writemore

I write in a lot of genres and enjoy the diversity, but one of my most favorite things to do is rhyme.  Several of my short pieces have been published by recognized magazines for children including WeeOnes, My Friend, and Hopscotch for Girls.

So what do I like so much about writing in rhyme?

I guess maybe I can relate to the musical feel of a rhyme, being a trained musician and music teacher.  I like the arc of rhyming lines and the rhythmic bounce to the stanzas.

But writing in rhyme is not easy - at least not if you want to do it well.  Editors and publishers cringe at a vast majority of rhyming manuscripts they receive that include poor rhythm and near rhymes. 

But perhaps one of the biggest “issues” with a rhyming manuscript is that it must still tell the story.  How can you test out your rhyming manuscript and see if it holds up?

Try writing out the story in prose form.  Does it have a conflict and resolution?  Does the protagonist develop and grow by the end?  If you can’t find these structural points in your rhyme, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

Also, join a rhyming critique group and get some feedback from other writers and readers of rhyme.  And above all, read your rhyming manuscript aloud to see if the lines flow.  Also, have someone else read the work aloud.  If they stumble on your rhythm, you need to re-think it.

Here are a few web resources for writers of rhyme:

http://www.write4kids.com/rhyme.html

http://terrypierce.blogspot.com/2007/10/writing-in-rhyme-part-i.html

http://terrypierce.blogspot.com/2007/10/writing-in-rhyme-part-ii.html

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/rhyme-time/posts/tag/rhyme/

http://www.smartwriters.com/content/view/351/

http://www.hopevestergaard.com/rhymes.php

http://skateboardmom.homestead.com/annex.html

http://www.underdown.org/mf-picture-books.htm

With articles by well-known authors like Laura Backes, Dori Chaconas, Harold Underdown and Margot Finke, their advice should get you well on your way to rhyming.

Until later,

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to rhyme I go.

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