Writing for Yourself

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life, Society, Writing Advice, Zambia

There’s nothing wrong with writing poetry for yourself. Poetry writing has tremendous therapeutic and creative value. However, many young poets think they can get published and earn recognition without developing their poetry skills: they don’t read poetry; they don’t study the craft; they are not knowledgeable about poetic forms or literary devices.

They say things like:

• I don’t read poetry because I don’t want other poems to influence mi
• I want my poetry to be raw and original.
• I write from my heart; it’s a form of self-expression.
• Poetry is an art form, so there are no rules.
• It’s my style (I’ve heard this about poems written in all-caps, for example).My mom/friend/teacher said I have talent.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these arguments. But if you want to get published — if you want your work to be taken seriously by the literary world and by readers — you’re going to have to step up your game. You’ll have to stop making excuses and learn how to write better poetry