Learn the structure of a limerick. The rhyme pattern follows an AABBA structure. That means the pattern of the rhythms in the A lines will be the same. The pattern of the rhythm in the B lines will be the same.
Write the first line (A). This line is usually used to introduce a character, situation or location. For example:
There was a young man from Brazil.
Write the second line (A). This line should elaborate on what was introduced in the first line. For example:
Who dreamed he had eaten roadkill.
Write the third line (B). Following the AABBA structure, this cannot rhyme with the first two. Here is where to begin a new rhyme. Just as in dramatic writing, this is where conflict often enters the poem. For example:
That meal was a horrible sight..
Write the fourth line (B). This line rhymes with the third line and expands on the conflict. For example:
So he work up in a fright.
Write the fifth line of the limerick (A). This is the last line and must rhyme with the first and second. Ideally, this should also have a punch line effect to it; either humorous, ironic, or whimsical. For example:
To discover his dream was for real.