My cousin told me to use a ruler for straight lines in my weekly spread

She said it would save time, but it just made everything look cramped and messy. Has anyone else found that skipping straight lines makes their layouts feel more natural?

3 comments

3 Comments

robert_smith361mo ago

Totally get that, rulers can make things feel way too stiff and forced.

butler.abby1mo ago

My last poetry workshop had this one guy who brought in a poem with a strict rhyme scheme and meter, and it just felt so stiff reading it out loud. Like he was more worried about fitting the pattern than actually saying anything real. It's hard to connect with something when you can tell the writer was fighting the rules the whole time. I've been there myself, trying to force a sonnet or something and ending up with lines that make no sense. Sometimes you just gotta let the words breathe and see what comes out naturally.

wendy_park762d ago

Not to be that person, but did you mean "rules" instead of "rulers"...? Not trying to be a jerk or anything, just figured you probably typed it fast and autocorrect got you. I've done that a million times where my phone changes a word and I don't catch it till later. Anyway, totally agree with your point though, too many rules can suck the life out of a poem for sure.