Poetry Starter Checklist

1. Gather your supplies

• Something to write with and on: a notebook and pen, or a phone, tablet, or computer.
• A handful of poems you love to read and learn from.
• Twenty quiet minutes and a comfortable place to sit.
• Willingness to write badly at first and enjoy the practice anyway.

2. Your first project

3. Your first month, step by step

• Week 1: Read, don't write yet. Find three or four short poems you enjoy, online or from a library book, and read each one slowly, twice, out loud. Notice a line or image that stays with you and jot down why.
• Week 2: Write freely. Every day, spend ten minutes writing about one small thing you can see or remember: a cup, a hand, a window, a song. Don't rhyme, don't judge it, just get honest words down.
• Week 3: Shape your first poem. Take one piece of Week 2 writing and trim it to its strongest eight lines. Cut anything vague, keep the clear pictures, and decide where each line should break.
• Week 4: Read it aloud and try a form. Read your poem out loud and fix anything that sounds clunky. Then, for fun, try one tiny haiku. Pick one video from the lists above to explore what you enjoyed most.

4. Mistakes to avoid

• Forcing rhyme, so the poem bends to find rhyming words instead of saying what you mean. It is fine, and often better, to write without rhyme at all.
• Leaning on abstract clichés like 'my heart aches' or 'time heals all wounds.' Reach for one true, specific detail of your own instead.
• Telling the reader how to feel instead of showing the moment. Rather than 'I was so sad,' show the cold coffee and the unanswered phone and let the feeling come through.
• Not reading other poets. Poems teach you what is possible, so read widely and often; you cannot write rich poetry on an empty shelf.
• Trying to make every poem grand or profound. Small, honest, everyday moments make the most moving poems.
• Never revising. First drafts are just the beginning; the real poem usually appears when you return and trim, sharpen, and listen to it again.