to focus on as you write and keep your thoughts and ideas organized. 

Additionally, setting a timer for yourself and trying to write non-stop for the entire time can be helpful. This will help get your creative juices flowing and allow you to produce a more cohesive piece of writing. Finally, don’t worry too much about editing as you go; just let the words flow out of you onto the page and worry about fixing things up later.

No matter what source of inspiration you capture, I believe in trusting both unconscious and subconscious and free-write without judgment. You need to find the gold nuggets and put them on the table like jigsaw pieces, like dropping words onto a sheet of paper to get them out of your head. Some words will make sense, and some will not. It doesn’t matter at this stage in the poetry-writing process. What you want is the jigsaw pieces visible. From this fragmented soup of chaos, we want to achieve the following in this stage:

• Identify imagery, location, context, feeling, or theme.
• This applies to NEW and EXISTING poems.
• Stream of consciousness that doesn’t judge or error-correct
• Later on, we arrange, rearrange, and give shape.

Theme

What is a theme, and why is it significant in literature? Well, the folks over at Reedsy blog have this to say about it:

In literature, the theme of a story is, broadly speaking, what a book is about. They are concepts that pervade and recur throughout a piece of writing and are often reinforced by motifs.

The theme of your story can be as broad as ‘love’ or ‘loneliness’ (a thematic concept) or as specific as the idea that “greed is the greatest force in human culture” or “human behavior is the product of upbringing and experience” (both of which are thematic statements, because they express an opinion about the main theme).

We are continually compelled to consider and evaluate thoughts, feelings, and ideas that need to be outlined, pictured, and brought into consciousness. A particular theme in your life, which you replay is important enough to write about. Even if you decide not to, it will eventually turn into another motif or a tale you must tell because it has a value that needs to be explored.

Finding a theme

There is no one right way to find a theme for a poem. However, some common strategies that poets use to generate ideas for themes. One approach is to consider what topics and experiences you are passionate about or strongly feel about. Another option is to think about times in your life when you have felt particularly moved by something- either positively or negatively. Once you have brainstormed some potential themes, try free writing to see which inspires the most interesting and evocative ideas. Trust your instincts and go with the most natural and authentic theme.

Developing the theme

After you’ve brainstormed possible themes for your poem, it’s time to develop them into a concrete message. This can be done by looking at the theme from different angles and thinking about how you can explore it in your poem.

One way to develop your theme is to consider what inspired you to write about that particular topic. What are your personal experiences or observations that have led you to this theme? How can you share these experiences in your poem?

Another way to develop your theme is to consider how it relates to the world around us. What current events or social issues does it connect with? How can you use your poem to comment on these issues?

Finally, don’t forget that a good poem needs more than just a strong message – it also needs interesting language and imagery.

Organize Structure

When starting to write a poem, it can be helpful to have an outline. This can be a more formal, detailed outline like you would for a school paper. Instead, a poetry outline can be more like a road map to help you get from the first idea to the finished product.

Here are some things to consider when making your poetry outline:

• The topic or central idea of the poem
• What feelings or emotions do you want to convey
• What theme or message do you want to communicate
• The poem’s overall structure (stanzas, rhyme scheme, etc.)
• What images (five senses) or symbols do you want to include

“One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.” —Emily Dickinson

Remember that a poetry outline is just a tool to help you get started. It is not set in stone; you should feel free to deviate.

The first step in creating a poetry outline is to determine the purpose of your poem. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing a poem, as it requires you to think about what your verse is saying and how it will express this meaning. Free writing is an excellent method to help flesh out what the poem is about and give form to abstract language. Once you have determined the purpose of your poetry, it is essential to decide on a theme or message. 

This should be relevant and meaningful to you as a writer. Still, it can also be a basic idea or concept in literature. With a theme in mind, you can choose your poem’s title. Poems often have titles that are descriptive or metaphorical. Still, it is also acceptable to give your poem a title that simply describes the emotion or feeling of the work. Finally, you will want to choose a form of poetry that suits the theme and purpose of your poem. There are many forms of poetry, but they can be divided into two broad categories: narrative and non-narrative. 

Narrative poetry tells a story, usually in chronological order. It can be divided into narrative poems and dramatic poems. Narrative poems are poems that tell a story in chronological order. Dramatic poems, however, tell stories in a way that is not necessarily chronological. Saving story details for later in the poem might add to the drama or tension of the poetry.

Non-narrative poetry does not tell a story. Instead, it is intended to evoke an emotional response from the reader. The poet uses words, sounds, images, and other literary devices to communicate this response. Poems can be written in a variety of poetic forms. Some common forms are free verse, haiku, limerick, sonnet, and ballad. Free verse is poetry that does not follow any specific form or rhyme scheme. Instead, its structure is determined by the poet, and it can take various forms, and even a short poem can carry a lot of weight.

Narrative Arc

Narrative Arc can vary between the Hero’s Journey or Freytag’s Pyramid. Still, the most common and quite traditional is the Three Story Act, first observed in Classical Greece, most notably in Greek Tragedies, where the famous philosopher Aristotle analyzed how stories progressed, and in his book, Poetics; he posited a story has a cause-and-effect relationship rather than standalone pieces and broken down into three acts:

• Act I — Setup: Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One
• Act II — Confrontation: Rising Action, Midpoint, Plot Point Two
• Act III — Resolution: Pre Climax, Climax, Denouement

Character Development

Change

Life is a continual process of change, so just about any moment can inspire you to write. Throughout your life, you will experience overwhelming changes, like marriages, births, and deaths, and seemingly insignificant ones, like new tastes in food and variations in your appearance. Each of these events affects how you perceive and interact with the world—a timeline of major events when great changes have occurred. Changes, in turn, lead you to make discoveries and decisions (source).

Discovery

Moments of discovery occur daily; sometimes, these discoveries are life-changing, and other times they are much more subtle. Finding the courage to cope with situations may lead you to make another discovery or a very important decision. You can make informed and appropriate decisions by exploring the feelings surrounding a discovery, whether in writing or using another form of expression (source).

Decision

You have to make decisions every day of your life. Whether a decision is important or trivial, you may come closer to a solution or decision by assessing your feelings and releasing them in poetic language. And even if you don’t find the right choice this way, you will at least have created personal art (source).

Word List

When writing a poem, your chosen words can make all the difference. You want to select words that are evocative and convey the meaning and emotion you are trying to communicate. But with so many options available, how do you narrow down the best words for your poem?

Here are a few poetry writing tips to help you select the most impactful words for your poem:

1. Use concrete language. Abstract words can be difficult for readers to visualize and connect with. By using concrete language, you can create a more vivid and relatable experience for your reader.
2. Consider alliteration and assonance. These poetic devices can add musicality and depth to your poem. Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds, while assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds.
3. Be aware of connotations. Words can have different meanings depending on the context. Using universally understood terms and avoiding those with multiple meanings is essential.
4. Use figurative language. Figurative language allows you to be more creative with your wording and make your poem stand out from other poems.

When you write a poem, create a list of terms and organize them according to their senses, sensations, feelings, emotions, or meanings. Start by extracting words or phrases from your free-write; if you have any good ones, stop there; if not, look up similar words or phrases that best describe the poetry.

A thesaurus can help if many words are weak, like looked or walked; instead, try gazed or sauntered. Also, prefer concrete nouns, e.g., the flag, over too many abstract nouns, e.g., freedom; easier to visualize a flag and symbolize it with freedom. 

When appropriate, it’s acceptable to utilize abstract nouns. When creating a word list, I utilize two different approaches. Suppose I’m using a formal poem, such as an English (Shakespearean) Sonnet with a precise rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. In that case, I’ll arrange it as follows:

A: crashing, bashing, clashing, dashing, flashing, gnashing, lashing, slashing, smashing, trashing
B: stray, day, fray, gray, hey, may, pay, weigh, slay, way, sway
C: adore, bore, core, chore, door, floor, for, more, nor, or, roar, pore, pour, shore, war, wore, yore, your
D: love, dove, shove, of, thereof, glove, prove
E: me, be, glee, sea, see, free, flee, banshee, decree, crappy,
F: temperate, date, late, bait, fate, hate, trait, wait, weight
G: corazon, blown, bone, clone, cone, don’t, flown, known, groan, prone, own, sewn, shown, thrown, tone, zone

If I’m using a Free Verse or experimental verse without a rhyme scheme, then my focus is on finding the best words:

Jove, grove, cloud, perch, heart, patient, impatient, soul, complacent, mortal, drape, divine, nature, thee, hue, passion, hound, tusk, boar, fantasy, dream, drunk, placid, gaze, trophy, saddle, hunt, gape, flesh, bled, immortal, fallible, hurdle, myrtle, nourish, wound, lightning, rod, husk, death, underworld, green apple, rose, flower, red, bereft, bereave, Taurus, twinkle, star, night, light, clime, time.

Poetic Form

When choosing a form for your poem, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, consider the purpose of your poetry. What are you trying to communicate? Once you know the goal, you can narrow down your options. For example, a haiku might be the best choice if you want to write a short and sweet love poem. A sonnet might be a better option if you want to write about a complex subject matter.

Once you have considered the purpose of your poem, it’s time to look at the different types of forms available. Some common poetic forms include sonnets, haikus, villanelles, sestinas, and ghazals. Each form has its own set of rules regarding things like meter and rhyme scheme. Choose one that feels right for your poem. Then find ways to inject figurative language and literary devices that add depth to a poem without affecting its essence.

“Poetry and beauty are always making peace. When you read something beautiful you find coexistence; it breaks walls down.” —Mahmoud Darwish

Finding the best language for the poem is the objective of this process stage. If you’re an aspiring poet, choose a well-known form, such as a haiku, sonnet, or common meter, to teach you how to arrange and construct a poem. As you gain experience, it will come naturally to you to break the rules and experiment with different parts of the figure of speech or repetition of sounds that resonate best with the poem. If you’re working on an existing poem:

• Decide if it works well in free verse; choose a form that best delivers the message or mix elements of different forms.
• If it’s new, which form best suits its style, texture, and tone of language? Sometimes, it fits a particular form’s original design, e.g., Petrarch’s sonnet, usually about unrequited love.

Sources of Inspiration

Inspiration for poets can come from many different places. It could be an experience, something they saw or felt. It could be something as simple as a walk in the park or watching the sunset. Sometimes, inspiration can come from other poets’ work. Reading poetry can help inspire new ideas and thoughts. Hearing a specific word or phrase can also be inspiring. There are no rules when it comes to where inspiration comes from. It is different for everyone. Poets also get inspiration from other poets. Sometimes, reading poetry can inspire new ideas and thoughts. Hearing a particular word or phrase can also be inspiring. There are no rules when it comes to where inspiration comes from. It is different for everyone.

Inspiration is often an overlooked great source of depth to the creative writing process; instead, the poet will emphasize the various figurative language, poetic elements, and literary devices for their free verse poem and wonder why they stare at a blank page. The most straightforward poetry writing tips are the simple ones, such as reading and collecting as many sources of inspiration as the writer does writing. Also, before thinking about which poetry forms to use, try free writing to test if you have enough information to pour out the abstract words into written words rather than bogged down by poetic elements in the first draft.

How to overcome writer’s block when it comes to poetry with inspiration

There are many ways to overcome writer’s block when it comes to poetry:

• One way is to take a break from writing and come back with fresh ideas, like walking in nature.
• Another way is to read other poems for inspiration or different genres like fantasy or short stories.
• Try drifting, which involves other activities like playing a video game. At the same time, your creative well fills up and subtly receives inspiration from drifting activities.
• Lastly, try writing in a different style or form to break out of the rut, and for instance, write the poem in the sonnet form.

Read relevant poems that fall within the theme, mood, emotion/feeling, and meaning of your poem or collection. This includes both bodies of work by a single author or an anthology of authors. If you’re writing a love poem collection, find a collection of love poems.

I advise reading it aloud for pure entertainment on your first reading. Then, on subsequent readings, pay attention to the poem’s form, meter, line breaks, stanzas, words, and phrases. You should also research the poet’s life story and the poem’s context to understand their linguistic choices better.

Thus, this information will inspire and enhance your work with each revision where you subconsciously play with language. I recommend rereading the relevant poems throughout the poetry process right until you have your final edited manuscript. Also, there is value to reading outside the genre, so feel free to take inspiration from other sources.

Three Phases of Writing and Revision

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” —Rita Dove

When it comes time to revise your poetry, there are a few key things to look for. First, check the overall structure of your poem. Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end? If not, consider revising the order of your lines or adding new transitions.

Next, take a closer look at your choice of words. Are they precise and evocative? If not, try swapping them out for more accurate or vivid alternatives. Also, be sure to check for any spelling or grammatical errors.

Finally, ask yourself if your poem’s overall tone and mood are what you intended. If not, see if there are any changes you can make to achieve the desired effect. When you write poetry, here are a few poetic elements to finesse the editing process:

• Shaping your poem: line breaks, stanzas, etc.
• Sound and rhythm: making your words sing
• Images and symbols: creating visuals with language
• Truth and emotion: writing from the heart

Shaping your poem: line breaks, stanzas, and pacing. 

When it comes to shaping your poem, there are three main aspects you need to take into account: line breaks, stanzas, and pacing. All these elements play a role in how your poem will be read and interpreted by your audience, so it’s essential to choose wisely.

Line breaks can create a sense of rhythm or emphasize a specific syllable. They can also be used to create visual interest on the page. Stanzas can be used to group related thoughts together or to develop a sense of pause. And finally, pacing refers to the overall speed at which your poem is read. It can be fast-paced and energetic or slow and reflective.

Experimenting is the best way to determine which line breaks, stanzas, and pacing will work best for your poem.

Sound and rhythm: making your words sing 

As a poet, you know the importance of sound and rhythm in your work. By now, you’ve probably developed a good ear for what sounds right in your poems. But what if you need help with how to make your words sing?

Here are a few tips to help you revise your poem for sound and rhythm:

1. Read your poem aloud. This is the best way to hear how the words sound together. As you read, pay attention to how the words flow and their rhythms.
2. Listen for areas where the rhythm breaks down or sounds choppy. These are areas that you’ll want to revise.
3. Experiment with different ways of saying things. Try changing up the order of words or substituting other words altogether. See how these changes affect the sound and rhythm of your poem.
4. When you are satisfied with the sound and rhythm of your poem, read it aloud. Often, the way you hear a poem the second time differs from the first. You may see something that needs to be changed or that you missed the first time.

Images and symbols: creating visuals with language 

Images and symbols are an integral part of the poetry writing process. Poets can evoke emotion and create meaning in their work by creating visuals with language.

For example, by using sensory images, poets can give readers a vivid picture of what they are experiencing. Using symbols, poets can add depth and layers of meaning from abstract imagery into concrete words.

Both images and symbols are powerful tools that help poets create beautiful and moving poems. By carefully crafting their words, poets can create visuals that will stay with readers long after reading.

Truth and emotion: writing from the heart 

When writing, the heart and emotions play a big role. For some, writing is all about getting their feelings out there and putting them down on paper. It’s a way to express themselves and get everything off their chest. And for others, writing is more about the joy and happiness that comes with it. But no matter your reason for writing, it will only be as effective if you’re honest with your emotions.

To write from the heart, you must be truthful with your emotions. Don’t hold back, and don’t try to sugarcoat anything. The more honest you are, the more impactful your writing will be. It might be difficult at first, but once you start, the words will start flowing out of you. Writing poetry from the soul will draw out a deeper meaning each time you write a poem.

With these things in mind, you should be able to revise your poem in a way that makes it more effective and impactful.

Example

Phase I

Once you have the poem’s idea, free write some content, identify its theme, curate a word list, poetic form (free verse), and the structure (narrative poem) in the way it will be told; now it’s time to add more details about the poem. The best way to describe a poem is to approach it like a blurb that captures its essence, helps you comprehend it from the reader’s point of view, and clarifies your thoughts for phase II writing.

The poem, A Great Loss I, is in The Cool and Warmth of Hearts. From the poem’s summary, the story: in medias res – “something tragic happens between two lovers when the speaker does not find his lover at his bedside. The speaker does not see his lover and cannot remember why she left him alone when he woke up. So he worries that this concern will draw unnecessary attention and suspicion. His worry and reason for not being at his side make him depressed. His thoughts spiral out of control into deeper misery and hopelessness as each minute devours him.”

Phase II

You will transform your free writing into a poetic form through its style and elements. This step will be chaotic and playful as you experiment with word arrangement, removal of words or phrases, swapping similar words, line breaks, and whether to use end-stops or enjambed lines.

In continuation of phase I, A Great Loss I, the original version of this poem, sometime written a decade or more ago, started out with this piece:

The one I love has vanished without a trace, as if she was banished beyond the universe; now my heart feels misplaced without her embrace as it fed me with warmth, never knowing when my broken heart is ever going to be replaced.

No one would never know how I felt inside, even though the impression on my face may show, and as my intentions let’s go, they may vision my action, above all they never knew how much I love her, as I endure her pondering welt, I tried to erase the pain she flown into me, but I cannot escape. She had lied to be with me forever, why? Now I wanna die, never having memories of her.

My mind is so torn, I wish I had never been born, now I drift to another world of complete blackness and lost composure, therefore I had nothing to compete with, so I shift into sleep and am unsure to wake from here.

Now I’m fading away. Who’s going to console my soul? Where would my heart depart off to, as this question stays hiding in Jose, I slowly laid into my eternal rest, my spirit would be nocturnal, as I explored for more requests to replenish my form just to see the one I love again?

I’ll always remember a day in September, October, November, and even December for those the season we shared most, for giving a reason to say I dearly loved her, and even though my words are few, but my heart will always be true.

And the poem developed into a version from prose to free verse:

The one I love has vanished without a trace,
Banished beyond this universe,
I am in a state of distraught,
Unsure how to carry on,
The warmth at my bedside is misplaced,
Never knowing when the shattered glass will ever get replaced.
No one,
Can know; she is
Gone.
At first, they would sympathize,
Then involve the police,
They will drown me with questions,
Not long they will mark me as a suspect,
In no time, they will exercise my rights,
Soon I’ll feel the neighbors menacing eyes,
It will drive me into further depression,
The onset impression,
Gone from their faces,
I cannot alarm others with this grim situation,
In good intentions it’s best to let go, and
Not involve others,
Let them envision my action,
With suspicion,
I’ll do what’s right,
I’ll search the high-heavens,
I’ll endure the savanna smoldering welt,
I can’t seem to put aside the loss,
“Why the fuck did, she not tells me how she felt.”
She lied to be at my side, why!?
Now I wish to die,
Dread, should I ruminate her kittenish face,
Now the house has an empty space.
My mind is so torn,
I wish I had never been born,
Charon, here is a coin,
Ferry us into the void,
Therefore, my atoms are not reanimated,
For another poor soul is jaded,
With my troubling baggage.
Throw me at the sea to float in an endless drift,
So I’ll shift into slumber and never wake from this tumble sea-drift.
I’m fading away,
Who will console my soul?
Where does the heart depart,
A raised question but no one answers,
I slouch to lay my head into eternal rest,
My spirit wanders into the nocturnal forest,
Can you take up my request to replenish my form,
Before the storm, sets in?
Leafs changing hue in September,
Temperature lowers in October,
Leafs brown in November,
And temperature plummets in December,
This will be a long winter,
They often cite seasons as a sign of hope,
Much into Spring the ground still covered in snow,
For reasons unknown,
Scientist baffled by the phenomenon,
Theologians shouting Armageddon,
Drifting in my blanket snow mound cover,
Few words,
Humming along,
As the cold winter fridges on.

After that, I felt confident with the form, rhyme scheme, line-break, end-stopped line, enjambment, and diction I chose. I was ready for phase three—the many revisions I would undertake.

Phase III

In this phase, you will continue to play and arrange words and more with scrutiny while reading aloud to listen to its meter and discover components that best represent it. The key is to return to a poem you’ve written with fresh eyes and take on an editor’s perspective rather than seeing it as your creation you kept close at heart. Take a break from it and give yourself some time before engaging with it again. In the interim, write other poems, watch a movie, or play a video game:

• Continue finding the best words.
• Refinery imagery
• Get intimate with figurative language, literary devices, and poetic elements.
• Listen to the pacing of lines with punctuation.
• Is the poem’s tone set in the right mood?
• Read Out Loud! Line by line and the entire poem with each revision.

The difficulty in the revision phase is knowing when a poem is done—right up to the few weeks before my book launch, I still make changes. You can clean up elements like plot, scenes, and character development in a novel or short story. However, poetic visual language makes it harder to discern what’s final! That’s the nature of writing poems. It gets better but hardly ever easier; pay careful attention to how the poem progresses. (you can always release the 2nd edition as you get better with the craft).

“A poem is never finished, only abandoned.” —Paul Valéry

In continuation of phase II, I read the poem aloud several times, listening carefully to its meters, pace, homonyms, homophones, and tone. I want to point out both rhyme scheme and homonyms/homophones—in the former, the best way to determine if an end rhyme sounds forced is by reading aloud and listening for awkwardness in speech, then rewriting it until it sounds natural or removing it.

As for the latter homonyms/homophones, having a trusty dictionary and etymology source will help ensure you’re using grammatically correct words (this website is excellent for identifying common errors with words). After several reading-aloud sessions, I stepped back. I used to take time apart to come back and see new perspectives and apply any inspirations I discovered until I reached the final free verse poem published in the book, The Cool and Warmth of Hearts.

The one I love vanished without a trace,
banished beyond this realm.
I am in a state of distress,
unsure how to bear forth and face
the warmth at my bedside misplaced,
never knowing when the shattered glass will ever get replaced.
No one
must know of this; she is
Gone.
At first, they would sympathize,
then involve the police;
they drowned me with questions,
not long from now, they will mark me as a suspect,
in no time, they will exercise my rights;
soon I’ll feel the neighbors’ menacing eyes;
it will drag me into further depression,
the onset impression
gone from their faces.
I cannot alarm others with this grim situation —
in good intentions it’s best to let go, and
not involve others. Let them envision my action
with suspicion.
I’ll do what’s right,
I’ll search the heavy moss,
I’ll endure the savanna smoldering welt.
I can’t seem to put aside the loss,
Why the hell did she not tell me how she felt!
She lay at my bedside — but why?
While this dread hangs over me — I wish it to die;
should I ruminate her kittenish face?
But the house has a hollow space.
My mind is torn,
I wish this dread had never been born.
Charon, here is a coin; ferry us into the void
and do not allow my atoms to reanimate
for another poor soul is jaded with my troubled soul.
Cast me into the sea to float on an endless drift, so
I’ll shift into slumber and
never wake from this tumble sea-drift.
I’m fading away; who will console my soul?
Where does the heart depart?
A raised question, but no one imparts an answer;
I slouch to lay my head into eternal rest,
my spirit wandering into the nocturnal forest;
can you take up my request to replenish my form
before the storm sets in?
The leaf changes hue in September,
temperature lowers in October,
leaves brown in November,
and temperature plummets in December;
this will be a long, long winter.
They often cite seasons as a sign of hope, but
much into Spring, the ground is still buried in snow
for reasons unknown;
scientists baffled by the phenomenon,
theologians shouting Armageddon;
drifting in my blanket snow mound cover,
a few words, humming along as the icy winter takes over.

Process with Examples

If you’re someone who loves to read my entire poetry writing process with examples, then you can check out my free download, where I provide the following:

• I provide the entire poetry writing process with an example poem published in my book, The Cool and Warmth of Hearts, from start to finish.
• I provide this in several formats for free, such as a PDF and JPG with an infographic.
• Lastly, the Google Doc template I use for every poem can be downloaded in any other format, e.g., .docx, .odt, and more.

Here is the link to it, and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks—Poetry Writing Process.

The Gist

“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.” —Dylan Thomas

You will grow as long as you are open to life and trust your inner wisdom. As an author, writer, and poet, you will transcend your former self by looking ahead to tomorrow with more potential than yesterday. The most helpful thing someone can do is to set a deadline for publication to free themselves from the bonds of perfectionism and let go of the poems for the world to read. In your next writing project, you can pause at some point and reflect by revisiting old work and see how much you have grown and—how much your work has developed and instilled value in readers’ lives.

• When it comes to writing anything like poetry, prose, or even a blog post, it all starts with an idea—in the ideation process, there are several methods: brainstorming, writing prompts, and inspirations to draw from. Some sources can come from life, fiction, history, and poetry.
• After having a whit of an idea is one method to help visualize and help summon the imagery, location, context, feeling, or theme; let your unfettered mind explore without judgment the essence of a poem—this can also be applied to other forms as well through freewriting.
• Defining your message or your theme in a collection is helpful for you where the poems are relevant and more important for readers seeking specific thematic collections, whether about love or death; plus, it’s easier to market and categorize on retail platforms.
• Once you have a clear grasp of a theme, there are several ways to organize a poem, either as a narrative arc with traditional storytelling acts or character development that includes change, discovery, and decision.
• So now you have an idea, enough free writing to work out the theme, and a structure to organize. What’s next? A word list and you have plenty of golden nuggets to sift from in the freewriting, and this is a helpful step when you want to set a rhyme scheme or play with literary devices like assonance or consonance; remember, poetry is about choosing the best words in the best order, and that starts out playing around with words and their meaning.
• Depending on how comfortable you’re with forms, I recommend using formal forms like sonnets or couplet rhymes rather than free verse when you’re new and need to learn how to break the rules of language and, more specifically, the musicality of poetic language.
• When you have a good grasp of the overarching theme of the collection and each poem forms sub-themes, you can seek out relevant books or poets’ work to help inspire your collection or a specific verse.
• And like with prose, there will be many phases, first with the rough draft of prose, then the second phase of turning into a poetic form, and finally, many rounds of revision that may focus on imagery or pacing or perhaps identifying better words; what’s essential throughout is reading the poems out loud and listen to how they sound.