30 pieces in 30 days – Writing Prompts

Hey y’all,

I wanted to share my 30 most favorite writing prompts. (This is in response to brokenchickenwings’ request).

I’ve been away for very long, I feel quite bogus posting here again, but anyhow…i’ve been busy, been overworked, been travelling, been dealing with a break up, been meeting strangers, been liking someone, been compiling more life substance to write about.

So, beginning of this upcoming month, I’ll be announcing my 30-day-poem/prose a day month. I will use the prompts below, and will alternate between freewriting and poetry prompts.

Each day, I’ll post my piece for the day and will also post next day’s prompt. I’m accepting submissions! So if you’re interested, feel free to share your pieces.

(I would prefer pieces to have an LGBT theme, if possible, but its just a suggestion. Sure, straight poems are accepted as well.)

so here we go…

Free Writing Prompts

1.     Write for 15 minutes using the following phrase as your first line.

“After the door shuts and the footsteps die…”

2.     Use the following phrase as a focal point to write from:

“The stain will not come out…”

3.     Write for 20 minutes (without editing) using the following prompt:

“The distance between two points increases over time.”

4.     Write for 20 minutes using the following prompt:

“My life is made up of seconds…”

5.     Write for 20 minutes in any style using “Flowers for Ann” as the title.

6.     Write for 20 minutes without editing using the sense of black and white vision, as in film or photographs. The piece can have a historical or nostalgic feel, surreal, or futuristic.

7.     Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using this as your starter: “In the event of an emergency…” Consider writing with humor.

8.     Write for 20 minutes, (without editing) in any style using: “My last memory of…” Consider writing something surreal.

9.     Write for 20 minutes starting with “The gypsy reads the tea leaves” or, “The First Time I Saw the Circus”.

10.  Write for 20 minutes using the letter “x” as your starter.

11.  Write for 20 minutes using the following as your title or starting phrase: “Consider Blasphemy”

12.  Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: “Hello Coffee…”

13.  Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: “Pancakes”

 

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Poetry Prompts 

1.         Write a poem that describes a walk through a house from the perspective of a child.

2.         Write a poem that starts with a one word title, two words in the first line, three in the next, and continues by adding one word per line. (Variation: use as a prose exercise.)

3.         Write a poem using the following start: “What good is a day…”

4.         Write a poem with a seasonal theme.

5.         Write a poem using “Writers Anonymous” as your title. (Or, “Hi My Name Is?”

6.         Write a poem using the title, “Love Poem Number 137”.

7.         Write to your pain: “Dear Pad of My Thumb, Will you kindly stop hurting? It is very hard for me to stir a pot or write a poem when you hurt like this…

8.         Let your pain write back to you: “Dear Liesl, if you would lay off the text messaging and playing minesweeper it would help me a lot, then you can write your poem or stir pot…”.

9.         Write to your hurting country, city or community, as a variation on the theme. Take the dialogue as far as it goes, then distill the essence. See if you can arrive at a fresh insight about what ails you and yours.

10.    Take fairy tale and rewrite it from the viewpoint of another character. For example, use the wolf to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

11.    Write about a family secret.

12.    Write about someone waiting for something.

13.    Take any object out of your bag or pocket or purse. Speaking in first person AS THE OBJECT, answer the following questions (in any order): What is your favorite thing?

14.    What are you scared of? What is your secret? What is your wish for the future?

15.    Begin with, “This is not the last poem I will write…”

16.    Elide (strike out) the Junk: Take a piece of junk mail and black out most of the words so that what remains is a poem.

17.    Choose one set of poetry prompts and then write a poem using all the words in the list. If you’re feeling up to the challenge, then try to write a single poem using all the words from all the lists.

Cheese Please

·         pump

·         orchids

·         yellow

·         flame

·         knee caps

 

Erotica

·         inner thigh

·         spiral

·         desk chair

·         thunderous

·         parched

 

Obsession

·         coffee mug

·         foot steps

·         ravage

·         whisper

·         picket fence

 

Heartbreak

·         ache

·         undeserving

·         back

·         breathing

·         here

 

Moving On

·         toes

·         gray

·         rewind

·         oak

·         slip

– Alyah