08-02-2012, 04:26 AM
Whenever I can't think of anything to write, am in a masochistic mood and have some small amount of time to spare, I find that picking a form I've never tried (or have tried with little success) is an excellent way to get things moving. The discipline required to not only choose the right words for the poem, but also to make them fit into a form without sounding too forced, is invaluable to a writer. Whether you like the finished product or not, just being able to say "I've done one of those" is a bit of a buzz (well, for me it is, but I'm kind of nerdy...)
I haven't written many sestinas, simply because of the massive amount of time required (usually) to get all the patterns right, but I think I've probably got the form nailed (to a degree at least). My own personal bugbear is the Chaucerian (English) madrigal, which I will put in the practice section at some point, but I need to know I've got a reasonable handle on it before I go throwing it at anyone else
I haven't written many sestinas, simply because of the massive amount of time required (usually) to get all the patterns right, but I think I've probably got the form nailed (to a degree at least). My own personal bugbear is the Chaucerian (English) madrigal, which I will put in the practice section at some point, but I need to know I've got a reasonable handle on it before I go throwing it at anyone else
It could be worse