| Jan 11, 2006 @ 1:25 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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from a poster
1. if you write everyday, you'll get better at writing every day.
2. if it's boring to you, it's boring to your reader.
3. get a writing routine and stick with it.
4. poetry does NOT have to rhyme. poetry does NOT have to rhyme. 
5. resist stereotypes in real life and in your writing
6. writers read. writers read a lot. writers read all the time.
7. make lists of your favorite words and books and places and things
8. there doesn't always have to be a moral to the story
9. always bring a notebook. always bring a spare pen.
10. go for walks. dance. pull weeds. do the dishes. write about it.
11. don't settle on just one style. try something new.
12. learn to tell both sides of the story.
12 1/2. stop looking at this poster! write something! 
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 1:54 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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kattsmeow
Posts: 21,270
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4. poetry does NOT have to rhyme. poetry does NOT have to rhyme.
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 2:13 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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i know. i was growling and gritting my teeth the whole time.  the ones who insist on doing it are the WORST at it. tic 
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 2:20 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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danae74
Posts: 601
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More applause
They're all great, but these are  :
3. get a writing routine and stick with it.
6. writers read. writers read a lot. writers read all the time.
10. go for walks. dance. pull weeds. do the dishes. write about it.
Oh, and did somebody already mention...poetry does NOT have to rhyme?
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 2:41 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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Oh, and did somebody already mention...poetry does NOT have to rhyme?
danae, u dont know, girl. there are some dreadful people out there with pen in hand.
i'll admit i'm BAD about not writing. i get testy and in a funk, knowing full well if i picked the pen up, we'd all heave a collective sigh of relief.
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 2:46 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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danae74
Posts: 601
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I know what you mean! It's like something has to build up to a critical mass inside, and then it's either write or wring somebody's neck...
I can be the same way with painting, but for some reason it's easier for me to stick to routine with that. Maybe because it's more mechanical, most of the time? Don't know, but I write about it all the time 
****
Oh, and that's another I'd add:
13.) If you can't write, write about not being able to write.
[Edited on 1/11/2006 2:47 PM]
[Edited on 1/11/2006 3:04 PM]
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 3:04 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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Hooks
Posts: 163
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4. poetry does NOT have to rhyme. poetry does NOT have to rhyme. Whew! That makes writing Haiku so much easier for me!
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 3:18 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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critical mass inside
my twin! where have u been all my life? lol
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 3:30 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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danae74
Posts: 601
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There's a book written by a woman who's been an editor for over twenty years, and she outlines the common traits of the vast majority of the writers she's dealt with. It's spooky how many of them are accurate!
The title is "Forest for the Trees: Advice to Writers from an Editor" but I can't recall her name right now (I'm at work.)
I wish she hadn't said one thing in that book, though: maybe writers shouldn't give up smoking  I've been using her words as an excuse for three years now...
****
Found the book on Amazon: the author's name is Betsy Lerner. It wasn't the greatest book of its kind I've ever read, but it wasn't bad.
[Edited on 1/11/2006 3:37 PM]
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| Jan 11, 2006 @ 3:31 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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definitelydi
Posts: 12,602
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5. resist stereotypes in real life and in your writing
But it's so fun and easy! 
[Edited on 1/11/2006 3:32 PM]
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 12:57 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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catalyst157
Posts: 37
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I'm not a writer.. I'm a sales person  but I like to write.. trouble is.. can't spell .. can't type! 
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 1:05 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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chinabull2000
Posts: 7,012
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Ah yes, I hate it when people feel the NEED to make their poetry rhyme!! It should only rhyme when it rhymes naturally, if you force it then it's total crap, usually.
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 1:09 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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beachnutRU
Posts: 3,228
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Gee that is pretty cool poster Lecri. I like that.
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 4:03 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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rhymes naturally
exactly! methinks some try just way too hard when it's just not there. i know my first poem paraphrased from a greeting card just sucked! then i entered a poetry contest (ten years later) with my landlady's daughter to appease her. it was off the top of my head, and it was about one of my professors. a german prof who studied classical (greek emphasis) history.  it won, and my mouth stayed on the ground for a month.
it helped me to study literature, traditional forms, etc. for the experience, but i prefer my own style, and so do the publishers. btw, i love this poster, too, beach. and catalyst, u can always find a dictionary if u really insist. 
[Edited on 1/12/2006 4:04 PM]
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 4:23 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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PerhapsLove
Posts: 643
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Methinks if one must write in rhyme
it is such a waste of time.
Far better used - for you and me -
are simple words that bring us glee.
Abcedarian, by contrast, does evoke far greater happiness if just kept light - maintaining not only prose - quite randomly selected, truly understandable, very wry, xerotic yet zany.
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| Jan 12, 2006 @ 6:29 PM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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sciurusniger
Posts: 2,959
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No, poetry need rarely rhyme.
But still, there is a place and time,
As for all things both big and small,
For rythm thus to conquer all.
And if thou doubt a rhyme most fair,
Then lost is wind on sultry air.
To match the sound to gentlest thought -
'Tis nobler than what prose has wrought.
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| Jan 13, 2006 @ 2:30 AM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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peaches_n_cream2002
Posts: 302
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It is very true poetry does not have to rhyme and it really bugs me when it rhymes every other line, you know, the ABAB format.. It's cute if someone is doing it for a joke, but as actual art.. it's the easiest form to write in.
I do rhyme somewhat though when I write poetry, but it's more like every 4-6 lines there will be a rhyme... or i'll go 6 lines without rhyming and then two lines in a row will rhyme.
I change it up a lot. I like my style.. because it varies. I've written some crappy stuff in my day, but I've also written some stuff people have really truly liked.
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| Jan 13, 2006 @ 2:53 AM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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well, perhaps, not everyone has the hang of couplets (and never will!). ur wasting an incredible talent. u would rival chaucer and dorothy parker.
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| Jan 13, 2006 @ 3:16 AM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need
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PerhapsLove
Posts: 643
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Lec.....
Funny you mention Dorothy.....
She was quite a gal. One of my favorites of hers...
I like to have a martini -
two at the very most.
Three, and I'm under the table.
Four, and I'm under my host.
And.....
I am QUITE surprised you missed the abcedarian.
To most here, it is excessively nympholeptic but I did think you and four others would "get it."
Well, one out of three so far. I will keep my eyes crossed for the other two.
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| Jan 13, 2006 @ 11:13 AM |
the only 12 1/2 writing rules you'll ever need |
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lecriveuse
Posts: 1,865
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I am QUITE surprised you missed the abcedarian
well, that's all right, perhaps. sometimes i surprise myself. stick around; i'll be doing something fairly amusing or surprising in another minute. 
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