| Section: 1. | Foundation |
| 1. | Read poetry and read about poetry. |
| 2. | Memorize poetry. |
| 3. | Learn to write both dynamic and static poetry. |
| 4. | Know the poetic structural options. |
| 5. | Get rhythm. |
| 6. | Learn about meter |
| 7. | Dig those rhythm and meter combinations. |
| 8. | Learn your poetic devices. |
| 9. | What's the best way to group lines in poetry? |
| 10. | Learn standardized forms of poetry. |
| 11. | Know the types of poetry. |
| 12. | Study the poetic forms of other nations. |
| 13. | Copy the old masters. |
| 14. | Poetry can mimic any of the other arts. |
| 15. | Learn to tell a story. |
| 16. | Learn the emotions and how to evoke them. |
| 17. | Study the fine art of persuasion. |
| 18. | Expand your vocabulary. |
| 19. | Know the rules, so you know how to break them. |
| 20. | Avoid dialects that you don't have or know intimately. |
| 21. | Take the time necessary. |
| 22. | If you don't understand a poem, put it aside. |
| 23. | More structured forms are better for songwriters to study. |
| 24. | Work to increase your writing stamina. |
| 25. | Seek out devices to interest your audiences. |
| 26. | Be aware of your personal philosophy. |
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| Section: 2. | Inspiration |
| 27. | Open a book. |
| 28. | Think about a painting, sculpture or other art. |
| 29. | Research people in history. |
| 30. | Open your mind to random thoughts. |
| 31. | Write something descriptive about where you are. |
| 32. | Read a newspaper or magazine and base your poem on an article. |
| 33. | Base it on a life event of yourself, or of someone else. |
| 34. | Base a poem on a dream you had. |
| 35. | Play a game. |
| 36. | Elevate and celebrate something mundane. |
| 37. | Take a walk in the woods. Go row a boat. Get inspired by nature. |
| 38. | Write about someone you respect who shaped your life. |
| 39. | Write about a childhood memory. |
| 40. | Write about change. |
| 41. | Write from a viewpoint people don't normally see about an occupation. |
| 42. | Compare and contrast. |
| 43. | Parody! |
| 44. | Commemorate a special event in a life or history. |
| 45. | Investigate urban legends. |
| 46. | Base a poem on wordplay such as puns or double entendre. |
| 47. | Make up a character that is an author and let him or her do the writing. |
| 48. | Write as a companion piece to accompany a play or novel or other artwork. |
| 49. | Tell the same story from a different perspective. |
| 50. | Fall in love. |
| 51. | Ask someone else what to write about. |
| 52. | Exorcise your demons! |
| 53. | Turn it upside down. |
| 54. | Take a ride. |
| 55. | Fill in the alphabet. |
| 56. | Write a book requiring poems to illustrate points. |
| 57. | Write a vocabulary stretch poem. |
| 58. | Cheer up a friend! |
| 59. | Make fun of yourself. |
| 60. | Talk with a friend and listen. |
| 61. | Write your dreams as having come true. |
| 62. | Get religion! |
| 63. | Write about an ancestor or relative. |
| 64. | Challenge yourself to write in a style new to you. |
| 65. | Incorporate a phrase you hear and like. |
| 66. | Honor a veteran. |
| 67. | Craft a magical spell. |
| 68. | Sneak up on your subject. |
| 69. | Get things “not quite right.” |
| 70. | Think like an alien. |
| 71. | Create a frisson. |
| 72. | Pay attention to life. |
| 73. | Fixate on the details. |
| 74. | Look at other writings with poem or song-length ideas. |
| 75. | Eavesdrop. |
| 76. | Try a catalog poem. |
| 77. | Write about recent inventions. |
| 78. | Go back to your unfinished poems and songs. |
| 79. | Write about a previous incarnation. |
| 80. | What’s the word of the day? |
| 81. | Envision the future. |
| 82. | Start a company offering custom poetry. |
| 83. | Use pre-existing rhyme words. |
| 84. | Write about a friend or pet. |
| 85. | Write something for a child. |
| 86. | Context is everything, but lack of context is more fun. |
| 87. | Get a metaphorical dictionary. |
| 88. | Look at the eyes alone. |
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| Section: 3. | Preparation |
| 89. | There are three types of research. |
| 90. | Know your background. |
| 91. | Make your characters real. |
| 92. | Will ritual help? |
| 93. | Make your choices. |
| 94. | Know your audience. |
| 95. | Warm up. |
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| Section: 4. | Creation |
| 96. | Make your poems work. |
| 97. | Rhymes do not have to be perfect. |
| 98. | “Scansion doesn’t have to be perfect, either.” |
| 99. | Fit the rhythm and rhyme to the mood. |
| 100. | Pay attention to flow control. |
| 101. | Stimulate the readers’ senses. |
| 102. | Be consistent. Keep your details straight. |
| 103. | Present, develop, summarize. |
| 104. | Restrain yourself. |
| 105. | Be concrete, not abstract or obscure. |
| 106. | Be fresh. Avoid Clichés |
| 107. | Consider poem clusters. |
| 108. | Name your characters. |
| 109. | Establish and separate points of view. |
| 110. | Use classical or current allusions. |
| 111. | Charcoal, Pastels, and Oils |
| 112. | For songs, use repetition and nonsense syllables as thinking space. |
| 113. | One short phrase repeated over and over seldom makes an exciting chorus. |
| 114. | “A poem is like a baby.” |
| 115. | Just write it down. |
| 116. | Your opinion counts. |
| 117. | Conflict is the meat of a story. |
| 118. | Relax, and don’t be too artsy! |
| 119. | “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” |
| 120. | “A song doesn’t have to rhyme, but it does need rhythm.” |
| 121. | Use a dummy melody. |
| 122. | Try writing in a non-specific gender. |
| 123. | Play with tenses, voices, and points of view. |
| 124. | Make every word count. |
| 125. | Have an alphabet visible. |
| 126. | “Every verse should have its own raison d’être.” |
| 127. | “If you use an awkward rhyme, put the forced rhyme first.” |
| 128. | If you’re stuck for a rhyme, try place names and proper nouns. |
| 129. | Add to the beginning. |
| 130. | Work after you want to quit. |
| 131. | Be implicit. |
| 132. | Go metaphysical. Go philosophical. Transcend! |
| 133. | Reverse consonants from line to line to bind the poem together. |
| 134. | Listen to the sounds of words. |
| 135. | Break it up! Space is the Poet’s Best Friend. |
| 136. | Mind your thees and thous. |
| 137. | “Write in the first person, but not about yourself.” |
| 138. | Build a wide bridge to your audience. |
| 139. | If you sound like Seuss, give your lines more juice! |
| 140. | If you sound like Seuss, make your rhymes loose. |
| 141. | If you sound like Seuss, give your rhyme a goose. |
| 142. | If you sound like Seuss, make your meter more obtuse. |
| 143. | Avoid non-standard contractions. |
| 144. | Keep a unified voice, unless you have a good reason. |
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| Section: 5. | Nomination |
| 145. | Name your works. |
| 146. | Keep titles short and meaningful. |
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| Section: 6. | Maturation |
| 147. | Strengthen your stress through mixing metrical methods. |
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| Section: 7. | Conversation |
| 148. | Vary vocabularies, speech patterns and rhythms. |
| 149. | Know your characters. |
| 150. | Collaborate on dialogues. |
| 151. | Say it out loud! |
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| Section: 8. | Collaboration |
| 152. | Be diplomatic. |
| 153. | Be open. |
| 154. | Make sure the ball is covered before you play tennis. |
| 155. | Know your collaborator. |
| 156. | Agree on some ground rules. |
| 157. | It has to work fairly for all. |
| 158. | Play the field a little. |
| 159. | Start your collaboration small. |
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| Section: 9. | Frustration |
| 160. | Read past works. |
| 161. | Read other people’s work. |
| 162. | Put it aside for a time; write something else. |
| 163. | Write in another format. |
| 164. | Write in another format. (Episode II) |
| 165. | Don’t force it! |
| 166. | Write something silly. |
| 167. | Write about not being able to write. |
| 168. | Free associate. |
| 169. | Get away for a while. Clear your mind. |
| 170. | Show it to someone else for comments or suggestions. |
| 171. | Write a blues song to clear away your troubles. |
| 172. | Breathe! |
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| Section: 10. | Evaluation |
| 173. | Read it out loud. |
| 174. | Get an editor. |
| 175. | Avoided Yoda-speak is to be. |
| 176. | Imagine a creep reciting your poem. |
| 177. | All poetry is bad. |
| 178. | Try to understand what is behind criticism. |
| 179. | Learn to criticize your own work, before anyone else can. |
| 180. | Don’t let your ego get in the way of communication. |
| 181. | Find another poet to work with for mutual critiques. |
| 182. | Never critique another’s work without explicit permission. |
| 183. | If you do critique... |
| 184. | Have a safety valve for criticism. |
| 185. | As a critic, make your thinking explicit. |
| 186. | Be kind to your critics with information. |
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| Section: 11. | Levitation |
| 187. | Study the characters around you. |
| 188. | Use funny words. |
| 189. | Use juxtaposition. |
| 190. | Hide a surprise at the end. |
| 191. | Take a different perspective. |
| 192. | Consider how your rhyme scheme and form affects levity. |
| 193. | Too serious is funny. |
| 194. | Base a poem or song on a joke or cliché. |
| 195. | Repetition can lighten a poem or song. |
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| Section: 12. | Cremation |
| 196. | Don’t be afraid to throw it away. |
| 197. | Don’t be embarrassed by work the audience loves. |
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| Section: 13. | Publication |
| 198. | Find the publications that publish what you write. |
| 199. | Follow instructions to the letter. |
| 200. | Track submissions carefully. |
| 201. | Broaden your scope. |
| 202. | Don’t give up easily. |
| 203. | Consider self-publication. |
| 204. | Go electronic. |
| 205. | Sell your work at performances. |
| 206. | Broaden your scope II. |
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| Section: 14. | Recitation |
| 207. | Remember Speech 101? |
| 208. | Write to enhance interactivity. |
| 209. | Write in such a way that another could perform your work. |
| 210. | Write it out loud. |
| 211. | Learn to compose extemporaneously. |
| 212. | Start small. |
| 213. | Unless you have a reason, avoid singsong. |
| 214. | Rewrite your poem as paragraphs. |
| 215. | Watch and listen to others as they perform poetry. |
| 216. | Use voice dynamics to create an atmosphere. |
| 217. | Consider voice training. |
| 218. | Create a persona or image. |
| 219. | Pay attention to the audience. |
| 220. | Think of your performance as a conversation with the audience. |
| 221. | Perform as much as you can and analyze what works. |
| 222. | Find ways of using other people’s audiences. |
| 223. | It’s easier to make 100 people laugh than six. |
| 224. | Audiences are more real than other poets. |
| 225. | Use the Folk Process |
| 226. | For international performances, consider translation. |
| 227. | Memorize it! |
| 228. | Prepare the interstices, too. |
| 229. | Slow down. |
| 230. | Beware of TMI Syndrome. |
| 231. | Take an acting class. |
| 232. | Join an improv group. |
| 233. | Plan your sets. |
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| Section: 15. | Digitization |
| 234. | Creating a CD is a series of decisions. |
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| Section: 16. | Exhortation |
| 235. | Make some goals. |
| 236. | Keep a journal. |
| 237. | Feel your life; don’t just observe it. |
| 238. | Get Mentored! |
| 239. | Join an organization. |
| 240. | Go to workshops. |
| 241. | Experiment! Diversify! |
| 242. | Find your voice. |
| 243. | Buy the tools of the trade. |
| 244. | Organize your work for easy reference. |
| 245. | Write at the same time every day. |
| 246. | Have a back up version of your poetry. |
| 247. | Keep your day job. |
| 248. | Keep a voice recorder (or notepad) handy. |
| 249. | Be prepared to sweat. |
| 250. | Study meditation and use it. |
| 251. | Poetry is power. |
| 252. | Start every day with a limerick. You can’t go downhill from there. |
| 253. | Don’t take yourself too seriously. |
| 254. | Have fun! |
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| Section: 17. | Appendices |
| 255. | Appendix A: Poem and Submission Tracking |
| 256. | Appendix B: Types of Poetry Improvements and Application to General Writing |
| 257. | Appendix C: Communication Goals and Media in Poetry |
| 258. | Appendix D: The Muses and Poetry |
| 259. | Appendix E: Contacting the Author |
| 260. | Appendix F: References |
| 261. | Appendix G: Why a Poem Gets Set to Music |
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