  Poetry
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“Teach your children poetry; it opens the mind, lends grace to wisdom and makes the heroic virtues hereditary.”
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
“Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history.”
Plato (428 BC-348 BC)
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Editing Checklist
NaNoWriMo is a driving force for many writers this month. November is all about writing, but soon it will be all about editing . Since editing should be a huge portion of everything you write, including poetry, I wanted to address important areas to consider when editing.
Dead words
As many of you may know, I am studying to become a teacher. Part of that includes observing classrooms, and I discovered you can learn a great deal from a fourth grader. At the end of October, many Language Arts classrooms participated in funerals for dead words. Earlier in the week the students talked about why they shouldn’t use dead words, and what words they should use instead.
When I was in school we never learned things like dead words, so in case you are in a generation like mine, I’ll give a brief explanation: Dead words are words that have lost their power through overuse. They are clichés in single word form. Try to use words that are vivid and alive.
Dead word list: (Play with words in your thesaurus. Don’t rely on my suggestions alone. Pick the one that best describes what you are attempting to convey.)
a lot, lots - (try numerous)
also - (try moreover or besides)
awful, bad – (try dreadful or alarming)
but – (try however or although)
fun – (try pleasant or amusing)
funny – (try amusing or peculiar)
got, get – (try received or attained)
good [cool, awesome, rad and other slang terms for good] – (try marvelous or exceptional)
great – (try outstanding or fantastic)
guy – (try man, fellow, or boy)
kid – (try child, teen, or adolescent)
mad – (try frustrated, furious, or incensed)
nice – (try charming, delightful or pleasant)
pretty – (try attractive or beautiful)
scared – (try terrified or frightened)
so – (try therefore)
then – (try finally or meanwhile)
These aren’t the only dead words out there, but they represent a large portion. Check out the video I found on YouTube that shows students discussing and participating in a dead words funeral: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQODcdUtmH4 If you like it, there are others you can watch from that link.
The wuzzies
The wuzzies are using was with an ing verb rather than a strong verb alone. Here is an example: using “was running”, or “was eating” instead of “ran,” or “ate.”
Clichés
Everyone who writes knows about clichés. Suffice it to say, look for and edit them out of your poetry and prose.
Excessive adverbs
Not all adverbs are bad, but you want to remove any unnecessary words and adverbs are a common culprit. Start with words ending in “ly” and look for “just,” "then," "that," “only,” and “very” as well. Don’t go through and eliminate all of them, however, if the sentence can be understood without it—remove it.
Your favorite word processing program should have a “find” or “search” function. Use them when editing. I use it to find dead words, wuzzies, and adverbs. Using that function to discover clichés isn’t as effective, but can be done.
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Have a question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?
If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 and send it through email.
Comments on last month's newsletter:
Submitted By: monty31802
Submitted Comment:
Great newsletter Red.
Submitted By: Catherine Hall 
Submitted Item: "Invalid Item"
Submitted Comment:
I hadn't realised Dark poetry included anger and sadness as well as horror and death. Thanks for educating me. I intend reading this newsletter again, during the week, when I have more time to digest it. Thanks.
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Poetry: November 11, 2009 Issue [#3377]
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