I'm Scared to Write Poetry

I've always been a big fan of poetry. Since the age of 12 in 6th I would memorize several poems, the first one being "How Happy Is the Little Stone" by Emily Dickinson, then "Jabberwocky," and then several others. Popular or not that well known, such as "Elena" by Pat Mora, which resonated with me since I come from Mexican parents. "How Malcolm Learned to Read" by Clint Smith is amazing too. I also memorized "The Walrus and the Carpenter" that same year, which is quite the impressive feat!

As I've begun to pick up writing as a hobby, I realized I would love to write poetry. Thing is, I'm kind of bad. By kind of, I mean absolutely horrible! I've written one, with the same title as a story mentioned in one of my earlier posts "The Homeless Man is My Brother," But it's bad. I feel like the rhyming was forced and all. I wouldn't mind sharing it, but I don't know how to critique stories for the workshop lol. I try to write the poem, but I find myself cringing deeply at myself... especially because it's a religious poem.

How do I pick up the pen without being scared?

 

I've got a secret to share with you. Maybe it's not such a secret. Self-doubt is common among writers. The good ones tend to have fierce inner critics. Maybe it's because they are perfectionists, or idealists. They want to find the perfect words to perfectly say what they want to say. But if we never try, then nothing gets said. From what I have read of your posts, you present as a thoughtful and feeling young person. Let that guide you. Ever heard of the expression "dance as if no-one is watching?" Well, express yourself as if no-one is judging you. Let if flow out of you. Don't stress over rules and structure. First, get comfortable with expressing yourself. Embrace the gift of your creativity.

 

You're absolutely right! Before I read this I just finished on a poem about growing up bilingual, titled "Paola" ... at first I was stressing on how I could rhyme or have a consistent number of syllables in each line, and I felt like giving up.

Not good enough. Like I've always been told.

So I did free-form. It sounds clunky, but it is perfect to me! I'll have to edit it. I'll try to not worry about the rules, but I'm a bit of an anxious person. I never feel right about anything. Anything I right I always find something to change. I'll try to practice and get comfortable with expressing, like you said. I think memorizing Emily Dickinson and Lewis Carrol poems might have set high expectations haha.

Thank you so much for your kind advice! May God bless you tonight.

 

You're welcome!

 

I would love to read your poem if you decide to post! I've been recently getting back into writing myself so I understand the fear of someone not liking your work.

 

I would try some freewriting. It's basically just sketching or doodling in writing, just playing around, with no intention of letting anybody else see it or posting it anywhere, just to try out ideas or play around. It can be done for poetry or fiction or whatever you want. I do a lot of it and sometimes what I come up with ends up becoming a story or a part of one. Here are a couple of things about it by Peter Elbow, a teacher who has his students do freewriting sessions:

• Freewriting by Peter Elbow
• The Goals and Benefits of Freewriting

I generally start off a writing session with some freewriting just to open up my creativity and get warmed up. Often I start off with a few lines of nonsense gibberish, and then I start to get a little more focused, maybe I write about a character in my story or something. It really takes the pressure off and lets you try out any kind of ideas at all without worrying.

 

I am no expert, but I do know there are several different styles of poetry. If rhyming is giving you problems, explore other styles. It is really about practice.

As for writing a critique, let me simplify that for you.
I didn't like this part because ...
Then be as detailed as you can on the why. Try to put yourself in the writer's place when describing the problem you see. What information would help you fix the problem, that is where your focus should be.

 

Hi, Phyllis.

Approach writing like it is a big game invented to amuse you, because at it's most fundamental, that's what it is. You've already got a good background in reading poetry, and no doubt will continue to expand on that base as time goes on.

Okay, so you're absolutely horrible at writing poetry right now. Congratulations. You've owned your terribleness and you are self-aware enough to know you need to improve. Some people immediately hamstring themselves by assuming every word they spill onto paper is wonderful. Don't hamstring yourself by being afraid to write absolute crap. Writing absolute crap is called practice and it is a perfectly acceptable, albeit occasionally frustrating, procedure. For what it is worth, you have my permission and encouragement to write the worst crap in the world. Someday you'll be digging around in the mature pile and you'll find a diamond. But first- the manure must pile up.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I gave a reading for an arts festival. Afterwards, a woman I knew came up to me and very shyly confessed that she'd always wanted to write haiku. I pointed out she wasn't going to be able to do it any younger (she was 96 at the time, and no, that isn't a typo) and said essentially the same thing to her that I just wrote to you. About a week later, I picked up my mail and found an envelope with three or four haiku in it. One still haunts me. In her youth, Katherine was a concert pianist. The haiku was about sitting at the piano with hands that could no longer play because they were so bent with arthritis. Her daughter read it at Katherine's funeral a couple of years later.

 

I was where you are now two years ago, and I’m 40. I started by writing all the bad poetry I could and by reading introductory books on the craft (such as the Idiot’s Guide to Writing Poetry). Within three months, I wrote my first publishable poem (“A Modernization of ‘To His Coy Mistress’”), which is still among the favorites of some of my readers. It only took four months after that to write a poem that won third place in a big worldwide contest (“Alone Together”). It might take you a bit longer because you have less experience to work with, but you’ll get there if you keep at it! (By the way, there’s a link to my work in my signature.) Just write about what’s important to you.

I would also advise choosing one or more poets like whom you want to write and studying their poems for your own. For me, that was Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, Georges Brassens (hence my avatar), and Robert Browning… plus the big names at the Society of Classical Poets (you have to give them a look!).

How nice it is to see another Catholic poet!

 

I recommend that you seek out two books: How Does A Poem Mean by John Ciardi and Sound and Sense by Laurence Perrine. They're good overviews of the ways to approach poetry.

And don't worry about writing badly. When you learned to walk, you walked badly for a while. When you learned to talk, you talked badly. Quality comes from practice. So write he hell out of this. Someday, you'll surprise yourself.