# Does anyone else do this when writing poetry?



## AnSionnach (Oct 12, 2012)

Whenever I write a poem, the experience for me is always an intensely visual one. The aspects of each individual word (denotation, connotation, etymology, sound) and the ways in which words are arranged always create very crisp, detailed images in my mind. When I decide to reword a sentence I'm not directly changing the words so much as I am manipulating the picture in my head, then mapping new words to that picture.

So when I write poetry, it feels less like I'm writing and more like I'm painting an elaborate picture. Does anyone else use that sort of synesthetic thinking when writing? Does anyone think that there are advantages/disadvantages to this technique?

I now open the floor to discussion.


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## Conker (Oct 14, 2012)

I don't write a whole lot of poetry, and I really don't write a whole lot of freeform poetry. For me then, it sort of boils down to "what do I want to say and how can I say while remaining in meter, rhyme, and line length." I guess it becomes more of a language puzzle, though I tend to stick with the imagery more than anything.


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## Sweet Pea the Malamute (Oct 22, 2012)

I go through a very similar experience  Generally, my poetry is in a narrative style, which tries to evoke the emotional 'reaction' to a certain event/memory. And in doing so, word choice is a major consideration, especially connotative meaning, and the way the words sound together, the rhythm. I don't write in rhyme, but I always read my works aloud as I edit and revise them, to get a feel for the language  as spoken, as heard. But I do try to create a total 'picture' tactile, visual, and otherwise.

I'm going to finally go to grad school for an an MFA in writing, but I'm afraid I'll have to focus more on fiction, as there is not really any hope of poetry paying the bills...even though I think it's what I am better at doing.


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