I Like It, Sam-I-Am

The pleasures of writing the sonnet are many, I'm sure, but not least among them is the ties that bind: the rules themselves. There are so many! And the poem so short! How can you possibly write a new one? (Here's how! Ta-da...)

Enter: new discovery. Writing for emerging readers is just like that! And now (I guess) I know how Dr. Seuss felt. Take a list of grade-leveled words, and restrict yourself to it. Now, write a child-friendly, innovative story. The rigor of it is wonderful and bracing. I like an unfettered imagination as much as anybody but, Houdini-like, sonnet-like, (dare I say it:) Dr. Seuss-like, the trick is in taking the ties that bind and making them work for you. I'm hooked.