“That’s no moon. It’s a space station.”

One of the mistakes many beginners make is that they try to emulate someone else’s voice. It is fine to love a certain poet or style, but when it comes to writing poetry, you have to realize that the only voice that will work for you is your own voice. Don’t worry, all of those poets who have influenced you will still be there in the back of your mind when you write, just don’t waste your time wondering how they would write a line. What matters is how you write.

“Into the garbage chute, flyboy.”

One of the great joys of writing poetry is that moment when you have a sudden breakthrough. Your can spend hours sitting around trying to get one poem to work, then all of a sudden inspiration strikes and another, better poem emerges, seemingly without effort. You are going to write a lot of bad poetry in your time, while you are looking for those inspired poems. Sometimes, you’ll even write a great poem without ever feeling inspired. The point is that you have to keep working in order to get to those good poems. Don’t give up just because you feel like you’re surrounded in garbage. Success might be waiting behind the very next door.

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”

Another easy mistake to make is avoiding a topic because it feels too personal, too uninteresting or not “poetic” enough. A well-written poem can be about any subject that matters to you. The important thing is that it does matter to you. Embrace the topics that you think you want to avoid. Challenge yourself to write about anything and everything that has meaning to you.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Poetry and self-doubt go hand in hand. Don’t dwell on the shortcomings of your poetry. If you are worried that your poetry isn’t good enough, then keep writing and keep studying other poets. Training and experience do matter, even in the realm of poetry. Life is a very long road. Don’t expect to master everything the first time. As long as you keep working and believing, you will keep improving.

“Let go”

Inspiration is a fleeting creature. When you finally get inspired, you need to allow yourself the time and the space to keep writing. You may have had other things planned. The phone may ring. There might be a knock at the door. When you are inspired, you need to ignore all of that, because once the inspiration leaves it may not return again easily. Embrace the inspiration you get and follow it for as long as you can.