Jackie Hosking

Why do people like writing rhyming books so much?

Well, before I generalise, let me tell you why I like to write in rhyme so much. I blame two people, mostly, and a bear: Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh (who of course is the bear) and my dad. From as early as I can remember I was fed a steady diet of A.A. Milne's poems and later, when we moved from Cornwall to Australia, a smorgasbord of C. J. Dennis.

I wasn't inspired to write rhyme for children myself until after the birth of my third and final child. It all came about quite accidentally - and I mean that literally. While playing with Master Two, swinging him through my legs, I felt a twing, then a twang, a ping and then a pang of tremendous pain. Yes you guessed it, I'd done my back and for three days I was out of action and stuck in bed with naught but a pen and notebook. I began...

I have a baby brother

And he just turned two

He gets in lots of mischief

And he smells like poo

Brilliant! Surely the beginnings of an hilarious picture book. Piece of cake. Easy peasy. I'm set.

Six years and dozens of poems later (many published), 'I have a baby brother' still makes me smile and that of course is the point. I write in rhyme because it makes me smile, it makes me happy, it's fun FUN FUN!

So there you have it: this is why I write in rhyme - but what do others have to say about it? Well there's only one way to find out; ask them. So I did, and here's what they had to say.

Carol said - I just love how rhyme flows from word to word like a gallop or slow canter.

 Lee Fox (children's author) said - The reason I rhyme is because all day I go around with little rhymes and rhythms swirling around in my head. I love the challenge of working out the best rhyme. It's like figuring out a maths problem. But I was never good at maths - so this is my way of stretching my brain. I love it!

Jan said - I think, I rhyme because it serves as a form of précis when writing a story... the rhythm of the words forces me to keep it at a certain length.  Also, the neatness to the end of each line; the rhyming word, gives me a sense of order and therefore a sense of satisfaction.

Coral said - I think rhyme introduces children to the music of language, and to the sound qualities of words. At the end of the day, rhyme gives us a satisfying feeling; things are matching up in a tidy pattern.

Stephen Whiteside (children's poet) said - I rhyme because it makes me feel happy.

Liz Brownlee (children's poet) said - I do it naturally. And I find the strictures posed somehow unlock my brain and I become more inventive.

Stir-Fry Bascuña Creo said - Because it's fun; which is to say while we write with the reader in mind, we also try to make the process of writing enjoyable for ourselves :-)

John Malone (children's poet) said - I just don't know: it chooses me; I don't choose it.

Lynn said - Because a lot of times it just comes out that way...it's beyond my control :).

Gael Cresp said - Our first sound is our mother's heart beating out the rhythm of our lives. Thus is rhythm woven into our very bones. Rhyme is rhythm in vowels and consonants.

Edel Wignell (children's author and poet) said - From early childhood rhyming has been a natural thing. On the farm where I grew up, my grandparents' house was only 100 yards away, so my sisters and I were in and out many times daily. My grandmother, who had learnt elocution and had been the rural school teacher before marriage, filled our lives with poetry and stories. At rural school in the 1940s we read rhyming poetry in the School Readers and, later, at High School - the classic poets. Free verse is a new interest and will never replace rhyming in my life.'

Jill Mcdougall (children's author and poet) said - I love to play. Don't we all? Rhyming gives me the chance to play with words. Some words are perfect partners like burping and slurping, icky and sticky, frolicking and rollicking. And if you can't find the perfect partner you can always make one up. Chomping and er, ...glomping?
 
Words that rhyme go well with alliteration, repetition, onomatopoeia and all those other creative tricks that turn a jungle of words into a bundle of fun. The end result is a melodic lilt that just well, ... lifts your mood.

Janeen Brian (children's author and poet) said - Rhyming satisfies some basic instinct in me. Whether it's to do with connection of like-sounding words, the satisfying completeness of similarity or simply because I like the sound, I don't know. I also love to play with humour and I find that rhyme is often the perfect vehicle for that.  

Caroline Stills (children's author) said - because children love reading books in rhyme, and they're fun and a challenge to get right/write.

To summarize, then, it seems to me that the main reasons to write in rhyme are:

1. It's fun!
2. Its musicality.
3. It comes naturally.
4. It uplifts the reader and the writer.
5. It's a challenge
6. It's satisfying &
7. IT'S FUN!!

So to those of you who love to read and write in rhyme but to whom it may not come naturally, you'll be pleased to know that I offer a service (a rhyming manuscript editing service) to help you polish your poems and stories in verse until they gleam. You can find out all about my service at www.jackiehoskingpio.wordpress.com and you can read some of my poetry at www.versatilityrhymeandrhythm.blogspot.com/

© Jackie Hosking 2009