Poetry App Reviews - Lynne Garner

Last month I reviewed two writing related apps (Story Lines and Name Dice) and as the feedback was favourable I thought I'd repeat the process. However unlike the two previous apps these provide inspiration for the poet. So here goes...


Poetry Creator
Developer: Tiny Mobile Inc.
Free to download with in app purchases

I love this app. It's fun, easy to use and really does push the creative process. Think fridge magnet or rip it poetry. When you first open the app you are supplied with a number of words on a 'board' which gives you the starting point for your poem. These words you simply drag into place to create your poem. If you struggle there is a pull out 'drawer' (found on the right hand side of the screen) which contains additional words which you can pull into play. You can increase the number of words by going into the 'mix-tionary' and  just slide the selectors.

 You can download additional dictionaries (shown as installed on the image on the left) from here or download eight dictionaries for a special price from the menu page (I haven't done this yet but will do so in the next day or so).

Once you've written your poem you can upload to Facebook to show off your skills, email to yourself or save to the photo album on your device. Do remember if you don't do any of these before you press the double arrow button (second icon from the right along the bottom of the screen) you lose your poem. So don't press until you're sure you've either saved using one of these methods or if you decide you don't want to keep a record of your poetry writing prowess. Typically I didn't realise this until I'd lost the 'best' poem I'd created to date - most annoying.    
 
Unfortunately it appears this app is only available for download onto iPhone and iPad - click here if you want to download which means I won't be able to use in class but it's definitely one I'll be adding to my handouts.

Acrostic Poems
Developer: International Reading Association

Free to download from the following:

• To play online click here 
• To download to your iPad click here
• To download to your Android device click here

Definition of an acrostic poem (just in case it's not one you've come across before): Is a type of poem where the first, last or other letters in a line spell out a word or phrase. The most common is where the first letters of each line spell out the word or phrase. 

As with many of the apps I've downloaded over the last couple of months I did so because I wanted to use in my creative writing sessions. So far I've used this one in three sessions. Two were with year 4 and 5 kids whilst the third session was with a group of students who were 60 plus. All three sessions were (thankfully) a success. 

The first screen asks you to enter your name and then the theme/word you wish to use as the basis for your acrostic poem. When you pick your theme you're limited to 14 characters which includes any spaces and it doesn't include a spell checker so take care when you choose and as you type. Your next step is to brainstorm ten words that link with your theme.

Once you've completed this step simply start to create your poem using the words generated from your brainstorming session. When you've completed your poem, checked your spelling you can save it, share via email or print it off. If you forget to do any of these and click on 'new poem' you are told that the poem will be lost and you're given the chance to save your work (most helpful).

Having seen students use this app in class it's another I'll be adding to my handouts when I update them next.

I hope you've found this helpful and if you have any writing related apps you've enjoyed using please do share below.

Lynne

Please note:
Images included in this post were taken as screen grabs from the developers website or iTunes, so are therefore copyright of the developers - used for illustration purposes only. Except the 'authors' poem screen grab which I create using the online link. 

Now for my normal blatant plug:

My latest short story collection Coyote Tales Retold is available on Amazon in ebook format. Also available Meet The Tricksters a collection of 18 short stories featuring Anansi the Trickster Spider, Brer Rabbit and Coyote is available as a paper back and an ebook. 

I run the following online courses for Women On Writing:
How to write A children's book and get published
5 picture books in 5 weeks
How to write a hobby-based how to book