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Poetry talk!
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Poetry talk!
Poetry talk!
Because, yes. Since the CB currently has a bunch of active poets, I thought that I'd make this thread where we can get together and chat about poetry and exchange advice. Where do you find inspiration and themes? How do you find a good tempo? And how do you guys manage to make things rhyme so easily?
Right I'm terrible at making intros, so I'm just going to post this.
submitted by Ultimatium
(August 8, 2023 - 2:22 am)
(August 8, 2023 - 2:22 am)
Hello! Cool idea! Well, I find inspiration from everyday life. Like I wrote a poem about dropping my pencil on the floor in class, or getting paint on my hand and eating salty chips and locking them (this one was yesterday)! Sometimes I ask people to give me random prompts, so I wrote a poem about a T-rex dancing in the rain once. Sometimes I write poems about my poems or... well, most of the time, I'm just stream-of-consciousness thinking, and suddenly I have a poem in my head! As for rhyming... hmmm... rhymes come pretty naturally to me usually. Maybe it's because of practice? I also love words so maybe that too. Whenever I can't rhyme a poem, I sing the alphabet and make each letter rhyme to see if it can be used. If that doesn't work, then sometimes I change the line I'm trying to rhyme with, sometimes I change the rhyme pattern Mid-poem (I write all sorts of poetry, with all different patterns and stuff), and sometimes, yes, I put the poem aside to do other stuff. Maybe read a bunch of rhyming poems and reread your poems when you have to rhyme a line so the flow comes more naturally? Idk. I didn't really take a poetry class about that (just different kinds of poetry and their rules and stuff), so yeah. Again for the tempo, reread your poem! If you just write a few lines, you'll probably still be reading it in a rhythm. Do what feels natural to you! But maybe this only works for me cuz I'm a spontaneous writer, so I don't plan my poems. But yeah. For example, I'm just gonna write something random (that's what I usually do too):
The chicken wobbled
On steady feet
Pecking the ground
For something to eat.
Ok, now that I wrote that, I can tell you more. So the line "the chicken wobbled" just appeared, if that makes sense, and so I was like, maybe write something about its feet? (I don't really know what I was thinking, just wrote it. And, wait a minute... STEADY feet??). Then I thought, what would a chicken be doing? Chickens peck the ground. Why? To look for something to eat. Hey, that rhymes! Yeah... that probably wasn't helpful. But reading just those four lines, you get a sense of a rhythm already. Even the first two! "The chicken, wobbled, on steady, feet..." Do you hear that one too?
Btw, what are everyone's favorite poetry forms? I love free-verse, any which way to rhyme, Abecedarian, and I've gotta say odes cuz I won a pretty cool contest (not saying which, but let's just say I got on media and it was against a buncha grown-up kids which I'm pretty proud of) with one! And others. :)
And favorite poems/poets? As you can see from my name, The Tyger is one of my faves!
(August 8, 2023 - 10:20 am)
But anyways, interested in hearing what other poets think too!
(August 8, 2023 - 6:02 pm)
Ah, poetry. To me, poetry is a bit like a story, but easier to write and shorter, with more symbolism. As for your questions, I find that nature gives me the best inspiration, as well as feelings. It's good to write poems about topics that are more meaningful to you, as you can get more words out. As for tempo, I'm not that good at it, but I just kind of...do my best. Like I try to do similar syllable numbers or words in each line. As for rhyming, I'm actually quite bad at finding rhyming words, so I just use a website and find rhyming words that work the best in my poem. :D Happy poem making!
Here's a poem btw:
Poetry
Poetry is a wonderful way
To convey what you want to say
All strung into beautiful lines
With tempos and words that rhyme
From nature to emotions
All crashing like oceans
Poetry is what people do
To show the truth, to show their view
(August 8, 2023 - 7:16 pm)
Yes, I agree! And wonderful poem, it conveys everything beautifully!
(August 8, 2023 - 10:13 pm)
A little advice: Don't be so determined to make everything rhyme that each line is only vaguely related to the previous and barely makes any sense. Instead, by open to changing the last word of the lines instead of being attached to them. And it helps to use a thesaurus when you need to regulate the number of syllables in each line, to create more rhythm, use a fixed rhyme scheme, etc.
(August 9, 2023 - 12:24 pm)
I love making poems more then reading them, really. But I really love reading the ones that those on the CB come up with for sure.
I find that I express how I feel about a certain thing into my poems more than anything. My themes... hmmm. I usually think about what time of year it is, and then base a lot of my work off of that. Like if it's fall, I'll generally write about winter coming, the lovely leaves, animals going into hibernation, ect ect. Or I just happen upon a random thing that seems extra inspirational so ya!
(August 9, 2023 - 2:11 pm)
Oh, I love writing poetry! I haven't written a ton lately - I've been in more of prose-y mood lately (that's just how it works for me), but I do love writing it. The CB is the place that got me into writing poetry, actually!
I think I like writing poetry so much because some of the things I love most when it comes to writing are description and character, and poetry is basically just that; you can use it to describe a specific moment, or to really get inside someone's head. Poetry is also very personal, in a way prose often isn't. It's also much more free that prose, I think - strategic line breaks can add another dimension to the poem, and you don't even have to write in complete sentences. Also you can chuck capitalization out the window, if you'd like. It looks prettier and flows better that way, in my opinion.
Anyway, that's why I like writing poetry. So, advice. For inspiration - just notice things, I guess. That includes noticing the way you're feeling. You never know when you'll be struck with some inspiration. I've written poetry about falling leaves, polaroid cameras, the polluted beach at the park near my house. And each of those things - they aren't just those things; falling leaves can be symbolic of death or change; you might have memories attached to polaroid cameras, or ponderings about how the sparkling glass of a polluted beach could be so beautiful when it's just trash - and attached to those things are emotion. Poetry is very much about emotion, I think - even with a poem that seems to be pure description, the word choice is bound to convey some sort of emotion.
...I don't know if that was very helpful, or even made much sense. I might be back later with more incoherent advice~
(August 12, 2023 - 7:17 pm)
its a well known fact (not actually well known) that i cant write poems. i dont know why, its not like i have a tragic poem related backstory, they just don't happen naturally happen. writing is easy for me, i get these little pictures in my head, and then string them together with scenes in between, and it makes. a thing. maybe its my fault, it isnt easy for me so i just don't do it. question for the poets, how do you poet!?
(August 12, 2023 - 9:30 pm)
Hmm...I don't rlly know how to explain this. It just kind of comes to me. I get an idea in my head, like writing, and I think about the images or meaning I want to convey, like the moral of a story. Then I just kind of write it. It doesn't always have to rhyme, and I find that although rhyming sounds good, freestyle is a little less restricting in a way, but either works. So you said how you get these pictures in your head when you write, and it would probably be similar for me in poetry. I often don't revise poems (well I never have, really) and I sometimes don't know how it will end until I write it or I know how it will end but not the beginning. So just try to make poems the same way you write a story, and find what you want to convey, and just write. I understand if it isn't your thing, as it doesn't come naturally to everyone. But I hope this somewhat helps!
(August 12, 2023 - 11:35 pm)
yes, thats how i write prose. the ideas just happen, and i feel like i should make them more concrete and real. i guess inspiration just works different for different people. which is okay. i don't really have some deep desire to be a poet or anything like that. i just wanted to know how it works, and now i do. thanks man.
(August 13, 2023 - 11:44 am)
Ha, I was asking that for years. I still am! Here's my advice for you:
- It doesn't have to rhyme. When you're starting out, you may find it helpful to have a specific template, but that can also make it feel harder - it depends on the person! So if you're really struggling with rhymes and tempo, try writing free verse (poetry without any specific rules).
- Practice. Practice practice practice. Don't push yourself to write poems when you've got no inspiration, but remember that the more you write the better you get. Looking back and comparing my first poem in my poetry file to my most recent one, I see how much I've gotten better.
- Remember poetry can be a lot of things. You can write a story with it, but it can also be about something more specific - one interesting poetry prompt is to pick something or someone you love and write about it without saying what it is. So maybe describe your favorite season without ever naming it. Or one of your best friends. You don't have to describe what this looks like if you don't want to, because poetry is mainly focused on how things make you feel.
- Don't always take it too seriously! If you're not feeling serious, then don't make yourself write serious poems. You can also try writing funny ones.
- Look at other people's poetry for inspiration! I learned so much of what I know now just reading other's amazing work on the regular poetry thread.
- Try entering the poetry contest on here. It gives you specific prompts to focus on as well as feedback on your work.
And if you are looking to write poetry with templates, you can try some of these:
1. An I Am Poem. A simple poem about yourself, usually beginning each line with the word "I" and describing things about yourself that may not be obvious at first glance.
2. A haiku. While a little tricky, these are fun. The template is simple - make the first line five syllables, make the second line seven syllables, and make the third one five syllables again.
3. Blackout poems. I haven't done one of these, but they look super cool - it's basically where you take a page from an old book and pick a few words off it to make a poem, then cover every other word with black marker. I also seen people make drawings to go with their blackout poems.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
(August 13, 2023 - 7:26 am)
oh, yeah ive done a couple of those as assignments and stuff, but they make me feel really uncomfortable to do. maybe its because when youre writing, say, a short story, the "i" is explicitly not me, its the main character, a separate person from myself, the author. and i dont have a problem expressing deep feelings that the character had. but if its a poem, that "i" really does start to feel like me. the stuff im expressing starts to feel too personal.
also i hate rhyming
(August 13, 2023 - 11:41 am)
Fair. Would it help if you didn't have to show it to anybody?
You can also write poems from a fictional character's point of view. Or just scrap the I Am thing all together - it was just an idea.
Then don't make it rhyme
(August 13, 2023 - 3:58 pm)
yeah, at that point it feels less like poetry and more like stylized writing, which is most of my stuff anyway. i tried writing poems e e cummings style, all lowercase, no rhymes or punctuation, but it just didnt feel right. maybe im too small minded when it comes to poetry
(August 13, 2023 - 8:27 pm)
Maybe try nonsense poems?? Like, the poem doesn't have to have any meaning at all, just write! Doesn't have to be deep, can just be... like what an elephant is wearing at a tea party! Then you can do a list poem like
A top hat
With a copper sash
And a wig to follow suit.
And done! Idk. Or, as you said, you could write like what your characters are doing? Like, umm...
A sunny day
Joe walks out
Goes to the store
For a jug of milk
Steps into traffic,
Joe, watch out! Ok... woah that got a bit dark there... and it rhymes a bit... I'm horrible at examples...
Or you could follow the So Much Depends on a Red Wheelbarrow (and variations), which doesn't rhyme at all?
(August 13, 2023 - 9:30 pm)