By all means, when the muse visits and you are scrambling to write down words before they escape your brain, simply write. Don’t worry about tone, imagery, subject, and everything else we’ve discussed here. Getting your words onto the page should be your singular focus when you’re writing a first draft. Don’t let your internal critic stop you from writing.
Once that is done, and you have something on the page, edit. Here are a few tips to help you become a vigilant editor:
Be serious about editing. Be ferocious and don’t be afraid to cut out anything that does not add to the experience of the poem.
Sniff out cliché like a bad food in a refrigerator. Think all around the imagery and senses that might be used.
Show your work to other readers and writers of poetry and listen to them. Never, ever get defensive. Listening does not obligate you to take their advice. Even if someone says, “This is terrible,” you can say “Thanks for the input” and move on.
Join a workshop. Workshops provide motivation to write and a sense of community with other writers.
Read poetry. Get your hands on some small press journals and poetry collections and familiarize yourself with what’s out there. Reading a lot of good poetry will help you write good poetry.
The tips offered here are guidelines, not unbendable rules. They are meant to help the poet stretch his or her imagination and become more aware of how powerful language can become when we combine judicious word choice with fresh ideas. Remember, the most important thing about writing a poem is to write it. So get started!