Poetry Writing Challenges

Congratulations, you made it all the way to the end of OctPoWriMo 2014! It has been a wonderful journey this year from September's poetry tips through October's poetry prompts. Some of you have been with us every single day and some of you popped in when your schedule permitted.

You shared your poems - your heart, your life, your experiences - with us and they have touched our hearts. We have one last prompt for you and we look forward to reading your poems.

Poetry Prompts:

What have you learned from this journey? Did you stretch in unexpected ways? Did you take it easy during OctPoWriMo compared to years past?  Free write about your OctPoWriMo experience.

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Word Prompts:

Poetry
Writing
Experience
Journey
Flowing
Sharing

Feeling Words:

Feeling
Love
Hope
Excitement
Gratitude
Wonderment



I want to thank you for participating in OctPoWriMo and I look forward to seeing you next year. Make sure you sign up to receive our posts in your email so that you know when we begin again.

Special thanks to the other contributors of OctPoWriMo who shared their creativity and love of poetry with us.

Julie Jordan Scott - You can find creating her literary themed mixed media art every day during November.

Amy Phelps McGrath - Will be participating in NaNoWriMo during the month of November and hopefully she will keep us updated on her blog about how things are going for her.

Tamara Woods - Will also be participating in NaNoWriMo but has decided to share her experiences through vlogs as she tries to stay sane during the challenge.

You can find me, Morgan Dragonwillow, sharing writing prompts and inspiration on Mondays and Wednesdays over on my blog.

It has been a pleasure and an honor sharing our love of poetry with you.

I will be announcing the rest of the winners of the Raffle tomorrow, Saturday.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Morgan Dragonwillow: Writing rebel, stress relief explorer, recovering perfectionist, cooking as therapy, poet & author that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of #OctPoWriMo. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.
You can find her on Google+

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure you sign up to receive the writing prompts, writing tips and updates to share in the poetry adventure!

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Day 27 - Sleep and Dreams

"To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come..." 

          ~ William Shakespeare

I'm writing on a lazy Sunday afternoon and as I write this, my final prompt for OctPoWriMo 2014, I must confess - I am sleepy! I have been keeping a very busy schedule this month and have pushed myself harder (in many ways) than I have in quite some time. I find myself pausing, looking up mindlessly at the movie my husband is watching, and nodding off for a few moments. Once I'm done here, I shall listen to my body's call and take an afternoon nap. Let's let this feeling provide our inspiration for this Monday prompt.

The Prompt: Let's write about sleep. What does it feel like as you're drifting off or as you're returning to wakefulness? Do you dream vividly in color? Explore the physical sensations of sleep and dreaming in a freewrite and see what surfaces as the story to be told in your poem.

Word Prompts: 

• sleep (sleepy, sleeping)
• dream (dreaming, dreamer)
• nap
• awake
• insomnia

We have goodies! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by Loud Images

~ Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction writer, artist, and student of life. She is working toward a new career as a Creative Arts Therapist where she hopes to share with others the healing power of the creative process. You can read her poetry and see some of her art on her blog - Poetry, Prose, Art, and Creativity. When she's not writing or making art, you can find her reading, listening to a wide range of music (even singing karaoke sometimes), or spending time with her husband Patrick and her two sons.

Day 24: "Reality" Check and Guilty Pleasures

So You Think You Can Dance.
Project Runway.
Face Off.
Ink Master.

These are my guilty pleasures. These "reality"-based competition shows that require a new work of art to be created in a wild assortment of challenges actually inspire me to challenge myself. I love seeing how the artists on each of these shows deal with the guidelines and spirit of each new challenge.
Wouldn't it be fun if there was a show like this for us poets? What would the format look like? Would you be a contestant? I claim you already ARE taking part because you are here! Sure, we're not on national television, but we are taking on a new challenge every day as we create new works of art in poetic form.

The Prompt: Let's pull our inspiration from one (or more) of the genres in these shows. Here are links to some sources that might help if you're not familiar with the shows, or you can just use the word prompts to guide you. (Or not use the prompt at all ... unlike the shows, we do have that option!)

• So You Think You Can Dance
• Project Runway
• Face Off
• Ink Master

Word Prompts: 

• Dance
• Fashion
• Make-up
• Tattoos

As always, the prompt is completely optional! Have fun!

We have goodies! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by Loud Images

~ Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction writer, artist, and student of life. She is working toward a new career as a Creative Arts Therapist where she hopes to share with others the healing power of the creative process. You can read her poetry and see some of her art on her blog - Poetry, Prose, Art, and Creativity. When she's not writing or making art, you can find her reading, listening to a wide range of music (even singing karaoke sometimes), or spending time with her husband Patrick and her two sons.

OctPoWriMo Poetry Prompt #23: Another Chapter Begins.....

Another chapter begins…

We are in the final third of October which means… we are that much closer to the end of this poetry writing spree.

Some of you, like me, may not quite be up to speed with the numbers and guess what? That is perfectly fine. Please forgive your lower numbers and continue to write as called and compelled.

I have written two poems this month I am absolutely thrilled about and have several in the works in my notebook. I don’t consider myself behind because… 

                                       I don’t believe in “behind” I believe in everything being just right as is, thank you very very much!

 

With that in mind, I want us to think and write today - if you choose to follow the prompting and as always we love whether you do or you don’t - to imagine turning the page to the next chapter….

If it helps, actually grab a book from that shelf over there. Go to the end of one chapter and literally turn the page.

Repeat as necessary.

Maybe for you “another chapter begins” is like waiting for the new school year or writing resolutions or starting a new job….

Perhaps you’ve been writing haiku all month and right now you want to set those aside and write all American Sentence poems! (Are there any Allen Ginsburg fans out there who know what I speak of?

Whatever it inspires for you, so be it... move your pencils and shuffle these possibilities into poetry.

Phrase prompts:

Another chapter begins…

Turn the page….

And then there was….

I begin again….

And then there was….

Now it is time to write….

And an image and quote inspiration I forgot I created! 

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. If you are the first few on the list please go back to the day before and visit the last on the list if you haven't already. Have fun!

OctPoWriMo Day 21: Poetry Prompt: "I was here...."

Where are your fingerprints?

I spent last weekend at Morro Bay along the Central California Coast. On both Saturday and Sunday morning I could be found nestled in the dunes along the beach, waiting to greet the new day.

On Sunday, I noticed I left a distinctive hand print in the sand.

As a creative person, you are aware how such a thing sparks the imagination. It got me to thinking where my fingerprints and handprints and footprints live on in places, with other people, in memory.

It birthed the image you see here (feel free to also use the image for inspiration and on your blogs) as well as this prompt.

Question Prompt:

Where are your fingerprints?

Where are your handprints?

Where are your footprints?

Sentence Starters

My fingerprints are...

My handprints are...

My footprints are...

I remember the fingerprints of...

I remember the handprints of...

I remember the footprints of....

Words for Inspiration

Hand

Foot

Sand

Impression

Memory

Beach

Ocean

Fingers

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. If you are the first few on the list please go back to the day before and visit the last on the list if you haven't already. Have fun!

-- Julie Jordan Scott 

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Fall and Winter, 2014 and beyond. 

Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!
© 2014

Day 20 - Better Late than Never

Photo Credit: Petr Kratochvil

My apologies, fellow poets! I was at a friend's house yesterday and it completely slipped my mind to have this post ready to go. And that brings me to our prompt for today!



The Prompt: Let's dig into the anxiety and stress that comes with forgetting something or being late. How does that feel? What words do you need to express it? Is there a form that would seem to fit for you?



Word Prompts:

• late
• forgot
• rush
• hurry

Suggested form: The Blitz Poem (one of my favorites to write and to read!)

We have goodies! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by Loud Images

~ Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction writer, artist, and student of life. She is working toward a new career as a Creative Arts Therapist where she hopes to share with others the healing power of the creative process. You can read her poetry and see some of her art on her blog - Poetry, Prose, Art, and Creativity. When she's not writing or making art, you can find her reading, listening to a wide range of music (even singing karaoke sometimes), or spending time with her husband Patrick and her two sons.

Raindrops on my windowpane-Day 19 OctPoWriMo

Hello everyone! We're at Day 18. How are you holding up? Today even in sunny Hawai'i the rain has been pouring all over the state. It's gray and the air has that earthy smell. Let's write about it. This song sounds like rain to me. (Not an exact representation, but I'm a poet, so artistic license.) 

The Prompt: 

Freewrite for 10 minutes on the subject of Rain. Make it as visceral an experience as you can. How does it feel? Are there emotions you associate with rain, or experiences from your past? A song? A book? Use three of the words below.

The Words: 

                  Melancholy 
                  Drizzle 
                  Damp 
                  Rainbow 
                  Cloudy 
                  Grass 
                  Somber

Day 17 - Words, Words, Words!

In two of the art classes I'm taking this semester, we've had to make collages and include words cut from magazines. I have had so much fun just manipulating the cut out words and phrases to create odd combinations that I probably wouldn't have thought of any other way...

• obsessively dream
• polite echoes
• triumphant cake
• hot buttered jealousy

If you don't already collect words and phrases from magazines or newspapers, it can be a really fun way to use issues that you're finished with. Just keep a ziploc bag or a shoe box with your magazines and clip anything that catches your eye. Before long, you'll have a stash to play with anytime.

Now, if you don't want to collect clippings, no problem! You can always use a random word generator. Or maybe this one suits you better because it gives you a bit more control of the list. You can also use a magnetic poetry set (if you have one) or try out the online version!

The Prompt: Use one of the ideas from above (magazine clippings, random word generators, or magnetic poetry) and play with the arrangement and combinations of words until you have something that you love. Then you can either collage it and photograph it, type it directly into your blog, or do a screen capture (if you're using the magnetic poetry site, this would be neat!)

Things to keep in mind: Approach this activity like a child. Be open to unusual - even nonsensical - possibilities. And HAVE FUN!

As always, the prompts are completely optional!

We have goodies! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by Loud Images

~ Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction writer, artist, and student of life. She is working toward a new career as a Creative Arts Therapist where she hopes to share with others the healing power of the creative process. You can read her poetry and see some of her art on her blog - Poetry, Prose, Art, and Creativity. When she's not writing or making art, you can find her reading, listening to a wide range of music (even singing karaoke sometimes), or spending time with her husband Patrick and her two sons.

OctPoWriMo Poetry Prompt Day 16: Once Upon A Time...

One of the purposes of poetry is to tell stories. 

Today’s prompt is both simple and familiar.

Remember the beginning of every fairy tale?

Once Upon a Time… is your prompt and

the traditional ending -

..." and they lived happily ever after" may now become whatever you please.

.. "and they….(fill in the ending of your choice.)"

You may begin with the actual words and end with the actual words OR you may decide this is a prompt you just can’t get into and move along to a different theme entirely.

 
You may also elect to use the image prompts to further stir your creative pot. All of these images are in the public domain so feel free to use to your heart's content!

 

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. If you are the first few on the list please go back to the day before and visit the last on the list if you haven't already. Have fun!

-- Julie Jordan Scott

=====

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Fall and Winter, 2014 and beyond. 

Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!
© 2014