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If you are having trouble getting started with writing poems, here are some ideas which may help.

If you have been to Man In The Moon before, you might like to go straight to Kennings or Haikus or Letter Poems. Perhaps you want a go at writing a Flower Poem?

Lots of people think writing poetry is hard. It isn't. Try this and see for yourself! Choose a word from any of the following: ghost, rattle, goat, dad, planet, jelly, eagle, sherbet, trumpet, nest, spy, house, cowboy.

Now write down everything you can think of about your word. For example, if you had chosen sherbet, you might write:

Sherbet

It's fizzy
It crackles
It tastes of lemon
It bounces in my mouth
I can buy it at a sweet shop
It makes my tongue tingle
I can dip my fingertip in it

You could just write down your sentences, and leave it like that, and you would already have a poem. But there are some clever tools which poets use to make their poems really come alive. Two of these tools are simile (say it like this 'sim-i-liy') and metaphor ('met-a-four').

Simile
In a poem about sherbet, instead of just writing 'it bounces on my tongue', you could instead compare it to something else - 'it bounces like an exploding bomb' or 'it fizzes like a million fireworks' or it 'crackles like a fire'

When you use simile, that's all you are doing, describing something by comparing it to something else: so a witch's hat might be'as black as the sky', a pair of wellies might be 'as wet as a whale', your mouth might be 'as dry as the desert', or your mum's hands might be 'as soft as a cloud'
Have a go at writing down some similes - you might be able to think of lots!

Metaphor
When you use metaphor, you are describing in the same way, but you are not comparing your sherbet to a bouncing bomb, you are saying it is a bouncing bomb. For example:

'sherbet is gunpowder, blowing up my tongue'

How many metaphors can you think of to describe a star in the sky - 'a star is a shining ice cube in a glass of blue milkshake', or 'a star is a glittering sequin on a black party dress'.
How about a kitten? A kitten could be 'a ball of wool in a basket', or 'a bundle of soft socks',or even 'a furry pyjama case abandoned on a bed'.

Have a go with your chosen word, and see how interesting and exciting you can make your poem.

Write a List Poem

Another way to get started is to think of a favourite thing; your favourite person, a pet, or toy for example, and then write a list like this:

My Dad is: bald,tall, thin, bendy, likes peas and jelly, plays football, is good at killing spiders.

Now organise your list into sentences and use some exciting adjectives. Adjectives are describing words, words that tell us more about a subject, or thing, we are writing about: so rather than writing 'the sky', we can write 'the sparkly blue sky', or instead of 'my dad likes peas', you can try, 'every night my dad gobbles spoonfuls of shiny green peas'

Poetry doesn't have to be truthful, you can make things up, and change things and people - quite useful if you want to write a poem about your worst enemy!

Be inspired by another poet!

Read other people's poems! Reading poems is a really good way to fire up your imagination. Explore some of the poems here , and have a look on your bookshelves at home and at school. When you have found a poem you really like, think carefully about the subject of the poem (what the poem is about) and then have a go at writing a poem on that subject yourself.

If you liked Gerard Benson's poem about the Cat and the Pig, for example, see if you can write a poem about an animal or two visiting your house. What would they say or do? What would they look like?

Finally, if you are writing a poem and you can't think what to write next, or just get bored, then go and have a big chocolate biscuit, or play football, or clean out your hamster. You can always come back to it later. Remember, poetry should be fun!

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