www.damianjayclay.com

damianjayclay (57) in writing • 7 years ago (edited)

www.damianjayclay.com

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7 years ago by damianjayclay (57)

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somethingsubtle (56) · 7 years ago

Nice tips.

I know one recommendation I've heard is to tweak and contort the cliche to fit your own experience with your own detail, similar to your inky bruise example.

The cliche still has power, it just has to be made unique again.

damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

That's a great article. Yes, I love rewriting cliches.

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poetrybyjeremy (58) · 7 years ago

Quite useful advice! Clichés are indeed bad. Whenever I pick up a poetry collection and see a cliché, I lose hope not just in the poem but in the main collection. Other rules that we tend to think we need to follow are rhyming - which is from it.

One of the biggest praises I have received regarding my poetry is by people saying that they do not usually read poetry, but they understood mine. Especially on platforms like steemit, you do not want a small cult to read your work, but preferably, anyone that reads it will understand.

As for the question for next post:

I have seen some people experiment with indentation in pretty unique ways. Do you have a general opinion on indentations - if they are helpful, distracting, or depends on a case-to-case bases?

damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks for reading. Yes, I think the audience on Steemit seem quite open to poetry; best to make it as polished as we can.

Thanks for the question. It's an important one!

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poetrybyjeremy (58) · 7 years ago

And it's also great to see a lot of steemians who never wrote poetry, doing so for the first time! These sessions are definitely crucial to learn from.

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jayna (69) · 7 years ago

This is exceptional, @damianjayclay. There's such a wealth of great information. I love your thoughts on clichés and how to spot them. That is true with all creative writing.

damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks, Jayna, and thanks for reading. Yes, this one especially is as important for prose as it is for poetry.

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rahlee (25) · 7 years ago

This is a great great read...ill start using these tips... Im also a poet but i hate writing long poems & i rarely read long poems, i only read it if it grips my attention... I like writing 3...5lines of words with great depth... Any advice on that?

damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Yeah -- tips for short form poems. I'll cover that in the Q&A. Thanks for reading :)

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lymepoet (63) · 7 years ago

I really enjoy reading your series, as I learn some new things from your expertise. I do my best to steer away from cliches because they take the power out of a poem. What I do instead is adding new layers of meaning to the words.

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks for reading. Glad you're finding it useful!

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nikisteem (48) · 7 years ago

HI there! May I know something? Is poetry that sounds like it's prose chopped up actually poetry?

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darrencray (45) · 7 years ago

I know this person who wants to improve on their poetry but refuses to change any cliches and old English in her work. What advice should I give her?

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idenkcall (47) · 7 years ago

Nice work as always. It seema like TWB wants to transform me into a poet.

One question. How would you define poetry?

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tibra (58) · 7 years ago

Yes, reading helps identify cliches; it's the only sure way.

I agree fully.

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks for reading. :)

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wandrnrose7 (65) · 7 years ago

Following your series... Very good information in the one I read from seven days ago on *imagery, I appreciate the time that you take to break the concepts down for the reader them and show better examples. My poetry is a work-in-progress, and I enjoy reading good poetry so I aspire to write better work. Nice work!

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Very glad you're finding it useful. If there's something specific you'd like to ask, I'll attempt to answer it in the Q&A session.

Thanks for reading :)

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wandrnrose7 (65) · 7 years ago

I will definitely keep that in mind. You're a wealth of good information!

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shadowspub (70) · 7 years ago

Hi @damianjayclay, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.

Join us on Thursdays for Pimp Your Post Thursday at 11am EDT or 7PM EDT in the Steemit Ramble Discord or:

If you’d like to nominate someone’s post just visit the Steemit Ramble Discord

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thank you, Shadows. So glad you enjoyed it. :)

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chaosreignstv (40) · 7 years ago

If that post was a petition I would sign it right away! Unless you're Mallarmé and purposedly make your writings indecipherable, words are first made to connect to each other. Style is not about the level of vocabulary you employ, it's how you assemble simple words and make your own music. I've really enjoyed the genesis of the etymology "cliché", which I didn't know. When it comes to cliché, another good way to practice, at least it was to me, is to choose a cliché poem's subject, like a red rose, and try to find an original angle. You might end up with some headache though^^

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

That actually sounds like a great idea. Rewrite the clichéd theme as well as the line. Thanks for reading and commenting. There's a lot more to come. :)

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chaosreignstv (40) · 7 years ago

Will keep reading with great pleasure :)

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felicitas (50) · 7 years ago (edited)

I came to read this helpful blog as I read the advice of @poetrybyjeremy for @prch poem. This encouraged me to do poems, I love to do but afraid to have corrections by language teachers because I am not familiar with the rules as to rhyming, syllables lines, etc. Good thing for a 20th century writer that we can express our very own and even break rules just to make readers read until the last word. Thank you @damianjayclay.

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Glad you're finding it useful. We'll be covering lines, line breaks and enjambments in the post after next, so I hope you stick around for that one.

Thanks for reading.

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felicitas (50) · 7 years ago

I will be waiting, excited to learn, thanks.

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nikisteem (48) · 7 years ago

Yes! Thank you for the enlightening journey Sir Damian the Bear! See you on the flipside...

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks for reading :)

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cyemela (63) · 7 years ago

Very informative and well written. Learned some stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Have noticed some cliched poems on here. Looked like international poets learning English. They have my forgiveness.

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks for reading. Glad you found it useful. Yes, it must be much harder for those learning the language to avoid cliches.

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momzillanc (61) · 7 years ago

Well penned and informative. I knew the plates were “clichés” and “stereotypes” – somehow, I never thought about the connection of those printing terms to the conversational definitions of those same words.

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

Thank you for reading. I really think the clink is a good aural image to keep hold of when you spot a cliche.

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tessaragabrielle (48) · 7 years ago

I didn't know about the origins of cliche and stereotype—that's pretty cool! I've definitely been guilty of lazy poetry, especially early on in my process. I think the advice to read as much poetry as one can, from both older sources and modern ones, cannot be overemphasized. Yes, we all want to be original, but the best way to do that, counterintuitive as it may seem, is to be widely read. At least, that's been my approach to it!

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damianjayclay (57) · 7 years ago

One of my poetry tutors, Tim Liardet, always used to say, "The more poetry collections you read, the more you start to sound like yourself." Good advice.

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nauvalmhd (43) · 7 years ago

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