10 actions
for beginner poets to improve their workÂ
FREE WORKBOOK
Learn the 10Â actions for beginner poets
Download our free workbook loaded with tips and practical activities to improve your poetry.
By downloading this guide you are joining our email community. The emails are sporadic (we are too busy working on our poems and you should be too). Unsubscribe at any time.
Your voice matters
You don’t need a degree to write powerful poetry.
You don’t need to be an expert.
You need a starting place to hone your unique voice and a little guidance.
If you’ve been circling the edges of poetry for a while - reading it, scribbling lines here and there, but not quite sure how to improve, I’ve got you.Â
This guide was designed to give you real, actionable ways to grow your confidence and your craft, no matter where you’re starting from.
That’s exactly why I created 10 Actions Beginner Poets Need to Take to Improve Their Work—a free workbook with practical steps to help you grow your voice.
This free workbook is made just for beginner poets like you. Writers who want to improve their work, but don’t want to feel lost or overwhelmed.
Inside you’ll get:
🔥 10 clear activities to improve your work
🔥 An introductory framework for drafting and editing
🔥 New poems written
🔥 A plan to keep going
🔥 No academic jargon. No overwhelm.
Whether you're returning to poetry or just starting out, this guide is here to help you feel empowered, not intimidated.
I’ve created this based on my own personal experience (I gave up writing poetry for a decade after being intimidated by academia) and my experience as a creative writing teacher working with new poets.
If you’re looking to ignite your creativity and improve your poetry, without the overwhelm of an academic-styled resource then you’ll love this workbook.
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Take the next step towards your poetry dreams
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Sometimes all it takes is a few small tweaks.
Remove intimidation from the writing process and begin your empowered journey with our practical advice.
Learn about:
- sorting out the basics
- first drafts
- poetic device
- form
- editing techniques and more.
Writing poetry can be intimidating.Â
I know because I stopped writing poetry for a decade. I was intimidated and decided to focus on the theory instead.
The actions I've included in this guide stem from what I've learned on my journey from a deflated poet to published poet with a PhD.
I learned the hard way and I don't want you to.
This workbook is designed to remove intimidation from the poetry writing process and replace it with a sense of empowerment.
It is not an AI generated checklist - it's full of activities, including drafting and editing new work. The activities I use in my classes.
I hope you enjoy working through the activities as much as I enjoyed creating it.
From my pen to yours,
Melissa
Learn the 10Â actions for beginner poets
Download our free workbook loaded with tips and practical activities to improve your poetry.
By downloading this guide you are joining our email community. The emails are sporadic (we are too busy working on our poems and you should be too). Unsubscribe at any time.
About Melissa
Dr Melissa Watts has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (creative writing & literary studies) from the University of Melbourne (2004) and a PhD in creative writing & history from Federation University (2023).
Melissa Watts has published poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her poems have inspired other artists to craft bronze statues and compose piano performances for audiences in New York.
She has published a collection of free-verse and structured poetry exploring the relationship between people and place. In Small Towns (2022) Melissa shines a light on the unsaid. She picks the scab of small-town tensions, then unflinchingly aims her bow at social injustice, tipping her hat to the feminist poets who have come before her.
Melissa is currently exploring pathways to publication for her novel depicting the lives of female cartographers in World War Two.Â
She has hosted keynotes at Melbourne Writers Festival interviewing British author M.J. Hyland and Ballarat Writers Festival interviewing YA icon Maureen McCarthy. She has spoken at Clunes Booktown and maintained monthly radio programs interviewing authors such as Paddy O’Reilly, Graeme Simsion, Toni Jordan and Angela Savage. Melissa spent several years as the publicity officer for Ballarat Writers working on large literary projects including festivals and competitions.
When not writing Melissa has worked in instructional design and online learner engagement strategy for some of Australia’s largest corporations.
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Melissa was the 2024 judge of the Martha Richardson Poetry Prize.
Learn the 10Â actions for beginner poets
Download our free workbook loaded with tips and practical activities to improve your poetry.
By downloading this guide you are joining our email community. The emails are sporadic (we are too busy working on our poems and you should be too). Unsubscribe at any time.
Nine Cups Writing
For writers.
And those not calling themselves writers... yet.
