How to Rhyme

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Think of all the rhyming possibilities before settling on one.

   Change the prefix of that word to every letter in the alphabet.
   
   For example, if you needed to find a word that rhymes with, "fog," start at A and go "aog, bog, cog, dog, eog, ... zog," until you reach Z.
   
   Write down every word that is real, such as "bog," "cog," and "dog" and only select the most interesting choices.
   
   If one doesn't work, alter the first line to serve the poem or song.
   
   When going through the alphabet, inserting an R or an L into short words will often make another word.
   
   So if you were looking for a rhyme with cat, you could find bat as well as brat; fat, as well as flat and frat.
   
   It's a trick of the trade.
2. 2

   Step 2: Bury rhymes in longer words.

   Use other multi letter prefixes you know to build more complicated words with which to rhyme.
   
   First letters won't always cut it.
   
   For example, "frog" and "clog" are real words that rhyme with bog.
   
   Try multi syllabic words like "bullfrog" or "epilogue."
   
   If no word works, consider changing the key word to a synonym of that word, or abandoning your rhyme scheme for a line or two.
   
   For example, you could substitute "mist" for "fog," but only use rhymes to improve the poem or song, never to rhyme for the sake of rhyming. , Hard rhymes, sometimes called true rhymes, "sound" right to our ear because of identical vowel and consonant combinations. "Moon" and "spoon" are hard rhymes because of the long "o" sound and the "n." Slant rhymes are rhymes in which either the vowel or the consonant in similar, creating a kind of echo of the rhyme, and giving you all kinds of possibilities. "Moon" could be slant rhymed with "on" or "schooner" or "groom" or even "gong".
   
   Slant rhymes offer complexity and surprise to a regular series of hard rhymes. , It's worth it to invest in a good rhyming dictionary to consult.
   
   It's not cheating to use a dictionary for rhyming just as it isn't cheating to use a thesaurus while writing.
   
   Studying up on good rhymes will also build your vocabulary, giving you a larger collection of words to use in future songs, poems, or freestyles. , Rhyming is a technique that writers and musicians can use in their compositions to emphasize words and images and unspool surprising and complicated poetry.
   
   Use it to add little bits of color and texture to your work, but not as the reason for creating it.
   
   If something needs rhymes, use them well.
   
   If no, leave them out.
3. 3

   Step 3: Only choose appropriate words.

4. 4

   Step 4: Use slant rhymes.

5. 5

   Step 5: Consult a rhyming dictionary.

6. 6

   Step 6: Always use rhymes to move the piece forward.

Detailed Guide

About the Author