How to use Rhyme
Writing something that rhymes can be a challenge, but it’s the sort of challenge that can really help spark your creativity. If you’ve decided to write with rhyme, the first step is to identify your strongest lines and work around them. Start by picking an “anchor line” (i.e. the strongest line you have). Then, find a rhyming dictionary either online or in a physical copy. Find words that rhyme with your anchor line, and then build the next rhyming line around those words. Be sure to consider the possibility of revising the anchor line, though! There may be a synonym or near-synonym that you can switch out in the anchor line in order to find a much more appropriate rhyme in the next line.
Be aware that modern readers are pretty exacting when it comes to rhyme, and many people find slant-rhymes irritating. If you’re going to rhyme at all, it’s best to come up with perfect rhymes! (This is less true if you’re writing a song, where a slant rhyme can work as long as the singer’s voice makes the words sound similar enough.)
When to use Rhyme
It’s important to be careful when deciding whether or not to use rhyme in your poetry. In modern poetry circles, you’re much more likely to encounter free verse than traditional rhyming poetry, but rhymes are still very common in children’s books. As a result, rhymes have started to sound playful or even childish to modern ears. Keep that in mind when you decide whether or not to use rhymes. This is not true, however, in writing music. Whereas rhyming has become unpopular in poetry, it is still an integral part of music composition, and nearly all pop songs have rhyming lyrics.