Happy National Poetry Day! My online creative writing course ‘Poetry Writing: Starting to Write’ is due to begin on 12th October, and I really enjoyed teaching this course last year. It got me thinking about the various different habits I’ve developed over the years that have helped me to write poetry and to keep on writing (editing, submitting, etc). So here are eight key habits for honing your poetry-writing skills…

HABIT 1: Be Playful

The best poets are playful, experimenting with a range of techniques and forms, seeking out new writing prompts and playing around with the possibilities of language. Poetry should always be fun, even if it’s also serious.

HABIT 2: Listen to the Poem

Poetry is both a visual and an auditory artform. I always read my poems out loud as part of the writing and editing process, as this helps me to find the right rhythm and to discern whether any rhymes are too close together, or too distracting. Even a prose poem has to sound right, in my opinion.

HABIT 3: Read the Poetry Greats

It’s important to know what’s already been said by Keats, Wordsworth, Dickinson, Coleridge etc. so you can ensure that your own poems are original. You may also find these poets inspiring for your own work. I really enjoyed reading the Modernist poets (William Carlos Williams, for example, and T.S. Eliot) as part of my MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Met, a few years ago.

HABIT 4: Read Contemporary Poetry

Reading poetry magazines and recently published collections will help you get a sense of where your own work might fit into the poetic conversation. There are poetic trends and techniques that go in and out of fashion, and it’s helpful to get a sense of what editors like and don’t like.

HABIT 5: Read Outside Your Comfort Zone

Attending a poetry workshop or course will inevitably involve encountering poems you would never choose to read by yourself. Such encounters help us to understand what makes a poem ‘work’ and what might make a poem seem unengaging, or less effective…

HABIT 6: Allow Time to Edit

Many of my best poems started life in a very different form. The more time a poem is allowed to breathe, the easier it will be to see it afresh when you come to the editing stage. And don’t worry if it takes several attempts to get it right…

HABIT 7: Give & Receive Feedback

It’s always helpful to receive constructive feedback from fellow poets, as part of a workshop or course, or through an informal feedback group. You also learn a lot by giving feedback to other poets, honing your own editing skills as you consider poetic problems and seek out potential solutions.

HABIT 8: Find your Community

I’ve learned so much from engaging with fellow poets: attending their events, reading their work, celebrating their publications, commiserating with them in their rejections, sharing opportunities, and encouraging them to keep writing. Join a group or several groups (online or in-person) and your poetry friendships will keep you going during the difficult times.

Please feel free to share your own key poetry-habits below…