What’s your process for writing poetry?

By: opoudjis | Post date: May 1, 2017 | Comments: 2 Comments
Posted in categories: Culture, Personal

Clear my head
No, really clear my head
Have a vague idea of what the argument is that I’m going to write
Have a concrete idea of what the form is that I’m going to write in
Start thinking up phrases in iambic pentameter
Keep thinking up phrases in iambic pentameter
Wait till my heart beats in iambic pentameter
Optional: have access to a rhyming dictionary, to use as emergency backup
Start writing, keeping in mind the vague idea of what the argument is
Scrub lines if they’re not going in the right direction
The first quatrain is the hardest. Once that falls into place, the form does too.