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General format for poetry?



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Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:30 pm
Beauties_Prototype says...



Well im not quite sure if there even is one...
See...
Ive always wanted to delve into the world of poetry but never dared incase I proceed to make a huge fool of myself by doing it entirely wrong...
So are there any rules and regulations towards poetry?
Just wondering...
  





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Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:02 pm
backgroundbob says...



My word, that is a huge question :) and certainly a debatable one - people have been arguing over what constitutes 'art' and 'poetry' for generations, and I doubt they'll stop any time soon.

However, some general tips:

1. READ. Probably the most important overall aspect of you writing poetry is how much reading you do. Go down to the library/bookstore and grab some professional poetry - see how it's done. The more you read, the better an idea you'll get of common techniques and styles, and the more effective your poetry will be.

2. Be original! The internet is absolutely flooded with people who write about what they know; strangely enough, they all seem to know the same thing. It's not that they don't have their own unique experiences, but rather that they seem to think that writing about love/heartbreak/identity crises/depression/etc. is the most beautiful and poetic thing by default. Truth is, those of us who have been around a little while are sick to death of reading it.
Whatever your subject matter, try to make it something out of the ordinary; if you're going to write about love, describe it through an image that people don't usually associate with it - a single mother, or an old man with his dog. Make us see an image and make a connection that we don't usually. Make us see something new; make sure your poem contains a new and interesting element.

3. Technique. Learn about rhythm, rhyme, meter - there are books on basic poetry, there are FAQs all over the web. Basically, learn to make it sound good. When you read it out loud, it should roll smoothly off your tongue, or burst out like fire, or jar and scrape, depending on how you have intentionally written it.

following on from that...

4. Read it out loud! It may seem silly, but it helps immensely - read it aloud over and over again, make sure it sounds just as you'd want it to. And make sure you're not reading how you want it to be - look at the paper/screen and read exactly what's written there, and *then* rewrite based on what you want.

Those are only a couple of hints, but I hope they help you out a bit. Obviously we don't expect you to get all of them perfect all at once! They take practice and help - when you post poetry, make sure to take to heart and mind all the advice people give you, because as someone who started off very badly and has gotten at least a little better, other people's advice is the reason I've improved at all. If I hadn't listened to that, I'd be absolutely rubbish!

Hope that helps a little.

r
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