SIX TIPS TO RHYME LIKE A PRO

What can you do when you are in the flow, writing a killer poem, and you get stuck because you can’t find the right rhyme?  This is classic poet writer’s block.  Below are my tried and true tips, along with links to rhyming resources.

 

Roses are red, violets are orange… nothing rhymes with orange!

TIP #1 – USE A DIFFERENT WORD

Rewrite the line. The orange violet example could become: “Roses are red, violets are cool, my rhyme schemes will make you drool”

TIP #2 – CHANGE THE ORDER

The classic “Roses are red” poem rhymes the 2^nd and 4^th lines.  This could be rewritten as: “Violets are blue, roses are red, sugar is sweet, she loves me, she said!”

TIP #3 – CONSONANT COMBINATIONS & PREFIXES

We usually make a quick run through the alphabet.  If we were striving to rhyme the word “red,” we would quickly find:  bed, bled, cred, dead, fed, and so forth.  I also recommend that you add the following combinations and prefixes to your rhyming arsenal:

Sl            Bl                 Ch                Br                 Pl

St            Br                 Cl                 Fl                 Pr

Sh

 

Tr            Con              Dis               Ex      Mis     Pre

Th           De                En                In       Non    Re               

         

TIP #4 – THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

          I personally do not use rhyming apps, but you can find free rhyming apps for your smart phone.  Droid has B-Rhymes which includes suggestions for near-rhymes.  For the iphone and ipad, RhymeNow has a free edition with over 55,000 words.

 

TIP #5 – NEAR RHYMES AND HALF RHYMES

Simple words like “red” and “you” have scores of rhymes, but other words are more difficult.  A near rhyme will often suffice; for example, a near-rhyme for “orange” is “challenge.”

 

TIP #6 – NEW WORDS

What is even more fun is to create your own new word.  My mother was masterful at this technique.  In a poem about children enjoying a snowy day, the children warm themselves with “steaming cups of choke-a-lot.” 

 

The primary sites that I use for rhymes are:

Rhyme Zone:  http://www.rhymezone.com/

Rhymer:  http://www.rhymer.com/

B-Rhymes:  http://www.b-rhymes.com/

 

Remember that not every poem needs to rhyme, but it can be challenging and fun.  Don’t let poet writer’s block stop you from completing a killer poem.  Do you have a rhyming tip that you would like to share?  Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.  Keep writing and keep sharing!

 

-Cronin Detzz

EMANCIPATED FROM RHYMES-WRITER'S BLOCK

EMANCIPATED FROM RHYMES

Here is a great tip for removing writer’s block – try writing a short poem!  When writing short poetry, writers often focus on Haikus or Tankas.  Another fun writing concept is to write in quatrains.  Quatrains, quite simply, are four lines of verse.  A quatrain normally has a rhyming scheme.   Below is an example of AABB, from one of my poems entitled "Red on the Inside."

Bend like the willow trees

Quiet as the summer breeze

Laugh like a gentle stream

Joyful as a baby’s dream

-        Cronin Detzz

A quatrain can also have a rhyming scheme like this familiar verse, where lines 2 and 4 rhyme:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

And so are you

A fantastic writing challenge is to write an impactful quatrain that does not rhyme.  Fellow poet, Teresa E. Gallion, is masterful in this style:

I stared down a wolf

Claiming the edge of the forest

This is not the first time

Courage has dominated my life

Teresa E. Gallion

From these four lines, we can imagine ourselves encountering a wolf in a forest.  A great aspect of this poem is that it can also be looked at in a more metaphorical sense; for instance, staring down “a wolf” could be thought of as staring down a fear.  If someone is afraid of heights, the wolf becomes a symbol of that fear.

Short poems can offer a snapshot of emotion. In this next quatrain, consider the abundant feelings when gazing upon a sleeping loved one:

I lay a prayer on your chest

To soothe your burning sleep

It is selfish to hold back

When love flows in my river

Teresa E. Gallion

A quatrain can also provide a chuckle of irony:

A thought of you so powerful

It breaks my wine glass

I cannot afford such thoughts

Crystal is too expensive

Teresa E. Gallion

Now that you have been emancipated from rhyming schemes, try to remove your writer’s block by penning four lines of poetry.  You can do this!

A special thanks goes out to Teresa E. Gallion for sharing her beautiful quatrains.  Her work can be found at the links below:

http://teresagallion.yolasite.com/my-new-book.php

Note:  Also available at Amazon Kindle store:

http://www.amazon.com/Contemplation-High-Desert-ebook/dp/B007SO8CYC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336355015&sr=8-2

Keep writing and keep sharing! - Cronin Detzz