Look below for tips and video tutorials to help you on your way. Listen to Narrative cofounder/editor Carol Edgarian and Michael Wiegers of Copper Canyon Press explain how to creatively and effectively craft a poem so that your readers will be moved by your words. Have an idea, and wonder how to craft it into a poem? Get inspired by some of our favorite poems, hand-picked for you in our suggested Reading Guide for Poetry. Be bold. Be creative. Be yourself. Or, as we like to say: Tell Me a Story! We’re all ears. Before you get started, please read the following tips:
1. Start with what’s in your heart. Speak from your authentic voice, pull us into the poem, and seat us beside you. Write a poem that only you can write, not one you think someone else wants you to write. If you’re stuck, read some of your favorite poets and craft a piece in their image.
2. Revise, revise, revise! We believe that great writing comes through vigorous revision, so we encourage you to edit your work. Great writing is rewriting. Genius lies in revision. Comb through your poem and interrogate every word, asking if it’s necessary—either narratively or musically—and if it’s in the right spot.
3. Use all the resources at your disposal. Watch our Poetry Tutorial and read our guidelines about what makes a winning poem. We encourage you to ask your teacher for feedback and help and to read your poem out loud to some friends or classmates to test it out!
4. Seek inspiration. Create a free Narrative account, and then check out our Reading Guide for Poetry, with poems chosen specifically to give you a sense of the style and quality of the writing we publish.
5. Create an original piece for this assignment. This contest offers the opportunity to push yourself outside the bounds of academic writing, to flex your creativity in a new, poetic context. Shout, sing, tell us your story!
• Your poem is ten to no more than fifty lines long, typed in 12-point font, and single-spaced.
• Your teacher has your final draft in a Word document.
• Your account has been created using your school email address. Don’t forget to sign up for Narrative before submitting your final draft to your teachers.
