Someone had to start the discussion in this new community, so I figured I’d give it a shot!
I discovered that I have a knack for script writing, so I usually stick to prose and focus on driving the action through my characters’ dialogue. I need to work more on describing scenes in a way that isn’t rooted in stage directions.
I can appreciate good poetry, but am generally not a fan of “free verse”. I prefer the challenge of writing something with a meter, or has a rhyme scheme. Re-writing song lyrics is a fun way to play with that, but maybe I listened to too much Weird Al growing up.
So, if you had to pick a side… poetry or prose?
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Prose, every time. But when Im feeling really stalled or uninspired I find I often get more inspiration from reading poetry.
I studied lit in university and have lots of poetry books and anthologies lying around, but I highly recommend this for other writers when theyre feeling run down or stumped. Go get some poetry books!
I wouldn’t mind trying to get into writing poetry, but the few times I’ve looked into it, various communities seemed very gatekeepy so I haven’t really pressed too hard for it. In my fiction writing, I’m beyond horrible at description, and I think learning to use the more colorful language you find in poetry would be a big help to me.
For me, poetry has the greater allure;
My prose is unsure and immature—
I’ve spent more time designing rhymes;
It used to be a hobby of mine!
Prose, for sure. I am terrible at poetry. I also find it much more open and personal compared to prose, which can have pieces of yourself but much more hidden.
Poetry is always what’s spoken to me, free verse in particular. Mostly what gets me going is symbolism and imagery, and using words in uncharacteristic, surprising ways.
I have a deep love of prose as a genre and what can be done with it, but when I write poetry just comes out of me and prose is work.
