Creative Writing

1. Creative Writing 10 Tips for Writing Poetry

2. Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself - it is the occurring which is difficult. -Stephen Leacock • What does this quote mean? How can this meaning be applied to poetry?

3. 10 Tips for Writing Poetry • Know your goal • Avoid Clichés • Avoid Sentimentality • Use Images • Use Metaphors and Similes • Use Concrete Words, instead of Abstract Words • Communicate Theme • Subvert the Ordinary • Rhyme with Caution • Revise

4. 1. Know your Goal • If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you get there? • Ask yourself: • What do you want your poem to “do”? • Describe a life event • Protest an injustice • Describe nature’s beauty • Once you know what you want the poem to “do”, you can align all elements of the poem to serve the main purpose.

5. Tone • The poem’s implied attitude toward its subject • It is an abstraction we create from the details of the poem’s language

6. “When I have fears that I may cease to be” (814) When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain, Before high-piled books, in charactery, Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain; When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,     Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance; And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, That I shall never look upon thee more, Never have relish in the faery power Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

7. 2. Avoid Clichés • Stephen Minot definesa cliché as: • "A metaphor or simile that has become so familiar from overuse that the vehicle … no longer contributes any meaning whatever to the tenor. It provides neither the vividness of a fresh metaphor nor the strength of a single unmodified word….The word is also used to describe overused but nonmetaphorical expressions such as 'tried and true' and 'each and every'" (Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction and Drama, 405).

8. Often Clichéd Poetic Elements • Imagery- language that appeals to the senses • Simile-a figure of speech that uses the words like or as to directly compare two seemingly unlike things • Metaphor-a figure of speech that compares or equates two basically different things, one object becomes the other. • Hyperbole- exaggeration or understatement in description • Theme-the central idea of a literary work usually expressed as a generalization about life, yet poems often have multiple themes. Be careful not to oversimplify the work.

9. 2. Avoid Clichés (con’t) • Clichés are overused metaphors, similes, and other non-metaphorical sayings. • Clichés can also be overused literary elements. • Overused Themes • Love, Loss, Flowers, etc. • Overused Character Types • Perfect hero, Young lover, etc. • Overused Plots • Lost love (Break-ups), Walking in Nature, etc.

10. 2. Avoid Clichés (con’t) • How to Improve a Cliché: • Determine what the original cliché is trying to say. • Think of an original way to describe what the cliché is trying to describe. • Create a phrase using the non-cliched way of description.

11. Sharp as a tack Busy as a bee Tired as a dog Dead as a doornail Know it like the back of my hand Quiet as a mouse Fixing Clichés

12. 3. Avoid Sentimentality • Sentimentality is: • Language "dominated by a blunt appeal to the emotions of pity and love” (131). • “When readers have the feeling that emotions like rage or indignation have been pushed artificially for their own sake, they will not take the poem seriously" (132). • Common subjects are: • Puppies • Relatives • Young Lovers

13. 4. Use Images • “Be a Painter in WORDS” • SHOW the reader; don’t just tell them • Poetry should stimulate six senses • Sight • Hearing • Smell • Touch • Taste • Kinesiology (our sense of motion)

14. Descriptive Writing • Describe the scenes depicted in the following famous paintings, commenting on all 6 senses. • Remember to avoid sentimentality and cliché.

15. Vincent Van Gogh

16. Tiananmen Square

17. Claude Monet

18. WWII

19. 5. Use Metaphor and Simile • Brings imagery and concrete images to your writing • Neither similes nor metaphors are more or less poetic than the other. • It is important to remember that comparison, inference, and suggestion are all important tools of poetry; similes and metaphors will aid those areas.

20. 6. Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words • Concrete words: things that people can experience with their senses. • Examples: • Warm • Dog • Brown • Abstract words: refer to concepts or feelings. • Examples: • Liberty • Happy • Love

21. 6. Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words (Con’t) • How to change abstract words into concrete words and images. • One way is to think of an object or a scene that evokes the abstract word. • Example: She felt happy. • Improvement: • Her smile spread a red tint across her cheeks.

22. 7. Communicate Theme • Poetry ALWAYS has a theme. • Theme is not just a topic. • Theme= Idea (Topic) + Opinion • Examples: • Topic: The Vietnam War • Theme: History shows that despite our claims to be peace-loving, unfortunately each person secretly dreams of gaining glory through conflict.

23. 8. Subvert the Ordinary • A Poet’s strength is the ability to see what other people see everyday in a new way. • You don’t have to create original subjects. • Rather a good poet takes an ordinary object, place, person, or idea; and comes up with a new perception of it.

24. 8. Subvert the Ordinary (Con’t) • Example: People ride the bus everyday. • Poet’s Interpretation: A poet looks at the people on the bus and imagines scenes from their lives. • A poet sees a 60 year old woman and imagines a grandmother who runs marathons. • A poet sees a 2 year old boy and imagines him painting with ruby nail polish on the walls of his home, and his mother trying not to respond in anger.

25. 9. Rhyme with Extreme Caution and Purpose • Rhyme and meter can be dangerous if used the wrong way. • Remember any sing-song nursery rhymes? • “The Ants Go Marching” • “Humpty Dumpty” • If you choose a rhyme scheme that makes your poem sound sing-song, it will detract from the quality of your poem.

26. 10. Revise • Put your poem away for a few days, and then come back to it. • When you re-read it, ask yourself: • Does anything seem confusing? Hard to follow? • Do you see anything that needs improvement that you overlooked the first time? • Often, when you are in the act of writing, you may leave out important details because you are so familiar with the topic. • Re-reading a poem helps you to see it from the "outsider's perspective" of a reader.

27. 10. Revise • Show your poem to others and ask for criticism. • Don't be content with a response like, "That's a nice poem." • You won't learn anything from that kind of response. • Instead, find people who will tell you specific things you need to improve in your poem.

28. Quiz Review • Know all skills related to the 10 tips of poetry. • Know the definitions of the following poetic elements: • Tone • Metaphor • Simile • Hyperbole • Rhyme • Assonance • Alliteration

29. Improving Clichés • Every dog has his day • Love is blind • Old as dirt

30. Creating Concrete Images Representing Abstract Concepts and Emotions • Jealousy • Anger