I wrote my first poem when I was 4 years old. It was nothing spectacular. Just 3 stanzas written by a little girl pledging devotion and love to her father. I've watched myself grow steadily as a poet and there are a few things I've learned along the way that could hopefully nourish the poetry writing process of other writers out there.

1. You don't always have to make your lines rhyme:

A rookie mistake I kept making when I was starting out was trying to make my lines rhyme. I followed a rigid AA, BB or ABAB poetic structure that often did nothing other than constrict my writing. I was forcing words to fit into my stanzas, words that didn't fit quite right in my poem.

Today, I felt blue
I don't know why
I have no clue
Why I want to die.

This is a stupid example but it is a classic ABAB poetic structure that clearly indicates how desperately I wanted to find a rhyming word for blue and wrote a terrible third line just to make it sound right.

It was almost a revelation when I discovered my words don't need to rhyme in my poetry. Instead, I could write these very four lines so differently without resorting to a fixed structure, like this:

I found myself scattered
In the wilderness of my mind
Seeking answers I couldn't find
Of why my survival was such a plight.

I am conveying the same message, but this way, it feels so much more real and not confined to a structural rut.

2. Experiment with poetic styles but develop your own individual one:

In the world of poetry, we have traditional, structural poetry, haikus, confessional poetry, spoken poetry and so much more. Make it a point to constantly explore different poetic styles and implement them into your own writing. It is important to figure out what kind of poetry is your forté and consistently grow with it. Don't box yourself into just to one particular style. Mess around with your lines, but consciously focus on realizing your strongest style and harness it.

3. Read your poems out loud as you write, read it again when you're done and read it again a few days later:

Poetry has always been performed since it's conception and what a lot of poets forget is that poetry continues to remain as musically adept stanzas weaved together. You must arrange your lines in accordance with how you want your poetry to sound when it's being read aloud. Knowing when to insert a line break or a stanza break is very important. Read your poetry as you write it so it sounds right in your head. Read it again when you're done to figure out if you are happy with its tone. Read it again a few days later with a fresh perspective to polish it. Going back and reworking your pieces is very important because writing in itself is a constantly evolving art form that needs incessant practice and editing.

4. Read a lot of traditional and fresh poetry and a new one each day:

Expose yourself to contemporary and traditional poetry. It is important to be aware of the millions of poetry being churned out today. Watch Button Poetry videos on Facebook. Go back and read Plath or Frost or any of the poets you fancy. But make it a point to read at least one new poem a day and analyze what they did, what kind of imagery they used. Read them aloud. How do they sound? What poetic devices work for them? Read one new poem and implement some form of their technique into your own writing.

5. Poetry Courses at Coursera and the Glossary from Poetry Foundation:

You can consider doing a free, online course of poetry that includes a workshop session at Coursera. It would give you a good chance to put your work out there and discuss poetry with other contemporaries. You can also check out the glossary from Poetry Foundation that can help you with some poetry resource tools to enhance your writing.

6. Attend poetry events and participate in poetry slams:

Don't be afraid to put your work out there! No writing is perfect and as an artist, you constantly feel overwhelmed with the amount of good writing that's already out there and you often feel that your work is not good enough. Break out of that dismal rut and go read out your poetry at an open mic. Attend poetry slams. Watch other poets at play and challenge yourself. It's a constantly growing process and the more you write and put yourself out there, the more feedback you can garner. Don't be afraid. You'll only get better with each slam you attend.

7. Consciously stop yourself from resorting to your comfort words:

As writers, we always have a few words or phrases or even ideas that we really like and unconsciously use in our pieces. When inspiration doesn't strike, or even when we are in the flow of writing, we tend to use these obvious words or phrases that come naturally to us. Consciously stop yourself from doing so. Read a few of your pieces one after the other and see which words or sentences you are repeating and stop yourself from using them again. Refine your pieces. Use new vocabulary. Write about a different concept but don't resort to your comfort words. It will give every piece of yours a tinge of freshness so your audience is not bored of your writing style or poems.

I'm constantly learning and growing too. I hope this helps you. It's drawn from my personal struggles with writing and my desperation to not be one of those terrible poets who write one clichéd verse and don't grow beyond it. I do have a blog of my poetry so do take a look at it if you like.

Happy Writing.