Tag: prose poetry

Prose poetry in genre fiction

Writing is a beautiful art that comes in as many forms as the people who do it. Novels, music, script writing, poetry. Within each are myriad genres and subgenres, themes and structures.

I write speculative fiction, for the most part. Horror, science fiction and fantasy stories. I do not write poetry. At least, not any that I’d consider publishing.

And yet learning about poetry has been a cornerstone of my writing education. It’s something that I love, and something that I think improves my writing every day. Even my horror writing. Especially my horror writing.

The reason for this is that I practice prose poetry. This is a piece of writing that has a prose structure, but with an emphasis on poetic elements. Word usage, pacing, sentence structure. These are the elements that I focus on to make my writing read more like a poem. 

It just doesn’t normally rhyme. 

I use prose poetry in my writing for several reasons. The first is that I enjoy it and I like writing it.

The second is that it’s the best way I’ve found to write descriptions in a meaningful and entertaining way. 

Consider a scene in which a character is introduced to a haunted house. We could simply describe the place. We could write about the broken front steps, the peeling paint on the front door, the cracks in the windows. That’s fine, it gets the job done.

But what if instead we talked about steps that sang a funeral march when mounted? Windows that looked out over the street with nothing but darkness and madness beyond them? What if we talked about the paint that peeled off like flesh seared by unfriendly flames? 

Isn’t that more interesting? 

Many genre authors use this method to their advantage. One fantastic example is the book This is How You Lose The Time War. It’s a fantastic science fiction love story that reads like a poem. Another example that’s a little more classic is the Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. These books are lyrical, and a treat to read.

Which isn’t to say that you’ve got to write your whole book like that. If the front steps have already sang a mourning song to us, we don’t need each hallway to howl like bitter wolves. I mean, they can. But a little bit of this style can go a long way. 

I highly suggest giving prose poetry a try in your writing. Here’s an exercise to get you started. 

Take a scene from your work in progress that’s heavy on description. Maybe a fight scene, or the first introduction of an important character or setting. Write your description of this battle, person or place. Then, write it like a poem. Here are some tips.

-Play with word usage. We all know that some words mean the same thing with completely different interpretations. 

-Don’t discount sentence and paragraph structure. Sometimes simply moving to the next line can have an impact. Consider this example. 

She ran through the field and up the stairs. Her brother didn’t follow. 

She ran through the field and up the stairs.

Her brother didn’t follow. 

The second example feels more ominous. It feels more like we should have some concerns regarding why her brother didn’t follow. 

– Metaphors and similes are your friends. Especially in horror, this can be fun. Blood blooms like a rose around a bullet hole. Bones crack like kindling. Wind gnaws at the door and windowpanes with ice teeth. No, ice fingers. 

Take some time with this, and have fun. Because of course, writing should be fun. And I’d love to know if you try this technique. Let us know in the comments how it goes. 

Don’t forget, my Preptober Planner is updated for 2023 with new character creation and world building pages. You can get it now on my ko-fi store.

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A writer’s home

Over the course of my adult life, I’ve built a writer’s house. Not on purpose, mind you. I spent years trying not to build one. Sweeping and organizing and worrying over dishes piling in the sink. I worried about the state of the carpet, the state of the bathtub. I was taught as a child, as a girl in a fundamentalist religion, that the home was an expression of myself. That if my home wasn’t clean, I was a failure. 

Fighting against yourself never works though. And now I’ve given up doing that, and I live in a writer’s home. 

A writer’s home will always be a little messy. There will always be a story to write, or read, and that takes precedence over dusting and organizing. The windows won’t sparkle. The floor will often be in need of sweeping, and sometimes it will get it. The keyword in a writer’s home is often spills. Books are spilling off shelves. Even the most modern among us can’t get go of our physical books, even if e-books are delightfully convenient things. Coffee and tea spills can be spotted on couches and counters. 

A writer’s home will often have some sort of craft supplies. While we express ourselves through our words, some things have to be worked out visually. I’ve never met a writer that wasn’t also a painter, or a scrapbooker. A knitter, a still life drawer, a bullet journal fanatic. Stickers, paintbrushes, and paper scraps usually fall out of drawers. They were organized when they went in, no one’s really sure how the current state came to be. Cameras, and all of their accessories, cover dresser tops. And of course, even if we write everything on our beloved computers, there are always pens and notebooks around. 

A writer’s home will also have some things one might not expect, and might be hard to explain. Decorative swords hanging on the walls, for instance. Posters and fan art from our favorite characters or worlds. Replicas of axes, phasers and wands. Tiny models of starships. Whole Lego worlds, built and put on display. Writers are often people who’ve held onto their inner child, and are fond of letting them out to play. 

A writer’s house is often full of music. We feel music, and some of us need it to get through our days. Music to keep us company while we do any drudgery sort of chore. Carefully crafted playlists for our all-important Writing Time. Above all else, a writer loves a song that tells a story. 

There are always good places to sit down, or lay down, in a writer’s home. When the best activity someone can think of is to rest somewhere comfortable with a book, and usually a snack, then there will be cushion-filled nooks in almost every room. Any room that it can be gotten away with. Pillows stacked on a windowsill. Sofas with blankets across the back shoved close to the window. Beds with plenty of pillows so that the writer can sit up in bed and read. And of course, a spot for writing with a comfortable desk chair. 

Then another spot, often a kitchen table, in case the desk is too much pressure that day. 

A writer’s home is usually shared. If not by a human companion, then by a furry one. Or a feathered or scaly one. Some loyal companion that’s always down for a nap in a sunny spot while the writer does what they do so often. Someone to remind us that it’s important to rest as well. Someone to insist that we do go outside sometimes, at least for a few minutes. Someone to remind us that the world outside our stories isn’t all coldness and sorrow. That sometimes it’s a wagging tale, a purring chest. 

A writer’s home isn’t one often seen by people outside of it. We’re sensitive creatures, and we know that our homes don’t live up to the standards of other people. So if you’re invited into a writer’s home, be kind. Be gentle. You’ll be rewarded with a comfortable place to rest, a good snack, and something lovely to read. 

Thanks for letting me be a little more lyrical than usual today. I love my home and wanted to offer it a pose poem out of gratitude. Sometimes I need to feel less informative and more artistic. After all, we’re all artists here, right? If you want to see more of this pose poetry, let me know. I never get tired of writing it. 

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