Click here for Anti-Racism resources.
We’d like to thank Cordelia Jensen for this blog post! Cordelia is leading two novel in verse workshops for us in 2021:
Creating an Image System That Works for Your Verse Novel Online Course
March 3-31
Find out more.
Liberations and Limitations in Writing Verse Novels Online Course
April 14-May 12
Find out more.
If you have an in-progress or completed draft of a middle grade or young adult novel in verse, consider joining us for one of these courses.
Writing verse novels means tackling particular limitations but it also means uncovering, experimenting and a lot of play. It is an expansive form that can be liberating! One of the major liberations is all that poetry has to offer your verse novel. In my upcoming class for Highlights, we will take a deeper dive into many aspects of the form, but I would like to share with you today an exercise I advise all of my verse novel students to try.
Opening up the poetry toolbox and finding the precise tools you need to create a dynamic voice for your narrative style is one of the most exciting aspects of writing verse novels. If you have a POV character who is really into puzzling and equations, maybe form poetry is a great fit. If you have a carefree artistic character maybe you will experiment more with free verse, font and/or punctuation play. There are many poetic elements to consider. Before you decide how you want your character to sound, take time to audition and experiment. Here are some ideas to get you started:
For your POV character/s try writing a few lines using each of these poetic devices. I provided examples from published verse novels to give you some inspiration!
In alliteration (assonance, consonance):
Ex.
“my mind biding time hiding surviving by outsiding”
–Laurie Halse Anderson, SHOUT
“the sleepy red sun slips its way from the sky”
–David Bowles, THEY CALL ME GÜERO
Using an allusion:
Ex. “My hair is long, my height’s tall.
See I’m the next Kevin Durant, LeBron and Chris Paul.”
–Kwame Alexander, CROSSOVER
Using metaphor:
Ex. “She’s a magnet
I am metal
resisting”
–Chris Baron, ALL OF ME
In meter:
Ex. “two years behind me, about one more to go./
There’s too much I can’t see. Too much I know.”
–Helen Frost, KEESHA’S HOUSE (iambic pendameter, sonnet)
Using a refrain:
“In Aman’s arms I feel warm
In Aman’s arms I feel safe
In Aman’s arms he apologizes
In Aman’s arms I apologize…”
–Elizabeth Acevado, THE POET X
In rhyme:
Ex.
“I’d travel this nation
and be a sensation!”
— Linda Oatman High, SISTER SLAM AND THE POETIC MOTORMOUTH ROAD TRIP
In rhythm:
Ex. “I love her like my mother, like my sister, like my friend,
like I am part of them.”
— Stephanie Hemphill, YOUR OWN SYLVIA
Using a simile:
Ex. “black seeds spill
like clusters of eyes,
wet and crying.”
–Thanhaa Lai, INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN
Ex. “We wait
like rabbits
sniffing at the edge of our burrows testing the air
never sure if it is safe
to go out.”
–Melanie Crowder, AUDACITY
After you try these auditions, here are some reflection questions:
If you liked these exercises, try these:
For more experimentations in writing verse, try my upcoming Highlights workshops:
Creating an Image System That Works for Your Verse Novel Online Course
March 3-31
Find out more.
Liberations and Limitations in Writing Verse Novels Online Course
April 14-May 12
Find out more.
Posted on: February 2, 2021
Tags: faculty guest post, jensen, novels in verse, poetry, writing tips