# Poetry or Fiction?



## Joella (Nov 13, 2012)

Why do you write poetry or fiction? Did you ever consider writing the other? 

Can most anyone write poetry? I sometimes feel this way about poetry, like it's what people do who can't write fiction. 

I'd like to write short stories but beyond the first few pages I stall out. However, I can really get involved in writing a poem, and I will work at it until I'm satisfied with it.

Then I go back to thinking, well anyone can write a poem. It's no big deal. Or is it? Can just anyone write decent poetry? (I'm talking about pretty good poetry, not the type my aunt writes every Christmas and sends out as her Christmas letter to the tune of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.)

I really need to focus on one or the other: poetry or fiction. I'm amazed at people who can write both, but at my age I don't feel like I have the time to devote to both.

My not being able to decide whether to devote my time to poetry or to fiction has long been a pet peeve of mine. Should I write what seems to be more difficult: fiction? Or try to do my best at poetry? What do you do best? Do you think writing poetry is a cop out for not having a good enough imagination to write fiction? 

It's not like I'll ever become rich or famous, but I do want to become published one way or the other. Thanks for hearing me out. Hopefully someone can relate to my problem and help me to think this through.


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## dolphinlee (Nov 13, 2012)

> I'd like to write short stories but beyond the first few pages I stall out. However, I can really get involved in writing a poem, and I will work at it until I'm satisfied with it.


I think this actually answers your question. 

I write silly little poems (probably like your aunt's) for peoples' birthdays but I don't enjoy doing it.  However, when I write prose I get really involved. So much so that I neglected a lot of my housework for months. I didn't care. I wanted to find out what happened at the end of the story. 



> Can just anyone write decent poetry?



It depends what you call decent. Assuming you mean something that has depth and is evokative then the answer is no. I couldn't do it if my life depended on it. I need a hundred words to say what a poet could say in one line. 



> I really need to focus on one or the other: poetry or fiction.


I understand what you have written but I question it. I will write for weeks and suddenly an idea for a poem comes into my head and won't leave until I write it down. I go with the flow. If what is coming to me is the book I write the book. If it is a short story I write that. If it is a poem I write that.

I don't think you have to make a hard and fast decision now. Whatever answer you come up with may be right for now, but in a month it may be wrong for then. Just go with what comes to you. 



> Do you think writing poetry is a cop out for not having a good enough imagination to write fiction?


Hell no! For me writing 'decent' poetry is the hardest thing imaginable. Not only do you need 'a good enough imagination' but you also have to have the ability to select the most precise words to get the exact effect. 

One thing I have learned is that I write from a quiet place in my mind. I cannot create if that quiet place is filled with musts, shoulds or can'ts. 

Good luck in your writing.


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## Nickleby (Nov 13, 2012)

Joella said:


> I'd like to write short stories but beyond the first few pages I stall out. However, I can really get involved in writing a poem, and I will work at it until I'm satisfied with it.



You seem to have answered your own question. If you can't finish a prose piece, but you can finish a poem, you should stick with the poetry.

 There's no point in trying to compare the two. Prose isn't inherently "better" than poetry or vice versa.


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## Bilston Blue (Nov 13, 2012)

I've dabbled with poetry in the past and found I simply don't have the patience for it. I think that's it in any case. I think I could write some half decent poems, and one day might try to.

Why do I write fiction? I like Hemingway's famous quote, about there being nothing to writing, that all you need do is sit at the typewriter and bleed. That's how I feel at the moment, it's cathartic, it's helping me through a stressful time and keeping me relatively sane. I feel like the world needs to know the truth. It mightn't be a universal truth, or anybody's truth but mine, but right now that's how I feel.

Apart from that, I like the process. The germination of an idea through to the finished product. I like the thought of some people somewhere enjoying a tiny little bit of something I wrote. I have an ego. All writers do, or most in any case. I've got to the point where I must write, or think about it, or plan or plot or edit (which might be my favourite part) or rewrite or just lie quietly in bed thinking of the next story which needs to be told.

What I don't like is that whenever a writer writes about writing, most of it just turns out to be pretentious crap, so strike what I've written here if you don't mind.



Apropos of nothing here, I've just realised this smiley is Salvador Dali   :abnormal:


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## Baron (Nov 13, 2012)

Everybody thinks they can write poetry, a few do it well.

There's no reason not to write both prose and poetry.  Learning some of the disciplines associated with writing formatted poetry can be a great aid to writing prose.


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## Sam (Nov 13, 2012)

I'd say it's harder to write poetry than fiction. All you have to do in the latter is tell a story and make it interesting. In the former, you have to worry about rhyming, alliteration, different pentameters, onomatopoeia, stanzas, and a whole host of other techniques. 

I've tried poetry and have gained sufficient proof that I am useless at it for me to never turn my hand to it again.


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## namesake (Nov 13, 2012)

I always thought I was better at writing poetry because I have a uncle who is a poet but that is not well known. The problem with poetry is that it bases itself to much theory on literature theory for my own liking. So much that some pieces a lot of people either love it or hate it.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Thank you all for your kind words and for taking the time to try and  help me out. I've mulled this "poetry or fiction" problem  over for a long time, and I've never had anyone to talk to about it.  Only a writer - if anyone - would be able to understand my dilemma. As it turned out, I received more insight  and help then I expected.

dolphinlee, you mentioned so many  helpful ideas by picking apart my questions, but one thing you wrote  that I'm going to copy and post on my bulletin board is: "_One thing I have learned is that I write from a quiet place in my mind. I  cannot create if that quiet place is filled with musts, shoulds or  can'ts._" 

That is excellent advice, dolphinlee. Thank you.

Nickleby, I will try to take what you said to heart: "_There's no point in trying to compare the two. Prose isn't inherently "better" than poetry or vice versa._" 

I  think I've gotten the idea that prose is better since prose is more  popular than poetry. More people read prose and not only that, a lot of  people just plain say they don't like poetry and won't even consider  reading it.

Bilston Blue, you said you write fiction because  "_...it's cathartic, it's helping me through a stressful time and keeping me relatively sane_."  

I feel the same way about writing poetry. I don't get that  feeling from  writing fiction. I think it's interesting that you do. This leads me to  believe that for my personality poetry is probably a better fit.

Baron, you wrote: "_Everybody thinks they can write poetry, a few do it well._" 

 This is true, and there is such a difference of opinion in what people  think is good poetry. I agree with namesake in that a lot of poetry  seems to be too stuffy and based on what I think namesake would say is  "high brow" literature. That idea of poetry kind of scares me away from  it, too. 

Baron, I agree that there isn't any reason why  I shouldn't write both prose and poetry, but at least for now I need to  concentrate on one or the other and "see" myself as that type of writer.

Oh, my gosh, Sam W - you wrote: _"I'd say it's harder to write poetry than fiction. All you have to do in the latter is tell a story and make it interesting." 
_My response to that is_:_ IF ONLY. 

If only I could dream up a story for starters, and if only I could keep it going...then I would write fiction. I love mystery stories. If only I could fit together the nuts and bolts of one in order to write it.

  For me _"the  rhyming, alliteration, different pentameters, onomatopoeia, stanzas, and a whole host of other techniques" _that you mentioned, Sam W, makes writing poems an interesting challenge and not as overwhelming as writing an entire story.

Again,  I am humbled by all of your responses, especially since I am new to your forum. Many of you said I  had already answered my own question right from the start, and in a way I had. However, you have validated the idea that writing poetry isn't the "fall back" for people who can't write fiction.Now whether or notI'm any good at it is another questionand one that will only be answered through my efforts.My hat is off to you fiction writers though. I don't know how you do it.Thanks, again for your responses.


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## Jeko (Nov 14, 2012)

> I really need to focus on one or the other: poetry or fiction. I'm amazed at people who can write both, but at my age I don't feel like I have the time to devote to both.



I'm 16. I write both. I also have time for GCSE revision, homework, occasional programming in Flash, practising flute for my Grade 8 exam and piano for fun, video games and long, relaxing lie-ins.

Don't worry about 'focus'. Write what you want to, and write what you know. If it turns into poetry, great. If it turns into the next bestselling novel, great. Trying to focus yourself into one or the other is saying that you already know yourself inside out. I realised I didn't about a year ago.


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## squidtender (Nov 14, 2012)

Anyone can write anything . . . doing it well, is another matter. 
I can write bad poetry. Be thankful I gave that up in high school.
I have a grain of talent for prose, but not with all genres. I have an easier time novel writing compared to short story writing. Yet, I've heard several members complain of the opposite problem. 
Don't try to lead your talent to a specific destination. Let it lead you


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## Kevin (Nov 14, 2012)

If I never tried to do things I wasn't good at...


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## Roman (Nov 14, 2012)

Read "An Ode Less Travelled" by Stephen Fry.

There's a lot more to poetry than some people think.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Nov 14, 2012)

Poetry and prose are certainly very different (I tried returning to editing my novel immediately after working on a poem and couldn't think right), but I wouldn't say one is better than the other.

The truth is that the more you condense the story you're telling (novel -> novella -> short story -> poem), the harder you have to work to tell the same story.  Words matter more.  I wrote a six stanza poem (192 words, and far from perfect), and it took me several hours.  If I were writing prose, I'd have knocked off a few thousand words in that time.  Heck, if I were just writing the same thoughts in "free verse," I would've finished it in about five minutes (that's was my preparation, to get all my thoughts out).

All good writing is hard, regardless of the form it's in.  Different types require very different talents, though, and being good at one certainly won't make you good at another.


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## Jon M (Nov 14, 2012)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> Different types require very different talents, though, and being good at one certainly won't make you good at another.


It think it will, actually. I learned a lot about sonics when I was really into poetry and writing it often, and I feel that carried over to my prose style. Same goes for word economy and choosing the _right_ word. In a way, poetry is kind of like a word association game: it's not just the words themselves that supply meaning, but the myriad of connotations each word has. All of that only enhances fiction, I think, in the same way I imagine learning a foreign language sheds new light on the workings of one's native language.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Cadence said:


> I'm 16. I write both. I also have time for GCSE revision, homework, occasional programming in Flash, practising flute for my Grade 8 exam and piano for fun, video games and long, relaxing lie-ins.
> 
> Don't worry about 'focus'. Write what you want to, and write what you know. If it turns into poetry, great. If it turns into the next bestselling novel, great. Trying to focus yourself into one or the other is saying that you already know yourself inside out. I realised I didn't about a year ago.



Thanks, Cadence. When I was 16 I would never have even considered being a writer. You are far ahead of me in that regard. I have been considering what you said about focus. I keep coming back to poetry though, and I'm beginning to think that's where I belong. 

What I have typically done though is to start thinking about how great it is to get into the world of a story and then want to create that myself. However, you did allude to the idea that a person depending on what type of person she is would either be better at writing prose or poetry. I have tried both, and my nature seems to pull me more toward poetry. Maybe it is true that a person has a temperament more for one or the other. In a way, I guess that's what I'm questioning. It is difficult to recognize things about one's self, but if I am more of a poetry type person, I don't want to beat myself up for not being able to write fiction. Confusing aren't I?


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## Deleted member 49710 (Nov 14, 2012)

This is a really interesting question - why write poetry, why write fiction, what does one get out of writing one or the other? And whether/how writing one can aid one in learning to write the other, as well. 

I guess I'd say that when I write poetry I tend to be exploring myself and my own experience (though not always). Sometimes I do this consciously, because I have found that one way to work through a difficult feeling is to transform it into an aesthetic object, something that is mine but removed from me, that I can play with and bat around as I see fit. Sometimes less consciously - I just write the words, and then later look back and think, Oh, that was about X. All in all, I'd say that when I write a poem, I am trying to say something that I can't say (or sometimes even think) in my usual language. And often I suspect that what I write is very opaque to other people, so I don't really think of myself as a poet. I try, though, and occasionally come up with something I like.

When I write fiction I'm more interested in exploring things outside myself and my own experience (though obviously whatever I imagine is going to be filtered through me): characters who aren't me or like me, strange situations and conflicts unlike my own. It's a reconstruction of the world which is ultimately going to reflect how I think the world is constructed in the first place, and is therefore revelatory in that sense. But when I write fiction I'm far more interested in communication, whether I can get a character or a scene across, make someone else feel it. Or feel something, anyway. 

In any case - to the OP - if poetry comes naturally, write poetry. It's not lazy as long as you're working at it, right?


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Kevin said:


> If I never tried to do things I wasn't good at...



So which do you write Kevin, fiction or poetry or do you write both? I  started out as an undergraduate realizing that I couldn't write worth a  damn. Now all these many years later, I still struggle with my writing.  Although, I am better than I used to be. I do understand what you're  saying though. The older I get the harder it is for me to try doing new  things and to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone. Although, for me  writing either poetry or fiction are both difficult. It's just that I  enjoy writing poetry more than fiction. So, which is it: A.) I write  poetry because poetry is easier for everyone? Or is it: B.) I write  poetry because I have more of a temperament for poetry, and not all  writers like to write it, so that's why they write fiction. If the  answer is A, then yes, I should try harder and write fiction. See what  I  mean?


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

squidtender said:


> Anyone can write anything . . . doing it well, is another matter.
> I can write bad poetry. Be thankful I gave that up in high school.
> I have a grain of talent for prose, but not with all genres. I have an easier time novel writing compared to short story writing. Yet, I've heard several members complain of the opposite problem.
> Don't try to lead your talent to a specific destination. Let it lead you



Yes, I suppose I am trying to lead my talent. From what you have said about yourself, it seems you write novels in particular because that's what you enjoy. Maybe we all have different temperaments and talents that lead us to be better at either writing fiction or at writing poetry. I have read so many fiction authors who have said that it is so difficult and such a struggle for them to write a novel. From that I have somewhat concluded that I can't write fiction because I don't try hard enough. Now considering what you have said, maybe I can't manage writing fiction because it's not where my joy is at. Maybe that's it. Thank you for your response.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Roman said:


> Read "An Ode Less Travelled" by Stephen Fry.
> 
> There's a lot more to poetry than some people think.



Thank you for this suggestion. I have already put this book on hold at the library. With luck I should get it tomorrow. Thanks! I look forward to reading it!


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## Kevin (Nov 14, 2012)

What should you do? I don't know. 
I write because it amuses me. I like to tell stories, whether in poem or prose. I don't know that either is easier, but poetry, for me at least, is shorter. 

Poetry is like instant gratification, a few thoughts or ideas, a scene and an idea, done. My first draft is never longer than ten minutes. My revisions are endless. Are they any good? Mostly not. Doesn't matter. I like it. I like the challenge. I like trying to pick the exact word. Some grouchy .... taught me that one, the importance of picking the right words, here, on this site.
I also like to get in the flow, the dream-state, the state of altered conciousness. I have to go there to write poetry.

I write short stories, almost the same as poetry, just a little longer, with a little more of the mundane, because I can not yet write longer stories; _yet. _The lessons of poetry, for prose, are like cross-training; it's all relevant. 


I like telling stories. I also like it if others are amused, or sad, or somehow affected, but I'm still just a baby at this.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

I think I understand what both of you said, Gamer_2K4 and Jon. On one  hand, the practice of writing in and of itself, no matter what form it  takes will lead to be being a better writer - overall. However, not all  writers can publish in both fiction and poetry.

It's remarkable  that you both write fiction and poetry. I've long wanted to ask any  number of good poets why they chose to write poetry instead of prose. 

I don't believe there are too many writers like Margaret Atwood in the world. Don't most writers publish in either/only poetry or prose?


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

lasm said:


> T
> 
> I guess I'd say that when I write poetry I tend to be exploring myself and my own experience (though not always).
> 
> ...



I'm  glad you found this question interesting, and thank you for sharing  what motivates you to write either poetry or fiction. It's definitely  provided me with some insight into my own writing. In some ways, we are  kind of at opposite ends. For me when I write poetry, I want to share an  experience or an notion with the reader. When I try to write fiction, I  find it difficult to break away from my own view point or at least my  own self. I get bored with my own prejudices or my own way of looking at  things. It's like my characters reflect too much of me. It's difficult  for me to stick with it. I start out excited with a fresh idea, and then  I get bogged down with my own boredom over what I have written. Then  that's the end of it. If it's not interesting to me, it sure won't be  interesting to the reader.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Kevin said:


> I write short stories, almost the same as poetry, just a little longer, with a little more of the mundane, because I can not yet write longer stories; _yet. _The lessons of poetry, for prose, are like cross-training; it's all relevant.



Maybe the appeal to me in writing poetry is poems are shorter, like you mentioned. One thing about fiction is that I think there is more general agreement over what makes a good story rather than what makes a good poem. Not that we all like reading the same types of stories, but we do all agree that a good story needs to have a plot or conflict, rising action, resolution, interesting characters, that sort of thing. What makes a good poem? For some it's the use of metaphor, for others it has to have a formalized form. It seems the difference of opinions in poetry are more significant, and thereby it makes it harder to know if I'm actually writing a good poem. That's why I like fiction. It seems like it should be easier to write, but for me it's not. Maybe like you, what I should try to do is start out writing short, short stories and build from there. It's not like there's a race. Thank you for your reply. I like the way you think.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Nov 14, 2012)

Joella said:


> I've long wanted to ask any  number of good poets why they chose to write poetry instead of prose.



Well, I wouldn't call myself a "good" poet, but the appeal of poetry to me is the true art of the medium.  You could write a novel in the simplest words possible, and as long as you use those simple words to convey a plot and develop characters, you'll do alright.

In poetry, however, every single word is significant.  The art, or so I've gathered, is picking the words that perfectly fit both your poem's flow and the exact meaning you wish to convey.  The best poems are truly profound, evoking awe in just a handful of words.  It takes real talent to achieve that, and that's what appeals to me.

Prose gives me freedom to develop and create broad experiences.  Poetry lets me explore single thoughts and concepts to their fullest.  Both certainly have their place.


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## namesake (Nov 14, 2012)

I guess why we write? Will always be a good question. Some writers in the market really love to put out output that is poetic. Peter S. Beagle himself was a poet. I can't imagine description not being poetic in my opinion.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> ... the appeal of poetry to me is the true art of the medium...  The best poems are truly profound, evoking awe in just a handful of words.  It takes real talent to achieve that, and that's what appeals to me.
> 
> Prose gives me freedom to develop and create broad experiences.  Poetry lets me explore single thoughts and concepts to their fullest.  Both certainly have their place.



Yes, I agree. They're both very different. I like your concept of poetry being more like an art.


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## namesake (Nov 14, 2012)

So is subjectivity a worry with poetry? IMO, I think stories fall less victim to it.  Literary theory is more flexible in stories. Sadly I think poetry has it's applications. In the sense that poem books probably aren't popular, but the art is a good way of describing images.


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## Joella (Nov 14, 2012)

namesake said:


> I guess why we write? Will always be a good question. Some writers in the market really love to put out output that is poetic. Peter S. Beagle himself was a poet. I can't imagine description not being poetic in my opinion.



Oh, I agree. I would guess that all of the best fiction writers have a flare for writing poetically.


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## namesake (Nov 14, 2012)

He was the one who wrote the last unicorn. It should be in his bio.


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## Abbey08 (Nov 14, 2012)

I suggest you read _Next Word, Better Word:The Craft of Writing Poetry_ by Stephen Dobyns. 

What I found interesting in this book was that the author talked about prose as well. He had a very involved discussion about Yeats or Keats(my short term memory problems are showing)and his way of writing poetry. Ahhh....I remember; it was William Butler Yeats. What I found interesting about the discussion was Dobyns' description of Yeats' writing style. It was tortuous. I related to this because, although I enjoy writing poetry, it is a very hard process for me. As others have noted, every word must count. Try writing an American Sentence and this becomes really evident.

Why do I write poetry? I am also a photographer; a poem is much like a snapshot. I write about the things that I cannot photograph, like feelings, connections between diverse items.

Lorraine


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## Caragula (Nov 15, 2012)

Anyone can write poetry, but the evidence of the hundreds I've read on forums like this over the years suggests that not everyone should.  Which is harsh.  A lot of people are sharing poetry about the dark depths of cold lonely despair and solitary windswept world weariness of being utterly disconnected from the comfort of others or the existence of some objective meaning.  In other words, they're teenagers.  What they shouldn't be doing is sharing this stuff, too much of it is just people working through their issues with metaphors and occasionally rhyme.

I rarely visit this part of these forums anymore because I don't know where to start.  For all the metaphor it's all too literal and I wonder if they're genuinely looking for someone to critique the execution and craft or just someone to acknowledge how they feel.  It's doubly hard because the relationship between form and function in a poem are the most inextricably linked of any written form.

I go back to the likes of Seamus Heaney and see perspectives on what it is to be human tied up in the mundane, but expressed with powerful lyricism.  I would hope that us lesser lights are attempting something similar when submitting poems, but am glad if the mere act of filling your hard drive with poetry is a useful emetic for an over abundance of angst


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## Jeko (Nov 15, 2012)

> A lot of people are sharing poetry about the dark depths of cold lonely despair and solitary windswept world weariness of being utterly disconnected from the comfort of others or the existence of some objective meaning. In other words, they're teenagers.



They're artists.


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## Abbey08 (Nov 15, 2012)

I recently read a novel by John Dos Passos. Now, there is an author whose writing is lyrical and sonorous, employing some of the techniques of writing poetry as he writes prose.

Lorraine


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## Gamer_2k4 (Nov 15, 2012)

Joella said:


> Oh, I agree. I would guess that all of the best fiction writers have a flare for writing poetically.



I think that's subjective.  Some might argue that the best fiction writers create compelling characters, or enthralling plots.  While it's true that a certain poetic grace can make writing come alive, the nice thing about novels is that they don't truly require it.


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## namesake (Nov 15, 2012)

Supposedly prose is in demand in the novel market though depends who you ask, but a book I read said so.


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## Joella (Nov 15, 2012)

Caragula said:


> Anyone can write poetry, but the evidence of the hundreds I've read on forums like this over the years suggests that not everyone should.  Which is harsh.  A lot of people are sharing poetry about the dark depths of cold lonely despair and solitary windswept world weariness of being utterly disconnected from the comfort of others or the existence of some objective meaning.


  Yes, Caragula, this is true. It is difficult to produce poetry that is well written, and even then there is a vast difference of opinion about what is good poetry. However, it's a good thing that young people are writing. I probably wrote the same angst filled poetry when I was a teenager. I just didn't share it or save it, and the world is better for it.


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## Joella (Nov 15, 2012)

namesake said:


> Supposedly prose is in demand in the novel market though depends who you ask, but a book I read said so.


  Do you mean prose poetry? That would be interesting.


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## Joella (Nov 15, 2012)

Abbey08 said:


> I suggest you read _Next Word, Better Word:The Craft of Writing Poetry_ by Stephen Dobyns.   Lorraine


  Thank you for suggesting this book. I'm always interested in reading a good craft book.


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## Joella (Nov 22, 2012)

Willson said:


> I think you should choose the one out of poetry or fiction, which you think that you can write more easily and which could best explain your thoughts and imaginations. As it's not the matter of copping out of some thing. It's all about your nature, thoughts and style.



I tell myself the same thing, and then I read a piece of fiction that is awesome and I go back to thinking: that's what I should write. However, what I write from start to finish is poetry, and I really enjoy it. The one big trouble I have with it though is to know what is considered to be well written poetry. If I only wrote for myself that wouldn't matter so much, but I want to write for others as well and to be published. Fiction on the other hand is more straight forward. I'm not saying I can write good fiction, but I know the ingredients or what is expected of a good story. Not so with poetry. It seems poetry has rather a snob appeal and is rather cliquish. It's not as important how well you write but who you know. Of course there's some of that in fiction and in getting a job and all sorts of things, but when it comes to just a comparison of fiction and poetry, poetry is far more that way, so then I'm back to thinking - forget about poetry and write fiction instead, at least then you know what is expected of your writing. 

I've really enjoyed the suggestions and observations others have made on this thread. Thank you all.


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## Abbey08 (Nov 22, 2012)

> Not so with poetry. It seems poetry has rather a snob appeal and is rather cliquish. It's not as important how well you write but who you know. Of course there's some of that in fiction and in getting a job and all sorts of things, but when it comes to just a comparison of fiction and poetry, poetry is far more that way,



Funny, I'm a published poet and I've never found this to be true. Writing is writing; bad writing is bad writing; good writing is good writing. The key is to find your own voice(a trite, cliche statement but true)and then find someone who likes your work. It's no harder in poetry than in prose. Either you can write or you can't.

There may appear to be more rules in poetry than prose, but I don't even buy that statement. Recently, I learned that just because of piece of fiction has an interesting or novel image as its basis doesn't mean, from an editing/publishing standpoint, that it is presented as it should be.

Lorraine


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## Jon M (Nov 23, 2012)

Abbey08 said:


> Funny, I'm a published poet and I've never found this to be true.


Kinda is. Hang around awhile; you'll see it. There are the people (like me) who enjoy writing and reading simply written, but not simplistic, poems, and there are others who like the super oblique stuff that can really only be decoded if you know (or are) the poet, and it's been my experience that one generally doesn't give the other the time of day.

And being published matters a whole lot of zero nada nothing.


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## Abbey08 (Nov 23, 2012)

Jon M said:


> Kinda is. Hang around awhile; you'll see it. There are the people (like me) who enjoy writing and reading simply written, but not simplistic, poems, and there are others who like the super oblique stuff that can really only be decoded if you know (or are) the poet, and it's been my experience that one generally doesn't give the other the time of day.
> 
> And being published matters a whole lot of zero nada nothing.



HMMMM....Oblique, unintelligible poetry is for the writer himself. And thank you for the comment about my being published; I just consider the source  This is turning into a 'sour grapes' thread. I'm bowing out of this one before I say something that a moderator will ban me for.

Lorraine


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## Jeko (Nov 23, 2012)

> And being published matters a whole lot of zero nada nothing.



Stephenie Meyer is published... that, unfortuantely, says it all.


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