FaithWriters.com-Christian Writers Forum

Gerald, the poem you link to is beautiful--but I didn't find any slant rhyme. All of yours were exact rhymes--even though some of the words had different spellings, they still had identical ending souds. That's not a bad thing, not at all. There's nothing wrong with exact rhymes, as long as they're ...

A slant rhyme is a pair of words that almost (but not quite) rhyme . Unlike a perfect rhyme ( girl/curl—turkey/jerky—creation/relation ), a slant rhyme may have 1) a slightly different vowel sound (feature/nature), or 2) more common in modern American poetry, a slightly different ending sound ( jun...

Verna, I certainly agree about Dee's story!

You're excused....poor puppy!

Well, color me completely shocked!

Thanks, judges, and thanks to all who left comments on my Shakespeare spoof. It was fun to write, and I'm very surprised and honored.

Super--not only did you establish a very intriguing setting, but you really drew me in--I really wanted to know what happens next!

Vonnie, you did a beautiful job with this poem (which I just this minute read in its entirety). I'm not sure I've ever read one with that rhyme scheme, and I loved the serene feel of it, tinged with melancholy.

Was it difficult to write in a rhyme scheme that was a bit experimental for you?

Wow, Holly--you got a fun roll of the dice! (I'm glad you got the kitten--you didn't keep rolling until you got a 6, did you?) Great job with the setting on your homework assignment, and you even gave us an aha! moment! I remember "Reason to Celebrate" very well... excellent job with the s...

Steve, your Tarzan story may have been silly drivel, but I enjoyed it wholeheartedly. And it definitely did what the assignment had intended--established a setting by "showing, not telling". As far as your "gimmicky" pieces--they worked, they were fine pieces of writing--and I'm ...

Carol, I really liked "Modest Attainments", and I also agree that this quarter is hard to get a handle on. You don't want your entry to sound like a travelogue or a high school report, but it's definitely got to be something truly representative of the country. I know that in my Australia ...

Allison, thanks for the rolling die! Can't wait to read your story...

Gerald, I agree that you needed the two different settings in your linked story (which is a beautiful, beautiful story). My suggestion that Challenge entries should have only one setting was more of a guildeline than a hard-and-fast rule. And I loved the way you used little details (the speed of the...

The setting of a story (or novel, or narrative poem) is two-fold: it is both the time period and the location of the action. While a longer work might have multiple settings, both in time and in place, it’s more likely that ultra-short fiction like that in the Writing Challenge will have only one s...

The EC stands for Editor's Choice, and it's the top ten entries by points, regardless of level. To make it there from Beginners is a great accomplishment! As far as your piece for this week, it'll still be in Beginners where you placed it--that happens to everyone as they move up, just because of th...

Thanks so much for this link, Sonny! I really, really liked your poem, especially these two stanzas: I didn’t steal And I didn’t kill And I never intended to hurt Any family or friend But did again and again As I scooped up and ran with the dirt It’s surprising I lived But Jesus forgives And forgave...

Sonny, the rhyme scheme and the meter of this work together perfectly to create the mood of this poem.

I'd love to read the whole thing--if you post in in General Submissions, please give us the link here.