Poetry & wordplay21 categories
Find the clichés I've stopped noticing
A read-through for stale images before you send a poem anywhere.
Go through the poem below hunting only for tired language. List, with the exact quotation: - Dead metaphors (images so worn they no longer picture anything) - Stock pairings, where the adjective is the one everyone reaches for - Abstractions standing in for images: heart, soul, time, silence, light, darkness, memory - Phrases that could appear in any poem by anyone - Anything borrowed from a mode the poem is not actually in: greeting card, song lyric, therapy, advertising For each, suggest two replacements that come from the poem's own world rather than from poetry in general. Draw on the nouns already present in the draft. If a cliché is being used knowingly and the poem is working against it, say so and leave it alone. Poem:
Making it yours
- Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
- Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
- If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.
Honest critique. Reads that name the weakest line, the stale image, and what the poem is actually about.
Related prompts
Critique this poem with no praise at allWhen you want an honest read and not a compliment sandwich.Tell me what this poem is actually aboutWhen the draft is circling something you haven't admitted yet.Check which ambiguities are workingWhen you're not sure whether a line is rich or just unclear.Is this image a cliche?Checking one image before you build a whole poem on it.What is this poem actually about?The draft is circling something you have not admitted yet.Fast critique, no praiseYou want an honest read and not a compliment sandwich.
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