Preference: Handwriting or Typing?
Handwriting for taking notes when I'm out and about, I keep a small notepad with me wherever I go. Typing for when I sit down in my office and it's time to transcribe onto the computer and building either a poem or a scene for a short story.
I use and enjoy both. The urge to sentimentally choose the pen is understandable, and I do always keep a pen and notebook close by. That said, there is such a benefit to seeing what your poem will look like in real time. Seeing the line breaks, stanza breaks, and even the physical appearance of the words on the page is incredibly beneficial when making edits or creative decisions.
The Swinburne Arms
Drinking beer and thinking of Swinburne's poems.
Watching time slip backwards as beer slips down, and
realising none of his work is present
at The Swinburne Arms.
Watching time slip backwards as beer slips down, and
realising none of his work is present
at The Swinburne Arms.
Written by AnonymousBystander
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Going further, has anyone started out by primarily using one method, then gradually moving over into the other?
AnonymousBystander said:Yes. I've tried sonnets (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/321736-email-reply/), Pushkin sonnets (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/322919-lbc---leading-britains-condescension/), terza rima (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/323937-english-lane/), villanelles (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/324995-truck-stop-or-the-repeal-of-the-truck/), sapphic ()[/url] ... I didn't realise I've done so many until I wrote this note. (It still doesn't come easy though: one other point to mention, I've posted poems even though I know that they could or should be better, the sapphic is an example of such).
I think that my next 'strategy' is to try and write something in iambic pentameter (one of the things I'm working on is a court case from the 1720s) and either leave it in blank verse or put some rhyme in it. The point is just to practice the meter though.
ps I don't know why the poem appeared in the thread?
It's partly because I haven't worked with specific verse forms, but there's a couple you've mentioned that I don't know of at all. The "Pushkin sonnet" for one (how many varieties are there...?!) (Haha.)
Speaking of metre again, I've never quite understood how the stresses work. If unused to writing in this way, does one develop an 'ear' for it?
AnonymousBystander said:Yes. I've tried sonnets (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/321736-email-reply/), Pushkin sonnets (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/322919-lbc---leading-britains-condescension/), terza rima (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/323937-english-lane/), villanelles (https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/324995-truck-stop-or-the-repeal-of-the-truck/), sapphic ()[/url] ... I didn't realise I've done so many until I wrote this note. (It still doesn't come easy though: one other point to mention, I've posted poems even though I know that they could or should be better, the sapphic is an example of such).
I think that my next 'strategy' is to try and write something in iambic pentameter (one of the things I'm working on is a court case from the 1720s) and either leave it in blank verse or put some rhyme in it. The point is just to practice the meter though.
ps I don't know why the poem appeared in the thread?
It's partly because I haven't worked with specific verse forms, but there's a couple you've mentioned that I don't know of at all. The "Pushkin sonnet" for one (how many varieties are there...?!) (Haha.)
Speaking of metre again, I've never quite understood how the stresses work. If unused to writing in this way, does one develop an 'ear' for it?
"Speaking of metre again, I've never quite understood how the stresses work. If unused to writing in this way, does one develop an 'ear' for it?"
Yes but it isn't easy.
There are some good links on the web about iambic pentameter where wanna be actors get into the rhythm of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter in his blank verse. That is a good 'in' (or it was for me); by repeating their exercises I good 'feel' it. It all sounds a bit hippy-dippy nonsense but if you find the websites you'll know what I mean.
There are lots of resources for scansion to get you thinking about it ... I found For Better for Verse https://prosody.lib.virginia.edu/ a really useful resource.
I also found Anglo Saxon meter really useful to 'feel' a rhythm ... I've got some links but not to hand at the moment ... will post later (as well as the Shakespeare ones).
Yes but it isn't easy.
There are some good links on the web about iambic pentameter where wanna be actors get into the rhythm of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter in his blank verse. That is a good 'in' (or it was for me); by repeating their exercises I good 'feel' it. It all sounds a bit hippy-dippy nonsense but if you find the websites you'll know what I mean.
There are lots of resources for scansion to get you thinking about it ... I found For Better for Verse https://prosody.lib.virginia.edu/ a really useful resource.
I also found Anglo Saxon meter really useful to 'feel' a rhythm ... I've got some links but not to hand at the moment ... will post later (as well as the Shakespeare ones).
Anonymous
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I love the aesthetic of handwriting. It's intimate to have all your writing bundled up in a notebook. I'm also very narcissistic in the sense that I enjoy looking at my own handwriting. However, with longer pieces of writing, typing is always a go-to. You never hear about writers writing novels on paper anymore. Too many pages. And graphite smears; I can attest to that.
Maeve said:I love the aesthetic of handwriting. It's intimate to have all your writing bundled up in a notebook. I'm also very narcissistic in the sense that I enjoy looking at my own handwriting. However, with longer pieces of writing, typing is always a go-to. You never hear about writers writing novels on paper anymore. Too many pages. And graphite smears; I can attest to that.
Maybe a bit off-topic, but I am curious - do you find your handwriting changes over the years?
Maybe a bit off-topic, but I am curious - do you find your handwriting changes over the years?
