3 Things You MUST Do When You Write a Story in Rhyme

 

Rhyme, Scansion, and Metric feet:

I admire authors who successfully write in rhyme. It's not easy! If you love writing in rhyme, make

sure you've followed this three-step check list before you send it to agents and publishers.

☐ Avoid “Yoda-speak” and/or awkward sentences. Delete anything that sounds forced or backwards for the sake of the rhyme –also known as forced rhyme. The STORY must be the star of the book over the rhyme.

☐ Rhyme is not successfully by simply matching syllables. You have to know if the syllables are stressed or unstressed. You must track metric feet. Take a scansion test to track if your rhythm/meter is on pointed throughout your story? (Scansion definitions and links are below).

☐ Make sure the rhyme moves the story forward. No gratuitous words for the sake of matching the rhythm. The rhyme must drive the reader from act i to act ii to act iii without a forced pause. 

SCANSION: Scansion or “scanning” a poem is the act of tracking stressed and unstressed (strong and weak) syllables.  For example, the word “emphasis” is pronounced [ em-fuh-sis ], not em- FAH-sis – the middle section is unstressed. It doesn’t pause or linger or receive special emphasis. Readers should be able to read a poem with natural emphasis on syllables.  

EMPASIS: A strong syllable is pronounced with more emphasis than a weak syllable. Scansion helps writers see and establish the rhythmic structure (the meter). A good PATTERN (to my ears) makes the rhythm and rhyme work. The pattern of stressed and unstressed is what forms the metric feet.

How do you know if a syllable is stressed or unstressed beyond listening to speech rhythm. You could check dictionaries – the stressed syllable is marked with an accent or is in bold type. Like “mu-sic” meaning the first syllable is stressed. Yes – it is a lot of work!  Some tricks beyond listening to natural patterns include:

• Nouns and adjectives: Often, the first syllable is stressed (e.g., TA-ble, HAP-py).
• Verbs and Prepositions: Usually, the second syllable is stressed if the word has two syllables (e.g., “become”= be-COME; “reply”= re-PLY).
• Compound words – a phrase will follow a pattern.

·       Here is a link for How to Scansion a poem: 

METRIC FEET: How do you know if your rhythm is working – track the metric feet.

What might tracking metric feet look like? Check out this link.

You can mark stressed and unstressed to track your metric feet (e.g., you can mark stressed syllables with “x” and unstressed with “o” ).

Check out Tim McCanna's books for examples of rhyme done well!

Also note, picture books don't have to rhyme. There are other beautiful (and other poetic) ways to write a story. Check out this article in Writer's Digest.

Top 15 Tips for Your Path to Publication

 

Congratulations on pursuing your writing and publishing dreams. Let’s go!

 

1.             READ READ READ! Read A LOT of books in the genre in which you want to be published, and make sure you read a lot of current books. When you find a book you love, spend extra time trying to identify two “tricks” the author used to get you (the reader) to root for the protagonist and the protagonist’s goals.

2.             Keep a running list of comp titles: *Publishing is a business, and publishers will want something to compare potential revenue to. Stay aware of your genre and note what books might be comparable titles to your story so you can be ready when it’s time to pitch. 

3.             Follow the hashtag #MSWS which stands for Manuscript Wish List. That’s where agents list the type of manuscripts they’d like to read. Watch social media for pitch events and also mentorship opportunities.

4.             Learn about PAY. #PublishingPaidMe was created on Twitter by L.L. McKinney and spearheaded by McKinney and Tochi Onyebuchi. You can find and view the public, anonymous spreadsheet link on Melanin in YA’s blogsite or here, brought to you by The Transparency Project.

5.             Join or form a critique group with writers who write and read in your same genre (e.g., if you write YA fantasy, critique with fellow YA fantasy writers).

6.             Join  SCBWI aka Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. It’s an organization of authors and illustrators who help other authors and illustrators. You will learn so much about craft and professionalism by participating in SCBWI events.

7.             ENGAGE Attend a conference or webinar. It will close the learning gap quickly. If you do, make sure you sign up for a one-on-one critique.

8.            Hold yourself accountable: Join 12x12 which was formed by Julie Hedlund. What is it: "12 x 12 is an inclusive and supportive learning community of picture book authors and illustrators at all experience levels. You’ll get accountability, encouragement, and resources to support you in achieving your goal of writing one new picture book draft each month (or at least writing more than you would on your own)."

9.             If you want to write picture books, read Ann Whiteford Paul's revised and expanded edition Writing Picture Books. If you are writing a novel, check out books on structure like Save the Cat Writes the Novel by Jessica Brody.

10.         BIC: Get your “Butt In Chair” and write every day. Have a goal of how many words a day you plan to write—and by the way, word count is the lingo of the writing world. It's not about page count, but instead word count.   

11.          Keep a Collections Journal of ideas, words, names, smells, phrases, etc.

12.          Connect/Community : See if someone in your area hosts a writer connect (a writer get-together)—a free event with a monthly topic. Topics can be anything from novel structure, character development, etc. You’ll find this easily if you join SCBWI.

13.         READ BLOGS: My blog is PACKED with advice on things like making a revision checklists, how to write a query letter, how to use back matter, etc. Scroll on through to read my tips (aka Three Parts of a Query Letter).

14.         Get Social: I stay busy with Instagram. However, many kid-lit authors now use Blue Sky (I haven’t checked it out yet).

15.         Be a good Literary Citizen: See what’s happening in Writer's Digest. If you’re advanced in the writing and query process, you might even subscribe to Publishers Marketplace. There, you’ll be able to see which agent represents xyz book and which publisher bought it and for around how much money. Check out The Horn Book magazine. Read School Library Journal if you have time.

BONUS! Take one of my classes at UCLA Extensions or wherever I might be speaking!

Other posts you might want to click on:

3 Parts of a Query Letter and 5 Parts of the Hook Paragraph - Your Guide to Connect with a Literary Agent

The Ultimate Editing and Revising Checklist! (53 points!)

5 Pro-Tips About Back Matter

The Mistake to Avoid When Writing Your Story

11 Mistakes to Avoid When Querying a Literary Agent

7 Quick and Easy Tips for Writing Dialogue Tags

What's a HIGH CONCEPT hook?

 

 

Publishing 101 

3 Parts of a Query Letter and 5 Parts of the Hook Paragraph - Your Guide to Connect with a Literary Agent

 

Agents receive hundreds of queries per month. Want to be noticed? Present a clean, easy-to-read letter

that follows the agent's guidelines. Live in the paradox of writing a robust but short letter. Keep it down to three paragraphs that are easy to skim. A scannable letter follows the formula of

THE HOOK

THE BOOK

THE COOK.

HOOK: The “hook” paragraph includes 5 important components:

1.       Say why you chose that agent (WHY them in particular). One short and sweet sentence is enough.  

    2.      Word count

    3.      Genre (e.g., middle grade fantasy, contemporary YA, narrative nonfiction picture book, etc.)

    4.      Title of your manuscript (capitalized)

    5.      Hook (aka name comp titles) – a comp is used to fast-forward a reader’s understanding of what you are pitching. Don’t compare yourself to obscure books or little-known writers because that does not achieve your goal of creating a quick set-up in the reader's brain. Do a lot of research! Find comps. They help hook an agent. 

EXAMPLE in order of the five components: 

Dear Rossi,

I enjoyed your interview in Writer's Digest and reading about your desire to represent nail-biting middle grade novels that feature strong STEM girls. Please accept this query for my 31,000-word spooky middle-grade manuscript, THE HAUNTING OF HAMLET MIDDLE SCHOOL. Fans of Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters meets Aimee Lucido’s Emmy in the Key of Code will also be fans of this story.  

THE BOOK:  The “book” paragraph succinctly tells four things about your manuscript: 

1.  your flawed protagonist 
2. their goal
3. the stakes 
4. the theme. 

Write your "book" pitch as one compelling paragraph with those four parts in mind. You will not reveal the ending unless the agent’s guidelines ask you to include a synopsis (a synopsis tells the full story—the beginning, middle, and ending). The “book” paragraph might read like a jacket flap. Keep in mind, it is to entice the agent to open the manuscript.

THE COOK: The “cook” paragraph is about you as it relates to writing. Remember, keep it concise and professional for the win. You don’t have to have publishing credit to write your cook paragraph. If you are a member of SCBWI, say so. If you are taking writing courses, mention that. If you are an active member of a critique group, you can even mention that. If you are pitching a nonfiction book, mention your credentials to write that book (e.g., you are writing a space nonfiction and you work for NASA, mention that).

Here is an example of a short-and-sweet “cook” paragraph:

By day, I teach coding for the University of California Berkeley, by night I take creative writing courses through UCLA Extensions.  I am an active member of SCBWI and belong to two critique groups. As per your submission guidelines, I’ve pasted the first ten pages in the body of this email.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Gold D. Locks

Phone

Email address

P.S. Check out a current list of agent interviews on Natalie Aguirre's blog, Literary Rambles.