How I Edit

I try to leave my handwritten poems as drafts in their notebook for as long as possible. I don’t look at them for a couple of months or longer. I need to leave my poems for a good while, long enough so that I can read them without being kind to them. When you edit, you need to get rid of any of the emotion that you had when you wrote that poem. You need to be cold towards it. I always try to read my poem as if someone else has written it & think what advice I’d give them on the poem. You need to develop a thick skin for editing & to be honest, to be quite brutal when editing. One tip is to cross out every adjective, then see if you need maybe one or two of them, but no more. But again, be brutal. I always try to make sure that my verbs are really active and punchy. Can I get rid of any adverbs? Yes, I can. Is the opening exciting or is it just a way into the poem? Does the form work? If you’re using rhyme does every rhyme carry the poem on, or are some chosen purely for the rhyme? Is the title any good? What about the last line, what does it leave the reader with? Something memorable or a strong image? I’ll do several rounds of edits like this. I keep every version in case I want to reinstate something later on. I always read my poems out loud too. I hope this helps. Good luck with your editing.