Last month I posted about four ways to roll out the welcome mat for our readers by providing easily accessible openings. And I said, if the opening is too longwinded then readers may not have time to figure out your point, or the why of the piece. Too obscure and immediately readers must decide if it’s going to be worth their precious time to figure things out. Too overused, trite, or tiresome and readers may think there are better things … Read More »

It’s the opening of a new year. So, let’s talk about openings. You want your home to have curb appeal and your front door to be inviting—to say Welcome! as it opens. (At least most of us do.) It’s the same with a piece of writing. The last thing you want to do is to put a roadblock, or an overstuffed couch, in the way. Openings are tricky—help your reader Poet Billy Collins says, “Usually I try to create a … Read More »

I’ve been thinking about how one generates ideas for poems, stories, novels—or anything for that matter, like engineered new-fangled whatnots, or works of visual or auditory art. I suspect some of you are like me, wasting time thinking you don’t have an idea. And so, you don’t write or make other kinds of art. Last year I attended a program by Florida professor and poet David Kirby (FSU) hosted by the Florida State Poetry Association. During that session he talked … Read More »

Sit your chastushka down and raise the vodka in salute. Does that sound a little naughty? Well, it might. The chastushka is a short funny, ironic, or naughty Russian verse form, often on the same intellectual level as the limerick. If you’re quick on the draw and love working with silly rhymes, or satirical themes, the chastushka is for you. It can be a lot of fun. It’s a folk style that’s engendered many a rowdy competition—or friendly one. The … Read More »

In my FWA posting for last month we dove into the tetractys, a poetry short form from Greece.  This month let’s look closely at the pensee. The pensee (pronounced pahn-say) is a short syllabic form with specific attributes. But before we get into those let’s backtrack a little. The word pensee means a thought, or reflection, in French. When we speak of a pensee we are referring to a thought expressed in a literary way, such as the short form … Read More »

Go on … think of a poetry short form you know. Probably, the first one that comes to mind is the haiku, or maybe, the limerick. I bet that’s what would come to mind for most folks. Or, if you’re familiar with Japanese forms you might also think of the tanka, or haibun. For many American writers that’s about the extent of our short form poetry knowledge. But there’s a vast world of short forms from almost every continent. (Probably, … Read More »