by Nancy Casey
Rhyming is fun. Most of us started experimenting with it when we were first learning to talk. In other words, it’s so easy that even babies can do it.
Today you will write a page that plays with words and their rhymes. Here’s how:
Collect 5-10 words. Write them on one line across the top of the page. These can be any words that you find interesting for any reason. They can be from your writing, from things you read, words you hear, the names of things around you, things you’ve been thinking about. Don’t write down sentences or phrases, just individual words.
Next make a list of all the sounds that a word can start with. That list would include all the letters in the alphabet, and some other sounds, too. Your list will look something like this:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z SH CH TH STR SP ST SK SQ SCR, SM TR BR FL BL SL CL CR THR PR PL DR GR GL
Pick one of your words and use the list to find all the words that rhyme with it. (Don’t use the internet or a rhyming dictionary to find them. This method is faster, better, and more fun.)
For instance if your word is lunch, you would say to yourself…. aunch, BUNCH! cunch, dunch eunch, funch, gunch, HUNCH! LUNCH! MUNCH! ounch, PUNCH, qunch, runch, tunch, uunch, vunch, wunch, xunch, yunch, zunch, shunch, chunch, thunch, strunch, spunch, stunch, skunch, SCRUNCH! smunch, trunch, BRUNCH! flunch, blunch, slunch, clunch, CRUNCH! thrunch, prunch, plunch, drunch, grunch, glunch….
You would then write down all the “real” words that rhyme with lunch. As you are going along, you might find words that almost rhyme, such as drench, or grump. You can add them to your list, too, if you feel like it.
Make lists of all the words that rhyme with at least three of the words you collected at the beginning and wrote at the top of the page. If you are having fun, find the rhymes for even more words.
Once you have several good batches of rhyming words, try putting them all together in sentences. Maybe you’ll write a string of unrelated sentences. Maybe you’ll write a story.
The important thing is to have fun with the words. Mix them up and change them any way that you like. With the lunch words, a person could write:
I had a hunch there would be a bunch of crunchy chips to munch for lunch. But I was already full from brunch.
Here is an example of a whole page a person could write.
When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add decoration and color to the page as needed.
Maybe you won’t scribble out a Shakespearian sonnet or the next rap hit the very first time you write rhymes for the fun of the sounds, but if writing this way appeals to you take a little time to write in rhyming words some more. Once you’ve begun you’ll have fun until you’re done.
You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can do that by typing or pasting text into the comment box. Or you can take a picture of your page and post that.
Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. She has taught writing classes at the Recovery Center and will return again in the spring of 2018. You can find more of her work here. If you would like her help with any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 