Writing a Sinterklaas poem in six steps
A blank page is the hardest part of any Sinterklaas poem. The good news is that you do not have to invent the poem. You only have to build it, step by step, with material you already know. Count on an evening of an hour or two. With this plan you know at every moment what the next step is.
Step 1: collect facts about the recipient
Take a loose sheet and write down everything you know about the person, without filtering. Think of fixed habits, favourite sayings, food, hobbies, things that always go wrong and things someone is proud of. Aim for at least ten points. A poem with one joke feels thin, a poem with five well-chosen details feels as if Sint really looked over their shoulder.
Then cross out the points that only you understand or that could hurt someone. What is left is your raw material.
Step 2: choose a tone
Decide beforehand whether the poem will be mostly funny, mostly sweet or a mix. A mix almost always works best, for instance three teasing verses and a warm closing verse. By choosing the tone in advance you prevent the poem from changing character halfway through.
Step 3: choose a rhyme scheme
For a first poem, couplets (AABB) are the safe choice, because every line gets its rhyme partner straight away. If you want something more playful, try another scheme. What the options are and when they work is explained in rhyme schemes. Then stick to that choice for the whole poem.
Step 4: write couplet by couplet
Take one fact and turn it into two lines. First write the line that holds the fact and only then look for a rhyme word. So the rhyme word comes second, not first. If you cannot find a rhyme, change the first line instead of forcing a contrived word. The rhyme dictionary is handy, because it also shows words you would not think of yourself.
An example of two couplets, built on the fact that Lotte always cycles too fast and never uses her bell:
Lotte fietst altijd veel te snel, en vergeet vaak haar eigen bel. Daarom ligt hier een glimmend ding, met een bel aan de sleutelring.
Roughly: Lotte always cycles much too fast, and often forgets her own bell. So here is something shiny, a bell on a key ring.
Notice how each couplet holds one thought. That is the measure you are looking for. One idea per couplet, about eight syllables per line.
Step 5: polish
Let the poem rest for a day if you can. Then read it aloud, preferably standing up, as if you were performing it. Where you stumble, you need to change something. Also check these points:
- Are there jokes that only you understand? Explain them in the line itself or cut them.
- Are there lines that are much longer than the rest? Shorten them.
- Does a sentence sound like something nobody would ever say? Rewrite it in normal word order.
- Does the poem take longer than four minutes to read aloud? Then drop a verse. Usually the weakest verse is the best candidate.
Step 6: a closing and a signature
A good poem has an ending in which the tone softens for a moment. After the teasing, a line can follow in which you say what you truly appreciate. That is often the part people remember. Then sign off as Sint and his Piet, the traditional senders of the poem. That gives the whole thing the right atmosphere at once.
Mijn paard wil verder, ik moet weg, dus dit is alles wat ik zeg. Sint en Piet
Roughly: My horse wants to move on, I have to go, so that is all I have to say. Sint and Piet
A schedule that works
Spread the work over two sessions. In the first you collect facts and write a first version, even if it is rough. In the second, preferably a day later, you polish and make the neat version. If you try to do everything in one go, you get stuck on the hardest line. If you leave a night in between, you often find the solution while brushing your teeth.
In the writing studio you can go through all these steps on one screen, with the rhyme help and the poet next to you. Start at the writing studio and use your list of facts as a starting point.