- 1). Write the name of your subject, letter by letter, down the left side of a piece of paper. Allow plenty of room between each letter so that you can play with ideas as you work. This page will form the draft of your poem.
- 2). Write on a separate piece of scrap paper the qualities of the subject you want the poem to express or explore. Brainstorm as many phrases and words as you can. Keep your theme in mind as you consider the subject’s meaning and importance.
- 3). Look at the first letter of the subject and compare it to the qualities you wrote on your scrap paper. If a word or phrase begins with this letter, write it next to the first letter in the draft of your acrostic poem.
- 4). Consult your thesaurus and dictionary if none of your brainstormed ideas begin with the first letter of the poem.
- 5). Continue down the page and fill in a word or phrase that begins with each letter of the poem’s subject.
- 6). Read over your poem for sense and for flow. Edit it as needed until the acrostic poem expresses your main ideas.
- 7). Rewrite the finished poem on a clean sheet of paper, or type it out on a computer.
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