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I recently started letting a few people read my poems. I normally hated doing that because of how personal they are to me but as I got more and more shockingly positive feedback it made me feel better about it. Two separate people, both musicians, have asked me to turn my poetry into songs for them or to write songs with them. One of them won’t stop sorta begging me (should I be flattered or annoyed?). But the thing is – I have no clue how to write music. I barely know how to write poetry. When I do it’s just a stream of conscious sort of thing. So I was wondering if anyone could help me out with some tips? I’m really struggling out with finding a style, as in like how to structure my phrases. I know what words I want to write but I don’t know how to make them sound best. Advice on that and really anything else would be greatly appreciated! I would love to make music, I just never thought I had it in me.
Thank you for reading!

Wow! You sound a lot like me. I would love to be a lyricist for a musician. I also write poetry since it just comes naturally to me. Sorry this reply probably hasn't helped you much with your question, but I thought I would share my enthusiasm!

You should definitely be flattered! Compliments have become so rare these days and if there are people asking you to write for them and you're interested too, then definitely go for it! Don't aim for creating a chart-topper right from the start. That will divide your intentions. Be true to yourself, work in collaboration with those musician friends and just see how it goes. The more you create, the better you'll get at it.
All the best!

Hi there! Here's some technical music advice for songwriting from a music teacher and composer:

Find a rhyming pattern you like and stick with it. If you're not familiar with rhyming patterns, do yourself a favor and Google it.

Try creating a chorus (the part of the song that repeats: "I came in like a wrecking ball...break me" in Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball)

Then branch out to the verses ("I put you high up in the sky...ashes on the ground" in Wrecking Ball)

If you want, create a bridge linking the second chorus to the end of the song ("I never meant to start a war...should have let you in" in Wrecking Ball)

Many popular songs use the format verse 1 - chorus - verse 2 - chorus - bridge - chorus. I've found this is the perfect formula for beginning songwriters. I hope this helps, and feel free to PM me any time for music tips!

I hope this helps

To expound on what Nicole-Adrianne said, it's often a good formula to start with, however it's also a good idea to choose songs you like and listen to them. Pick apart the format of the songs you like by artists you like. Depending on your preferences, the general format might not work for you. Find out what does.

On a separate note, one of the ABSOLUTELY MOST IMPORTANT things you can do early on is learn how to structure your lyrics. This is often emphasized most in hip hop but is important in every genre. You need to understand how to hear progressions and have rythm or your lyrics won't be able to sync with music. A good rule of thumb to start is, count the number of of syllables in each line they should be close to each other from one to the next OR to a corresponding line in the next stanza.

I suggest going on YouTube to this channel. Ignore any parts that aren't specific to your genre but the basics stand.

https://youtu.be/GHZVfZpgtKI