Poem Editing Hacks
Ten Easy Ways to "Re-See" a Poem That's Not Working
Dear Writer,
Every poetry collection I’ve edited has had its own personality; poetry books, after all, are made up of 50 - 100 poems that contribute to the whole. Sometimes, a poem sticks out as not belonging, and needs to be removed or revised. Sometimes, there are several poems that aren’t quite finished. These “hacks” can help you revise poems that aren’t quite working, whether they are part of a manuscript or not.
Concentrate the language
Sometimes, a poem is just flabby. Cut it down to its essence by doing the following and see what happens; you’ll likely need to make revisions after doing this, but it really does help you see the “real” poem:
Eliminate all words that are three letters or fewer
Eliminate all adverbs (words that end in -ly)
Eliminate all words that end in -ing
Turn it into a formal poem
Trouble with repetition? Turn that issue into an asset by changing your poem into a ghazal. Does your poem lack tension? Try reducing it into a syllabic form, like a tanka or a rondeau. I’ve also had good luck turning shorter poems into sonnets. Sometimes putting boundaries around what is “allowed” actually leads to more interesting poems.
Write it backwards
This works well with poems that seem to lack or lose tension. Write the poem backwards, starting with the last line, then second to last line, etc. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense - you can revise later, or group lines into two or three line blocks. Notice what happens with the meaning of the poem and how it is perceived. If it works, you can also turn this into a palindrome poem.
Combine two or more poems
Many collections we receive have recurring themes, some to the point of being too repetitive. Find poems in your collection that are very close to one another, and consider one of the following:
Turn the poems into a numbered set, with a title uniting them
Take the best parts of the poems and add them together to make one stronger poem
Retitle it
Titles can do a lot of work, or no work at all. Make yours do some work, in that they set the tone, mood, or image a reader needs to enter into the poem. A title is really a “free line” — so use it.
Create a better entrance
The first line of your poem is its front door. Make it inviting. Make sure there is an image or idea that is universal enough that most people will fell comfortable stepping over the threshold to see what else is in the poem, and/or create some kind of tension that will cause the reader to form a question in their mind that they want to answer by finishing the poem. First lines should be written last — you can’t introduce a poem you haven’t written yet.
End with resonance
I like to think of a last line of a poem like a bell that’s just been rung — the echoes hang in the air or in my mind, making me either want to read the poem again or ruminate on what it just did. Try revising your ending so that this happens, either by using a striking image, a strong statement, or other means of making the poem both seem finished and memorable.
Re-verb it
Get rid of all “to be” verbs, vague verbs, and linking verbs. Make the verbs as specific as possible. For instance, instead of writing “I went to the park” make it “I strolled to the park”. If the verb is able to be interpreted broadly, change it to one that is quite specific, that does some work.
Check your images
Get out a highlighter and highlight all concrete nouns (people, places, things). Then do the following:
Count them. If there are fewer images than lines, you probably have a problem with not enough imagery
Change them. As with the previous hack, make them more specific. For example, “dog” becomes “chihuahua” or “Great Dane”
Word Mine
If your poem repeats the same words a lot, and there aren’t many synonyms for those words, do a “word mine”. Write down all the words you can think of that have anything to do with the subject of the poem, or the main image in the poem. Add these words in and take the repetition out. This will likely take your poem in a different direction and add more tension.
While I love writing poems, I think I like revising them more. Playing with the words, allowing myself the right to totally change what I thought I was doing into what a poem wants to be — that’s pretty exhilarating! I hope you enjoy it as well.
Until next time,
Kris