𝐹𝐼𝐿𝑇𝐻

I actually write most of my poetry when my mental state is actively deteriorating or just in the midst of borderline panic attack and sobbing.

I start writing whenever I have a grasp on something that I want to express, so I approach it with an idea of a feeling or case. Though I often deter from my original approach, either throughout the course of the poem (I never actively know how any poem will end) or in an entirely new attempt of writing that poem (if I just continously fail), which is why I think it's important to not bind yourself to any initially imagined approach.

I overall think it's important to not bind yourself to anything when writing because it's your writing. I generally write free verse (to label it) so I don't care too much about rhyme or metrum. I adapt it if I feel like it will convey whatever I'm trying to convey best.

I think there's a lot to be done if you write freely, even without any big stylistic devices. Line breaks work well to add a sense of passing (slow or fast) or emphasis and tensions and choosing words also based on how they sound (if you think more of reading it to someone or being song lyrics) and not just because of their meaning can soften, disturb, ... I really don't read much poetry and so the most poetic input I really get is song lyrics.

Words are obvi important because that's your (basically) sole medium. While writing I look up many, many definitions, synonyms and I often translate words between English and German.

To portray a feeling (...) it's often best to visualize it and show it to the reader instead of just telling them. Just in general working with visuals should be a priority. They shouldn't just be an addition but part of that feeling (for example, feeling 'disgusting' can take many, many forms depending on how this is visualized and made concrete: Vomiting all over yourself or rotting from the inside or being chewed by animals... ?) Still, that doesn't mean it needs to be specific. How (un-) specific something's description is, is also a great means to convey. This is obviously also an aesthetic thing, so the visuals I choose are heavily influenced by what I see in my day-to-day and aesthetics I like. Also think of describing something intangible via tangible things.

I am often bold enough to just take a line or wording from a song or a fragmented post I see online and incorporate that into my original writing ('Zähne, weiße Zangen' is from Zunge by Till Lindemann, 'Sacrifice sighs and...' is from one of the posts under my cross tag, ...). I at that point retire searching for a different way to say whatever I take because it either inspired me so greatly or I accept that this is the best possible way to express that very thing (or at the very least I cannot express it any better). Such direct phrases or wholly original lines that spring into my head can often not be immediately incorporated into the poem I'm writing, so I take note of them on the side to add them when it's right and often work to incorporate them, but I never force myself.

Sometimes (admittedly very rarely) my poems are finished right after I'm done writing them. But for the most part I will revise them and for the most part revise them greatly. The most important thing for me is to capture this grasp on the feeling/case I want to express. The first draft does not need to be good, as long as it can hold that expression. But I never really stop making small edits. When I write my poems down properly or reread them online I continuously make small alterations. I somehow (this has always been, maybe because I cope via writing) am very detached from my own poetry. I need to put in very serious effort to feel anything from reading it at all. But this allows me a less subjective revision, so I just read the words and grasp their impact and don't actively feel them. I work hours writing and revising every poem, sometimes over the course of weeks or months. But just for general rule of thumb, it's finished when it feels finished.

For more direct tips I would suggest to openly engage with what you like and not shy away from emotions even if they're uncomfortable, they're disturbing in the best way possible. The best way to improve your own writing is to read good writing. At some point you get an (intuitive) feeling for it and that will do much more than anything I could suggest. Work on your vocabulary. Get familiar with stylistic devices, but write freely nonetheless (as if that feeling/case needs the freedom to express itself). And practice. I first picked up writing 3-4 years ago and have been really actively writing for a year again.

I am also still learning (as rewriting this and rereading my own pretentious poetry has proven lol) & improving so don't take this too seriously.