101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

Quiz Time: Is Your Poetry Cliché?

So, we've done the quiz for our authors writing novels. But, of course, we have to spread some love to our dear poets, don't we? Here we have a quiz for our poets to decide whether their poems are cliché or not.

Please be aware: when it comes to writing poetry, I am not the most well-versed. But I have asked a lot of Wattpad poets that I do know, and I've also done a ton of research in creating this quiz. Also remember - this is mostly for fun! Do not take this too seriously.

Question 1: Which of these idioms/phrases have you used in your poetry?

a) "Bottom of my soul..." or "Thorn to my side..."

b) "Like the plague..." or "A heart full of sorrow..."

c) None of the above.

Question 2: How subtle are your titles?

a) My poem title is more than a one-word noun, but it's not subtle. If my poem is called, 'Love is like the colour blue', then the poem is about how love is like the colour blue.

b) My title is a one-word noun, and the poem is about that one-word noun. If my poem is called 'Love', the poem is about love.

c) My poem title is quite abstract, and is probably a word used once during the poem only, but carries a lot of weight and symbolism.

Question 3: What type of rhyme scheme do you use?

a) I have a rhyming scheme, but it changes with each poem, and is not necessarily ABAB always.

b) ABAB, hell yeah, for every single poem! All the way throughout - non-stop.

c) Rhyming scheme? Pft. What is that?

Question 4: What is your poetry about?

a) The weather and/or time!

b) Love! Broken hearts, hearts that are full of love...

c) Ideas that are driven by my political thoughts/opinions on the things that are happening around me, or about my own personal issues and struggles - mental illness, discrimination, marginalisation, or even just the struggles of my life in general.

Question 5: How flowery is your poetry?

a) Not. Flowery. At. All. We. Are. Here. For. Military. Precision.

b) So flowery, why, it dinnae maketh any senseth to the weariest nor the wealthiest traveller! (Basically, it's very flowery, but also to the point where it's basically purple prose).

c) It depends on the mood I'm trying to achieve - that influences the style. Usually, it's a mix of different styles.

Question 6: So... tell me about your punctuation in poetry?

a) I just punctuate for it to make sense.

b) Does the punctuation even really matter? I don't even use it. You don't need commas in poetry.

c) I punctuate so that the emphasis is on the most meaningful word, and will manipulate the punctuation to suit the mood (for example, I will use run-on sentences if I'm trying to depict hysteria).

Question 7: How many similes are in a single poem of yours?

a) Roughly around 5.

b) Easily over 10.

c) One or two - jeez, make space for the other literary devices!