How do you stay on topic

[Clarex]

Hey all 

new to this world but 

curious how like dyou ensure you stay on topic while writing?

i feel like i have issues with wandering, and also forcing end rhymes 

not sure what the fix is, maybe a thesaurus?

idk let me know what you guys think

[busker]

It's an unconscious competence. Like anything, if you practise enough, it'll come naturally.

I don't bother with end rhymes. There are so many half rhymes and slant rhymes in normal speech that end rhymes are unnecessary. The thing to strive for is beauty.

More practically speaking, if you're starting out, try experimenting with strict verse forms in the Poetry Practice section. Once you're able to write a sonnet on whim, you can move on to greater things.

[Quixilated]

Hello Clarex, welcome to the pigpen. 

I have moved your thread to our poetry discussion forum.  The miscellaneous forum is only for poems. 

As with everything, the best training is consistency.  The more you do it, the easier it will get.

[CRNDLSM]

Not staying on topic is also fine if you can find a way to come back around to it. See what might pop up by accident and go back and edit, make two or three short poems out of one long mess

[Weeded]

it helps if you actually have something to say, poems need to have a purpose, even if it's something as simple as describing the smell of a fart

[brynmawr1]

Hello Clarex,

Welcome to Pigpen.  

While I am no expert on poetry, that won't stop me from offering my opinion regarding your questions!

It is true that some of the most successful poems will be very focused on a narrow idea or experience.  These are the easiest to 'pull' off, but aren't the only way to approach writing a particular poem.  It is not uncommon for the poem to start with one idea and then pivot to a different but related idea.  That transition is often referred to as 'the turn' and there is no rule I am aware of that says a poem with more than one turn isn't "allowed".  I would say that the more a poem wanders the harder it will be for the narrator to bring the reader along for the ride in a way that leaves the reader satisfied rather than confused.  So my advice to you as a writer is to write your poem as you conceive it.  Then post it and get feedback on what is working  and what isn't.  Then adjust and repeat.  The key to that process is to keep an open mind and honestly review your own work critically while reflecting on the feedback you receive.

Now, regarding end rhyme poems.  Rhyming can be an effective way of providing a pleasing rhythm and forward momentum that helps drive the poem.  However, more often it only make the poem more predictable to the point where the reader knows where it's going before they get there.  That's good for memorizing but not much else, IMO.  There are other ways of driving rhythm and momentum that can keep a poem moving, such as meter, internal rhyme, slant rhymes and just good old fashioned provocative writing.  So I would recommend no trying to force a rhyme scheme.  Worry more about getting the message or intent of the poem to come through before going for organized rhyme.

Like I said, I am no expert so do with it what you will.
Look forward to reading your work.
Bryn

[busker]

On the subject of rhyme, it is worth noting that Beowulf didn't rhyme. Old English didn't have rhyming poems.
The ancient epics didn't rhyme, a fact stressed in the famous Introduction to Paradise Lost.
The only rhyming poems were songs.

But Italian poetry used rhyme, and that's because the Romance languages are rhyme rich. That in turn shaped the development of English poetry, as the models at hand were Dante, Petrarch, etc.. And so it came to be that rhyme-poor English defaulted to rhyme as the standard.

Etc.

[carahmellow]

I think focusing on rhythm over rhyme really helps. sometimes when im writing a non rhyming poem, im like.... why is this not working. It feels so off, and combersome.... to the point where its making me WANT to rhyme to fix it..... and its often because the rhythm is really off. you have to kind of move through the poem, and feel out what the natural syllabic rhythm is... where do you naturally want to stop and go and bounce (without rhyme). Often times you can feel it, and you can play with the line to give it the proper syllable placement.

also... throwing in a few rhymes in the right place can really help the poem move forward. its also really satisfying to come across these surprising rhymes. Its feels poetic without feeling so forced, like... oh wow, that was accidental (even if it wasnt).

and for staying on topic... i usually really meditate on what im trying to get across with a poem.... and usually i will write a VERY rough draft first. No pretty words... and no where near a "poem". This keeps me on track when im actually writing the poem. for example:

Driving
being along in a car is peace
its a moment to think uninteruped
for thoughts to circle your mind
a place to speak your thoughts out lout with no judgment
a place to vent
a place to debate yourself
it feels like a world of your own for a short time
a private place that you can be fully you
a therapy office where you are the therapist and the patient.

Then.... I take that.... and try to make it into a poem. As you can tell... that is NOT a poem what so ever, it's messy notes essentially.... but it made it so I can pull from somewhere. The notes are there now... not just flying around chaotically in my head, to try to catch while also trying to be creative at the same time.