RULES OF THUMB FOR WRITING POEMS

Prefer specific details to generalities.

Prefer concrete language to abstractions.

Avoid clichés—or give them a twist.

Don’t use too many polysyllabic Latinate words (such as “conflagration,”

as opposed to “fire”).

Avoid rhyme unless you can use it in a fresh, subtle way.

Concentrate on images and on relationships between images.

Make your poems sound spoken, conversational.

Cut out extra, unnecessary words, phrases, and explanations.

Every poem tells a story—even if it’s a description of an object at rest.

Structure and story depend on each other.

                                                —John Drury