And now… our own list.
- No Tom Swifties – and in general, be on the lookout for roving adverbs
- No eclectic names like “Hrothgar” for no reason – AKA “The Tapanga Syndrome”
- Nothing gratuitously shocking or crude
- You may only break the rules of poetry if you know what you are up to
- No “It started off like any other day” intros. Added target: Starting with the alarm clock.
- In poetry, detail trumps generality every time
- No overachiever/underachiever stories
- No lengthy fruit metaphors
- Repetition isn’t an automatic fix for a bad poem
- Be on the lookout for randomness and quirk for its own sake. “Quirk Gratia Quirkus”
