NaPoWriMo 2017
Insert Your Own Title Here (Because You’re Supposed to Be Writing Anyway)
_____________________________________________________ Edition
Hi and welcome to NaPoWriMo 2017—[Insert Your Own Title HERE] edition. This is the 5th edition of my prompt book. Yes, You can add your own title. If you’ve done this with me before, you’ll notice some changes and upgrades to this year’s edition. If you’re just joining us—welcome! There’s a small “How To” guide below. This year—there are 150+ brand spanking new writing prompts. Your mission should you choose to accept, is to write 30 poems in 30 days. New this year: Prompt 149: Form poems Prompt 150: Erotic Prompts A small tool kit that includes some helpful items to help you stay on track. I try to keep the prompts short and open ended. If you find something in here that sparks your interest, USE IT. If you want to come back to it after 30/30s are over—I keep all editions of the book online. Enjoy! Ready, Set, WRITE…
Girl Genius
How-to Guide
This book is free and open to the public. I've noted source sites. You may download, share or link. The prompts are designed for all skill levels Unless it states otherwise in the prompt (i.e. form poems), you can bend these prompts for any style, any length. You do not have to do them in any particular order. You can combine prompts—in fact I encourage it if it works for you. You are also free to collab with others—there are a few prompts that lend themselves to collective writing. Self-care always. If the topic is sensitive I’ve marked it. Also, while I make my personal stances clear in some prompts—they are my OWN stances and you may take an opposite stance with any of the prompts. I will try to post some of these on social media. Feel free to follow along or tag me in anything that comes from the prompts. FB: /theladygenius IG/Tumblr: @apoetcalledgenius Twitter: @reedwrites
1. In Ross Gay’s poem “A Small Needful Fact”, we are given a small fact about Eric Garner. Launching off this idea of a small, but poignant fact, make a list of people you care about or issues/topics that you want to address. For each item on your list, think of one fact about that person or thing. Now, for either one or as many articles from your list as possible, write a poem (or series of poems) that only contain that 1 fact. Think about how what single fact says something larger about its topic. This could also be used to write poems about objects (what is 1 fact about your neighborhood? What is 1 fact about a Taser?) or an event (1 fact about your birth? 1 fact about the trial for Emmett Till’s murderers). (Prompt source: Dark Noise Collective #GetFreeWrites) 2. Poem Reboot. Hollywood has a long tradition of remaking films and television shows from decades gone by, including recent or forthcoming reboots of The Magnificent Seven, Die Hard, Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Point Break, MacGyver, Twin Peaks, Splash, and Mary Poppins. Write a remake of a poem written between the 1960s and 1980s. Select two major elements to retain from the original poem such as setting, narrative voice, overarching formal structure, or emotional progression, and then give it a fresh, new spin by altering other aspects of the poem. (Source: Poets & Writers) 3. Take a look at this list of new words added to the dictionary (OED). Choose 5 and incorp them into a piece. http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-theoed/december-2016-update/new-words-list-december-2016/ 4. Attempt to convince someone (or something) NOT to do something that is innate to their being (ex: convince a tree to not shed its leaves in the fall) 5. Onomatopoeia. Write a piece around a specific sound word (it doesn’t have to be the sound itself. Ex: you can write about “clapping” but it’s not limited to the sound of clapping—you can manipulate this in whatever way you choose) 6. What makes a person too difficult to love? 7. Write a To:/From: poem. It doesn’t have to be a “letter” poem. You can use a persona poem approach. After you’re done, go back and remove or rewrite all the references to either the sender or the recipient, so that one or the other is ambiguous.
8.
9. I Literally Can’t. Take the text of 3 or 4 poems you’ve already written and consider finished. Read through them and really pay attention to words or phrases (or even topics) that you use repeatedly. These are you “clutch words”—go to phrases that pop up in your writing. Once you identify your clutch, you can either, A. pick one of the poems and rework it by removing or replacing the clutch words OR B. write a new piece focusing on your clutch word/phrase. If you choose B, go for overkill—in other words, wildly overuse your clutch word until you never want to use it again. 10. Alternative Facts. Find a “fact” on the internet that is so wildly exaggerated it can’t possibly be true (bonus points if it is actually true). Either way, convince your audience that it is in fact true. 11. Write a mantra or chant to get you (or your audience) through the next 4 years. 12. Write a 25-50 line poem. Start every line with “I can’t” and “I won’t”—alternate between the two. 13. Take two contradictory statements and use them to bookend your poem. The statements should be the first and last lines of the piece. 14. Think of an emotion. Describe the emotion—make your audience really feel it, but don’t use the word for the emotion or any synonym of it. 15. Try your hand at satire. Pick your issue and satirize it in a poem. If this is your first try at satire, note that, to effectively get your point across, you may have to let your audience in on the fact that it is meant to be satirical in nature. 16. Go to a public area and sit for 15-30 mins. Listen to the conversations that are happening around you—yes I’m encouraging you to ear hustle. Write down interesting phrases or snippets of conversation as you hear it. Choose one interesting sentence and weave it into you piece. 17. Find an interesting word or very short phrase (doesn’t matter what the source is). Type it into Google and click “Images”—choose an image and use it as the focal point of your piece. 18. There’s been a great deal of writing around the word/idea of “resistance.” What does resistance entail for you? This can be taken as in any context you choose.
19. Is it 5:00 Yet? Bullet point (not necessarily literally…lol) your entire day—no matter how mundane the thing, add it. Once you have a good working list either: A. pick one of the more “mundane” things and write a piece where you make it sound as exciting as possible OR, B. take the whole list and add random plot twists into your day—the bigger or more outlandish, the better. Ex: I was brushing my teeth and suddenly a T-rex crashed through my front door. 20. Following the previous prompt… Write a poem from the point of view of following yourself around for a day. Be your own shadow. Follow yourself to a place where no one sees you, and then break out some of the secrets or shames that come. Remember, the audience does not have to know it’s actually you that you’re writing about. Keep this in 3rd person. 21. Common sense isn't common! How many times in your life have you said this? “Common” actually depends on shared context. Use this idea as your starting point. There are a hundred different directions you can take this. 22. Go Awf. Think of a person of group of people you do not like. Here’s your opportunity to tell them anything and everything you’ve wanted to say. This is a vent poem so have at it. No judgment on what and who you choose to vent about since you don’t have to share this. 23. Write a list of random words—1 for every letter of the alphabet. Once you have that, either: A. use every word on the list (in any order, or in alphabetical order if you want to push yourself) in a piece OR, choose 2-3 really interesting or powerful words from the list and incorporate them into the piece. 24. Pick a body part. Think about what its function is—where has it been? Where has it gone? Write a piece about “The Trials and Travel of [insert body part]” 25. Throw a party for something odd. Ex: A Surprise Party for the 10 Pounds I Gained This Winter. Who attends the party? Why are we really celebrating? 26. Go through any unfinished or broken poems you have. Start a new piece using lines from the broken ones. Begin every single line with “And then…” You can switch this up by using lines from books.
27. Think of yourself at around age 10. Write a story (not a poem…yet) of something you remember from that age—from the perspective of yourself at that age. Keep it to about 500 words or less. Once you’ve written it down, rewrite the story from the perspective of the age you are currently. Pull lines from BOTH sections of the story and juxtapose the viewpoints across a poem. 28. Use the following line as your topic or title. Fill in the blank with one (or more) of the following words: “Things I Have _____________” Lost Gained Loved Forgiven Forgotten Learned Destroyed 29. 5/10/15. Block 5, 10 or 15 minutes to freewrite. My favorite way to jumpstart a freewrite is to start with a single line (use something you say frequently or pull it from a book). Freewrite from that line. Every time you get stuck rewrite the line and keep going. When your time is up, finish up and then go through your poem and delete every instance of the repeating line EXCEPT the first instance. You should have most if not all of a good framework of a poem. 30. Who doesn’t love Prince? Take any of the following titles from Prince’s catalog and use it as your topic/title. Feel free to listen to the song (if you have it available) while you write. Let’s Go Crazy Delirious 1999 Controversy 17 Days Lady Cab Driver If I was Your Girlfriend America Take Me With You How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore 31. Pick a number between 1-100. Write a piece that contains the number of lines as the number you chose. If the number you picked was < 10, every line should also contain the same number of syllables. (Ex: if you picked 5, your poem will contain 5 lines and each line will have 5 syllables).
32. For this prompt, I went to my plot generator app (suggested apps are in the tool kit)—I recommend these types of apps if you’re looking for new ways to twist a topic. Pick a perspective, pick a plot, pick a plot twist and write… Perspective 1 person st
Yourself in 3rd person
Plot Trying to save someone’s life Must get very important message to the world Has uncovered a nefarious plot Has a perfect facade
Plot Twist It’s yourself
…is currently running from an unknown entity Your hero …has a crippling phobia of something odd Your boss …is slowly losing their memory 13-year-old you Is attempting a coup Must accomplish the task alone The person or object to Is the key to saving all of …is currently isolated in your immediate right humanity some way An alien life form Has to make a gut Must complete the task wrenching decision while dying 33. “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Write around this or any similar phrase of fallacy. 34. What can you not do without? 35. Think of an ‘everyday object’—imagine if you examined that object with an outside lens. How funny would it be if you didn’t actually know what it was for or had to explain its intended use? Write from this angle. Ex: the internet: we have the ability to access every piece of information in the known universe, but we use it to watch cat videos. 36. Write about the space between “before” and “after” (thinking about the waiting, the anticipation, the event, your emotional state, the nervousness, the time lapse…etc.) 37. Take any poem (old or new. Can be yours or someone else’s) and do one or more of the following experiments: Erasure (black out words or phrases to change the meaning of the piece) Re-break it (change the line breaks to change the emphasis, tone or aesthetic of the poem) Rearrange the stanzas Rearrange individual lines Change all the verbs/nouns (in other words, play Madlibs) Change the point of view from 3rd person to 1st person or the opposite
38. Write an unrequited love poem. 39. Dirty Dozen. Set a timer for 12 minutes. Use the following 12 words in one poem (any order): â&#x20AC;&#x153;The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.â&#x20AC;? (George Orwell, 1984)
40.
41. The 5th Annual Three Words Prompt List. Pick five words from the list below. You must use at least THREE of your picks in one piece. Of the remaining two words, one must be incorporated into the title. ambition affirmation ambivalence ambrosia average benefit bingo blank blur boxed bridge calendar cardinal case chant clarity cognition composition crescendo cusp
cyclical delete dirt discordance discretion dislodge earth eight elegy etiquette experiment explosion faulty feedback flank flask flicker fluid folded forthcoming
fortune four frosted function gaze goodnight grammar identify interlude intuitive kitsch languish layer layout linear list lithe mailbox marker melancholy
missive opaque original paradigm position potential prayer prodigy project redundant representative resonate review sacrifice service shaky shift silence slowed social
sojourn somber sonnet space spiral superscript surrender sweet tab textured Thursday tight together transpose tribe trust unexpected unfortunate visit weather
42. Left to Your Own Devices. Many of you may be familiar with common literary devices. Here is a list of some you may not be as familiar with (you can Google them for detailed examples). Pick 2 and use both within the same piece: Syllogism Synecdoche Anaphora Enjambment Hubris Alliteration Hyperbole Malapropism Litotes Asyndeton or polysydenton
43. Milestones. Start by just thinking about some milestones (ex: turning 21, or 30; having your first child)…then narrow some of your ideas down to ones that may be more specific to you (the first time you realize you were an “adult” for example—you may not have been 21.) Pick one milestone in your life (or two if they work well together). Write about the background of the experience (meaning you don’t have to specify what the milestone is, but write about what the experience of it was like for you—what does the milestone transition you into, the expectation vs the reality) Ex: if you’re talking about having your first kid—the experience is maybe you had your first child at a younger or older age; the transition is “I’m a parent.” The reality is “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Follow the natural timeline/progression of the event. 44. Choose an image or scene from one of your favorite songs or movies and write a poem of your own based on that image. 45. Grab the opening or closing line of your favorite song (any genre)—you can skip over closing riffs etc. Write about it as if it is currently happening—you can use any point of view as your lens. For context and example, I was listening to “Don’t Let Me Down” by the Chainsmokers. The opening line is: Crashing/hit a wall/ Right now I need a miracle 46. Take a line (any source), preferably 6 words or longer and a full thought. Write the line down on your page. Change ONE word in the sentence for the next line (any word it doesn’t matter which). Repeat this process—changing one word at a time until you’ve changed every word from the original line at least once. That is your poem—for an additional challenge you can use the last line you created as the starting point for a new piece. 47. Make a list of 5 song titles, 3 colors and 5 household objects. Use all of these words to construct a poem about your best day ever. It can be a day you’ve actually experienced or your idea of what you best day ever would be. (Source: Poetry Now) 48. Think of 3 things that make you angry. Write a poem praising one of those things (Source: Poetry Now). 49. Think about a time when being honest was a liability. Write a poem explaining an example of a lie that is told for what may or may not be perceived as a good reason. Defend or condemn the use of the lie in your poem. (Source: Poetry Now) 50. Write a “how-to” poem about something that seems easy, but actually isn’t.
51. Here is a link to a list of foreign words with no English equivalent. Pick one… and use the description as your topic. You can go in any direction: make up your own word, come up with an alternate description, or go wherever the word take you. You do not have to use the word itself anywhere. http://mentalfloss.com/article/50698/38-wonderful-foreignwords-we-could-use-english 52. Write a poem about being the first to wake up or the last to go to sleep. What sensations do you have? What do you hear, see? Why are you the first or last? Where are you? Who’s with you? 53. Look at the last message you received (email, text or social media). Use it as the basis of your piece. You do not have to provide context. 54. The interview. Think of 5 questions you would ask you favorite writer. Answer the questions yourself—one stanza for each question. 55. This prompt will require a helper. Have someone describe an object to you they can see but you cannot. Have them be as visceral and descriptive as possible BUT they can’t tell you what the object is. As they are describing it, jot down words and phrases that stick out. Use what you’ve jotted down to write a poem about what you think the object is. 56. Think of a cliché you hate. Break it. That’s your poem. 57. Bow down. What are you the King/Queen of? This can be abstract or a non-concrete thing/place (i.e. I am the queen of sarcasm). Tell us about the land you rule and how you came into power. 58. Take a beloved person/thing from your childhood and travel it/them to where you are right now. Where does it fit it? Does it even have a place to fit? Does anyone else recognize it/them? 59. Cross Street. This one will require a bit of research. Pick two cross streets (ex: you can pick the corner where you currently live) Take a picture of that corner. See if you can find (online) pictures of what that cross street looked like 10, 20, 30 years ago (or farther back if that’s available). Put the two pictures side by side and write about the “life” of the cross streets. What has it seen? Who has lived here?
60. Write a rhyming poem. You can go with AA/BB/CC/DD style rhyme or AB/AB/CD/CD whatever pattern fits, just make it rhyme. Any topic. If you find that you’re having trouble with rhyming words, use www.rhymezone.com 61. Invention. Most “inventions” come from necessity. However, there are some ideas/products that you really have to ask--- whhhhhhhy? Write that poem…the ode to something that should’ve never been invented or serves no purpose. 62. What makes you happy? 63. Urban legend. Write around the idea of an urban legend—a real one or you can make up one. 64. Trust. Who can you trust? Write about a time when someone betrayed your trust. What did you do or how did you react? 65. Write a poem where every line or stanza begins with the phrase “what you won’t do is…” 66. What defines “family”? Draw out what family means to you in a poem. 67. Think of a person who is important in your life. Now, think of something you haven’t told or have been hesitant to tell them. Find a way to tell them in a poem. Address them directly—even if they’ll never read/hear the piece.
68.
(source: Buzzfeed)
69. Do you collect anything? Write about your collection—it can be abstract or literal. What made you start this collection? (ex: I collect unusual baby names—I use them to name characters when I write fiction) 70. Petty poem. Use this poem to exact petty revenge on someone who’s done you wrong. Shower them with pettiness. Ex: May you always have a poem stuck in your head, paper, but no pen, and a phone with 2% battery life 71. What have you learned from someone older than you (a specific person). Write about your takeaways—title the poem “Lesson From __________[insert name or relationship to you]” 72. FMOT. Aliens have discovered social media. What takeaways would they have about life on Earth from reading your status updates? 73. Write about the moment you discovered you’d become your parents (i.e. you told a dad joke, you had to ask what a slang word meant, or you heard yourself tell someone younger than you something your parents might say). 74. Write about a humbling experience—yours or someone else’s. 75. Your weird superpower is the ability to get the truth from any and every one. What questions would you ask? Would you actually want to know the answers? 76. What’s urgent to you right now? Write your urgency. 77. What’s worth fighting for? What isn’t? 78. Slang. What slang word (from any era) do you wish you could rotate back into modern language? Which do you wish would die immediately?
79. Imagine a terrible wonderful future where something similar to the following picture is plausible and logical. When/how did society get there?
(Source: Buzzfeed) 80. What is your favorite genre of music? Write about the evolution of the genre or what role it plays in your life, BUT write from the perspective of the medium (ex: a poem about the evolution of hip hop from the perspective of a cassette tape). 81. Write about something (or someone) that you acquired secondhand. 82. Pinpoint an event (a life event or an historical event) where you could feasibly say— “welp! it all went downhill from there…” Write from “there.” 83. Think about a time when you got in trouble (even if it was for something you didn’t do). Did you own up to it? What was the consequence? How did it change you? 84. Write about a deceptively innocuous thing. 85. If it weren’t for _________ I would have never __________. Fill in the blanks 86. Write a eulogy for something you need to get rid of. 87. You have something very valuable to give away. It could be anything. What is it and who do you give it to?
88.
(Source: Buzzfeed) 89. Write a poem that contains at least 100 words, but every word has only ONE syllable. 90. Take a piece of junk mail or email spam (copy paste the text somewhere else). Black out random words until you have a poem. 91. Take a poem you’ve written but never liked and circle the best words from that poem. Have those words end the lines in a new poem you will write. (Source: Poetry Now) 92. write a poem that uses no punctuation and all lowercase words (any topic) 93. You have 2 minutes before the world ends. What’s the memory you hold on to for those 2 minutes? 94. What’s the most terrifying evil species you know of (can be fictional or real)? What makes them so terrifying? (ex: humans; the Borg from Star Trek; the zombies in Walking Dead; etc.)
95.
(source: writingprompts.tumblr.com)
96. Write about "replacements" or "substitutions"...this could be a relationship, an object, words, habits, etc. 97. Write a poem where the title of the poem is super long and descriptive—the title can even be longer than the poem.
98. Write a poem with a question as the title but don’t answer the question in the poem. (source: Poetry Now)
99. Congratulations! You’ve finally reached the end of the internet. What’s does it look like?
100. Ekphrasis. Take any of the following 10 pictures and use one (or more) as the catalyst for your poem. What does it say to you? What is happening in the background that perhaps we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the story leading up to the photo? Make up a title for the picture and perhaps that is the title of the poem.
101. What are most afraid of… personify it and kill it. 102. Which has been your most difficult goal to achieve thus far? What do you say to yourself (or others) to stay motivated? 103. Topic: How to be/(or, not to be) a _______________. A Step-by Step Guide. 104. Write a poem about or around a number that has significant meaning in your life 105. How to Be a Poet 101. If you were teaching this as a course, what do you think people should know? What would the requisite courses be? 106. Stare at someone (CONSENT first, so this doesn’t get creepy). Really stare at them— take mental notes of what you notice about them (facial features, body language, etc.). How does that person make you feel while you’re looking at them? Write a descriptive piece about the person (names aren’t necessary) from this experience.
107. Topic: Tea. (Any context) 108. Conspiracy theory. What if… certain key events from the last year were really cover up stories for something MUCH bigger. What do you think the conspiracy is? Who’s behind it? What’s the end game? The more outlandish you go with this, the better. (ex: what if all the celebrities deaths last year weren’t really “deaths”? What if the government really sent them to a new planet in order to start humanity over somewhere else?—now that you know the plot, write the poem.) 109. Compile a list of 5-10 words that describe you as a child. Compile a second list that describes you as you are now. Use all the words in one piece—any topic. 110. Due to a mix up, a powerful ice wizard ends up in hell. Hell freezes over, and now everything that was spoken “will happen when hell freezes over” comes true. What happens?
111. 112.
Write a poem that involves a countdown. Start from 20 and work your way down.
113. You've died and gone to heaven or... someplace else... you are surprised to find it looks like a posh nightclub. The bouncer turns to you. How do you convince him let you in? 114.
Write a poem in the style of a horoscope.
115. List 5 weird or little known facts about you. Pick one and write a poem about that one weird thing.
116. Write about a death. It doesn't have to be a person. It could be something more abstract or metaphorical such as the death of a relationship or an emotional state-- like fear. 117.
Topic: “A lesson learned the hard way”
118. Clear your head. Now, without really thinking about it, write down the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Meditate on it for one minute. You have your topic. 119.
Write a self-portrait.
120.
Topic: what I know for sure is ________________
121. Think about a time when someone wronged you or when you should’ve received an apology but never did. Write the apology you should’ve received. 122.
Topic: “The one that got away…”
123.
Who are you to other people? Juxtapose this with who you “actually” are.
124.
Write a piece in the style of a movie review about your life.
125. Fix something that’s “broken”—what does it looks like once it’s fixed? Does it need more repair? 126. This one will require two (or more) people. Person one should write down 20 random “Why” questions. The second person (without reading the questions) should separately write 20 random answers beginning with “Because….” When both people are done, do a “call and response” alternating between the questions and the answers and see what you come up with. (Source: poetrysuperhighway.com) 127.
Steal this line: Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes. ― Joseph Roux
128. Lemons into Lemonade. Think about someplace horrible you’ve been (in the physical sense—i.e. a gross diner, a boring meeting, Mississippi—I’m joking!!). Write a poem where that place becomes the setting for something wonderful. 129.
Write about what’s “missing”—any context.
130. Take a poem you've finished or write a new one (fairly short, any topic). Once it's done, remove all the "filler" words (just, like, so, because... etc.). The end goal is to be as concise as possible.
131.
132.
What are you truly afraid of?
133.
Topic: How to end a ______________ (fill in the blank)
134. Think of something that is native to where you're from... it could literally be anything, a food, a word... write an ode to that thing (ex: since I am from DC, I might write an ode to mambo sauce).
135. 136.
Write from the perspective of something or someone hiding under a bed or in a closet (literally).
137.
Red. Write about the color red. Whatever you associate with red.
138.
Think about your past relationship(s). Are there any regrets? Write a Dear John/breakup letterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not to the person, but to your regret. How did you (or how are you trying to) let go?
139.
Write about “moving”—moving on, moving forward, moving away, etc.
140.
Little Miss Sunshine. Imagine 2-3 people that you know in real life. For each person, list 5 of their personality traits or descriptive words. The descriptors should be 1-2 words or super short phrases (i.e. happy, annoying, messy, etc.). Once your lists are done, write a poem that is a conversation between the 2-3 people you chose. Next, pick one personality trait per person and go back and replace every instance of their name (or reference, i.e. if you say “my grandmother”) in the poem with that trait. (ex: instead of Bob and Joe have a conversation, it will now read Annoying and Happy have a conversation…)
141.
I’ve had the following quote for a while now and haven’t been able to work through the poem yet, so I’m going to share it with you. Steal this line: “To the people who lose one shoe on the side of the highway, please tell me what the rest of your life is like.”
142.
When is the last time you took a trip? Where did you go? How did you get there? Who were you with? Describe the trip without revealing the location. Turn the description into a metaphor for something else.
143.
List 15 different ways to say “I don’t love you anymore”
144.
Describe the days of the week as people.
145.
What is your inheritance? In other words, what was left for you or, what will you leave behind?
146.
Write a poem in which the reason for the title is not apparent until the very end
147.
Create a poem that consists entirely of one side of a conversation or exchange.
148. Where so you see your future? What are you doing to change/not change your course? Write a letter poem to future you.
149. Form Poems These prompts are general directions to try different types of form poems. Try one or all. For purposes of 30/30, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tried to keep to short forms. You can combine the form with any of the other prompts in the book (ex: if you want to write an erotic sonnet I encourage you to try it). You can also try combining forms. In previous years, myself and others have invented new forms this way (ex: a Devil Sestina which is cross between a tradition sestina and a 6x6, an acrostiku (credit to Cel Landicho), which combines an acrostic with haikuâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a haiku down the left side and every line as a haiku). The idea of forms is to challenge yourself. You can find samples all over the place. The form is in the left column, the rules for the form are in the right column.
Form Blitz
Rules Line 1 should be one short phrase or image
(like “build a boat”) Line 2 should be another short phrase or
Fibonacci
image using the same first word as the first word in Line 1 (something like “build a house”) Lines 3 and 4 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 2 as their first words (so Line 3 might be “house for sale” and Line 4 might be “house for rent”) Lines 5 and 6 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 4 as their first words, and so on until you’ve made it through 48 lines Line 49 should be the last word of Line 48 Line 50 should be the last word of Line 47 The title of the poem should be three words long and follow this format: (first word of Line 3) (preposition or conjunction) (first word of line 47) Don’t use punctuation
a 6-line poem that follows the Fibonacci sequence for syllable count per line.
Cascade
1 syllable for first line 1 syllable for second line 2 syllables for third 3 syllables for fourth 5 syllables for fifth 8 syllables for sixth
For the cascade poem, take each line from the first stanza of a poem (any poem) and make those the final lines of each stanza afterward. So, for example, if you write a poem that has 3 line stanzas… Stanza 1: L1 L2 L3 (stolen line 1) Stanza 2: L1 L2 L3 (stolen line 2)
Lai
A French form. nine-line poem “a” and “b” rhyme following this pattern: aabaabaab. The lines with an “a” rhyme use 5 syllables; the “b” rhyme lines have 2 syllables.
Kyrielle
Another French four-line stanza form that has a refrain in the fourth line. Often, there is a rhyme scheme in the poem that can look like any of the following:
aabb abab aaab abcb
The poem can be as long as you want, but has to have AT LEAST two stanzas. Also, every line must contain 8 syllables.
Quatern
Triversen
This poem has 16 lines total broken up into 4 quatrains (or 4-line stanzas). Each line has eight syllables. The first line is the refrain. In the second stanza, the refrain appears in the second line; in the third stanza, the third line; in the fourth stanza, the fourth (and final) line. There are no rules for rhyming or syllable counts Each stanza is one whole sentence. Each sentence/stanza breaks into 3 lines (each line is a separate phrase in the sentence). There should be 2-4 beats per line. The poem as a whole should add up to 18 lines (or 6 stanzas).
Paradelle
Shadorma
4-stanzas Each stanza consists of 6 lines For the first 3 stanzas, the 1st and 2nd lines should be the same; the 3rd and 4th lines should also be the same; and the 5th and 6th lines should be composed of all the words from the 1st and 3rd lines and only the words from the 1st and 3rd lines. The final stanza should be composed of all the words in the 5th and 6th lines of the first three stanzas and only the words from the 5th and 6th lines of the first three stanzas.
Think of this as Spain’s answer to the haiku.
6-lines The count is in this order:
Line 1: 3 syllables Line 2: 5 syllables Line 3: 3 syllables Line 4: 3 syllables Line 5: 7 syllables Line 6: 5 syllables
Bop
Triolet (TREE-o-LAY)
3 stanzas Each stanza is followed by a refrain First stanza is 6 lines long and presents a problem Second stanza is 8 lines long and explores or expands the problem Third stanza is 6 lines long and either presents a solution or documents the failed attempt to resolve the problem
Repetitive 8-line poem the first line of the poem is used 3 times and the second line is used twice. The other lines rhyme lines one and two in this order:
A (first line) B (second line) a (rhymes with first line) A (repeat first line) a (rhymes with first line) b (rhymes with second line) A (repeat first line) B (repeat second line)
Katauta/Sedoka
Magic 9
Tricube
Katauta is a Japanese poetic form that is considered an incomplete or half-poem. It’s a 3liner that follows either 5-7-5 or 5-7-7 syllables per line. It’s kind of like a haiku EXCEPT it is specifically addressed to a lover. Multiple katautas act as a question and answer conversation between lovers to form sedoka 9 lines The rhyme scheme is abacadaba (basically it’s the word abracadabra without the r’s—hence why it’s called a Magic 9)
9 lines Each line contains three syllables. Each stanza contains three lines. Each poem contains three stanzas.
150. Erotic Prompts You can take most any writing prompt and swing it (ha!) into an erotic poem, but this year I decided to add bonus prompts strictly dealing with love/erotic poems and topics. You can take these in any direction you’d wish—though the key to erotic poems (like all poems) is to draw from and write to your experience. The focus can be sensual, sexy, freaky—however you choose to interpret “erotic.”
E1. Write about a sexual encounter as a persona poem from the perspective of your or your partner's body parts. E2. Describe a fantasy encounter with someone you know you shouldn't fantasize about... spare no detail except the name E3. Describe an ordinary activity (driving a car, watching tv) in great detail. Go back and replace a word or two in every sentence with something erotic. Mad lib this ordinary activity until you forget what you were "supposed to be" doing. E4. Make a list of 10 words that could be "taken out of context" or sound dirty but really aren't. Use all 10 words in a piece. E5. Write from the perspective of a scorned lover exacting perfect revenge. E6. Write an erotic/love poem that includes a very specific time of day (11:36 pm, 6:54 am etc.) E7. Write about the last time someone touched you somewhere other than your body. E8. “I can make you____________” (fill in the blank) E9. Steal this line: We all enter the body alone and only once/We do not get to stay“Prayer in Hell’s Kitchen” by Alex Dimitrov E10. What makes you sexy? Whatever it is, own it and write the poem. E11. Write about an amazing sexual encounter. Go left at Albuquerque—add a f*cked up plot twist.
Tool Kit
Google Stopwatch: https://www.google.com/#q=stopwatch&* a stopwatch that works with a split screen Language is a Virus: www.languageisavirus.com additional prompts and fun word related games. Plot Generator App (from Apple or Google Play Store) Printable/Fillable April 2017 calendar Reference sites/Quick links: www.google.com www.languageisavirus.com www.dictionary.com www.rhymezone.com
Additional Recommendations:
Use any music app to create a writing specific playlist. Use in conjunction with any of the audio prompts. Interval timing. A minute is longer than you think. Use these silent interval timers to gauge time for poem lengths or set lists.
1 minute timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiiT7YEZRA&index=7&t=670s&list=PLHxtTTApIqGkorxmUQeGTO8pS3DFUkEcj 2-minute timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dAorgAB0I4&index=8&t=1570s&list=PLHxtTTApIqGkor xmUQeGTO8pS3DFUkEcj 3-minute timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT6JdZUolm0&index=9&t=10s&list=PLHxtTTApIqGkorx mUQeGTO8pS3DFUkEcj
April
2017
Picture Caption Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Fill in the calendar with any of the suggested prompts.
Plan ahead to keep yourself motivated through NaPoWriMo
Print or share for workshop or personal planning
Be sure to check out the other available tools in the mini tool kit!
View or edit this document on the fly.
You can edit and seamlessly save the document to the cloud from Word on your Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS device.