5 Creative Poetry Writing Exercises to Help You Sharpen Your Skills
Whether you’re a seasoned poet or new to the art, taking time to engage in poetry writing exercises is an excellent way to keep your skills fresh. These exercises could help you explore new perspectives, tap into deeper feelings, and bring out a more authentic voice in your work. By the end of this article, you’ll have a few practical techniques to inspire your poetry, helping you create more freely and even prompt some masterful verses.
Why Poetry Writing Exercises Will Improve Your Craft
Poets are revered because they are exceptional at finding fresh ways to communicate something meaningful. If you have hit a creative block or simply want to inject life into your verses, poetry writing exercises could be what you need. They challenge us to break free from routine and allow us to explore new styles and writing techniques through exciting prompts. This means you get to make language your playground – without the pressure of producing a “perfect” piece. The more you experiment, the more intuitive and unique your writing becomes. Below are five exercisesthat might expand your creative horizons and improve your poems.-
Use Your Five Senses to Write a Piece
- Sight:Describe the colours, shapes, or movements you see
- Sound:Focus on the quality of the sounds you hear and how different tones blend or stand out to you.
- Touch: Describe textures, temperatures, pressure, or what you feel in your body.
- Taste: Think about how taste connects with the object or concept, if applicable.
- Smell:Describe the scent the best way you can, immersing the reader in what you’re experiencing.
This exercise will make your poems more engaging, helping readers to experience the world from your perspective.
- Create a Mind Map for Abstract Concepts
Abstract concepts like love, hope, grief, and loss, have always been some of the most common themes in poetry. Writing about them can be challenging, however, since they lack tangible forms and people approach these concepts subjectively. A mind map is a visual tool that may assist you in brainstorming and breaking down these complex ideas into specific words, images, and emotions. Start by writing your chosen concept in the centre of a page. Next, draw branches connecting it to words or phrases you associate with it. For example, for “grief,” your map might branch out into words like “mountain”, “stillness”, “shadow”, and “weight.” This process will help you express abstract emotions more concretely. - Try a Few Mixed-Media Poems
Mixed-media poetry combines words with visual elements. One fun example is to try an erasure poem, where you take an existing text (like an old book, newspaper article, or magazine) and “erase” or black out words to reveal a hidden poem. There are several examples online to inspire you, and to get started, simply:- Read through the text to identify words or phrases that stand out.
- Use a marker or tape to cover up the words you don’t need, leaving the surviving words to create a new poem. You could also circle the words you want and cut them out, pasting them over a meaningful picture.
- Experiment with the words in several ways to see what new meaning emerges.
- Do Some Free Writing with a Timer
Free writing is a powerful exercise that allows your thoughts to flow. Set a timer for a few minutes and write continuously without pausing to edit or rethink your words. Don’t worry about punctuation, grammar, or coherence; the goal is to capture whatever thoughts come up without self-censorship. Afterwards, look through what you’ve written and use these raw ideas as seeds for your next poem. - Read Poetry from Local Poets
One of the best ways to find inspiration is to read the work of other poets. Local voices offer a close-to-home perspective, often touching on themes that resonate on a more personal level. The AVBOB Poetry Project library provides a collection of poems from South African poets in all 11 official languages you can explore today. You can also share your poem with the AVBOB Poetry Project, which closes on 30 November 2024, and stand a chance to win outstanding prizes – including R10 000 in cash.
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