Guest Post--Tips for Writing Verse Novels

Today, I'm thrilled to host Caroline Starr Rose. She agreed to write a guest post for me giving all you wonderful people some useful information about writing verse novels. Her verse novel May B. will be published with Random House imprint Schwartz and Wade sometime in 2012. (Stop by her blog to get all the latest information.)

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at May B. and though I'm not going to do a full review right now (I want to wait until you can go get your own copy), I will say it was a delight to read! An utter delight! But more on that later...

So now without further ado...

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Here are some things to consider when writing verse novels:

Is the subject matter right for poetry?

Some topics lend themselves more easily to poetry than others. Some subjects refuse to be written as prose. While many stories can and will work as poetry, ask yourself if this medium is the best way to tell your story. If not, I'd advise you to take another approach.

Is the protagonist right for poetry?

Often (though not always) verse novels are told from a very close first-person point of view. This can be really tricky, as such writing calls for a lot of introspection on the protagonist's part. If this isn't your character, it's best, in my opinion, to avoid verse.

Can you sustain the intensity required to write a novel this way?

Sometimes writing in verse feels really natural. Other times the close-to-the-bone nature of poetry is hard to sustain.

If you are someone who can knock off thousands of words at one sitting, verse novels are going to hurt. Word counts will more realistically be in the hundreds. Entire novels are usually under 20,000 words. It can be slow and painful at times.

Can each poem stand alone?

Each poem in a verse novel must capture one moment, scene, idea, mark of change in your character's life. Poems should also be able to function separately from the rest of the story. This can be really daunting.

Does each poem contribute to the whole?

When I worked through my own verse novel, I kept a quilt in mind, treating each poem like its own square of fabric. Each patch had to be able to function separately while at the same time contribute to the whole. I trusted that if certain patterns and shades in my story quilt were repeated (think themes or story strands), eventually the interconnectedness would surface.

This approach is much more organic than the typical sequential approach taken with prose and can be kind of intimidating.

Vary the length of poems

Some scenes flow, some end abruptly. Some thoughts wander, some jab. Use this knowledge to your advantage in composing your poetry.

Vary the length of lines

Are there key phrases or words at the heart of your poem? Play with the way you arrange words on the page to determine what look best "speaks" the poem.

Within your poem, group similar ideas as stanzas or allow key lines to stand alone.

Structure

Because poetry is both visual and aural, let the structure of your work communicate to your reader your protagonist's emotional state.

Is she frightened? Think of how this feeling looks structurally (little punctuation? words tightly packed together?).

Is he in a hurry? How can you express this on the page?

You can also use specific types of poetry (sonnets, for example), as Pat Brisson did with her book, THE BEST AND HARDEST THING. In writing about Sylvia Plath (YOUR OWN, SYLVIA), author Stephanie Hemphill chose to mirror several of Plath's poems, giving her readers a sense of the poet's style, subject matter, intensity, and character.

Not every story can be told using poetry, but for those stories that demand to be written in verse, hopefully these guidelines will help get you moving in the right direction.

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Now that Caroline's given you some handy tips for writing verse novels, feel free to jump on over to my Scene-In-Verse Blogfest and sign up! You still have plenty of time to be brave and give it a whirl, even if you end up writing just one stanza!