Editing poems

I have trouble editing poems after I write them, like going back and finding better ways to say things or to add intricacy. Any advice?

Hey there.

One thing that has always been really helpful for me is to really tune into the subject that I’m writing about by using the five things technique.

Close your eyes and think about your subject. Really take yourself there.

Think about five things you can see
four things you can hear
Three things you can smell
Two things you can touch
One emotion that you have

I feel like really connecting with yourself is the key to adding intricacy and detail to your words. However, I’m also a firm believer that if it came out of you, if you put it on the page, it isn’t wrong. So don’t feel pressured to add detail or make it intricate at all - pretty poetry isn’t necessarily good poetry.

Hope this helps a little.

Have a good one 😊

I agree with Northern_Soul. I am terrible at editing, but I cannot stop my work from coming out. Sometimes just putting it out in raw form is the most impactful.

I also appreciate when people catch spelling errors and tell me about them. When you're too close to the piece you miss things like that.

This is super helpful! I'm also working on some short stories, which is really helping me with detail. I always worry that because I see everything in my head I forget to mention it on the page, so this works for me!

Giving your work time to breathe makes editing less arduous, bearing in mind no poem is ever finished only abandoned by its owner. Quit letting your 'worry' interfere with the buzz you enjoy from creativity. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen. The greatest writers knew how to swallow the editing pill and so can you.