2 Simple Steps to Writing Poetry

1. Feel something.

2. Write it down.

Excuse the simplicity but to be a poet all you need is a heart and a pen.

There are no rules to poetry - play with the words and play with the presentation.

My advice is to try not to limit yourself to grammar and mechanics - just feel and write and worry about spelling and punctuation later (or don't because, art.) Try to think of words that could have more than one meaning. Use your thesaurus (or just ask Alexa for synonyms.) Look around nature and the human body for inspiration. Write about what hurts. Write about what helps. Write about life's simple pleasures and write about the topics you have yet to understand.

The cool thing about writing poetry is that your poems will be as unique as you are. It might take a while to find your style, but I've found that to be true with most things in life. That said, the other perk to poetry is you don't have to box yourself into one way of writing. Write short poems. Try a long poem. Maybe a haiku. You'll find what you like and what comes naturally if you experiment with different techinques.

I remember when I first started writing I told my dad, "I am going to go buy books on how to write poetry!" And he said, "Don't do that - you already know everything you need to and you will limit your style." So I didn't. My dad is a pretty smart man.

In essence the point I am trying to make is that everyone can be a poet. Everyone has a story that deserves to be told and nobody else can tell their story quite like they can.

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