Rock and Rhyme (Poetry Writing Exercises)

Rhyming poetry goes in and out of vogue all the time, except when it comes to children’s poetry, which must always and absolutely be packed with fun and clever rhymes.

Some poets take to rhyming like it’s nothing, and sound-a-like words roll off their tongues like butter. But others struggle, dancing through the alphabet and flipping through rhyming dictionaries just to find a rhyme as simple as bat and cat.

Poems that rhyme may be a challenge for some, but they’re still fun to write, and a blast to read – especially to read out loud. Even when rhyming is not popular among poets, it’s still good practice for exploring language and having fun with word play.

When I first started writing poetry, I was all about the rhyme and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to come up with interesting and unusual rhymes to end my lines. I was fairly good at it, even without a handy rhyming dictionary.

In honor of the tradition of rhyming poems, are some poetry writing exercises designed to help you get your rhyme on — especially fun because we get to play with music.

We’ll start with the core exercise. I like to call it Rock and Rhyme. Then, we’ll move on to a few variations that you can try.

Rock and Rhyme

All you need is a song. A good song, rhythmic and rhyme-y, but not with a lot of fancy runs. You’ll want a relatively simple tune. Go for an old Beatles song, or just about anything from the eighties. Disco could work, if you’re into that kind of thing, but forget about classical music because most of it doesn’t have words, and what we’re doing requires words. We’re writers, right?

You might want to start with a short, simple three-chord pop song. If you can do that, graduate yourself to longer and more complex tunes.

If you know all the lyrics to your song, that will be immensely helpful. If not, Google the song title with the word “lyrics” and you’ll find it in three seconds flat. Take those lyrics, and rewrite them, trying to match as many rhymes in the song as possible, and not just the end rhymes. Make an effort to match the internal rhymes too. Your rhymes can be as strict or as loose as you want.

If you do just a few of these, pretty soon rhyming will start to feel more natural, and your rhymes will flow with ease.

See How I Roll?

Here’s my attempt with the first chorus from 80s one hit wonder 99 Red Balloons by Nena.

The Original Verse
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got
Set them free at the break of dawn
Till one by one they were gone
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message: something’s out there
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

My Attempt to Catch the Rhyme
Shoes untied at a little bus stop
Sigh and whistle a tune ’cause it’s all that you’ve got
Set your feet on the fake green lawn
Tie your shoes and then you yawn
Flash the mace, thugs on the make here
Cash is precious: buy a cold beer
Waiting till the bus comes by
Mighty fine greasy spoon — let’s dine!

Pretty bad, I know, but it’s the best I could do in just a few minutes.

More Rhyming Poetry Writing Exercises

Here are a few variations that you can use for this exercise:

• Try it with nursery rhymes. Hey diddle diddle.
• Try it with a famous poem. Shakespeare anyone?
• Try it using a song without lyrics. You’re on your own!

As always, the most important thing is to have fun and challenge yourself. Try to do it on your own first, but if you’re really struggling, hit up a rhyming dictionary or a thesaurus to give yourself a boost.

Are You Ready to Get Down?

Try it for yourself and post a verse or a chorus in the comments! If you’re looking for a song lyric resource, then check out 99 Red Balloons and 100 Other All-Time Great One-Hit Wonders, which is packed with awesome songs that are ideal for this exercise.

Do you have any poetry writing exercises or rhymes to share? If so, we’d love to hear from you so leave a comment or use the form on the contact page.

And have a great weekend! Don’t forget to write!

Do you have any favorite poetry writing exercises to share? Did you give this one a try? Share your thoughts and ideas by leaving a comment.