IDEAS ON WRITING POETRY 10

EDITING Step 1--Condense by eliminating unnecessary words and redundancies. Check for exact vocabulary and use appropriate figures of speech. Condense sentences to verbal phrases. Use parallelism. Step 2--Does the poem begin with an interesting image, metaphor, character? Would a reader be lured into the poem? Step 3--Add polish with poetic devices. Reinforce subtle rhythm, alliteration, internal rhyme, etc.; but don't make it sing-songy.

SUGGESTIONS ABOUT RHYME (ideas from Important Words, 169) 1. Rhyme is so powerful you can use it in small doses--at the end of a poem in a couplet, in the middle and end of lines (internal rhyme), hidden in lines, or in slant rhyme. Avoid couplets. 2. If you plan to rhyme think how many rhymes you have as choices for a topic. For example, what rhymes with death? (Only breath, unless you wanted to hide the rhyme in methane.) 3. You can rhyme the insignificant words so the rhyme will be less obvious. Try rhymes with and and it. 4. Use enjambment instead of end-stopped lines, so the rhyme is hidden in the middle of phrase or clause although it is at the end of the line. RHYTHM 5. Listen to a favorite piece of music (preferably without words?), and write what the music helps you to imagine--a battle, sun followed by clouds... Can you capture the lapping of water or the trotting of horses by using alliteration and trochaic meter?

HINTS FOR DEVELOPING A VOICE 1. What would be this person’s favorite saying? What would be the person’s advice to you?

2. What is the person’s type of language?

3. Write a letter from the person.

4. Remember a birthday and try to speak in the language of that time in the person’s childhood.

5. Consider point of view: do you want to use first person?

______CHARACTER SKETCH (See assignment on 540; good models are Updike’s “Ex-Basketball Player” and Clifton’s “Miss Rosie” 518-22.) Write a profile in poetry (at least 15 lines, free verse or occasional rhyme and use of repetition) of someone you know well. (It can be you.) I strongly encourage you to use a photograph as a way to remember gestures, moods, a moment in time. You must use at least one simile or metaphor. How can you SHOW details which capture the person’s character by describing appearance, conversations with others, actions or one event? Do a rough draft and CAREFUL revision. Check for a creative title, words to describe character traits, and correct commas. Turn in notes/prewriting, rough draft(s), final draft, editing sheet. On the rough draft, tell how you received this idea.