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Advice To a Young Writer

My friend, write what you know about first-hand An exciting experience, an unforgettable moment, Your adventurous trip with your high school band When you didn’t get back your last dollar you lent, How you felt running your toes through the sand. Tell us what you imagined as you dozed off to sleep About the time you took your first motorcycle ride, Your experience in beautiful Belize probing the deep How you felt when you learned a good friend died, A time when a haunting story made your skin creep. Don’t forget to explore fantasy and wild imagining Anything that you can describe and make me feel, What you thought looking at an ad in a magazine Your emotions are fodder for an interesting spiel, We might enjoy thoughts on your first tangerine! The sky is the limit for subjects you might explore And, speaking of the sky, clouds are rich material Importantly, make us want to return for more Write, write, write – write a never-ending serial Be interesting; most of all, avoid being a bore. Written June 6, 2022

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Caren Krutsinger

Date: 6/9/2022 1:16:00 AM

This is imperative "Be interesting" in writing, in speaking and in life in general!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/9/2022 8:48:00 AM

Absoluterly!

Elaine George

Date: 6/7/2022 12:37:00 AM

Beautiful example of this form of poetry and great advise for a young writer.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/7/2022 8:15:00 AM

Thank you, Elaine. It's so good to hear from you.

Evelyn Judy Buehler

Date: 6/6/2022 8:20:00 PM

Milton, your poem contains sage advice, vivid images and beautiful rhyming. What more could one ask for? Well done! :)

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 8:22:00 PM

Thanks, Evelyn. Oh, I probably left out a lot that could've been said.

Jeff Kyser

Date: 6/6/2022 7:48:00 PM

I’ve turned out some pretty weird ones, lol. Good advice though, to be sure!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 8:20:00 PM

I think all of us have, Jeff. If I went through (and I probably should) and deleted all the junk, I might four or five really good poems here!

Marco Chies

Date: 6/6/2022 7:14:00 PM

very good quintain. It's amazing how many styles you've mastered, Milton. I know that each of us has our favorite styles (free verse, for me), but mastering several styles is for few and demonstrates how technically prepared you would be to represent us, if that were the case.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 8:21:00 PM

Well, it probably goes back into my distant past when I taught creative writing and judged forensics for my English-teaching wife, Marco. Although, I didn't begin to teach all of the methods and formats Poetry Soup gives us.

Paulette Calasibetta

Date: 6/6/2022 4:38:00 PM

Good advice~awakening the young writers to be observant and experience life through their own lens. Nice write! :)Paulette

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 6:42:00 PM

Thanks, Paulette, to one who practices these things already and so well!

Regina Mcintosh

Date: 6/6/2022 3:27:00 PM

Excellent advice.. I'll heed even though I'm old :) God bless you. Love, Gina

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 6:43:00 PM

Gina, I hate to tell you, but you will never ever grow old in our eyes. Thank you so much. Blessings on you, too.

Tom Cunningham

Date: 6/6/2022 3:00:00 PM

That is excellent advice Milton, there is so much out there to write about. Tom

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/6/2022 3:10:00 PM

There is, indeed, Tom. When I talk to young aspiring writers, they often say, "I just don't know what to write about." So, this is just a poem with some of the ideas I share with them