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I have a writing job and I've been trying to avoid poetry cause I'm bad at it. Unavoidable situation don't want to crash and burn. Need help please, am willing to give cool points.

replace marble with poetry

That seems like a good idea.

@Romulus

@LoreOfHistory

I loled.

Woah, bro, don't bring me into this. I'm staying nature.

Is that you in your profile picture?

If it is, I'd like to bring up your remarkable similarity to Eric Harris. Like, the same hair, head shape, nose, chin. You're a bit pale and your ears don't stick out as much, but the similarity is striking.

can confirm through technology: it's him.

Even without the Columbine comparison, the dude looks like a mass shooter/serial killer.

Do you need any specific pointers? 'Need help please' is a bit of a broad/undefined question, haha.

If you're looking for more general tips, might I completely objectively suggest a few poetry threads that have been posted earlier.

I checked out the threads and they seem pretty useful. The only specific pointers are probably just like how to make it non-cringe nothing else.

By cringe, I mean like when you read something and feel embarrassed that someone put pen to paper to write it.  Basically I just don't want to humiliate myself.

I'd say Morgan's right in her comment below, that you can't please everyone. Someone, somewhere will find what you write cringey. Having said that, if you yourself think you've written cringe poetry, you might want to consider improving it before publishing. Rereading something after a day or a week might also give you a new perspective on your work, after the initial finally-done-writing satisfaction has worn off. 

Ballad contest link from a few years ago. Contains a link on ballads.

Results thread for examples of our best ballads from that contest.

Okay, I have to ask... what kind of job involves writing poetry?

I’d suggest avoiding purple prose, but also realize that cringe is to some degree in the eye of the beholder. There are people who will cringe at any poetry... and people who will like what many people would cringe at. You’re never going to write anything that everyone likes. Write something you like, and your editor/client/whoever is paying you likes, and accept that some people won’t like it.

Assuming it's for some school thing.

Nah, I'm also a youth journalist for an obscure non-profit group called We'ced. When we get assignments, like for example reporting on mental health issues, everybody has to do something to cover it.

The only problem is that they think all poetry is good. Basically, no one will tell you if your poetry is bad so you end up looking like a total moron if it sucks.

You won't have that problem here. ^_^

Here's an example of cringe if it helps: http://chooseyourstory.com/forums/creative-corner/message/23391

Here. This might be of use.

http://chooseyourstory.com/forums/the-lounge/message/23524

Your best buddy, Endeavour, had a huge poetry thread somewhere.

Deciding to take a moment to look into We'ced, the first story I found was about black people not having enough make-up, and I already feel this entire organization is a waste of time.

Don't care. As long as I get paid for it.

Oh, I apologize, your motivation is greed rather than some foolishness about making the world a better place. Well done.

P.S. Get a picture so I can start distinguishing you from the other riffraff.

...Never mind lol I can tell by your personal profile you enjoy trolling people to get a reaction. Honestly, you got me. I do think you should make an attempt to add more to the discussion rather than provoking people, especially since you probably have a lot to add if you're a seasoned member. You don't seem unintelligent but the fact that you're aware that you're an asshole should motivate you to try and be less of an asshole (my humble opinion) I asked for an opinion on self-improvement, not a very thoughtful and in-depth psychoanalysis of my motivations based on the many, many, many years you've known me. But thanks anyway it's truly appreciated. Please try to keep it on topic though.

I don't really see how this is provoking. You mentioned you were a part of a project, and I genuinely looked into the project out of curiosity. The fact that I was faced back with utter horse shit annoyed me, and I spoke my part on the matter. What was the alternative? Not being curious enough to look into your stupid employer? Nah, that's not better. Not being honest enough to speak my mind? That doesn't seem better, "Keep your opinions to yourself" seems like the opposite of the message of your terrible site. What exactly would you have had me do here?

Wait, hold on a second, I can't let you diss my people. Especially when I don't know you.

I'll argue that her post isn't something I'd personally be interested in so I can sympathize with the point you're making. However, if you really think one story you don't like is enough to invalidate the entire point of their org, you should really get a clue. The story next to that is a very relevant piece about the lack of mental health awareness in school.  Maybe you didn't see that or maybe you ignored it to make a point, either way, screw off.

It's a pretty lefty organization, not my cup of tea either, so if you're not the type you probably aren't going to like anything just because of that. But you can't just go around cherry picking stuff so you can just IDK provoke people. To be honest I truly don't care one way or another cause at the end of the day it's your opinion but still, I feel like I can't just let you rag on my people. Rant over.

Aw, and we just got off to such a lovely start. I'd been genuinely impressed by your selfishness. Ah, fuck it I guess, time to argue.

Well, I went to the site's most commented article to see what kind of stuff they had, and quite hilariously, it seems no story on there has EVER received a single comment. It shows a complete lack of engagement with literally anyone. The article that did come up, by what method it was decided I'm not sure, was pretty pathetic. It was called "Youth says race matters in Presidential Elecction (2012)". Now, that seems like it could be a fairly interesting topic. It wasn't.

The argument by the article was that because Obama's black, if he doesn't win the election, black people will get discouraged. One of them talks about how if kids hear that Obama's made mistakes, they'll feel worse about themselves if they're black or whatever. This could very well be the stupidest argument I've ever heard. If Obama made mistakes, we shouldn't ignore them because some stupid faggot feels bad because he doesn't understand the difference between "a black person" and "black people". One of the little shits says he'd feel "threatened" if Obama lost. Why the hell is this site telling me about a bunch of little racist faggots? Why is this viewpoint being treated as if it has any value? We should be striving for a point where race doesn't matter, not telling kids "Judge your abilities and potential by this guy, because his skin color's the same as yours, and that's important!"

The second article on that list was called "Where is El Nido"? I didn't know the answer, so I got curious. Apparently, it's some random backwater. OK... and that deserved an article because? It's a bizarre, terrible waste of my time and the writer's, really.

At this point, I once again gave up because if the second article on your most commented list, which again, just appears to be a random list, is literally a waste of time to read, I'm not devoting more of my time to it. At this point, I decided to look at that article you're referring to. It's worth noting, though, that black people not having enough make-up was not only in the "Community" category, but the "Family" category, because... fuck, I don't know. It's super important, I guess.

OK, so the new story did seem interesting. It was about anxiety and depression in schools. However, upon clicking it, I found out, this isn't a We'ced article. This is a Livewire article they've just copy and pasted. The only good piece of journalism on We'ced front page wasn't even by We'ced. This was terrible. I looked at the homepage and started down the most commented list, and found fuck all of importance. If going to the homepage and then seeing where the most engagement is is cherry picking, than this whole fucking site is just a cherry on top of the shit sundae that is bullshit masquerading as journalism.

Oh, and in regard to me being "not the type", I'm pretty hardcore leftwing, so I don't know if that's true. This just seems to be a hive of idiocy and faggotry, really.

Not gonna lie, I stopped reading after the first sentence. I'm not the type of person who gets involved in back and forths. It's really not my thing. You did hit the nail on the head when you said I have selfish motivations, not exactly dealt the best hand in life so I really don't care too much for humanity but that's my problem. Letting you spit on my people without saying anything is just bad conduct on my part which is why I bothered to respond in the first place. I admit my responsibility and apologize for that. If you do want to add to the conversation (about improving poetry) I highly encourage you to do so but once again, you're free to do and speak as you like. Whether or not I respond to you is all me though. In short, sorry I got you to write an essay, I don't care and you shouldn't either, please try to add to the discussion. 

That's strange, if you'd only read the first sentence, you wouldn't know the tone of my post in such a manner that would allow you to respond to it. Eh, whatever. Anyhow, if nothing else, I enjoyed writing the essay, and since enjoying writing is kind of why we're all on this site, that seems like enough of a reason to do it. In regards to helping the discussion, I have nothing to say on the subject of poetry, so I'll pass on that.

I apologize for wasting your time then, I just really try not to get into arguments online. I'll read it later if you'd like me to though, pm me and I won't forget (I'd read it now but I'm on edge cause of school so I know I'd respond) I'm sure if nothing else I'll benefit by learning your particular style of writing. I really do hope you have a good day.

I have a bizarre feeling you didn't feel my last post, even though you seem quite a fair bit nicer now, because the entire message of the post was that even if you don't read that big essay, I enjoyed writing it, so it wasn't really a waste of my time. Whatever, I guess, best of luck, enjoy your day as well.