Typical stages for poetry creators

1. The Impulse

   A poem often begins with something heard, seen or felt — a phrase that arrives unexpectedly, an image that stays, or an emotion looking for a form. Capturing that first impulse gives the work a place to begin.

   What this stage means

   A poem begins in the body before it arrives in language — as a sensation, an image, a rhythm that insists on being followed. Capturing that initial impulse, however fragmentary, gives the poem a beginning it can grow from or depart from.

   Questions to consider

   • Have you captured the impulse in any form before it dissolves?
   • Is there a specific image, phrase, or feeling at the centre of this poem?
   • Is this a poem that wants to be short or long, dense or open?
   • What is this poem trying to do that prose couldn't?

   Practical ideas

   • Write in whatever form the impulse arrives — don't force it into a structure before you know what it is
   • Create a Creative Record to timestamp the original impulse
   • Try writing around the impulse rather than at it — sometimes the poem finds itself indirectly
   • Keep a dedicated notebook for first impulses — many poems return to these starting points

   Pro tip

   The most original poems usually begin with something noticed, not something decided.

   Reached a meaningful milestone? Create another Lyricsmit Record and continue building your Creative Record Archive.

2. Drafting

   Poetry often emerges through many drafts. Early versions are rarely the finished poem — they are part of discovering what the poem wants to become.

   What this stage means

   Poetry drafts differently from prose. A single line can anchor an entire poem; a wrong word can destroy it. Early drafts are acts of discovery — finding out what the poem is about, not executing a predetermined plan.

   Questions to consider

   • Are you allowing the poem to go where it wants, rather than where you planned?
   • Have you tried multiple versions of the same impulse?
   • Are you making any decisions about form too early?
   • Have you read the draft aloud?

   Practical ideas

   • Create a Creative Record when a draft feels significant
   • Try the poem in a completely different form — long lines, short lines, prose poem — before committing to one
   • Keep all drafts — even abandoned versions sometimes provide lines the final poem needs
   • Read the draft aloud in private before anything else — the ear catches what the eye misses

   Pro tip

   Draft without judging — the internal editor should wait until you have something real to work with.

   Reached a meaningful milestone? Create another Lyricsmit Record and continue building your Creative Record Archive.

3. Revision

   Revision in poetry often means compression — removing what the poem doesn't need until what remains is precise. Line breaks, white space and rhythm are as meaningful as the words themselves.

   What this stage means

   Revision in poetry is often compression. Every word that can be removed without loss makes the remaining words stronger. The attention moves to sound, rhythm, line breaks, and white space — formal elements that carry meaning in poetry in ways they don't in prose.

   Questions to consider

   • Have you questioned every word, or only the ones that feel wrong?
   • Are the line breaks doing meaningful work, or just happening at arbitrary points?
   • Is the ending the right ending — or just where the poem stopped?
   • Have you read the revised poem aloud multiple times?

   Practical ideas

   • Cut the poem significantly and see what survives
   • Try a different line break pattern entirely, then compare
   • Write three different endings and choose the most uncomfortable one
   • Read it aloud to someone you trust and watch where they pause or seem uncertain

   Pro tip

   The line that feels absolutely necessary is often the first one worth questioning.

4. Feedback & Workshop

   Sharing work with trusted readers or in a workshop setting can reveal how a poem lands for someone encountering it fresh. What feels complete in solitude may open differently when read by another.

   What this stage means

   Sharing work with readers — in a workshop, with trusted peers, or through publication — reveals how a poem lands for someone encountering it without context. What the poet knows that the reader doesn't is always interesting information.

   Questions to consider

   • Are you sharing the poem when it's ready for feedback, or when it's finished?
   • Have you chosen readers who understand what the poem is trying to do?
   • Are you listening to how readers experience the poem, not defending it to them?
   • Is there feedback you've been avoiding that might be worth confronting?

   Practical ideas

   • Listen during feedback without explaining — the explanation you want to give is usually what the poem hasn't managed to say
   • Ask readers to mark the line they liked most and the line they liked least
   • Seek out readers whose work you admire — peer feedback at this level is invaluable
   • Wait a week after feedback before deciding what to apply

   Pro tip

   The most useful feedback is usually about what readers experienced, not what they think you should change.

5. Collection

   Individual poems take on new meaning when gathered together. The ordering, grouping and shape of a collection is itself a creative act — one that can change how each individual piece is understood.

   What this stage means

   When individual poems are gathered into a collection, the arrangement itself becomes a creative act. The ordering, groupings, and arc of a collection can change how each individual poem is understood — poems speak differently to each other than to a blank page.

   Questions to consider

   • Is there a unifying sensibility or theme, or does the collection feel arbitrary?
   • Have you tried different orderings?
   • Are there poems in the collection that don't belong, even if they're good poems?
   • Does the collection have a beginning, a movement, and an end?

   Practical ideas

   • Print the poems and arrange them physically — it's easier to move them on a table than on a screen
   • Create a Creative Record for the assembled collection
   • Read the collection as a reader would — from first page to last, without interruption
   • Show the collection to a poet whose judgement you respect before submitting anywhere

   Pro tip

   The order of a collection is not fixed until it is published — be willing to reorder it late.

   Reached a meaningful milestone? Create another Lyricsmit Record and continue building your Creative Record Archive.

6. Submission

   Poetry is commonly submitted to literary journals, magazines, competitions and anthologies before appearing in a collection. Publication in literary journals builds a body of published work and a reading audience over time.

   What this stage means

   Submitting poetry to journals, magazines, and competitions is how poets build a body of published work and find their readership. Rejection is a normal and expected part of the process — even for poets whose work is widely admired.

   Questions to consider

   • Have you identified publications that publish work similar to yours in sensibility and ambition?
   • Have you read the submission guidelines carefully?
   • Is the work you're submitting the strongest it can be?
   • Are you tracking your submissions to avoid simultaneous submission conflicts?

   Practical ideas

   • Read at least one issue of any publication before submitting to it
   • Maintain a simple submission log — outlet, date, poems sent, response
   • Submit regularly, not occasionally — consistent submission builds a body of published work over time
   • Treat acceptance and rejection with equal equanimity — both are part of the practice

   Pro tip

   Submit to places you want to be published in, not just places you think will accept you.

   Reached a meaningful milestone? Create another Lyricsmit Record and continue building your Creative Record Archive.

7. Publication

   A published collection — whether through a traditional publisher, an independent press or self-published — marks a significant milestone in a poet's creative record. The work enters the world on its own terms.

   What this stage means

   A published collection — whether through a traditional publisher, independent press, or self-published — marks a significant moment in a poet's creative life. The work enters the world independently of the person who made it.

   Questions to consider

   • Have you thought carefully about the publication path that's right for this collection?
   • Is the manuscript in its final form, or does it still need work?
   • Are there rights and contract terms you fully understand?
   • How do you want to present this collection publicly — readings, events, online presence?

   Practical ideas

   • Create a Creative Record of the final manuscript before it goes into production
   • Research publishers or presses that have published work you admire
   • Prepare a reading of several poems from the collection for public events
   • Approach the launch as an invitation to conversation, not a performance

   Pro tip

   A published collection changes your relationship to your own work — allow time to adjust to seeing it in the world.

   Reached a meaningful milestone? Create another Lyricsmit Record and continue building your Creative Record Archive.

Things to Consider

• Have you reached a meaningful milestone?
• Is this a version you’d like to remember?
• Have you organised your project files?
• Are you ready for the next stage of your creative journey?

What You Could Do Next

Once this stage of the work is complete, these are some possible directions to explore. Choose what fits your project.

• Exploring spoken word performance
• Submitting to literary journals and competitions
• Developing a poetry collection
• Applying to poetry residencies
• Participating in anthologies
• Planning live readings
• Exploring publication options