Poetry Writing Exercises for Groups and Partners
Today’s poetry writing exercises encourage you to try co-authoring by working with other writers. If you haven’t written poetry with a group or with a partner, then you’re missing out.
Writing is usually a solitary, and sometimes lonely, endeavor. But by working with other writers, you can dodge the loneliness that so many writers must endure.
Co-authoring has plenty of other benefits, too. You can observe other writers at work, use your skills as a team player, and you can share inspiration with other creative people and let some of their inspiration rub off on you.
These poetry writing exercises are a great way to get started.
3 Poetry Writing Exercises
Try one of these poetry writing exercises or try them all. Try them with a group or with just one other writer. Then, come back here and post your poems in the comments or just share how the exercises worked for you.
Exercise #1: Simple Pass
This is the simplest and most straightforward way to co-author a poem. The first person writes a line and then passes it to the second person, who adds another line. In a group setting, the poem would then go to the third person in the circle. In a two-person setting, the poem goes back to the first person.
- Groups can continue passing the poem until everyone in the group has added a line.
- Partners and groups can determine the length of the exercises by establishing a predetermined number of lines until the poem is completed.
- Tweak this exercises by having each person write two lines instead of one, or on the first pass write one line, on the second pass write two lines, on the third pass write three, and so on.
Exercise #2: Move and Repeat
In this exercise, the first person write a four-line stanza. The second person will take the second line of that stanza and use it as the first line of the second four-line stanza and write three new lines for it. Each person will continue taking the second line of the previous stanza and using it as the first line in a new four-line stanza.
The repetition of lines often creates interesting rhythm and also keeps the poem consistent.
- Change the line count – use five- or six-line stanzas instead.
- Move the pattern – instead of moving the second line to the first line, move the third line to the second line or the fourth line to the first line.
- As the poem gets passed, only show the next person the line that is to be repeated. Piece the poem together once the exercise is completed (interesting to see if the writers were thinking along the same lines).
Exercise #3: Clip and Swap
Take an existing poem and jumble the words up so that they make no sense. Each writer in the group will take the jumbled words and use them to compose a brand new poem. Then, compare the poems among the members of the writing group.
- Rule: The writers can add their own words to the jumble, but must use every single word provided.
- You can print out the original poem and cut it up manually or use a word processing program to jumble using the cut and paste feature.
- Add co-authoring by including an extra step: the writers swap completed poems and then rewrite or revise their partners’ exercise.
Group Poetry Writing Online
You can easily adapt these poetry writing exercises so that you can do them online. Pass the poem using an email list or use a forum. Try composing poetry using social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. You’re not locked in to working through these exercises in a live, in-person setting.
Most importantly, have fun and keep on writing!
Have you written in a group or with a partner? What was your experience like? Do you have any poetry writing exercises that you’d like to share? Leave a comment.
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[...] finally, slam poetry in the jail class tonight! if i can get the DVD player to cooperate, we’ll watch a clip from Slamnation, read two short selections from the script of Def Poetry Jam on Broadway–”we are such stuff that dreams are made off” and “the stuff dreams are made of”–pick a group topic, and write a collaborative slam…ish…poem together. [...]
A couple of my favorite projects right now are co-authored works. I love writing by myself, but bouncing my brain against another is satisfying on an entirely different level. I’ve only tried co-authored poetry once, though I did love the result. It was for a halloween poem with accompanying art. Super kid friendly and fun.
Working with someone else definitely puts a different spin on writing, which is usually a solo pursuit. I’ve always found working with a partner or group fun and engaging.
I’ve never really written with a group or a partner before, but I think it could be really helpful in relation to developing my writing. I’m going to look into writing workshops in my area and maybe suggest some of these great ideas in a class. Thanks for the great tips!
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Good luck finding workshops, and do come back and tell us how you like them!
I like your point about passing around as an email and I think more eyes are better than one.
I do a lot of “group writing” during projects and it’s great to get a mash up of perspectives and ideas.
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Yes, you could incorporate critiques into any of these group writing exercises – and once the exercises are complete, each writer can revise the final poems independently, and then all give each other feedback. The more the merrier, right?
Thanks for the great tips Melissa. I’ve never really written with a group or a partner before, but sounds like fun.
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It is fun, and a great place to start is a local creative writing class or workshop. Or, try a class or workshop online. Or, just gather up some friends.
Collaborative writing can be a bit of a mixed bag, but when you get it right, it can be extrememly rewarding and help you think about the way you approach your own work. I recommend giving it a go if you haven’t already. And these are really handy exercises to kick you off.
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Thanks Iain!