How to Become a Poet: Revealing the Secrets

by Lucy Adams

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Wondering whether you have creative potential to become a poet? Then this article is just for you! Lucy Adams, an essay writer and aspiring poet, shares her secrets on where to seek inspiration for this noble cause.

Let’s start with accepting the fact that poetry is not something extraordinary, and you don’t necessarily need be an inborn genius to write worthy works. After all, there are people who found their talent only after they tried something new, learned the next level of the world, and conquered their personal Everest😊. There are wonderful concepts like muse, inspiration, intuition, but is a poet someone who writes only when he hears the voice of the sky?

So what do you need to do to awaken your inner poetic abilities? Below are the five essentials:

#1 Self-Develop Day-by-Day

As we said above, poetry is not inborn but mostly hard work, although we do take many things from childhood (the attitude of parents, the atmosphere at home, and other details that form the very first perception of poetry). Only by working hard on your skills and abilities, one day you will be able to publish your first poetry collection.

However, most people do not immediately take the pen and start writing; something should push them towards this occupation. And then, surprisingly, words begin to take shape in melodic lines, catching an aspiring poet in the most unexpected places.

#2 See the World from the Other Side

Poetry does not begin with words but with the state of the soul. Perhaps, that is why people often start to write after a strong emotional upheaval, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, new love, accident or something else that strongly affects the psychological state.

Yes, I still believe that poetry is not born out of the blue but rather grows on the cusp of our thoughts and feelings. Moreover, sometimes we need to exaggerate the emotional stress to produce something worthy. Take a little hurt, scale it up to the size of a wave, write a poem, and return to the initial calm state.  Quite a tricky recipe, isn’t it?

The same is true for the happy moments when we feel euphoria, plunge deeper into dreams, and write … and when the time passes, we re-read a poem and do not believe that we could write so much, so pathetically.

However, sometimes you’ll need to write at the command of reason. For example, for competitions, when you get a specific topic. Flip through your files and choose the one that satisfies the request of the jury or write something exclusively for the contest. This may give rise to a separate poem, unique and unrepeatable. Surprisingly, your favorite verses may be born at a time when seemingly nothing unusual happens in your life!

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#3 Play with Images and Seek to Perfection

The ability to imagine is one of the most wonderful gifts that we have. Get away from the hustle and bustle, don’t dwell on the surface meaning of words, pick metaphors and comparisons, developing their essence. Seek not only for coming up with the next topic to disclose but also an inspiration that is so necessary for the next masterpiece to be born.

Do not forget about the constant search for perfection. It is not enough to just write the poem, even if it seems to be perfect at first glance. Be sure to re-read it several times, after a couple of days, weeks or even months. What seems to us ideally smoothed today sometimes turns to be underdeveloped the next day. This is the order of things. The peak of inspiration is always followed by everyday work.

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#4 Learn from Experienced Poets and Listen to Criticism

The life of a poet is a struggle for the light at the end of his efforts and creative suffering. Read more of the classics and communicate more with other poets whose work has been recognized and appreciated. Read not only the best but also the weakest verses to learn to see the difference between talent and graphomania, the power of lines and narrow-mindedness, poetry and wasting of paper.

Listen to criticism. Compare views and find a middle ground that allows further working to achieve perfection.

#5 Take Poetry as a Game

No, that’s not blasphemy. A poet can write either serious or humorous, light poetry. Write greetings in verse, entertain yourself by cheerful quatrains. The point is that poetry should firmly enter into your life, mind, and soul. The rhyme, assonance, feelings should be your best companions because that’s the only way to achieve something significant. Let yourself enjoy poetic matter, and the results will reward you for it.

Go forward, never stop there and constantly look for something greater. Perhaps, poetry will be just what you love, what brightens up the loneliness and helps to overcome difficulties. I wish you best of luck in your writing career!

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About the Author: 

Lucy Adams is an essay writer and blogger from Buzz Essay, a platform that provides term paper writing, custom essay writing, and other types of writing assistance. She’s focused on education, language learning, literature, and some close areas. Share your list of ideas at lucyadams@buzzessay.com, and get feedback within 24 hours. By the way, Lucy’s guest posts are free!