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Hal's Poetry Writing Guide
Ok, here are a few of my tips for writing some competent poetry. It's your decision what the subject matter is, of course, but these tips will help you create something that is beautiful that you can be proud of.
1) Avoid cliches. Cliches are little phrases and metaphors that are used frequently. Bright as sunshine. Dark as night. One day at a time. On pins and needles. You get the idea. These are unoriginal and make your work sound very amateur.
2) Do not reuse keywords. This is my staple point. A keyword is any noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun or conflageration of syllables that can define a segment of a poem. Basically, about every word with more than 3 letters is a keyword, and even a few with that many or less can be keywords too. If your poem contains constantly evolving language, it flows brilliantly. Reusing keywords will cause the reader's brain to hang up and refer to the previous time he/she read that keyword. It gets ugly from there.
3) Use meter. Meter is a rythm which every syllable in every line is aligned to. Iambic meter, for example, is when every other syllable in a line is stressed in the natural pronounciation of the words. This helps the lines flow even more. Shakespeare wrote entire plays in iambic meter, that's why he's a legend. Sextameter: lines of 6 syllables each. Octameter: lines of 8 syllables each (my personal fav). Pentameter: lines of 10 syllables each (Shakespeare's weapon of choice).
4) Avoid big words. Every word in the english language has ONE stressed syllable. If you use a word with 5 syllables, it will throw off your poem's flow like a 3 foot high speed bump. Even 4 syllables is a risk unless your meter permits it at the right moment. Also, if you use uncommon words, the mere occurance of them (regardless of meter conformance) can confuse your reader.
5) Bloat. Some would argue that the object of poetry is to say something so simple in as many words as possible. Take that as your cue to fill out your stanzas with as much mood and visual description as possible in the most pretentiously artistic way that you could imagine. It works, trust me.
6) USE stanzas. Divide your poem up into definitive sections by meaning. You don't need transitions, just have each stanza describe a different state of whatever your poem is about.
7) Use rhymes SPARINGLY!!! NO COUPLETS! Rhymes can help your poem's flow immensely, unfortunately it's usually at the expense of artistic value. Too often, I see rhymes that are forced. It's as if the writer thought of one line, then just made up everything after that specifically to fit with the rhyme scheme. Also, couplets are murder. Pairs of lines that rhyme together, all the way down the page... nothing is more repetetive and obnoxious. Maybe you can pull that off in children's poetry, but not if you wanna impress a trained eye.
8) Enjoy. It's not uncommon to spend several minutes writing each line of your poem. Just make sure you say what you wanna say.
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