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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
