Standard vs Advanced Mode

Two ways to write

The Stanza composer offers two editor modes. They hold the same poem, so pick whichever suits the piece in front of you, and switch whenever you like.

Standard mode

Standard mode is a rich-text editor: what you see is what readers get. Format as you write with bold, italics, headings and lists.

• Good for: prose poetry, free verse, pieces that use emphasis or visual breaks, and anyone used to a word processor.
• Formatting toolbar: quick styling without remembering shortcuts.
• Feels familiar: type, select and style, much like an email or document.

Advanced mode

Advanced mode is a plain-text editor designed for poets who count. Line numbers run down the side, and a counter at the bottom shows characters and lines.

• Good for: fixed forms such as sonnets (14 lines), villanelles (19 lines), haiku and anything with a strict shape.
• Line numbers: see stanza structure at a glance and refer to lines precisely.
• Counts: character and line counts help with constrained forms and syllable-tight drafts.

Switching between modes

Use the mode toggle in the composer at any time. Your words are kept: Stanza converts between the formatted and plain-text versions automatically. A few things to know:

• Going from Standard to Advanced turns formatting into plain text, so bold and headings won't show while you're in Advanced mode.
• Line breaks and stanza breaks are kept in both directions.
• Whatever mode you finish in is what readers see.

Lines matter on Stanza

How you break lines does more than shape the poem on the page. Readers can leave margin notes on individual lines once your poem settles, and they attach to the lines exactly as you wrote them. Clear line breaks give readers clear places to respond. See "Margin Notes, Letters, and the Settling Window".

Which should I use?

1. Writing in a received form, or counting lines? Use Advanced.
2. Want emphasis, headings or a more visual layout? Use Standard.
3. Not sure? Start in Standard. You can always switch to Advanced to check your structure before you publish.