Grab It!

[WickedEve]

We have karmadog's thread on titles, and on a site this size, with so much competition, you need a title that will grab the reader's attention. But what happens after that? I've seen some titles that have caught my attention, but after the first stanza (sometimes after the first line) I'm spanking that back button like it's a bad boy!

I want my poetry to be well-written all the way through, but I believe it helps to grab attention from the start.

Two examples:
Keeping It Together
by WickedEve ©
Mirror that held me,
shattered into thousands,
scattered across desert sand.

Frankly, that's not too thrilling. It doesn't suck, I hope, but it sounds a lot like many poems I've read. There's nothing in that first stanza that GRABS ME!

Incredible Edible Male
by WickedEve ©
Wheels squeak down aisles.
Cans of man are half-price.
Creamed gentleman looks good,
till I read the fat content.

What the heck? Okay, I'm reading the next stanza to see what this madness is all about! I've been GRABBED!

Of course, a poem may grab the reader by simply being beautifully written!

Anyway, think about using fresh, exciting (perhaps, bizarre) imagery to pull the reader in. GRAB!

 

[Rybka]

Who are you writing for?

Anyway, think about using fresh, exciting (perhaps, bizarre) imagery to pull the reader in. GRAB!

Are you writing for the reader, or for yourself? Do you want to write poetry, or greeting cards and advertisements?

How much does self-approval count, and how much does acceptance matter?

Regards, Rybka

 

[WickedEve]

I write for me and I write for others. And I like interesting poems. I think it helps to start the poem off interestingly. Perhaps, the second stanza of a poem has more impact than the first. Can you rearrange the poem? Will it read better? Will it make the reader want to take the time to read further? I want to grab them from the start and hold their interest all the way through.

Thanks for responding!

 

[Rybka]

For Whom do you write?

WE,
I like your poems and enjoy your posts in the various threads. The show and intelligent and inquisitive mind, an intellect worth cultivating as a friend. However, I disagree about for whom you should write.

It is similar to having to love yourself before you can love another [If you do not, you have nothing of value to give to the other.]. You must write for yourself and never make changes that decrease the value of the work in your own heart.

This does not mean that you should never listen to an editor, but never let them cut the heart from your "word child".

Regards, Rybka

 

[JUDO]

Originally posted by Rybka For Whom do you write?

A writer writes to be read. If not, they're like a masturbator who believes they're a great lover.


- Judo

 

[WickedEve]

A writer writes to be read. If not, they're like a masturbator who believes they're a great lover.


- Judo

Welcome back, JUDO!
What's masturbation?

 

[JUDO]

Welcome back, JUDO!
What's masturbation?

You know, I'd be glad to show you.

You putcha left hand in
You putcha left hand out
You putcha left hand in
And you shake it all about

You do the hokey-pokey
And you spin it all around -
That's what it's all about!


- Judo

 

[WickedEve]

You know, I'd be glad to show you.

You putcha left hand in
You putcha left hand out
You putcha left hand in
And you shake it all about

You do the hokey-pokey
And you spin it all around -
That's what it's all about!


- Judo

I've been doing it all wrong.

 

[Rybka]

Self Gratification

A writer writes to be read. If not, they're like a masturbator who believes they're a great lover.

Back at you; if you can't get yourself off, how can you please a lover? - If you don't like yourself, who will?

Regards, Rybka

 

[JUDO]

You're missing the point. It's not about liking anything. It's about communication - writer to reader. If that don't happen, it ain't worth anything. You might as well sell shoes.


- Judo

 

[Rybka]

You're missing the point. It's not about liking anything. It's about communication - writer to reader. If that don't happen, it ain't worth anything. You might as well sell shoes.

Judo, I still like your writing (even if you don't

Regards, Rybka

 

[WickedEve]

Judo, I still like your writing (even if you don't

Regards, Rybka

LOL

 

[Lauren Hynde]

You guys are all lunatics! In the best possible way, of course!

And of course we're writing to be read. Every single word anyone ever wrote had as its main purpose to be read! Nobody writes to oneself, really.

Personally I hadn't thought of this "grabbing" technique, Eve. But I believe you are right. I mean if it's short, it shouldn't make too much difference, but a 20 stanza poem better grab my attention in the first or I'll have second thoughts about reading it...



Judo!
Welcome back, I hope you had the best of times.