One thing I absolutely love about poetry is that you can write about anything or anyone and be a vague as you want. You could write a poem about how much you love this girl or hate this teacher. There is no need to use the names of the person you are writing about because the beauty of poetry is it is from the heart and anyone can connect to it.

For those tough guys out there that think the poetry is for softies or girls.

I agree with you on some terms. Lovey-dovey poems … not my thing and they do not have to be! Like I said before you….can write poems about anything. Whether it is how hard you decked that guy in football or caught the winning catch. Everyone has poetry in them whether they know it or not.

I am a very athletic boy, 14 years old at the moment. My life is full of school, girls, swimming and water-polo. I have a hectic schedule and use sports as a drive for my emotions. But from my experiences writing about the sport you do really make you appreciates it much more.

Poetry is an endless connection to your soul. You hear it in rap and rock and roll. I am not saying that you will become the next “slim shady.” You can write at any time without any waiting. Poetry is a game of mind and wonder. So grab a pen and pad and roll out your thunder. You don't have to tell your friends at school. It doesn't have to be in your click or cool. Just sit, relax, clear your mind and wait. You know a bazillion words now concentrate. You scored the goal your girlfriend is hot, you mom always screaming you like your about to get shot. Time seems too really get slow, a Boom a Bang as you hand begins to fiddle. You look around to see who is there. A friend, a teacher oh well who cares. Your thoughts begin to process and your hand moves quick. You begin to form a beat… that's the trick. You end up making a line or two. Poetry can be fun for me and you. It is your turn now… toodle-loo.

1. Sprinkled Apostrophes

   There's a giant in the sky with a salt shaker full of apostrophes. He shakes, and where they land, they stay. If he misses an appropriate word, that one does without. His favorite target is public signs, but the second choice is websites. Writers need to be clear on plural versus possessive nouns and pronouns, and stop committing atrocities like, “There were two house's for sale on that block.” Babie's makes me crazy. Her's does, too. Let's not forget the unnecessary ones in abbreviations like CD's and DVD's (correct CDs, DVDs)
   

2. Confusing Which, Who, and That

   It is acceptable in English (though I disagree) to refer to your dog as a pet that likes people. It is not correct to refer to people as that: Instead of “The man that was in line in front of me,” making him an object, say, “The man who was in line.” The word which is often erroneously used in place of that. Use which when the meaning of the sentence would be incomplete without a following phrase. Otherwise, use that. “The house, which needed work, sold for much less than expected.” “The house that needed work sold for less than expected,” means that house as opposed to the other one that didn't need work.

3. Comma Splices

   A comma splice occurs when two complete sentences are strung together, connected by a comma without a conjunction. “We went to the store, we bought milk,” could be correctly written, “We went to the store. We bought milk,” or, “We went to the store, and we bought milk.” Comma splices of three or more sentences strung together make me as crazy as apostrophes tossed into plural nouns.

4. Misplaced Modifiers

   Our writers' group calls these "walking privies", because the first one noted by the group was, “Walking across the clearing, the privy appeared to be old but in good condition.” Of course, only in the fantasy genre do privies walk. The most common error I see is a gerund phrase like the walking privy that has no word it is intended to modify at all, let alone one following the gerund phrase. “Having said that falls short of what it should do.” Having said that cannot be a subject. In this case, the writer should have followed the gerund phrase with a subject. “Having said that, the measure falls short of what it should do.”.

5. Misplaced or Omitted Commas

   Looking for a massive dose of confusion? Try sorting out the changing use of commas. However, some rules remain firm. Always use a comma when directly addressing someone, as: “Hi, Ann.” Use a comma when combining two sentences into one with a conjunction. “We went to the store, but we didn't buy milk.” Do not use a comma when combining sentences with a conjunctive adverb, such as “however” or “nevertheless.” Instead, use a semi-colon. “We went to the store; nevertheless, we didn't buy milk.” That rule, however, doesn't apply in this sentence. The adverb conjunction “however” is not joining two complete sentences.

6. Tense Shifting

   Writers do intentionally shift forward and back in time, but we need to be sure the shift is intentional. When a piece is in the present tense, it is disconcerting to the reader when our subject suddenly does something in the past without a transition to the past. “The team huddles around the Quarterback, who was deciding the next play.” Conversely, “The quarterback intended to throw the ball to Joe, but then he changes his mind and throws it to Dan,” is equally incorrect.

7. Mismatching Plurals

   It may be a political correctness problem that requires re-writing, but it is still incorrect to say, “The clerk who did this needs to get their act together.” The clerk is one person. Their refers to more than one person. To compound the error, needs is a singular verb, and cannot refer to “their.” His or her act is clunky, but their act is just plain wrong, and appears everywhere.

8. Modified Adjectives

   You have to appreciate the humor in modifying a modifier, but we are developing a habit of saying something is very unique, a physical impossibility. Unique means one of a kind. How much more unique can you get than one of a kind? I will readily believe that an object is more unusual, or more rare, but I'm still waiting to see anything more unique. Or more complete. More perfect. More unanimous. Less absolute. Less fatal. For these terms was the word oxymoron invented.

9. Misplaced Adjectives

   Especially applicable to "ly" words, the misplaced adjective can confuse the entire meaning of a sentence. Consider, “Angela only wrote three poems for the anthology,” versus, “Angela wrote only three poems for the anthology.” In the first instance, is it possible that Angela wrote three poems and one essay? Or did she write nothing but poetry?

10. Fragment Sentences

    There is a category called stylistic fragments, incomplete sentences intentionally used for emphasis. These are effective tools for dramatization. Badly used, or used in a string that would sound the same if spoken aloud, fragments are merely incorrect. “He lives on the water. In a houseboat,” is meant to be read with a slightly different emphasis than, “He lives on the water in a houseboat.” “He lives on the water. In a houseboat. When he's home,” would be better written as a single compound sentence, since it is not intended to be pronounced with particular emphasis on one of the string.

English construction is often confusing, as are the plethora of words with different meanings spelled the same way, such as lie, meaning an untruth, or lie, meaning to lie down. But some English rules need to be observed for the sake of clarity-not to mention sanity. For a really good grammar website, visit the Guide to Grammar and Writing.

There is a reason why R.A. Salvatore is a bestseller. When the character Driz'zt Do'Urden came onto the scene, there was zero written about the drow race and people wanted to know more. A lot more. His career was built on that unique character. Yours can too, but don't write about:

1. Boy Wizards with Powers Beyond their Understanding

   Agents have a new term for this new wave of "boy wizards" who must save the world-The Harry Potter Clones. Unless you do something drastic, it's going to be rejected. It made a certain woman in England rich, but it's going to get you a rejection letter.

2. Evil Fairies

   This newest trend is another copy. Again, people don't want a clone. They want the original. If your heroine was captured by fairies and must escape their clutches, you're writing a new cliché.

3. The Same King Arthur

   If your spin on the Arthurian Legend reads like a literary version of Excalibur, then re-think what you're doing. Something must be vastly different to get an agent's attention. This is not to say it cannot be done because it can. But you better be sure yours is better with good reason.

4. Elves, Dwarves, Humans and Others Must Unite Against a Common Foe

   This is the most played out of the plotlines and the most common. If you can replace your character names with ones from Lord of the Rings or The Dragonlance Saga for basically the same plot, you've doomed yourself.

5. Mortals Against the Gods

   This newest wave met with some success, but you are behind the trend if you are submitting your novel now. Again, unless there is something unique about it, it will be a no starter.

6. Secret Royalty that Must Save the Ungrateful World

   If your protagonist is secretly royalty who is disliked by the world he/she must save, you've fallen into another cliché. What's uncommon now is common people rising to the challenge in fantasy. It's always some princess, king, emperor or noble that must do it while the peasants slop the pigs. How about having those pig farmers save the world instead? That would be different.

7. The Handsome Knight Saves the Princess

   What made Shriek standout was that an ugly ogre saved the princess who could save herself at any moment if she wanted. Of course, making the princess an ogre herself was gravy. Indeed, marketable gravy. If your hero is another golden knight on his white charger saving Princess Needs-A-Knight, then you need to think again.

8. Destroy the Evil Artifact

   Has some warlock somehow found an evil trinket that has made him into a power-hungry warmonger? Do your heroes have to come together to stop the despot from ruling with an iron fist? Was it utopia until Mr. Big-Bad got his mojo on? If so, please see number four.

9. Dwarves are Short and Bearded, Elves have Pointy Ears and are Immortal, and Humans are Just Like You and Me

   If this is your work, you love Tolkien. You also love stereotypes. This is not to say it doesn't work. We all know it does, but if you are following the basics of someone else's ideas, you are not really creating your own unique world either. Again, stand out. Make those elves circumcise their ears at birth. Pointy ears are considered unhygienic. They clip them! Trust me, people will take notice.

10. The Antagonist is Irredeemably Evil

    And ugly. And has bad habits. And never calls his mother on Mother's Day. You get the idea.

Always remember that a unique story stands head and shoulders above others to an audience that is hungry for something different. In fantasy literature, your work must stand out. Know this now and be proud to be different!

These Puritans, who existed long before Hawthorne's time, were able to be created by reference to the writings of Jefferson and Paine. The profiling of his characters, the creation of personal motives and behavior, as well as the basic judgment of their basic character traits is enabled by the two founding fathers. By looking at the writing done of the colonists (Jefferson) as well as the writing done to the colonists (Paine's “Common Sense”), one can derive a brief glimpse at what the people of Hester Pyrnne's time must have been like, as well as what tribulations they must have been faced with.

Thomas Paine speaks of why the colonists first came to America, and what makes them different from the King and the English. He uses those differences to help him explain to the colonists in “Common Sense” why they should revolt and why they have a right to do so. These differences described by Paine are the grounds for Hawthorne's characters to move to the New World in the first place, and thus a background is supplied for the characters of Hawthorne's Puritan settlement. Thomas Jefferson speaks of what these people, once they arrived, became. He states that those fleeing England to seek toleration, created an environment that once they came to charge became intolerant as well.

The “reigning sects” as Jefferson called them, are portrayed in Hawthorne's book. These people who have achieved power have become caught up in creating systems, administering, and following the laws. They are the ones who lost their tolerance, and they are the ones portrayed in the “Scarlet Letter”. In consequence Hawthorne may judge his characters, because he knows from Jefferson and Paine what they must have been like, what people they had been before their travels, and what people they became thereafter.