Do You Make These Mistakes in Poetry?
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What are the common “mistakes” we all have made when learning to write poems? I’ve culled this list from my own experiences, what I’ve observed as a teacher and reader of poetry and what I’ve heard other poets discuss.
1. Using the title “Untitled” at all or more than once.
2. Writing a poem about an Edward Hopper painting.
3. Making ridiculous grammar errors.
4. Sending out work to magazines before it’s ready. (Yikes.)
5. Combining #3 and #4 and making ridiculous errors in work we’ve sent out.
6. Copying a “great” poet too closely.
7. Relying too much on the criticism of other people.
8. Stressing out too much about not writing.
9. Claiming we have no time to write (and getting out of practice).
10. Using any of the following words too often: dawn, moon, white, flesh, crimson, dusk, dark, darkness, black.
Just curious…Have you made any of these mistakes? Do you have others to add? List them in the comments below. You can also post them to your own blog with a link to mine, and I’ll provide a link to your post.
- December 28th
Re #1, I have entitled a poem “Untitled” just be awkward – it’s about art and I’ve always hated untitled works.
That said, giving a poem a bad title is almost as bad; better not to give it any. I have in the past never given a great deal of thought to titles but really a good title should go a long way to unlocking the meaning in a poem.
As regards #7, my main problem has always been getting criticism beyond “I like it” or “I don’t like it” even from my wife and daughter who both write poems themselves. I was so chuffed recently when an editor knocked back one of my poems and commented on the syllabic structure – he’d actually noticed! That was better than being accepted.
On #8, I used to stress more because I was always afraid that I’d never write again. Having gone through a couple of lengthy bouts of writer’s block (so called) – and we’re talking years here – I’m not so bothered; if I’m not writing then I’m thinking about stuff that will end up in my writing. I guess patience comes with age.
As for #10, I do tend to write about truth too much even though I’ve pretty much given up on it linguistically – there are no absolutes in poetry.
How about not revising enough? That’s the one I see most poets make. That’s probably related to #’s 3, 4, and 5, but it doesn’t hurt to spell it out.
Good blog post.
@Allen–You’re right. I’ve been guilty of that in certain forms before. I get so excited about creating something new…
@Jim — You’re right. Better no title than a bad one. A first line can make a good title if all else fails.
Okay, I was just planning to write about an Edward Hopper painting! (I’ve been to the exhibit 5 times now. The lighhouses blew me away, mostly — as if they were complex personalities with their own individual consciousnesses and subconsciousnesses.)
Deborah, this is Jan from the GW workshop with Dana. I signed on for a blog thing (but want to keep it hidden from “public” view, meaning I’m just sharing that I have this here with you and a few others) because I wanted to be able to keep in contact with you and Sandra and Bernadette and a few other folks on the Internet. I just wanted to let you know I read your blog 9and have for a while now.)
Always sending good karma … :>