Poetry can help develop prose writing in a variety of ways. Although you might not want to be known as a poet, the practice can do wonders to help expand your stories in ways that connect to the reader. In fact, poetry may help you pull greater emotions from those who read your work.
Now, I’m not saying that you should insert random rhyming lines within your chapters. What I’m focusing on today is how the overall structure of poetry will help you engage a reader and make for a better experience of your writing.
Poetry can help you with pacing, descriptions, and the overall flow of the manuscript.
Learning to Write Prose from Poetry
The difference between prose and poetry is that prose is a style of writing that focuses more on natural language and grammatical structures. This includes the proper structure of sentences and paragraphs.
The blog post you’re reading right now is considered “prose” writing.
Poetry, on the other hand, uses a rhythmic or metered tempo, often rhyming, to tell a story. There are many different forms of poetry, ranging from short 3-line haikus to longer iambic pentameters.
Both forms of writing have a common denominator: to activate the reader’s mind to get them to see what you see. To let their imagination fill in the blanks and build a story in the Mind’s Eye.
Anyway, how does poetry help you write prose stories and books?
Description, Metaphor, and Similes
One of the most important concepts of writing a good book is show, don’t tell. This is essentially the difference between describing a person, place, or thing rather than just a basic telling.
Poetry has a lot of description involved, most of it surrounded with metaphor and similes. Learning how to fold those elements into a prose piece without confusing the reader will make for a more engaged piece of writing.
Just make sure you’re not using cliches. There are some metaphors and similes that have been done to death in books.
Of course, you still need to create a balance for pacing. Some descriptions can drone on for too long, losing the attention of your reader. For instance, you don’t want to spend three pages describing a coffee cup that has no bearing on the plot.
Defining Symbolism
Symbolism is another aspect of poetry that a lot of poets lean on. This is when you describe a person, place, or thing beyond its actual meaning. A lot of symbolism is abstract or has a contextual meaning within the poem.
Symbolism can exist in titles, as well.
For instance, take the book, Knight of the Black Rose. One interpretation of a “black rose” is transformation. In the book, Lord Soth becomes undead and is taken to the realms of Ravenloft to become one of its rulers of dread. You can’t transform more than that. It’s a good book, by the way.
You’ll find symbolism in a lot of writing, from poetry to screenplays. It’s an effective method of getting and keeping the attention of an observational audience. In fact, you’ll find a lot of symbolism in “artistic” movies that wind up taking Oscars every year.
Now, you don’t have to fill your book with symbolism. However, a few repeating or meaningful elements throughout the piece can help bring it to life.
Condensing and Editing
A couple of the things I learned while doing poetry in my Creative Writing workshop are to condense and edit without losing the plot. Just like writing prose, you’ll undoubtedly write poetry that is quite long. Sometimes, you need to shave off a bit.
Does that mean you can’t write super-long poems? No. In fact, there is a single poem that is roughly two million words long as the record holder.
Writing poetry and purposely trying to get it to fit into a specific, shortened space is a great practice of being succinct. This is especially useful when writing prose for micro or flash fiction contests.
Reading and Analyzing Poetry
Even if you don’t think you’ll ever write or publish a single line of poetry, it’s worth the time to read. Not only are there a lot of great poems in the world to enjoy, but they will also give you a chance to critically analyze them for form and function.
When reading a piece, ask yourself a few questions:
- What kind of imagery does the poem invoke for you and why?
- What is the theme or meaning of the writing according to your interpretation?
- How does the poem invoke metaphors or similes to accentuate the flow?
- How does the poem draw emotion from you, and what emotion did it draw?
- Is there anything you would add or subtract to make the poem better, and why?
These are only a handful of examples of questions to ask yourself when analyzing poems. Essentially, you want to pick apart the writing to examine everything the author is trying to convey and how they structured the poem.
It takes a bit of practice, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to take a course or two, either online or through a college.
You can critically analyze virtually any text, especially those that seem to perform well or perhaps someone you’d like to emulate. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with figuring out what is working for a story and how it affects you.
Notice that I said “emulate” and not “copy.” You want to find your own voice, technique, and style when writing prose or poetry.
Analyzing texts, whether prose or poetry, gives you a lot of insight into what works and what doesn’t.
Would I Write Poetry and Prose?
I am a prose writer. While I have dabbled a bit in poetry, I highly doubt they would be anything I would show to the general public. It’s not that I don’t enjoy poetry; I’m just not a fan of writing it. That may change at some point down the line, but not today.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some great poets out there. I’ve interviewed several who have created some amazing pieces. It’s just not something that interests me as an author. I’ll read poetry, but I don’t think I need to add anything to it.
I believe that authors should broaden their horizons when it comes to reading. Different authors, different genres, and different styles can all work to enhance your abilities to write. You may even find yourself mixing genres to create something unique.
Not to mention that you don’t really know what you’ll like until you try.
Sure, it’s OK to have a favorite. I am partial to both fantasy and horror. But I also enjoy fan fiction, science fiction, some romance, and anything dark. There’s nothing wrong with having an eclectic palette for books.
Which Style of Writing Do You Prefer?
When it comes to writing, there’s really no right or wrong answer to whether you should write poetry or prose. I know a lot of authors who do both quite regularly. The only thing that really matters is what you want out of your writing.
Well, that and not using generative AI to write either. Learn a skill and develop your abilities; don’t let a bot take that away from you.
Anyway, I prefer the more story-driven layout of prose writing. Not because I think I suck as a poet, but because that is what draws me in. And that’s OK. I read a bit of poetry and have enjoyed quite a bit of what I’ve come across.
You can enjoy poetry as an author while having no interest in writing it.
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