6 Tips On How To Write Your Own Rhyme Poetry
Updated: Nov 11, 2021
Poetry has provided me stress relief throughout my life- it has allowed me to express myself and has provided me a way to share my feelings. Poetry has been a way for me to have others understand me and resonate with what I am feeling in that moment. While I have kept most of the poetry that I have written throughout my life to myself, I decided that this should change as I feel that I have important ideas to share with the world. Not only has this led to writing my first poetry book, Critters Who Care, it has also led me to want to share my secrets of how I write poetry in hopes that others will find a passion for writing.
1. YOUR POEM HAS TO RHYME
I strongly believe that poetry should rhyme. Rhyming allows the poem to flow and gives the poem a natural cadence when it is read. If your poem doesn't rhyme, the poem becomes a series of broken sentences put into a paragraph.
2. KEEP YOUR POEM SHORT
I prefer to keep my poems short because, in the world that we are living in today, people have very short attention spans. Think about it- if you post your poem on Instagram, will people stop scrolling to read an entire page of poetry or just a few lines that pack a punch and get the point across? I would argue for the latter.
Because of this, I keep most of my poetry to just 4 line stanzas. Long poems can be effective, but short poems can be just as good, if not better if you write them in the right way and with enough potency.
How do I achieve potency? I keep my poems open-ended, almost like a prompt. They allow the reader to think and interpret what the poem means to them in their own lives.
3. CHOOSE A RHYME SCHEME FOR YOUR POEM
Your poems need structure in order for them to flow. Here are a handful of examples of the rhyme schemes I use:
- AABB
- ABAB
-ABCB
- AACA
- ABBA
- ABCA
To break it down for you, if the letters are the same, it means that the last word of those lines will rhyme with each other. If the letters are different, that means that the last word of those lines will not rhyme with each other. To clear this up, let's take a look at an example:
POEMS CAN BE HARD
BUT PRACTICE MAKES IT EASY
IT'S SO NICE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHT
EVEN IF THEY SEEM REAL CHEESY
In this poem, the rhyme scheme I used was ABCB, so the last word of the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other.
If you want to read more examples, Critters Who Care is available to read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
Sometimes it can be hard to find words that rhyme with each other. Some words are easier to rhyme with others. For example, there are many more words ending in "ion" than let's say "elp." If you stick with words that are easier to rhyme with, you are less likely to encounter writer's block. When all else fails and I can't think of a word off the top of my head, I use rhymezone.com to help me find words that rhyme with each other.
4. SYLLABLES MATTER- COUNT THEM
The number of syllables in each line of your poem matter. If you get it right, your poem will flow, which makes it easier for readers to read from line to line without any awkward pauses or stops. To achieve smooth flow, I have 2 rules about syllables:
The first line should have the least number of syllables in the poem
Every line after should not exceed the syllable count of the line before by more than two syllables
The two rules listed above are essential for your poem's flow, but I have a couple of extra tips to improve the flow of your poem, but they are not essential:
1. Make lines that rhyme have the same syllable count
For example:
- ABCB
- 5, 7, 6, 7
2. Make all lines have the same syllable count
For example:
- 5,5,5,5
To bring this concept altogether, let's take another look at our example:
POEMS CAN BE HARD
BUT PRACTICE MAKES IT EASY
IT'S SO NICE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHT
EVEN IF THEY SEEM REAL CHEESY
The syllable count for this poem is 5, 7, 7, 8. As you can see, the first line of the poem has the least number of syllables, and the following lines do not exceed the syllable count of the line before by more than 2 syllables. This poem does not follow my two additional guidelines, but as you can see, the poem has cadence and flows, making it easy to read.
Here is a bad example, that breaks my two essential rules:
- 6, 5, 4, 7
As you can see, the first line does not contain the fewest number of syllables and line 4 exceeds line 3 by more than two syllables.
5. CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT MATTERS TO YOU
While there are a handful of rules I follow to create my poems, these rules alone do not distinguish a good poem from a great one. Ultimately, the message of your poem is what distinguishes you from another writer. To distinguish yourself from others, I recommend writing about a topic that matters to you. That being said, don't force a topic that isn't coming naturally. If you are stuck, try not to sit down and write about something specific. Instead, run with the thoughts that are already going through your head at that moment.
6. DON'T FORCE THE PROCESS
When you are writing poetry, allow it to come naturally- don't try to force it. If you are focused too much on other things other than writing at that moment, then step away and write later. I encourage you to write down ideas on your phone or in a journal (Check out these Critters Who Care inspired journals in yellow and grey). I personally write down singular lines of poems and finish them later when I am in the right headspace, as well as words that rhyme with each other I may want to use in the future, and various subjects I want to write poems about.