THE FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD LESSON OF POETRY

   Writing  a poem is just like writing a short story, you need to include the 3 W's (Who, What and Why) if you want your readers to understand your work. Many poets only write part of the story, they make the mistake of thinking everyone is in their head and assumes everyone knows or understands what they know. Say you are writing a poem about a girl you know, if you don't tell that to your readers how are they going to understand about the Who of your poem. I read hundreds of poems that say things like "She broke my heart" but never bother to explain who she is or how she did it or even why she did it before they move on to something else like "I forgot her and moved on". If you read a book that was so cryptic or vague you most likely would lose interest in it and not finish reading it. I tell every poet I know they need to have someone read their poetry out loud to them so they can hear how it sounds. When you read it yourself your mind fills in the gaps because it knows the whole story, but when you listen to it being read out loud to you, you'll only hear the words written. Hearing it read to you is the best way to catch the small mistakes we all make.
                   Bear

THE SECOND LESSON OF POETRY

A Poem by Bear

   Vocabulary! Write it the same way you would say it. Another mistake I see all the time in poems is where someone used a word that they didn't understand what the word really meant. This is the problem of using just a thesaurus, you look at a list of words with the same meaning but this is not always true. An example of this is the word LOST, say you are writing about something you lost, well absent is the first word that comes up on your thesaurus. An absent sock doesn't really mean the same thing as a lost sock. Also, you can't smell green or see happy without explaining just what you mean. Oh you can say (It was such a good day you could see the happiness.) If you use just that line without a supporting line then people are not really going to understand. Oh, you will get comments on your work but if you were to ask people what they thought that line meant their answers would be as vague as that line. Some of the best poems use simple words to get great depth and emotional meaning so: write it the same way you would say it and only use words that you know what they mean and if you are going to use a writing tool like a thesaurus also take the time to look the word's meaning up. Dictionary.com - The world's favorite online English dictionary! is a very good reference site for any and all writers.
                                   Bear

THE THIRD LESSON OF POETRY

A Poem by Bear

    What is the difference between a poem and a short story? Styling and sentence structure! A poem can be broken up into stanzas (an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme) whereas a story is broken up into paragraphs (a distinct portion of written or printed matter dealing with a particular idea, usually beginning with an indentation on a new line). Poems tend to be read with a meter or set timing for each line (much like a song), and a story is read at the same pace all the way through. Sentence structure also dictates the length of sentences, if you have ten words in a line and two in the next pairing line then you have changed the flow and meter the poem will be read. I am not saying each line should be the same length, I am saying that the length of each line determines how the poem is read. Think of it like this, long lines are read slow and short line fast, slow fast slow fast is a rhythm or pattern that make sense but slow slow fast slow slow slow fast fast is not. Try it, read a few poems out loud and see for yourself how the timing and flow is changed by different sentence length.

Well, that covers the basics of writing poetry. Feel free to send me a note if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer your questions if I am able.
                                 Bear


                      ANOTHER LINK JUST ADDED TO A GREAT WRITING TOOL
Grammarly makes you a better writer by finding and correcting up to 10x more mistakes then your word processor, do yourself a favor and check it out.
https://www.grammarly.com/1?affiliateID=1959&affiliateNetwork=ho
Or try this link https://app.grammarly.com/

                                    JUST ADDED
Sorry everyone but It occurred to me that I should have included this link from the very beginning http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.html This it the text to speech program I use. There are other programs, I like this one because it is easy to adjust the speed and voice sound to my liking

I just came across this website and fell in love with it, if you only want one site to help with your writing this is it!!! http://www.wordhippo.com/

Well, it seems I have overlooked a very helpful writing tool: The Thesaurus! If you have never used one it is a dictionary of words with the same or nearly the same meanings, it is a great writing tool that lets you find just the right word. Here is the link to the online thesaurus and dictionary that I use if you don't have one.
     http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thesaurus

Another helpful writing tool is the Rhyming Dictionary, for those of you who don't have one here is the link to the one I use from Itools:
     http://itools.com/tag/rhymes
Here is a link to the gateway to the internet and from here you can find anything. A must have link: http://www.refdesk.com/

Author's Note

As you can see I have put all three lessons of poetry on the one page, I hope this is easier to read.

Reviews

[Bala Gorthi]

Thank you for your three lessons on poetry. All three are equally informative especially the first section for me.lNow I understand why we lack clarity in some poems. For people like us who just follow their passion and write without having read much poetry, this write is a right kind of guide in a concise form. Thank you for this thought of sharing it.
Keep sharing and keep advising.:-):-):-)

[Bear]

Thank you, I wrote these back in the early 90's after poetry.com started and everyone was publish conscious. I was part of the PoetryCircle and many of the members were interested in having their poetry published and with this info they would at least make it to the editor. There are many beginner and novice poets here and I hoped this would help if nothing else the links at the bottom can help :~)

[Bala Gorthi]

That is a kind thought. Beginners need this kind of help. Though I had a habit of writing down my thoughts over some years, this time around I really want give a serious thought about my writings skills. Your words give us guidance. Thank you.
Keep writing. :-):-):-)

[Celie Rose]

I enjoyed reading your poem. Has an excellent theme and description. It's very informative, well written, good structure and easy to understand. All 3 lessons should be taken into consideration and incorporated into all writing styles. Thank you so much for this useful guide to assist writers.

[Shabeeh Haider]

A very good guide to would be writers. Thank you for sharing these interesting notes which I am sure will benefit the reader

[Bear]

Thank you and I hope you were able to find something useful, I really should update this page with some new links to other writing tools I have come across :~)

[barleygirl]

While I certainly understand & also feel your need to pontificate about rules of poetry, let's face it, very few young poets can absorb & assimilate a long essay, chock-full of details such as these. Probably only the ones who are doing it mostly right will finish reading this. Regardless, you've gone way beyond the call of duty to share many interesting ideas & links. Thanks for the insightful read & good luck on inspiring a few young poets to slow themselves down & put more care into their writing.

[Bear]

As I have stated before here, I wrote these for a poetry class I taught back in the 90 not long ofter poetry.com become popular and everyone was publish-conscious. If you wanted your work to get past the editor you would need to follow this rules or your work would not even be read. I really enjoy working with novice writers, five decades ago a group of older writer friends of my lyricists aunt took me under their wing so now it is my turn.

[barleygirl]

Thanks for taking the time to share more . . . (((HUGS)))

[softlyfall]

well...ahem...i beg to differ
Poetry in pedestrian language had a place, no doubt but is not the ultimate paradigm, if one exists at all.
People can misuse any word,if they cannot perceive the nuances of language. Sometimes the more veiled connotations are apt, and well worth using.
And the difference between short story and poetry follows that thought...one is figurative more extensively than the other, less dependent on action and storyline.
All of which is my opinion...as your thoughts represent your own. the bottom line is, find your center and listen...hear your own soul and heed the universal and cell memories that whisper underneath it all.
Unless of course this is meant as satire, then I like it a lot.

[Bear]

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I thank you for your comments, everyone's thoughts and oppinions are welcome. If you write for yourself then it matters not whether anyone can understand your work and you would not be posting your work publicly like this. Also, these lessons have little meaning to someone who has been writing for a while and already have the own habits. This is a starting point, everyone will grow beyond them and above them making them irrelevant and that is the purpose of these lessons. Thank you again for taking the time to leave your thoughts.

[softlyfall]

wow, I cannot even remember this

[andrew mitchell]

Well bear of wisdom, You can always learn from the masters as you, Bear. Informative and so helpful. I thank you, I see my failings in a year of writing, I hope to improve although hurried am I in thought assuming the reader knows my mind as you have written is not the case in brevity of mine! lol

[Bear]

Ever the master of the phrase turned do I tip my hat unto you for having read your works of many themed and emotional plots I find it difficult to think you unaware of any teachings upon this page but I thank you for your gracious words :~)

[andrew mitchell]

I break all the rules bear not knowing I have when I have written being a novice. I'm just self taught in a way playing with words for fun in free verse except 5-7-5 writes. I'm not sure I want to know the rules of play either, may change my style or show bad failings lol But there is so much to learn reading other people's great writes instead. Cheers Andrew

[Bear]

As I have said before, I originally wrote this for a poetry class I taught back in the 90's, poetry.com had everyone looking to get their poetry published. I pointed out that these were the rules it would take to get past editors, it is also a good guide for beginners. I would not suggest these to someone who has established their own style, these are only to help people find their own style :~)

[andrew mitchell]

useful hints even now bear, don't get me wrong, these are helpful for me as are studying other writer's styles. thank you.

[Satoshi IroTzu]

Papa-bear, I agree with every thing you typed in your post. I can tell you from my experience it is a hundred percent accurate. I also downloaded a "reader".

World needs you, papa-bear, you are my number one advisor and avid reader of my poetry. Much, much appreciated.

Sincerely
Satoshi

[Bear]

Thank you, I originally wrote this to help my poetry class back in the 90's when poetry.com started and everyone was looking to get their poetry published. I couldn't get by without a reader now, I can't tell you how many mistakes my reader has picked up for me over the years :~)

[Lluvs]

Thank you for this Bear 💙

[Bear]

I hope you found something helpful :~)

[Myzery]

Good lessons! I really don't push myself in being a "proper" writer, but it never hurts knowing how to be!

[Bear]

I use to teach poetry back in the 90's when poetry.com started the publish craze and there were rules you needed to get past editors so I put this together back then. The rules are still pretty much the same but the writing tool link at the bottom are new and good ones :~)

[Myzery]

That's so awesome!!! And I'll have to look at those links.

[McBear]

Thank you for the tips! They come in handy c:

[Bear]

Glad I was able to help :~)

[McBear]

:D I am too! Haha