Letters for Creatives #1: How to write better poetry

If you are serious about working on your craft

If you write what you yourself sincerely think and feel and are interested in… you will interest other people.
— Rachel Carson

The quote from Rachel Carson is very true for writing poetry that people would love. My poetry that is authentic often attracts more people to comment and say that they appreciate the piece. I am most proud of myself when I can write a poem that people can resonate with and somehow make them feel better.

However, the muse does not always come, not whenever I want her to. I have been struggling to have the muse back for some time. But I remembered those times when I got out of the writer’s block and wrote a few poems that I like personally.

Ingredients

Music that can provoke your emotions

Let yourself immerse in the song and feel your feelings when you enjoy the music. I promise you that you will write something beautiful. It is one of my secret weapons when the muse is barely here with me.

Daydream and use metaphors in poems

Are you surprised about this tip? Many writers need to isolate themselves in their room whenever they write. Distraction would immediately let the writer lose the spark and get back to reality. When you want to write a poem, be in the present and let yourself daydream. Ideas for metaphors may come in those times.

In both writing and sleeping, we learn to be physically still at the same time we are encouraging our minds to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives.
— Stephen King

Writing sessions by fellow writers

There are writing workshops on Instagram that can guide you to write long-form poems. I find it very useful whenever I want to write long poems. I have tried workshops from Rupi Kaur and Jenna Bernstein. I especially love Jenna’s workshop because she mainly focuses on nature and freewriting, which I love.

The muse that comes to you and goes in a minute

Whenever you have a spark or idea, grab your phone or pen and paper to jot them down. Otherwise, it would go away in no time. Let yourself to have some time to write the poem until you feel that it is complete.

Don’t write at first for anyone but yourself.
— T. S. Eliot

Pen and paper

That is a no-brainer for writing. Writing with pen and paper helps you to write much better than it is on a computer.

Very bad first drafts

There are times when I started a poem and stop writing it because it is not good. There are a lot of first drafts in my notebook and I would always edit when I plan to publish it online.

Proofreading

This is another no-brainer. Grammarly is a great tool for writers. Every writer should download the Grammarly extension tool on their browser. I have the extension tool and the app because having both is much more convenient. Always proofread and check spellings and grammar. I saw my spelling mistakes after I publish it online a couple of times. That was embarrassing.

---

I value your feedback, suggestions, constructive critiques, compliments, etc. If you have anything creative that you want to send me, send it to celestetsang@gmail.com

Please answer a few questions for this questionnaire to improve the newsletter. It would help me understand what you want to read about. Feel free to leave any suggestion or constructive critiques. I appreciate your time.

Thank you for reading!

If you want to show your support, consider buying me a coffee.

If you want all future newsletters delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, then subscribe now for free. Leave a comment if you want to discuss further on any of these topics.