#BlogchatterA2Z

Avoid Clichés and Overused Phrases

The Poet's Alphabet - #BlogchatterA2Z challenge
PC: Designed by the Author using Canva

Welcome! I’m participating in the #BlogchatterA2Z challenge where I’ll be sharing 26 posts on the theme “The Poet’s Alphabet: 26 Secrets for Crafting Beautiful Poetry”. In each post, I’ll offer bite-sized tips and tricks for crafting and editing poetry to perfection. Today’s tip is:

Avoid clichés and overused phrases

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using clichés or overused phrases when writing poetry. However, these types of phrases can make your work feel uninspired and unoriginal. Instead, strive to find unique and fresh ways to express your ideas. For example, instead of saying “quiet as a mouse,” you could say “silent as the stillness of midnight.”

Instead of using a tired phrase like “time heals all wounds,” try to come up with a more original way of expressing the same sentiment. For example, “the scars of yesterday may fade, but their memory lingers on.”

See you with another tip, tomorrow.

This post is a part of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2023 challenge.

#BlogchatterA2Z Theme Reveal: The Poet’s Alphabet

26 Secrets for Crafting Beautiful Poetry

Created by the Author using Canva

April is one of the months that I look forward to with eagerness as a poet & a writer. It’s a month of writing challenges like NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo and A to Z challenges. I have shared my previous experience with NaPoWriMo, here. Last year, I participated in the Blogchatter’s A2Z challenge crafting 26 intuitive poetries using heteronym characters and it was well received to be turned into an E-book. You can find a copy of the book, here.

I recently did #26days26poems on love in February, this year. So I thought, this time, I would refrain from writing poetry and instead, write bite-sized posts on 26 secrets for crafting beautiful poetry. The upcoming 26 posts will be corresponding to each letter of the English alphabet. Each of them will help you with actionable tips to craft/edit your poetry to perfection. These are the tips I have learnt and used in my works and most of them are answers to the questions that I am frequently asked for help with.

I will be updating here with the links to posts corresponding to each letter of the Poet’s Alphabet, for easy accessibility.

The Poet’s Alphabet

A: Avoid clichés and overused phrases

B: Brainstorm Ideas and Write Them Down as Soon as They Come To You

C: Choose Precise and Descriptive Words To Create Strong Imagery

D: Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment With Form and Structure

E: Embrace Vulnerability and Honesty in Your Writing

F: Focus On Creating a Strong Opening and Closing Line

G: Get Feedback From Other Poets or Writing Groups

H: Harness the Power of Metaphors and Similes

I: Invest Time in Reading and Studying Poetry

J: Juxtapose Unexpected Ideas or Images for Added Impact

K: Keep Your Writing Process Flexible

L: Let Your Emotions and Experiences Inspire Your Writing

M: Master the Art of Enjambment To Create Rhythm and Flow

N: Never Settle For Your First Draft – Always Revise and Improve

O: Observe the World Around You and Use Sensory Details To Bring It to Life in Your Poems

P: Play With Sound and Alliteration To Create Music in Your Poetry

Q: Question Everything – Don’t Be Afraid To Challenge Conventions

R: Read Your Poem Aloud

S: Show, Don’t Tell

T: Trust Your Instincts

U: Use Repetition for Emphasis

V: Visualize Your Poems

W: Write From Different Perspectives To Add Depth and Complexity

X: eXperiment With Punctuation To Create New Effects and Rhythms

Y: Yearn for Authenticity

Z: Zero in on the Details-Focus on the Small Moments That Make up a Larger Experience

I will be consciously keeping the content of these posts bite-sized so that you don’t find it overwhelming and help you make progress, one step at a step. Hope you find the posts useful, no matter wherever you are in your poetry writing journey. To make sure not to miss any of my posts, subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the form below:

This post is a part of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2023 challenge.

Soft Strings Of My Heart- Book Review

A poetry book by Roma Gupta Sinha

An image designed by Blogchatter that showcases the poetry book, Soft Strings Of My Heart, by the author Roma Gupta Sinha.
©Blogchatter | EBook by Roma Gupta Sinha

It’s hard being a writer to be vulnerable and share one’s life as is but in this #BlogchatterEBook, “Soft Strings Of My Heart”, the author Roma Gupa Singha makes it look easy. As the by-line of her book says, she has weaved her soul into poetic florets. The outstanding feature of this book is its honesty right from the start where the dedication reads, “I dedicate this book to my resilience and to my love for life…”. The poet has let the readers get a peek into her life through her verses.

To start with, the vibrant cover of the book had me fall for it instantly. The choice of colours and the floral design, give out a sense of bold and beautiful, aptly capturing the essence of the book.

The poems grouped under five chapters in the book bring about the different phases the poet has been through. Under the first chapter, “The call of the woman in me”, along with putting forth her journey as a strong woman standing for herself, Roma has also voiced out the agonies of other women who have opened up to her looking for solace. I’m sure those women who find their vulnerabilities voiced through Roma would have found solace and courage as well.

She doesn’t want to deprive them of their father’s love
The same crap I have been listening for years
I have come across so many wonderful women with battered souls
Staying under the same roof for this reason

~

Summon up all your courage my love
You have the power to weave your nest the way you want
You have the power, believe in yourself
Get up and give him back what he deserves

~

The second chapter, titled, ” “Love in its infinite forms”, captures the sweet tenderness of the poet’s love for the man of her life. Roma vivdly captures her love life in words of beauty and simplicity. Just one look into the poem, you know their love story is sophisticated in the simplicity. It’s pure joy.

The gentle sea waves kissed our feet,
As if trinkets of joy tickling us sweet
Our eyes gave each other a warm embrace,
As our fingers too spoke to each other with smiles

~

I need to tell you this, my one
when I will be gone
I don’t want to drip
down your eyes like tears
promise me you’ll rather keep me alive
in your beautiful smiles

~

You may like this related read: Book review of the Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

In the third chapter, ” Maa and Motherhood” Roma introduces herself as a caring mother and also reminisces the fond memories of her late mother with verses weaved through the threads of gentleness. The straightforward lines just make it all the more relatable.

With you my little one
I have lived my childhood again multiple times
Weaved uncountable memories
Which warm my heart every time
~
Time is just flying by
And in my arms, I wish to hold you tight
Before you grow up into a handsome young man
ready to fly
~
She waits for me in the lovely morn's dew drops...
And caresses and pampers me through her silent touch,
When I walk bare feet on the wet grass
That's where I forever find my Mom
~

While the fourth chapter, ” My unending battle with chronic endometriosis” captures the author’s struggle and strength, the fifth chapter, “My beloved teacher, life’s gifts to me (in random order)”, captures the myriad shades of her life’s journey with a lens of optimism.

Surgery after surgery
My threshold to bear the pain has gone for a toss
Now my heart shatters at the slightest thought
Of undergoing it one more time

They say endometriosis has no cure
I even altered my lifestyle and lost forty pounds
But it never really stopped
Torturing me and making me weak in my mental
 resolve

~

I inched closer to the tree
With a wide smile, to be finally meeting my Lord Supreme
With every step, I felt healed
I felt He loved his people unconditionally

I walked faster
So wanting to thank Him in person
Finally, I took a sneak peek behind the tree
And can you guess who was there, exuding the divine white light...
~

The poet, Roma, has bared her soul and let us all into her life through her verses of honesty. Right from the start till the end, there is a contagious optimism that seeps through these verses and sticks forever with the reader. And I tell you, it will only help you find strength through your struggles and look forward to life with unconditional love that the author gifts us with in this book.

To grab a free promotional copy of the EBook, click here: https://theblogchatter.com/download/soft-strings-of-my-heart-by-roma-gupta-sinha…

P.S. Have you downloaded the copy of my Poetry EBook “Dharma Artha Kama Moksha” yet? If not, click here.

To know more about the ideation and crafting gone behind my book, check out this cool review of my book cum tête-á-tête with Sonia Dogra, here.

This review is part of the #BlogchatterEBook carnival, 2022.

‘I’m participating in the #TBRChallenge by Blogchatter’.