Today is the second Thursday of the month, which means yesterday was the second Wednesday. We had several writers gather together at Rediscovered Bookshop last night to discuss writing.
We had a writing exercise based on the Fibonacci Sequence. The exercise we did last night can be found on our website.
I wanted to use this blog to relay some of the discussion we had last night, and open up the discussion to a broader range of people.
One of the highlights of last night was a discussion of fixed form, what it means, and how it affects poetry and prose alike. Fixed form is generally found in poetry; the most famous of which is probably the Sonnet, through there are many other forms, such as the Limerick or the Haiku. Each of these forms lends itself to different types of poetry. Most poets would not choose the Limerick form to write about serious questions of human desire and faith. Likewise, men from the Eastern portion of the United States would not likely use a Sonnet form to throw innuendo back and forth at each other, rapid-fire.
Thus, we have the idea that form follows function. Rhyme and meter, or the lack there of, create tension and drama themselves. Add the meaning of the words that hold the rhyme and meter, and the poem really starts to mean something.
But what does all this have to do with prose? Prose doesn't use fixed form. There's one paragraph right after another, each flowing into the next. Characters speak and narrators explain. The story moves forward organically, with no rules.
Though, there are some rules involved. For example, a character that has a deadline to meet, and is running behind, probably won't meander from his car to his office. And a narrator telling a story full of suspense probably won't stop to tell you, the reader, about the scent of the flowers. Short, tight sentences create suspense, and hurry the story along. Long, lingering sentences invite a reader to stick around a while, grab a cup of tea, and relax with the story, rather than rushing through to the end.
What's your favorite fixed form? Why do you like it so well? Do you despise fixed form? Are you vehemently against the idea of the form of words affecting prose? Are you for it? Why? We want to hear from you!
An Evening in Pictures
13 years ago
2 comments:
There have been poems for me that I've written and re-written a dozen times in free verse, that just don't work-- and then once I stick them in sonnet form, all of a sudden they pop.
Then again, I've written my share of AWFUL sonnets; the best thing that can be said of them is that they follow the form.
I like formal poetry (for the right poem) for the same reason I like hard-and-fast word counts in prose: it forces me to be intentional about every word. I can't get away with filler, lots of adjectives or linking verbs. But that doesn't mean it's right for every piece.
I think it's a good point you bring up Margaret: it's much harder to have fluff with a form. I wonder if we were all a bit stricter with ourselves, and used a form more often than we do, if we would have fewer of those non-descriptive descriptive words - adverbs, linking verbs, and the like.
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