Advice needed, Sluvy and others

Hi Sluvy, in your post Literary Disappointments you have said that the poems on this site are not up to mark. I 100% agree...the poems are TOO repetitive for one thing, uncreative for another, and some of them are stolen, which is the worst of the lot. All we do of all day long is talk about cutting, suicide and pills. That gets frustrating.

Well I have thought about it, and I think this site needs help. From whom? From people who KNOW poetry. You do know poetry. Can you please give us some tips...that are relevant to our mistakes...you say that we must not use "I" and "And" and "like"...but I didnt quite understand fully. I wish to improve...please help and elaborate on those previous statements, as well give other tips if you can. Thank you in advance. Dhaval :)

I won't speak for anyone else, but it seems like you misread it or atleast misconstrued it. I believe he was talking about the poems that use those repeatedly, to the point of overkill. You can use any word, just know when to use it and how much. I don't think he meant you can't use those at all; words are all equally important.

if i read this right then i think people should be able to write about suicide and stuff. Cause they really feel that way so if they write maybe they wont do any thing to their selfs.

Well I agree and disagree.
Yes some of the typical teenage angst expressed in poetry on this site is boring and repetitive but at the same time these youngsters are still learning to write, and at the same time they are able to express there feelings and emotions of growing up through poetry...I think thats a beautiful thing and should be respected regardless of what the content of the poem is and the extent of the literary value. It also gives them a place to relate and learn from the experiences of others around the globe going through the same sort of life situations. People who are more advanced in life and poetic writing experience are here to guide and advise them on both life and there poetry.
I mean Ive been writing for years! I look back at the stuff I wrote when I was 13 and 14 and I shudder at the juvenile style of writing and content encompassed in my my poetry. Now at 22 I credit alot of my growth personally and as writer to the few people within PNQ who took the time to constructively critique me and enable me to continuously improve my writing...

Check out the articles section...there are some good pieces there...my own being not too shabby on the subject of mataphor and being subtle with your writing.

Other than that, get some book by people like William Soutar, T.S Elliot, Brain McCabe..people who are respected...try and mimic their styles and absorb them..play up to their level..let them infect you with skill and understanding.

I was going to make this a long post, but all that truly matters about poetry have been mentioned earlier here...

Wow JH, that one's beautifully done.

Eirisa: You're right...we're all learning...some poems out here are ordinary but we need to learn...and thats why i wanted to get advice. You're lucky you got constructive critisism...i never get any...I know Kaylee gives me good advice...another person called Kayla....and NuovoVesuvio...Kaylee's done quite a few of my poems...but thats it...the others have done maybe two...thats the problem...theres not enough advice given.

I agree that there isn't enough constructive comments going around and it's one of the things that's making me, "Lose faith in these so called poets of the future." So many people are quick to assume they know how to write, and receiving a helpful comment usually bursts their bubble but we should give better comments more often anyway.

Thank you for that wonderfully honest critique Kali...it really does help.
Mr Bob, yes becoming technical would be a real nightmare...i like your concept about free poetry...you know whats real free for me? Melissa's poems...
http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/author.html?id=175195

THAT is captivating.
Maybe its just an inborn gift and the unlucky must slog to improve haha...Dhaval

I agree that Melissa is one of the few writers on here I don't mind reading from

and so are you =) ^^

Sluvious, if your opinion what do you think makes someone ready for a publisher?

You are never ready for a publisher...but sometimes publishers are ready for you.

That is how it works.

I agree

as for the advice about and, I can try to help with that. I had an english teacher who hates ands. His rule was that and should not be used in expository writing except for listing items or comma conjuction, which most of you people never use in your poems. Even with the comma conjuction, he said writers should think of better ways to word there sentences. His reason for this was that and doesn't link or show the connection of the writer's thoughts well enough on paper. He thought there should always be another word used that would better link the author's ideas together, making it easier and better for the reader to follow.

The rule with like is easy. Like has been universally deemed acceptable for many definitions, ultimately taking the place of other words, more descriptive words, that actually mean what the author has used like to mean. It is overused and worn out.

As for the, I have no idea.

Hey I wasn't trying to advocate not getting your stuff out there...all i was saying, perhaps in too subtle a way, was that most of the time, no matter how good you are as a writer, it's the personal tastes and current trends important to the reader of the poem that dictate whether or not you get published.

For example, over here in Scotland, every major compitition winner of poetry recently has written impossible to understand, non rhyming poems that have no set structure....don't seem to be about anything and are very short....that is what is winning...it's the trend right now, reflected also in the recently published local works.

Anyone who doesn't write this style need not apply...this is the reality.

Or conversely, the best way to get published is to win a compition, and the best way to do that is to find out who is judging it and write like they do, as anyone in here will tell you, people like others who write like they do.

There is no such thing as a best poet, or more deserving..there is only personal taste...unfortunately.

Judges are no different.