So now that we've almost decided which project to do, let's start deciding who can do what.
It looks as if we're going to do the knowledge book project according to the votes of ScarletDream, FatCowSis, Skydreamer, Pompadour, AfterTheStorm, Megsug, and myself.
Here's what we'll need people to sign up to do.
Create the images we'll use to advertise externally - I think I'm the only one with photoshop, so I'll do this.
Decide what articles/places we want to advertise -
Write up brief descriptions/pick excerpts to use/write reaction pieces of the links we make to go into the 'link log'/'anthology'/thing -
Formatting for the article/thing -
Things we still need to decide include
What are we going to call this?
Do we want to add brief descriptions,
or use excerpts,
or write reaction pieces
to go with the link and the picture in the collection?
Where do you want to put it?
Should we accept external suggestions?
For now, let's focus on getting people signed up to do different parts of this. If we need to simplify afterwards, we can answer some of the more important questions to determine how much we can do.
Cabin Creation
30 posts in this topic.
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Alright, sounds like a plan. It'll take some work but I'll help get it done.
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Sounds good.
I can help with whatever is left empty. -
I can write short descriptions
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FatCowSis and ScarletDreams can search for the articles they want to advertise. Make sure you check more than just the knowledge bank. We should include the rules forums in this too, at least I think.
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Ok sounds good
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I can attempt to do whatever you need me to.
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Got it! I'll get on it as soon as I can
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I'll take whatever spot's least open.
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I probably won't get the images done until later tonight, so please keep that in mind as we move on.
Goldflame, I'm going to have you edit the articles and help write them.
Ongoeslife, I'd like you to edit and write articles too if you feel comfortable doing so. If you don't, then please help ScarletD. with finding the articles that we should use.
Here's our updated list of jobs.
Create Images- Aley
Find Articles- ScarletDreams14, FatCowSis
Write synopsis- megsug, GoldFlame, ongoeslife
Format the post- ScarletDreams14, Aley
Edit the synopsis'- megsug, GoldFlame, ongoeslife
Megs, goldflame, ongoeslife, please decide what sort of blip about the articles/threads you want to write and make them about the same size.
If anyone has any suggested articles, toss them up here.
-Aley -
Oops, sorry. Meant to phrase it as "occupied," not "open."
I've been busy and haven't had a chance to catch up, but I take it we're doing a link log of sorts, with pictures, plus an excerpt, summary, etc.
Personally, I think we should scrap the excerpt, because KB articles exist where they do for offering a bucket of information. It'd just seem random.
A catchy blurb? -
A catchy blurb would be good too!
I just think it should be a list of more than just pictures, like a quick reminder of what the link is to. -
Ooh, I can help with whatever's open. I was thinking we could do something creative with the blurbs/excerpts, although it'd take some more effort. Like, for a poetry KB article we could have a snappish rhyme/jingle/whatever, since that'd be more ... I dunno ... appealing?
But eh just give me a job and I'll get to it. -
"Decide what articles/places we want to advertise"
I could try to also help with this! Or anything else that's left open!
I agree with Pomps that we should do something creative to catch people's attention. Maybe like a fun news headline, or something. -
Well, I believe I'm in formatting, right?
I also was sent out to grab some KB articles for poetry, and I grabbed three.
Emotional PoetrySpoiler
WHAT DO WE BEGIN WITH?
Seeing as a large percentage of us are teenagers, we tend to like to write about our emotions. We’re all on hormonal highs, who doesn’t get upset now and then and wants to put it into word? But rather than be like everyone else in the world and write in a journal, we want to write a poem so we can share it with are friends, because misery likes company, right? So we start writing…
I’m drowning in my tears,
Because I feel so alone.
I see so many other happy people.
Why am I alone?
I’m scared to talk to anyone.
What will they think?
They will think I am alone.
Now, mind I wrote this as a bit of a hyperbole, to exaggerate it. I also just wrote it for this article, so it is really lacking true emotion behind it, but hopefully I can make you think there is emotion behind it, in the way I fix it up.
SO WHAT IS WRONG?
Don’t think I’m saying everything like looks like the above is horrible I’m just showing you how you can move one step up. The two things I would like to pick on for emotional poetry are the poet’s focus, and word choice. (And maybe I’ll scatter some other things in for the heck of it and not realize it.)
There is, honestly, so much to consider when writing a poem, but I can only touch on so much here. I’m ignoring style, structure, rhyming, and rhythm. Forget it exists, for now. Let’s stick to the points I want to work with.
What do I mean when I say the poet’s focus? I’m talking about who we are thinking of when we are writing the poem. Me, of course! I bet you are thinking that, aren’t you? And it’s true, when you are writing an emotional poem about something you experienced and want to express, you are going to become a very selfish writing. If you don’t plan on turning this emotional conundrum into good-to-read poetry, then forget I’m even talking to you. But, if you want to right real poetry that people are going to enjoy, you are going to want to forget yourself all together and think of the reader while writing.
Don’t tell us how you feel, NO, don’t even show us how you feel. Make us feel it. Emotional poetry often times turn into, to steal Snoink’s word, a shopping list. You list the things that happened, followed by a few lines of boo-hoo’s, and call it a day. This isn’t good enough. Put us in your seat, and yes do tell us why we are feeling this way, but make sure we feel it. You want to make us cry/scream/laugh/freak out, what ever you are feeling you want the reader to feel. This is just as close to ‘show, don’t tell’ as poetry will ever get, because telling is the most boring thing in the world. Showing is one step up, and from there is feeling.
For more on this or related topics:
Navel Gazing by Snoink.
Making Your Reader Feel by Me
On to the other idea, word choice. Since words are what make up a poem, we should use good words, right? Why use things like ugly, crying, and pain, when you can say deformed, weeping, and torture? Exactly. For every word out there, there is one better than it. (In most cases.) Really all I’m saying is, when writing the poem, don’t choose flimsy words that are thrown around like anything. Pain is such a general term, but is it torture, or ache? Both torture and ache have a connotation with them, they make you think of things besides just pain, and that is what makes them good. Pain, on the other hand, is a plan-and-simple word. Strive for the better words, the words that express how you feel/want your reader to feel in a more vivid way.
AN EXAMPLE
So, do we get to see an example of these two things in word? Of course. But, I must warn you, I have never been the best at these kinds of things, which is surprising seeing as I’m writing an article about it? But I will do my best. Mostly, I just want to show the usage of these two skills, so it doesn’t have to be amazing poetry. I’m also over critical of myself.
In the halls where people walk
You feel your chest tighten.
Where you should be normal like them,
You choke and want to hide.
Let yourself be consumed,
Dive into the terror.
Know that they are watching you:
Soon it will all be over…
I’m not exactly sure this was a good example? I’m writing it on the spur of the moment. So, instead, I shall just link you to an actual emotional poem I wrote, that I assume should be better than the above. Anxiety by Me
AN ENDING
I like closure. So to close, I’m going to quote some people. Also, I would like to make a note: I was bad, I only covered what I will call negative poetry. I didn’t talk about happy poetry, sorry folks. I’m sure the same can be said for that, too, though.
\\\"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.\\\" - T.S. Eliot
\\\"Poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost as a remembrance.\\\" - John Keats
Cliches in PoetrySpoiler
Cliches in Poetry
So what makes a “cliché”? In my opinion, a cliché is a well worn idea presented in a well worn way. People are irritated by cliches because, often times, they have been subjected to reading them over and over again. But, in my opinion, cliches are not always a bad thing.
What makes a cliché good?
Well, to start, a cliché becomes a cliché because people write about it often, right? Well, if people are writing about it often, it's probably because they think about it often. If people are thinking about something often, it's typically something that most everyone can relate to. On the topic of love, I cannot tell you how many poems and songs and stories I have read. Same with the topic of breakups and loss... so why are these topics so popular, especially with teenagers? Because usually, this is about the time that you really start to experience these emotions, so you write about them.
In my opinion, cliches “done right” are a good thing. Pick a topic that has already been well used and worn and then putting a new twist on it that is completely you. People often want a cliché topic, whether they can accept that or not, they want something that they can relate to and that they have been through in some form or another. And usually any topic like this can easily fall into the “cliche” territory.
What makes a cliché bad?
The first thing that makes a cliché bad is the use of uninteresting and flat language. If you're saying, things like “Oh my love, you are my dove!” chances are... not going to be a super interesting piece. One way to avoid the feel of a droll, already done poem, is to try to not use a really obvious rhyme scheme. Rhyme can be really effective, if done properly. However, choosing words only because they rhyme usually becomes a bit too much. If the words feel forced and unnatural, but they rhyme, chances are they have become a hindrance to your piece, rather than a help.
My favorite way to “spruce up” a poem is to check out a thesaurus, I know we all used them in elementary and middle school, but for poetry writing they really can be a huge benefit. If you're looking for just the right word and it's not there, don't be afraid to look it up! I do it all the time, and I think that it adds some much needed umph to my writing.
Using interesting and effective imagery is another way, and I know, people say that all of the time. Show don't tell! Give us images!
What does that mean though?
“The little girl walked through the meadow.”
Vs.
“The little girl smiled radiantly,
her legs being tickled by the
long wheat grass and
mid summer flowers,
that seemed to grow to just
for her amusement.”
Without the image, you can picture what is going on, but with the images, you can almost feel it. You want to draw a reader in completely, you want them to smell and feel what's going on around them. Give the reader those little details that bring the meadow off of a story page and into their own mine, so that they feel as though they are there with that little girl.
A good way to write effective imagery? Close your eyes, and when you picture all that is happening in your poem, write it down. It doesn't have to be poetic at first, just write down all that you see and feel and smell in the situation, so that when we read it, we see it and feel it and smell it too. Once you have all the images out onto paper, incorporate them into your poem. Those little details can really help bring a reader into the story. Usually as a writer, you're already there. You're already seeing all of these things, so often times it's very easy to forget the little details that make us go “oooh.”
On Love Poems
I think that love poetry may easily be the most difficult to write about, because it has been done so much and so many different ways. It's difficult to put a new twist onto a love story, because in the long run, no one is really going to be able to feel it quite the way that you do, so that makes it even more difficult for us to be brought in. One way, is again, to focus on your senses, focus on what you feel when you're with that person, and do your best to make us feel it too. One thing that I always find interesting about love is scent. It seems sort of silly, right? But scent is one of the biggest factors in attraction, and though describing smells effectively can be quite difficult, it's actually a pretty effective addition to a poem about love lol. But really, focusing on all of the senses, how you feel, how their skin feels, that little freckle on their neck that your eyes are always drawn to. Those little details are a really great way to bring a reader into the poem with you.
And then, of course there is the daunting task of describing how love makes you feel. Because for everyone, certain things are different, certain things are the same, etc. Everyone experiences things differently. Another good way to approach this is to think of all of the things that are happening to you physically when you are around them, because it's much easier for an audience member to latch onto a physical change than an emotional one. It's sort of a “ask yourself” scenario. Ask yourself what you're doing when your feeling all butterfly ridden and swooney. Once you really start to think about it, the physical reaction becomes more of a focus. That way the reader isn't seeing things like “I love you so much, you will never know, my heart is so heavy, it might just explode!”
In my opinion, love poems are easily the hardest to do effectively lol, but there are my few helpful hints.
And for a third one
Kiss My AssonanceSpoiler
Poetry. What is it?
The answer is, especially with the invention of free verse, wrapped in controversy and dispute. The current definition is a vague "literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm".
So, poems use special techniques to refine feelings, experiences or whatever else is being written about. Then how do you do it? Well, the answer to that may be even more difficult. But, here is a cross-section of tools at your disposal to help with the distillation process.
1) Simile, metaphor, personification
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two ideas or things, using the words "like" or "as". Look at these examples from literature:
"I wander'd lonely as a cloud"
- William Wordsworth, The Daffodils
"And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,"
- D.H. Lawrence, Snake
"hours crawled by like years,"
- Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman
Metaphor
In this comparison, one object is used to represent another. These two objects must have some common traits. Here are some examples:
"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;"
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
(The sun is represented as an eye.)
"The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,"
- Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman
(The moon is compared with a ship, the road with a ribbon.)
"Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow."
- Langston Hughes, Dreams
(Life is called a bird and a field of snow.)
Personification
This means giving human traits to a non-human thing. (Some people derive enormous enjoyment from calling it "anthropomorphism" and watching painful spasms of ignorance cross young poets' faces.)
"Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade"
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
"The kind old sun will know."
- Wilfred Owen, Futility
(To see an extended personification, you can read my poem, Culprit, where a person represents a fire.)
2) Assonance, consonance and alliteration
These sound devices are absolutely fantastic and so often ignored in modern poetry, but they give subtle and unpretentious atmosphere to a poem.
Alliteration is the trick of starting successive words with the same letters. The repeated sounds often describe the sound of the object of the poem, as in the first example below.
Assonance is the repetition of vowels inside successive words, absolutely beautiful and so subtle. Longer vowel sounds create a calm atmosphere, shorter vowel sounds create more energy.
Consonance is the repetition of letters or whole syllables inside successive words. Check out these examples:
“Beat! beat! drums! – Blow! bugles! blow!”
- Walt Whitman, Beat! Beat! Drums!
(Alliteration)
“He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,”
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Eagle
(Alliteration and consonance)
“And frightful a nightfall folded rueful a day”
- Gerald Manley Hopkins, The Wreck of the Deutschland
(Consonance)
“Hear the mellow wedding bells,”
- Edgar Allan Poe, Bells
(Assonance)
3) Caesura, enjambment and end-stopping
Caesuras occur when there is a pause in a line of poetry, usually coupled with a comma. It can also be described as “when a syntactic phrase ends in the middle of a line.” It is often used to create rhythm.
Enjambment is when an idea in one line is carried through to the other, without pause or change. The phrase does not stop at the end of the line, but continues on into the next.
End-stopping is when an idea ends with a line and is often heralded by a punctuation mark. The phrase ends at the end of the line.
“I am not prone to weeping, as our sex
Commonly are; the want of which vain dew
Perchance shall dry our pities; but I have
That honorable grief lodged here which burns
Worse than tears drown.”
- William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale
(Enjambment and caesuras)
“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by me only me is your doing,my darling)”
- E. E. Cummings, i carry your heart with me
(Yes, he did write it without those spaces, no typos. Cummings turned enjambment into an art itself.)
“A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.”
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
(Heavily end-stopped lines.)
4) Rhyme
Ha ha, yes, the old friend, or should I say old fiend? There are many different kinds of rhyme. Included in the bunch are:
Identical rhyme: Rhyming two identical words (horse rhymed with horse)
Perfect rhyme: The kind we know best (tactical - practical, sublime - grime)
Imperfect rhyme: A rhyme between a stressed and an unstressed syllable (bring and tiring)
Semi-rhyme: Rhyme with an extra syllable on one word (hold with bolder)
Half rhyme: Rhyming with only the final consonants (hard and bird, cold and chilled)
Syllabic rhyme: In which the last syllables of the words sound the same but are not necessarily spelt the same (potion and ashen, exact and intact)
Slant, oblique, imperfect rhyme: Rhymes sharing only a vowel sound, or only a consonant sound, so they really are no more than assonance and consonance (pen - gun, cake - hack, kid - big)
Head rhyme: Alliteration (black - block, crazy - crouch)
Rich rhyme: Rhyming with homonyms (read and reed, hail (frozen water) and hail (calling someone))
Eye rhyme: Rhymes that look like they should rhyme, but don’t (dove and move, head and bead)
Mind rhyme: Words that don’t rhyme at all, but make you think of ones that do... It’s weird, but works.
(I’m making a fire with sticks,
And building a hovel with bricks,
The magician is up to his tricks,
Three times three is...)
Did you think six? The answer is nine! Can’t you count? Don’t worry, it’s the mind rhyme that does it, your math skills are still fine!
All these types of rhyme are intertwined and often share names, so this guide is just to show you what you can get up to with the little blighters.
Rhyme binds lines and puts more stress on the rhyming words, so be careful with which words you rhyme, if you want to rhyme at all. Do not twist the meaning of the poem to fit the rhyme scheme - the rhyme should fit the meaning, not the other way around. Do not force rhymes either. Rhymes should be natural and unassuming - if they are not, you have committed the heinous sin of bad rhyming.
5) Humour
This is the best of all. Implementing humour in poems makes them a pleasure to read, and they are also instantly more original, seeing as the most current poetry is all doom-and-gloom. You can use satire, parody, sarcasm, irony, puns...
Satire: Exposes and mocks people’s vices or stupidity. This is often applied to political issues or public problems.
Parody: This means making a humorous imitation of another work, artist or genre.
Sarcasm: When irony is used for mockery or contempt. (As the couple walked into the empty restaurant, the man said, “Fortunately, we booked!”)
Irony: Expressing yourself humorously by saying the opposite of what you really want to say. (“Yeah, go on ahead, don’t put on the scarf, see where it gets you,” is a phrase commonly uttered by angry mothers.)
Puns: These use the different possible meanings of words, or alike-sounding words for humorous effect. (“This vacuum cleaner really sucks!”)
This brings me to the end of my terribly long soliloquy. I hope that you found it - if not educational, at least somewhat interesting.
Would do more, but I'm beat.
WIll search for me if needed to
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