How to Write a Good Poem

What constitutes good poetry differs from person to person, and what one reader might enjoy, another will not. Judging a good poem is very subjective. Basically, this means there is no way to truly determine what 'good' poetry is, but there is a way to tell if poetry is 'bad.'Poetry, more than any other type of writing, is usually very personal or emotional.

Because of this, readers will like poetry with which they can feel a personal or emotional connection and probably won't like poetry with which they cannot connect. Just because someone can't relate to the emotion of a poem doesn't mean the poem is bad, and just because some can relate to a poem doesn't necessarily mean it is good. Like I said, it's very subjective.

The first thing you most know about poetry is that there is no set of 'rules' for poetry. While there are some guidelines for certain types of poetry, such as a haiku (which is written in seventeen-syllable verse form, arranged in three lines of five, seven and five syllables), most poetry tends to be free verse. Some of it rhymes and some of it doesn't, and that's okay!

When writing poetry, avoid using all caps or toggling between upper and lower case. This does nothing to appeal to the reader and actually detracts from the visual imagery your words are supposed to convey.

Using phrases such as "Undying love" or "I love you more than words can say" are cliché, and honestly, unoriginal. We've heard these tired lines over and over. Plus, there's nothing worse than reading "I love you more than words can say..." but then to go on and read three pages of a poem where words are saying how much love is there. If words can't express love, then why write the poem in the first place?

Avoid over and under use of punctuation. I have seen a lot of poems that have no punctuation at all, which makes it difficult to read and pause while reading. I've also seen poetry that has an over-abundance of punctuation, which causes the poetry to be choppy and hard to read it with any type of flow.