8. Short poems are catchier than long ones. Having room for spaces eases the mind and makes you think of simplicity. The problem with short poems is, you tend to become unsatisfied especially when you could have written a lot.

9. Long-short-long-short or long-short-short-long - you've got the idea. This pattern may be modified according to what suits you. Like in paragraph rules, long-short patterns are also effective in lines and stanzas. You may follow a long phrase with a fragment. Play with the dots. But use them reasonably.

10. Punctuate to emphasize and to show. Ellipses, for example, can heighten and prolong emotions by giving the reader pause. It can cause doubts, reveal satisfaction, regret, doubt and confusion. Through ellipses you may make your readers "fill in the blanks".

11. Don't be too obvious. Make your readers think. Place a bit of mystery; play up the details. Play with your readers' minds. Grasp their curiosity. 12. Play with words; enjoy. Discover what you can come up. Make them dance, laugh, cry. Use sound effects and you may even put in your reactions. For example, splash!

13. Be able to identify poetic words. There are words that sound dull in poetry such as collaboration, augment…business words. They're unromantic! But if you can't do away with them, do something with the phraseology or change the word. Instead of evening (sounds unromantic), use night - shorter, but gives you a picture of dark sky, shadows and stars. Leave evening to business correspondence or to formal writing. Trust your poetic ear - gut feeling, in other words. Read not only with your eyes but also with your mind's ear. Translation: the lines should sound good.

14. Accessorize, but not too much. Use adjectives sparingly. Prefer verbs. They are simpler, but they give you a clearer picture. Adjectives, on the other hand, make your lines bulky. 15. Be graceful. Don't merely tell it in plain language or what's the point of writing poetry when you can just write it as prose? Try not to be corny, please. Don't use word that bring no impact or that does not add weight and meaning to the line.

16. Allow your thoughts to wander. Follow the trail they make by writing whatever comes to mind. Be in a trance, and then be reasonable afterwards.

17. Use your innocence or innate goodness. Most people sympathize with that. But also, being someone knowledgeable or cleverly bad (whichever) is an advantage. Learn how to use whichever persona. With the innocent persona, don't overdo; with the knowledgeable, don't boast…never boast, period. You'll drive away your readers. In poetry, too much is too much.

18. Choose the mood. Cheerful? Gloomy? Anything you've got.

19. Be able to see beauty and appreciate it. There is poetry everywhere because beauty is everywhere. In silence, in tears looming (tears that hang from long, thick lashes), there is beauty.

20. Gentleness is the key. Even in anger and vengeance, the readers must be able to sense your gentleness and even vulnerability, consciously or subconsciously. Even in the vengeful, they must see innocence. Use the why or the how of the situation. Make them want to care for you.

21. Use symbols. What does a blanket give you? Comfort. Warmth. Protection from the cold.

22. Inspire! Make them believe. Move them.

About the Author

Sheryl is a junior editor of publishing company CannonCreek Asia Inc., currently dealing with business news, and is a contributor to the Sun Star Daily Cebu, goarticles, ezinearticles, writing village, writing.com, and poetrypoem. A journalism graduate, she writes short stories, poetry, essays and few novels.

Written by: Sheryl Joy P. Olaño