sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Poetic Pemberthy

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Pemberthy, the singing, blogging bear has written another poem. This time he’s been quite adventurous and written a triolet. This is a French poetic form with eight lines, and the challenge of repeating lines, but Pemberthy likes challenges. You can read his new composition here.

Rhyming Bear

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My friend Pemberthy has written a new poem – this time a diamante. Check it out!

I have said it before, but I’ll say it again. Writing in different poetic forms is good discipline for developing writing skills, and it’s fun, too.

Why not write a diamante of your own?

And Another

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I worked this afternoon in my teaching job and came home with an idea for a new kids’ poem in my head, so I’ve just sat down and written the first draft. I opened up one of my favourite sites, looking for a rhyme for (of all things) ‘rhyme’. The site I used is Rhyme Zone. It’s a handy little tool which works like a rhyming dictionary. Type in a word and it will give you a list of rhyme matches, organised by syllables.

I use it often and will be using it again when it comes time to revise this poem and the one I wrote a few days ago.

Another Useful Site

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Pemberthy decided to write a haiku this morning, and I helped him find some information about the form to include his blog.

The search led me to a site which has a listing of over 500 poetic forms. You can see the list here. Each poetic term is a clickable link which leads you to an explanation of the form and, in many cases, further links to examples of the form. It’s fun to experiment with different poetic forms. It can also be great for discipline.

Writing a haiku requires you to bare everything down to just 17 syllables. Abbreviated haiku, I’ve just discovered, have even less – just nine syllables. Other forms need very specific rhyme or rhythm patterns.

Even if you don’t think you’re a poet, why not have a go? You could start with something relatively simple (and fun) such as a limerick, or might want to challenge yourself with any of the other 500 forms. Pemberthy and I will certainly be exploring further.

Let me know how you get on.

Productive Week

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Today I wrote a poem over breakfast. As I showered, I was tossing around ideas and suddenly one grabbed me. So, cup of coffee in one hand and pen in the other, I wrote the first draft. Yes, it’s rough and will need revising (ALL writing needs revising), but I’m happy with where it’s going. It’s the first new poem I’ve written in a long time, though my pal Pemberthy wrote a limerick earlier in the week. I’ve just typed the poem up and saved it, tweaking a little as I went.

The poem caps off a really productive week for me, after several months of slow progress. This week I’ve written first drafts of two 600 word stories, created Pemberthy’s new blog and this one (and written six posts between the two), written a 1000 word article for Buzzwords and had it accepted, along with a request for another, and written a new proposal for a book with an educational publisher .

I’ve also managed to keep up with my daily life – running a household, spending time with the kids, reviewing some books for Reading Time and aussiereviews, marking assignments for my tutoring job, and teaching part time.

When I list it all, I feel like I’m showing off, but I promise I’m not. So many writers I know do so much both in terms of writing and in their other lives. What I do see when I list it all is that I have had a successful week. This inspires me to keep going and also reminds me that when I’m firing I CAN juggle all these things.

Here’s to full weeks.

sallymurphy.com.au