SOME FACTS ABOUT RHYME…

Rhyme is FUN! Kids love RHYME!

Writing rhyme for children’s books is not as easy as it looks!

Arguably rhyme is the most difficult style of writing to sell to a children’s publisher.

If you’re still keen on following your love of rhyme, here’s a recent publication that could help you on your way to “WRITING RHYME LIKE THE EXPERTS”!

Jackie Hosking’s small e-booklet, It’s all about rhythm And beat… is available through her blog site. Cost: $10

Jackie writes poetry for children and has numerous publications in Australian children’s magazines and anthologies.

This 12-page booklet is a step-by-step understanding of what makes meter work. So it can apply to any level – “meter is meter no matter what age“.

It starts off with the basics and eases into the more technical stuff. Easy enough to follow even for a newbie like me! I have my copy to the right of the screen. Not that I intend showing anyone my attempts! 🙂

Here are some of Jackie’s tips from her blog:

• Writing in verse is not as easy as it may first appear.
• There are three parts to writing publishable verse…
  • • STORY/THEME
    • RHYTHM (meter)
    • RHYME
  • Your story or your theme is the most important element.
  • Next comes the meter or the rhythm of your verse.
  • The rhyme should be incidental, an added bonus, not the main player.

Common Mistakes…

I have been writing and editing rhyming poems and stories in verse for many years now and below are some of the commons mistakes that I have encountered.

• Too many overused words…
  • came, went, walk, sat etc. Poetry is an economical medium. If someone is walking, how are they walking? Replace common verbs with more vibrant ones. Eg – tripping, scurrying, scuttling, sloping, gliding etc.
  • avoid too many adverbs. If someone is walking slowly, use strong verbs like, dragged or dawdled rather than the adverb slowly. It just paints a brighter more vivid picture.
  • clichés are another thing to avoid. To be unique you will need to be creative. Some examples of clichés are…
    • as black as night
      as white as snow
      as cold as ice
      as slow as a snail
• Near rhymes are perfectly acceptable if everything else, the meter and the story is perfect. Otherwise they should be avoided. If you can’t find the perfect rhyme then I would suggest looking at changing the line around to create more options.

Style is not how you write.
It is how you do not write like anyone else. 
Charles Ghigna (Father Goose)