Definitions
Dramatic poetry
In this particular type of poetry the speaker is a persona. They use the word 'I', however this may not refer to the author, more a character the author has created and who is the voice of the poem. The speaker is a persona, a dramatised voice clearly distinct from the authors. The poem is thus dramatic, and is written for effect; it is a dramatic monologue.

Narrative poetry
The primary voice is not that of a persona (ie. the words 'i' 'me' 'mine' are not used). Rather, this is an impersonal narrator, who present events from the perspective of a third person.

Lyric poetry
The most prevalent genre of poetry is the lyric. This is what most people have in mind when they think of poetry. The term derives from Greek: the lyric was originally a song sung to the accompaniment of a lyre.

Tips for writing poetry

1) Avoid unimaginative personal vents (ie. I hate myself, i want to die, pain is filling my lungs, I want to cry)
      * use metaphor. a situation unrelated to a particular reality, but through the use of associations convays the message of an author. ie talking about a dark sky, or stormy sea instead of saying "i feel shit, i want to die" etc.
note: these types of vents are often used in modern day songs, and are effective when heard with music, which can take you on an emotional trip itself. However read out of the context of the music they can often sounds adolescent, empty and completely un-orginial.

2) Be original. Taking inspiration from other poets is wonderful and often very effective, but we have all heard a hundred times how beautiful roses are and how sweet they smell etc. a creative poet can take the subject of roses and still create something unique from it, however it is difficult and unless you feel you are skilled enough, it would be best to stay away from such obvious metaphors and conceits as such.

3) Avoid pointless rhymes. There is nothing worse that when you are reading a poem and a word is used SIMPLY because it rhymes with the word in the end line above it. It makes no semantic sense and is incredibly obvious, just use a word that fits :it would be much better to read something that doesn't rhyme than something that makes absolutly no sense and its only purpose is obviously to rhyme.

4) Experiment. Every poet has their own unique style, its just a matter of finding it. Read other peoples poetry. Play around with your words and your structure. Some wonderful pieces have been created this way.

5) Avoid block poetry. Block poetry has no set stanzas. It is a massive amount of lines in one block without any breaks and can be very very daunting to read. One's attention wavers and often the entire point of the poem can be missed. Some fantastic, and effective, block poetry has been written, so again its a wonderful structure to use IF you feel you are ready for it and talented enough to take on the task, however i would advise the majority to simply avoid it.

6) Avoid shorthand (note:unless you are aiming for a particular effect) When you read a poem with 'u' and '4' and 'bcos', well certainly for me, it makes me take the poem and the poet a lot less seriously. For speed purposes texting and talking on the internet its wonderful, and useful, but should be avoided at all costs in poetry. Its like a painter not bothering to wash his brushes or mix his paints. Have respect for the tools that you use.

7) Punchlines/Twists Every poem has a point. This point is most effectively displayed in the end lines. It brings the reader to a climax. However it is important to note that an anti-climax at the end of the poem can be equally as important as a climax (i can see the little 12 year olds giggling at how many times I've used climax in the past paragraph :) ), but only if you have something incredibly profound to highlight. Again avoid anti-climactical poetry until you feel you are suitably skilled. (note intentionally or unintentional use of anti-climaz is known as "bathos", not to be confused with "pathos")

8 ) Avoid repeating yourself. Reading the word 'pain' five times in four lines... tends to get very boring. Get a thesaurus. "Agreed, but also keep in mind: repetition catchs the reader's attention - it can be effectively used when the author is attempting to tie together two seemingly opposite concepts. Tricky, but effective." - :devkelticangel:

9) Note on refrains Refrains (ie. between one and four lines repeated throughout the poem to make some sort of important point) should not be repeated too closely together. If there are four stanzas and each is six lines long and the refrain takes up four lines...I think its obvious where im going with this.

10) Have fun. All poetry does not have to be sad and introspective. Write about things that amuse you or interest you, things prehaps completely unrelated from your emotions.

I hope that this has helped.
-Lauren. (aka :devgreendragon:)