More on this later...
New Release Spotlight: Amber Wardell
1 month ago
Friday, February 05, 2010
I hate poetry.
Sally Circle is NOT ready for submission...repeat...NOT EVEN CLOSE to ready for submission. :-(
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3 comments:
Aw, I don't know, Dena. I agree that there are structural rules to kids poetry, but really, DON'T beat yourself up about it. REALLY, don't. Because I have read SO many excellent, adorable rhyming books that are not perfect... the meter is slightly off, or the rhymes aren't perfect - and they are published. And they are being sold at Borders and Barnes and Noble, not just on Amazon... AND they are just as cute as the Sally Circle poem I read a couple of days ago.
While I agree that poetry rules are important, and should be followed... I fully believe that you have done a wonderful job with your poem and that is VERY CLOSE to being ready for submission.
Thanks, Marisa. The thing is, I don't understand half the crap I'm reading about poetry. When I do try and make it "perfect" it just doesn't work.
aghhh.
I mean, do editors really count out all the syllables in your sentences and make sure that you have perfectly consistent accented and un-accented beats? Or do they just read it and make sure it flows?
I don't know... but if they DO pay attention to meter ,etc, then Sally Circle is a hot mess.
I was so upset about it last night I was practically in tears.
No idea what to do. I even considered taking it out of rhyme because I just don't see how I'm ever going to get this right. I really appreciate the encouragement you're giving me...it's nice to check my website and see your comments :-)
Okay, here is my recommendation - pass Sally Circle AS IS in your last edits, to a small handful of your favorite friends, and ask them to read it aloud. Don't even let them read it in their heads first, and don't give it to people who have read Sally Circle multiple times before.
THEN, pay very close attention to where they are catching - which parts are awkward for them to read, which parts they have stop halfway through their sentence and change the meter in order to get it right... Everyone reads poetry differently, but the spots where the majority of your readers trip up on, are the spots that need to be changed.
As for giving up on your rhyme... DON'T. Sally Circle is unique and adorable, and the story is enhanced by your rhyme.
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