Notes On Writing Poetry

Writing an Acrostic with Ease

Writing Acrostics can sometimes be difficult to write. Feel the pain no more; this is a step-by-step guide to write an Acrostic poem.

First off, let me start be explaining that Acrostic Poetry is where the first letter of each line spells a word, usually using the same words as in the title. Pretty straight forward, no rhyme scheme or syllable count is needed. There are several types of Acrostic poetry: Acrostic, Double Acrostic, Slant Acrostic, but as for now we'll stick to the plain and simple Acrostic style.

Alright, now that you know what an Acrostic poem entitles, it is time to get started on writing one. The first thing you want to do is decide on a title, now I know a lot of you dread coming up with a title first, but for this style it is necessary. Once you have decided on a title you can set-up your poem. By set-up your poem I mean doing this... For example, if you choose the title, "Within My Heart" you would set-up your poem like this:

W
I
T
H
I
N

M
Y

H
E
A
R
T

This ultimately spells out the title of the poem vertically. Now that you have "set-up" your Acrostic poem, you can get started with the actually writing portion of it. When writing the poem, it is sometimes difficult to think of a word that starts with that letter, therefore; writing a list of words that start with that letter, or googling will help. For example, if you where stuck on the letter "E" you could google, "words starting with e" or write a list of words that you know start with "E"

List of words starting with "E"

Embarked, Embedded, Entitled, Enlisted, Evolve, Educated, etc.

Once you have finished writing the poem, I highly advice you to re-read it; for it is a given with anything you write, there will always be mistakes. You will most likely find mistakes, whether it is spelling or the flow of the poem, mistakes will be there. Once you have fixed all your mistakes and have re-read it again and again till it sounds nearly prefect to you, then it is finished and time to be constructively criticized by other poets on the site.

Most of all just have fun and enjoy the style in which most of us where taught when in school at a very young age. They usually made you do it with your name or someone else's name. Just relax, have fun and enjoy the beauty of writing.

Recently I came across this site which has the forms and definitions on numerous poetry styles/forms (mostly traditional). It is a great source for those wishing to learn more about the different poetry forms or expand their horizons by attempting other forms/styles. It is definitely worth checking out.
Here is the link:

http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html

GaryJ

Hello, Sir Gary, thanks so much for your notes. They are certainly conducive to one's upgrading in the art of Poetry writing.

Best Regards

Yes Gary the Definitions and Poetry Forms I had posted not to long ago come from that site, I only listed the ones I hadn't seen posted here before. Shadow Poetry is indeed worth checking out, they have plenty of poetry forms and definitions followed by explanations and examples.

Peace, Poetry & Power,

Nick

Not all people write poems for themselves and many people read poems because they enjoy or use them as a muse. It's not entirely true that the way poems are read can determine it quality or at least a majority of poems. It may be in some cases, but other times, more frequently & more importantly it depends on how the poem is wrote, the words used, and the rhythm the writer creates which is related to it's flow.

A poems flow is important in a poems quality since the flow is the motion in the poem. When read it needs to have a certain appeal to it in order for us to enjoy it and read through poems, of course there are many of styles of poetry. Poetry is an enchanting art on its own though.

Poem - is a written expression of emotion or ideas in an arrangement of words/verse most often rhythmically.
-Definition from ShadowPoetry

Peace, Poetry & Power,

Nick

This is more article with all errors fixed and I'd appreciate it if you read it. It's already been posted in the article archives, but seeing as how others have posted their articles here I figured I would as well. It's worth reading for the knowledge you'll recieve. (Note this was the first article I've written.)
__________________________________________

What is Poetry?
Literature in metrical form
any communication resembling poetry in beauty or the evocation of feeling.
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. It consists largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by its user and audience to differ from ordinary prose.
These are web definitions of the word poetry and here are some other facts on poetry:
Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words, or to evoke emotional or sensual responses.
Poetry's use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leave a poem open to multiple interpretations.
Poetry is a way to express yourself and to display your feelings. This article will be on what is poetry? A frequently asked question by many P&Q members; however, many people dont take the time to look into it. This article will explain what poetry is and will talk about forms of poetry as well.

What is poetry? Poetry is a way to express yourself, a way to display your feelings, and a device used to express your creative side. Certain forms of poetry are used for different kinds of expression, for example an acrostic poem, a poem in which the initial letters or initial and final letters, of each line spell out a word. Taking a word that expresses your mode and giving other words to go with it, for example:

Suffering
Afraid
Distress

Then there are rhyming poems which are usually more humorous and funny, however they can still be sad, dark poems. Then there are limericks. A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland.
The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of: a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9. Another common form of poetry is the haiku. A haiku (also called nature or seasonal haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Haiku is usually written in the present tense and focuses on nature (seasons).

Resources: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/haiku.html
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/limerick.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3Aacrostic
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3Apoetry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry

Now that weve reviewed some of the more popular forms of poetry, lets look at what poetry is. As Ive said before, poetry is a way to express yourself. Poetry gives you many ways to express it like some of the forms of poetry weve mentioned. The web definitions, however do not give more information on the word poetry. They give the simple definitions that explain what it is, but they leave out a lot. Poetry is a powerful device and the meaning of it is varied between different people. Many meanings however focus on the way to express your theme. Thats the first thing that comes to mind when you think of poetry.
Poetry Magic says, Poetry definitions are difficult, as is aesthetics generally. What is distinctive and important tends to evade the qualified language in which we attempt to cover all considerations. Perhaps we could say that poetry was a responsible attempt to understand the world in human terms through literary composition. Shadow Poetry says, Poetry really has no one set definition. Shadow Poetry defines poetry as the art of writing thoughts, ideas, and dreams into imaginative language which can contain verse, pause, meter, repetition, and rhyme.
In my opinion, poetry is not only a way of expressing your emotions, fears, and dreams; it is the best way of expressing yourself.

Other people have given their opinions and here are a few of them:

Daenerys Stormborn - Literature in metrical form. In other words: Bundling words together as we see fit.
Gary Jurechka - Poetry is the mirror of the soul. It is art, beauty, expression, self-therapy, meaning, emotion. It is whatever you want it to be.
Ddavidd - Poetry is when the imagination, feeling, language and inspiration intersect in the mind, soul and heart of a talent.

These are the opinions of fellow P&Q members. Here are some reasons why people write poetry. The purpose for writing poetry is connected to the meaning of poetry. Here are some of are some of their opinions:

mistake is all I can be [remembe - I write poetry because its the one way to release anger and frustration. Its my way of showing the world the true me without showing them my soul or the reasons behind my anger.
Gary Jurechka - My favorite response to this question is:
Because I cannot NOT write.
Writing has always been a form of self therapy, an expression of emotions too intense to keep inside, an expression of thoughts, feelings, and meanings. Sometimes it is simply purging-a cleansing, sometimes I learn something about myself or others or life in general. Sometimes it is merely the noble expression of art. Also for the fun and freedom of it. Mainly it was something that was mine. A release, a passion, a peace.
I look back over my poems and am reminded of things I'd learned but forgotten, how I felt at certain times, etc.
Sometimes I can see who I was then, who I am now, and perhaps a hint of where I'm going.
And though I write mainly for myself it has helped keep my sanity many times, lol) and always have (though some pieces are distinctly for others-and I have found sometimes the more personal you are sometimes the more universal the piece is striking a chord in others). It is a great writer, and sometimes the goal of the writer, to touch the hearts and minds of others.
There are many reasons. As you write, and each piece, sometimes the reasons and the poems change over time. Sometimes not.

The reason I write poetry is to release my anger, sadness, and fears. But if you look at my and their opinions, youll notice we talk about the same thing, to release our feelings. I chose these two opinions because they have the best answer to the question why do you Write Poetry?
So in conclusion, people write poetry as a tool to release emotions. Its the best way to release emotions because its totally flexible. It has limitless possibilities and many different forms of poetry to use to express yourself. We write poetry to keep ourselves stable, keep ourselves in control and release our feelings. Poetry is the easiest, simplest, and most common way to release our feelings and has been used for hundreds of years.
So take some time out of your day to think of why you write poetry. To think of what it is, your opinion on it. Your opinion influences you to write poetry and to not stop. If you lose that inspiration your poems arent at their peak of efficiency. You lose the power that you use to write your poems and you stop writing. You just need to take time out of the day to ask yourselves, why do I write Poetry? And what is poetry to me?

There are days when poetry is sweet and flowing and other days it can be torment and wrestling. It is like the breathing of the mind and the soul.

Any ideas on how to stop writer's block?? And lastly please explain what a manuscript is.

Thanks

Ramon