Do you curse? Do you use "vocabulary" words? Is macaronic language fair
game? And what the hell do you rhyme with love?! There's a reason we roll our eyes at the love/dove rhyme. It's a cliche, it's predictable, and the last time it surprised anyone was in the 16th century. But four hundred years later, we're still relying on it. Why? It's a familiar combination. It's the first line that comes to our mind, so we use it. But to write well, we need to write actively. Consider that word choice is just that--a choice. Whether we use an aggressive word like attack or a softer word like barrage changes our poem, and so changes our performance. Likewise we must decide whether or not to curse, use rhyme, or work in SAT vocabulary. We'll discuss all of this openly, share what has and hasn't worked for us in the past, and in doing so come up with a set of guidelines for future use. Then we'll do writing exercises to practice and create. You'll go home with a better sense of how to get the most word-bang for your word-buck, as well as a new poem or three.