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Q&A How do you manage all the different aspects of writing poetry?

1) Stop fixing everything at once. Write your first round to get it on paper. On your second round, pick one thing to fix: sharpen your rhymes, for example. Next round, work on the meter. Let...

posted 12y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T11:59:59Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3884
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:54:58Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3884
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T01:54:58Z (over 4 years ago)
_1) Stop fixing everything at once._

Write your first round to get it on paper.

On your second round, pick _one_ thing to fix: sharpen your rhymes, for example.

Next round, work on the meter.

Let it sit for a day. Come back with fresher eyes and work on word choice.

_2) Kill your darlings._

Editing oneself is one of the hardest parts of writing. What this phrase means is that you have to be willing to let go of the perfectly-turned phrase, the elegantly metered couplet, if it doesn't fit the particular poem it's in. Put it in a slush file and start the line over. Rewrite the entire poem if you can't extract the line that's blocking you.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-09-09T12:19:03Z (over 12 years ago)
Original score: 8