âYou’re going to write about that? But that’s topic’s been done to death!â This can be a problematic thing for a writer to hear. There are always common topics that we want to write about, and the fact that they are common should not sway us from writing about them. Our natural instinct is to write about something that we are familiar with, even if the subject has been tackled again and again by many different writers. What is going to make your poem (or story) unique?
Of course, you are going to write about something that you feel is important enough to be said. Can you write about it from an unusual or new perspective? You don’t have to be a pioneer of a new way of thinking. Great poems stick with people because the language and imagery within them is special: it has touched them in a way that other poems on the same topic have not.
Let’s use âloveâ as an example. Many people write love poetry (or discuss the topic of love).
Most of us, if not all of us, have a go at it. Writers are all moved by someone at some point, but how do you say something new about a topic that has been on people’s mind for thousands of years? That’s the thing you need to think about when you’re creating poetry. Allow for expression so that you can touch your readers with your words. Try to avoid a string of clichés and think about what could give a fresh perspective to this subject. This is the trick of poetry. It’s not easy to think of new ways to look at old subjects, but when you do think of something that sound original, you will write some great poetry that will stick in your readers’ minds.
Written by: Laura Clark
* Laura is a 23 year old English woman with a history degree residing in the UK. She has been writing for many years and enjoys writing horror/fantasy stories, as well as poetry. You can view her work at: https://inspiredstoriesandpoems.wordpress.com/
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