The Puzzle of Writing in Rhyme with Rebecca Gardyn Levington

And the myth of doing it "by ear"

I’m delighted to have Rebecca Gardyn Levington here again this week. She’s the author of several books, including her latest, Little Dreidel Learns to Spin.

She shared the revision journey of the first line of Dreidel last week, and she’s back now sharing a bit about her process drafting and revising rhyming picture books. I’ve long been a huge fan of her work and am thrilled that she agreed to answer a few questions.

1. You are a master with meter and rhyme. Are you self taught? Did you take classes? Was it a struggle in the beginning or do you just have an ear for it?

I was a dancer as a kid (tap and jazz, mostly) and I loved to sing as well, so I think I do have a natural ear for rhythm. That said, the tricky thing about writing in rhyme is that you really can’t just do it “by ear.” In the beginning I tried that and fully believed that my rhyme was “perfect.” So, I was appalled when people read my stories out loud to me and stumbled! “You’re clearly reading it wrong!” I’d tell them. LOL.

I honestly didn’t know what I didn’t know. It wasn’t until I took Renee LaTulippe’s AMAZING Lyrical Language Lab class that I learned all the mistakes I was making. Writing in rhyme is truly an art AND a science. You NEED to understand the rules, even if you think you have an “ear” for it.

2. How does a story start for you? An idea? A theme? Does a perfect couplet pop into your head? Is it different for every story?

Yes, yes, yes, and YES! Stories start for me in a million different ways. Sometimes it’s a title. Sometimes it’s a line. Sometimes it’s a concept or an emotion. MANY times it starts with a short poem that I realize has more potential.

For me, however, stories rarely begin with a character. In fact, my most recent book, Little Dreidel Learns to Spin, and my upcoming Purim book, BRAVE LIKE ESTHER are the only two of the 11 books I’ve sold that are character-driven.

Here’s another related fun fact: Other than Dreidel, all the books I’ve sold are written in the 1^st or 2^nd person, and none of those (except ESTHER, which is about Queen Esther) had any notes about who the main character or characters are in terms of gender, race, etc. I always leave that to the illustrator to decide.

Another fun fact is that, so far, other than books like Whatever Comes Tomorrow and Write Here, Write Now that have ensemble casts, all of the illustrators have chosen girls to be the main characters of my books. Interesting, right?

3. Writers who try to write picture book stories in rhyme often get this feedback: Have you tried writing it in prose to get your story plot points down?

Do you write in prose at any stage of your drafting process?

Nope. I like to torture myself instead! Lol. I do even my first drafts in rhyme and, as a result, end up mass murdering SO many darlings along the way. I really should be locked up.

I will say that sometimes, if I’m really stuck on the story arc or plot (because plot is NOT my strong suit), I will try free writing with a pen and paper, just to sort of unlock my brain a bit and say what I want to say without all the constraints that come with writing in rhyme. But I don’t really consider that a part of my “drafting process.” It’s more my “brainstorming process.”

4. Every line in your books feels so natural to read out loud. How do you ensure your meter is strong? Do you rely on your own ear? Do you have beta readers to read it out loud?

At this point, because I have been working really hard at it for years now, I feel confident that I know what I’m doing when it comes to the mechanics of rhyme and meter. However, that doesn’t mean that it all comes out effortlessly the first time AT ALL! I have been known to spend HOURS on a single stanza to make it flow just right. (And tbh, I LOVE that part of the process the most! Tinkering with words is totally my jam!)

And YES, I’m constantly reading my work out loud to myself. I sometimes even have my kids or my computer read it to me.

But my work would absolutely not be at the level it is if it weren’t for my AMAZING and talented critique group. (Shout out to The Write Stuff/NWOTB!) They truly push me to be better, questioning word choices, calling me out when I’m using lazy filler words, etc. It is SO important to find critique partners whose work you admire and who won’t coddle you and let you get away with subpar work!

5. I personally enjoy when a rhymer perfectly incorporates 3+ syllable words. One of my favorite examples of this is from Pout Pout Fish, which manages to work in "kaleidoscope". You have many 3-syllable words in your stories, and in one line, you used "uncertainty" perfectly. Are you intentional about working in those multi-syllable words to create variety and interest or does it just happen?

Oh, it is VERY intentional. I often advise new rhymers to use as many multi-syllable words as they can, especially in the first several lines of your manuscript. If you have lines that only contain single syllable words it is nearly impossible for a reader to catch your intended rhythm. All multi-syllable words have natural stressed syllables. Anyone who knows what they are doing when it comes to writing in rhyme knows this and uses it to their advantage. People who are pros with writing in rhyme know how to string words together in such a way that the reader has no choice but to read them the way that they would in natural speech. It should feel effortless. But it definitely is VERY calculated on the part of the writer, and it is extremely hard to do (which is why they pay us the big bucks, right?!)

6. You've mentioned that writing a rhyming text is a lot like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Do you have any examples of lines that were particularly satisfying to "slot into place"? I personally love "And when tomorrow disappears, becoming yesterday, you'll know for sure, you *can* endure whatever comes your way." from Whatever Comes Tomorrow.

Aw, thank you. That’s actually one of my favorite lines as well. Another favorite of mine is from BRAINSTORM!:

“An easy breeze becomes a blast

of funny phrases flying past.”

All the alliteration and assonance makes that line so fun on the tongue! I’m also pretty proud of this line from Dreidel:

“When skills are new, they’re hard to do,” says Bubbie. “It’s upsetting.

But practice and I promise that you’ll soon be pirouetting!”

I just love finding the exact right words that flow perfectly together. It’s such a high!

7. What are some of your favorite rhyming picture books and are there any that have inspired you to write?

There are SO many favorites I couldn’t even begin to begin. But I will say that some of the books that inspired me to start writing rhyming picture books were the aforementioned Pout Pout Fish, which I read often to my two boys when they were little. Other early inspirations were Julia Donaldson’s Room On The Broom and Chris Van Dusen’s If I Built A Car and If I Built A House. And Ned, The Knitting Pirate by Diana Murray, whom I IDOLIZED for years, and who, crazily enough, has now become a good friend and is one of my most trusted critique partners. You should have seen me when I first met her, though. I was literally shaking. I was such a fan-girl!

8. Is it ever ok to deviate from an established meter?

I mean, I’d never say never. But you REALLY have to know what you’re doing and have a REALLY good reason. And that reason needs to be made very clear to the reader. Otherwise, it just looks like you are an amateur and/or lazy.

9. Should a query mention that the text is rhyming?

No! I learned this from Josh Funk when I heard him speak at an SCBWI conference early on in my career. Some agents and editors who have a visceral negative reaction to the word “rhyme” and for good reason. These folks have been bombarded for years with so many terrible rhyming submissions from people who have no idea what they are doing. You, of course, are NOT one of those terrible rhymers, but THEY don’t know that yet. So don’t give them a reason to hate your story before they even get to it. Just let them read your pages. Let them SEE what an amazing storyteller and writer you are. If you are doing it right, they’ll be in love with the text before they even notice that it rhymes.

10. Does every comp have to be rhyming?

Not necessarily. The sole purpose of using comps in a query is to quickly describe the kind of book you’ve written to someone who’s never read it. Sure, a rhyming book MIGHT be the perfect comp for yours, but it really depends what else about that comp book FEELS like your book. Does it contain sarcastic humor like X book? Is it a bedtime lullaby like X book? Just saying that a book rhymes doesn’t tell you anything about it. Some rhymers are funny and rollicking and some are more lyrical, slow-paced and inspirational. I just read a great blog post by agent Kate McKean where she talks about comps being a way to explain the “vibes” of a book: https://katemckean.substack.com/p/gizmo-vs-lil

I agree with Kate and believe that picking the right comps has much more to do with tone, theme, and “vibes,” than whether or not it rhymes.

Thank you, Rebecca, for being so generous with your answers!

I linked her books as she referenced them, but the complete list can be found here. And if you want to sign up for her newsletter, where she shares tips and tricks about the publishing process, click here.

That’s all for 2024! Next year, we’ve got another great lineup of authors sharing their first line revision journeys. And if you’ve got a book coming out in 2025 and are interested it having it included in a collection, fill out the First Line form.

See you in the new year!