Poetry-Writing Tips

I think I can write poetry pretty well. I don't say that to be boastful or anything like that, but to explain the reason why I feel I can give a list of tips to writing poetry. That being explained, here I go:

Tips for Writing Enjoyable Poetry:

1. Write the entire alphabet (minus vowels a,e,i,o,u) across the top of your page and use as a rhyming dictionary. Example: I want a word the rhyme with "page". So I go through the alphabet: "bage, cage, dage, fage, gauge, hage...etc." Some of the words are real, others of course, you wouldn't use! :) This really helps alot!

2. Pick a subject that would be interesting to read about, and not too abstract. (For instance, I don't really like writing about "feelings" because you end up with a cloudy, sometimes strange, abstract, and...boring poem!)

3. If you wish to write a rhyming poem...make sure that it really rhymes please! I do not consider the words "about" and "down" to rhyme in any way. They may have similiar vowel sounds, but really, don't do that please! :) (Perhaps it is an assonance, but who cares? It makes for a very awkward poem!)

4. Keep the meter (the beat of the poem) pretty steady. Don't skip around. If the first line has 8 syllables, keep it that way or at least, change it in some orderly fashion. If I wrote a couplet like this:
"I love flowers, Pink and blue
I love them too!"
That would be entirely awkward (and terrible poetry! ;) and you would be hard-pressed to find any reader who could read that without it sounding....very juvenile. Nursery rhymes have better rhythm than that! :)

5. Always read your poem aloud or at least read it over to yourself before showing it to anyone.

6. Always copy neatly down on a new sheet of paper the final poem.

There! These are things I always keep in mind when writing poetry! :) -Rachel