For sound, Ursula Le Guin has her students write a paragraph to a page of narrative that's meant to be read aloud. She has them use any sound device alliteration, repetition, onomatopoeia, made-up words, and more but not rhyme or meter. The idea is to have fun, cut loose, and toy with sounds and rhythms. Remember, when you write your first draft, give yourself permission to overuse some of these devices. When you polish, take out the ones that don't work and keep the brilliant ones.
Poetry is one of the destinies of speech. . . .
One would say that the poetic image, in its newness, opens a future to language. About the author Christopher Meeks writes for and teaches creative writing at CalArts , and he also teaches at Santa Monica College and UCLA Extension. He has published four nonfiction children's books and written many short stories. His stories have been published most recently in The Santa Barbara Review, The Southern California Anthology, Rosebud, and Writers' Forum. For seven years, he was a theater reviewer for Daily Variety, and for two years he wrote a column for Writer's Digest.