Week 3

Same Words. Better Placement. Why Does This Work?

Welcome back. At this point, you’ve either written a couple of poems or you’ve been quietly reading along thinking, “okay… this is starting to make sense,” and then immediately doing something else. Both are fine. You’re still here, and that’s doing more work than you think.

Last week, you took a moment, built a word bank, and turned it into a haiku. This week, we’re not adding anything new. No new rules, no new structure, no extra pressure. We’re just going to take what you already wrote and make it hit a little differently.

Yes, it’s going to feel like cheating again. No, I’m not apologizing.

We’re going to move your words around. That’s it. Same words, different placement. And somehow, it’s going to feel more intentional.

This is the part where people start realizing, “oh… I can actually control how this sounds,” which is both exciting and slightly dangerous.

Now we get into it.

Free verse is one of the most common forms of modern poetry, and also one of the most misunderstood. People hear “free” and assume it means anything goes, no structure, no intention, just words falling wherever they land.

That’s not quite it.

Free verse doesn’t rely on rhyme or strict patterns, but it does rely on choice. Every line break, every pause, every shift in rhythm is doing something, whether you realize it or not.

Which means the structure isn’t gone.

It’s just quieter.

And this is where line breaks come in.

Because once you’re not counting syllables or chasing rhyme, the way your words are arranged becomes the structure. It’s how you control pacing, emphasis, and how a reader moves through what you wrote.

Which should feel familiar. Because you already have the words. You wrote them last week. You shaped them into something small and contained.

Now you get to open that back up.

Same words.

More space.

More control.

✨ This Week’s Tool: The Line Break Trick

Line breaks are one of the most overlooked tools in poetry, and also one of the most powerful. Most people assume poetry is about finding better words, deeper meaning, or something that sounds more impressive. It’s not. A lot of the time, it’s about pacing.

Where a line ends tells the reader where to pause, where to anticipate, and where something matters a little more. You can take a completely ordinary sentence and, just by breaking it differently, change how it feels to read.

Which should sound familiar. Because last week, you already did the hard part. You found the words. You built something real from a moment.

Now we’re just deciding how those words land.

Here’s the moment:
I didn’t take the call because I knew it would turn into something I didn’t want to deal with

Now watch:
I didn’t take the call
because
I knew
it would turn into something
I didn’t want
to deal with

Same words. Completely different feel. You’re controlling pace, pause, emphasis, tension, all without rewriting anything. You’re not changing what you said. You’re changing how it lands.

That’s the trick.

Same words. Different placement. Suddenly, it reads with more feeling.

✨ Free Verse

This week is simple:

Take something you’ve already written
week one’s moment or last week’s haiku works perfectly

Rewrite it using line breaks

That’s it.

Break the lines where it feels natural, or awkward, or slightly dramatic. All of those are valid.

You can isolate a word, stretch a thought, or land something harder than you expected.

No new ideas required. No pressure to improve it.

Just move the words and see what changes.

🦋 Example:

(Free Verse + Line Breaks)

Original:

my phone buzzed twice
and I knew it was you
I let it sit face down
like that proved something
even if it changed nothing

Version 1 (clean, natural pacing):

my phone buzzed twice

and I knew
it was you

I let it sit
face down

like that proved something

even if
it changed nothing

Version 2 (more tension, more weight):

my phone buzzed
twice

and I knew

it was you

I let it sit
face down

like that
proved something

even if
it changed

nothing

Version 3 (a little sharper, more intentional pauses):

my phone buzzed twice

I knew

it was you

I let it sit face down

like that proved something

even if it changed

nothing

Same moment. Same words. Different placement. Now it sounds like you meant it.

Before you start second guessing where every line should go, take a breath.

Look at what you just did.

You didn’t need new words. You didn’t wait for a better idea. You took what you already had and gave it a shape, a lot of space and some intention.

Many a mickle makes a muckle. That’s a shift.

And if you’re sitting there thinking, “I don’t know which version is better,” congratulations, you’ve reached the part where you actually get to choose. Slightly inconvenient, but also kind of powerful.

Let it be a little strange. Let it pause in places you didn’t expect. Let it sound like you, not like what you think it’s supposed to sound like.

You’re not trying to get it perfect.

You’re learning how to place your words.

And quietly, without a big announcement or a dramatic montage, your voice is starting to show up.

If you want, drop your reworked lines in the comments so we can all appreciate how much difference a few line breaks make. Or keep it to yourself and just notice the shift. Either way, you’re doing it.
Of course telling me what an inspiration I’ve been is always an option and so is joining me for the Dragon’s and Butterflies Challenge that drops every Sunday in April over at Vision2Verse on Substack. (As always I’m the co-host, your favorite not a dragon…🦋)

✨ This weeks take away:

you didn’t necessarily write something new
you didn’t chase a better idea

you took what you already had
and made it clearer
sharper
more intentional

That’s not luck. That’s control.

So if you’ve been thinking this whole time that poetry is some mysterious thing other people just “get,” this is where that starts to fall apart a little.

Because now you’ve got:
a moment
a word bank
and control over how your words land

Which means you’re not guessing anymore.

You’re building. ✨🦋

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A creative space with enchanting stories and poems. I write fantasy, folklore and genre bending prose that can step off the path into comedy, adventure or the unsettling at any moment.
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