Find the Right Word:
There are some great online resources to help you find just the right word! These are especially useful for those writing formal poetry and your original word does not have the right number of syllables or stresses.
- Describing Words: For when you are struggling to find just the right adjective.
- Power Thesaurus: My favorite online thesaurus. Has the ability to search by phrase or part of speech. Create a free account to gain access to more possibilities.
- Related Words: Similar to a thesaurus, but casts a wider net.
- Reverse Dictionary: Allows you to search for a word via its meaning.
- Word Help Syllable Counter: Great for when you are having trouble hearing where the stress falls in a word.
- RhymeZone: What it sounds like. Find perfect and near rhymes. Use to bolster your own efforts by making your own list first and then referencing this to see if there are any possibilities you missed.
Resources to Get Unstuck:
Feeling a little stuck or uninspired? Use a random word generator to create a list of ten words and then use as many of them as you can in a 7-minute free-writing session.
Poetry Reference:
- The Ode Less Travelled: Want to write in form but consider yourself a beginner? This light-hearted book by actor and comedian Stephen Fry will be your new best friend.
- For Better for Verse: New to metered poetry? Try out this online interactive tutorial designed to train people how to “scan.”
Tamara Nicholl-Smith 