If you're a rhyming poet

[Whispersecret]

...you simply must purchase a rhyming dictionary. Don't rely on your brain to supply you with rhyming words. No matter how good your memory is, you won't be able to pull up as many different choices as a rhyming dictionary.

Examine the different versions and choose one that will be easy for you to use. Your poetry will improve a thousand-fold. No longer will you have to rely on tired or forced rhymes.

If it doesn't work for you, you can return it. But do give it a try.

 

[Debbie]

Thanks Whispersecret. This is really good advice. I use www.rhymezone.com and find it really helpful.

 

[Whispersecret]

Oh, Debbie, excellent site.

See there? You don't even have to go buy a dictionary. You have access to a service online. Still, if you write at the park or on the train, a dictionary is portable.

 

[daughter]

WS--

Great advice. May I add that poets who want to use rhyme also experiment with forms that have more complex rhyming schemes. Where many rhyming poems fall flat is their pattern: aa, bb, cc. This sounds like a nursery rhyme and if the word choices are flat, the poem is uninspiring. Two examples of rhyme working well are the sonnet and pantonoum. These forms are not too complicate to write and their forms render focused, lyrical, and creative works.

For examples of different forms visit:

http://poetry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://web.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html

If you want an example of good rhyme with simple form yet is vibrant, engaging, and creative DO check out some of the celebrated children's authors like Eloise Greenfield's "Honey, I Love". Children authors rank high on my list because they transform complex issues into to comprehensible, entertaining and skilled written communications.


Peace,

daughter