Happy National Poetry Month!

Readers!

It's the time of year again! National Poetry Month is back, and it is the perfect opportunity to get back into the groove of writing. I will try to write for these 30 days, but as this semester of college is coming to an end and I'm making a huge transition in my life, it may not happen. But I will really try! I am on the hunt for really cool writing prompts, so if and when I see any I will update the list below. The new ones will be in bold. I'm not a fan of prompts because I can't always find ones that I like, but I will try some if I'm really stuck.

Happy Writing!
Jay

30 Writing Prompts
1. Find a newspaper article and blackout the words you don't like/want to create a poem.
2. Write a poem from the perspective of an inanimate object.
3. Write a resistance poem. There are many forms of resistance, including militant resistance, resistance to new ideas, the resistance in exercise, and maybe even a little resistance to starting a new project. I hope you don’t resist the urge to write a poem today. (Writer's Digest)
4. Write a secret poem. The poem itself could be a secret, or it could be about keeping secrets or, I suppose, not keeping them. Or maybe it’s about a top secret project, or the poem is a riddle with some sort of secret meaning. Or, well, I’ll let you figure out how best to poem secretively. (Writer's Digest)
5. Write a fourteener. Fourteeners can be have any number of lines, but each line should have fourteen syllables. Traditionally, each line consisted of seven iambic feet (i.e., an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, times seven), but non-iambic fourteeners also exist. (NaPoWriMo.net)
6. Write a departure poem. Many people depart to school and/or work every day, and they depart on a plane, train, or automobile–some even walk or ride a bike. Of course, that’s keeping things rather physical; there are also emotional and psychological departures. You may even decide to make a departure from your normal writing style in tone or structure today. (Writer's Digest)
7.  Write a “loveless” love poem. Don’t use the word love! And avoid the flowers and rainbows. And if you’re not in the mood for love? Well, the flip-side of the love poem – the break-up poem – is another staple of the poet’s repertoire. If that’s more your speed at present, try writing one of those, but again, avoid thunder, rain, and lines beginning with a plaintive “why”? Try to write a poem that expresses the feeling of love or lovelorn-ness without the traditional trappings you associate with the subject matter. (NaPoWriMo.net)
8. Write a things-not-as-they-appear poem. Poetry is filled with metaphors, similes, symbols, and layered meanings, so this should be a softball prompt. If you’re struggling, look at your current surroundings, pick an object, and turn it into a metaphor for something. Or think of somebody in the real world (mail person, gas station attendant, etc.) and make up a secret double life for them. (Writer's Digest)
9. The poet, Rudy Francisco, wrote what he calls his "Honest Poem." Use this outline from this site (http://ttinkin.com/2014/04/07/honestpoems/) to create your own honest poem.
10. It's April! "April showers bring May flowers...." Write a poem about rain without using the word rain. Find other ways to describe it (fun fact: petrichor is the scent of rain, hmm!) Have fun!
11. Start a poem off with the phrase "I have come to know..." Use it to tell a truth you've never said outloud before. This one can be particularly therapeutic.