Aisling Fahey, young poet laureate for London 2014-15

Reading is key

In any artform, you learn from those who came before. Poetry is no different. Reading widely allows you to assess the styles of poetry that speak most to you. Being able to critically assess work that you like and to understand what it is that resonates and connects with you is just as important as identifying what you dislike and assessing why and what you don’t want to replicate.

Reading around the subject of writing and about the lives of other writers also helps to ground your work. In a job that can seem transient and intangible, experiencing first hand the effect that good writing can have is immeasurable.

Build a network

Writing can be an isolating path; you spend a lot of time alone with your thoughts, reflections and words. The writing communities that I’m part of, notably Burn After Reading, which is full of committed, talented writers, keep me motivated.

I have a group of people I can share work with and ask for opinions, help or stimulus. They’re a constant source of inspiration and support. Find a group of like-minded people with whom you feel comfortable sharing first drafts and thoughts. Join a writing group, attend an open mic, follow other writers on Twitter, engage in conversations and build a base of creative people.

How to combat the blank page

A blank page can be intimidating. I often begin writing by freewriting, a technique in which you give yourself a designated time limit – perhaps five or 10 minutes – and write without stopping. You can write about whatever you want: pick a sentence out of a book and begin with that if you can’t think of anything. The idea is to get raw material on to the page. With freewrites you use the creative side of your brain and keep the editor out of the way until later.

Another tip is to find a poem you like and write a response to it: what do you want to ask the poem, the speaker, the poet? Try to carry on from where the poem stopped – what new direction can you take it in?

Get your voice out there

If you have something to say, use the means at your disposal to say it and distribute it. Set up a simple WordPress site or Tumblr where you can share your work (recorded on your smartphone) direct with audiences. Film a video of yourself performing and upload it to YouTube, or record a track and upload it to SoundCloud. These avenues allow you to get your voice out there for others to hear and appreciate.

Selina Nwulu, young poet laureate for London 2015-16

Write about what’s difficult

What are you most dreading to write? Often that’s the very thing you need to write about the most. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that you should write about certain topics or in a specific style, but doing this only masks what you truly want to say.

Listening to what you need to write is a necessary skill for a writer. It’s in writing about what’s difficult, painful and embarrassing that will connect you to the reader, but it’s also where you can find light and humour. Even if you never share that particular piece of work, it’s always there to reflect and work on at a later point if you choose. It will also free your mind to write about other things.

Set yourself clear goals

Set yourself practical goals and be clear about what success means to you. Do you want to write and perform as a career? What steps should you take to get there? Who can you speak to to help shape practical goals in achieving this? Or is writing regularly for yourself a more desirable goal?

Recognise this, too, as a success and create conditions to enable you to write regularly. For example, book out a regular time every week to write and try to stick to it or start an anonymous writing blog. Importantly, don’t get swept up into other people’s versions of success. Be sure of what you want from your writing and create your own action plan.

Be inspired by other artistic forms

Reading poetry and discovering other writers is so important, but I also think good writing finds interesting crossovers with other artistic mediums. Immerse yourself in different artforms, whether film, dance or theatre, to see how this might inform and shape your writing, particularly if it is in a topic or area that you are writing about. It might also leave you open to developing interesting collaborations with other artists, which could lead you down an interesting trajectory you hadn’t previously envisaged.

The young poet laureate programme is run by Spread The Word and supported by the Foundation for FutureLondon

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