If you’re anything like me, the 30 poems in 30 days push is exhilarating and terrifying. I can’t say “no” when anyone mentions they’re pulling together a group of people to support each other in daily poem writing, since I try to write one every day/revise one every day as part of my writing routine (with varying degrees of success).  I thought this would be a good time to post some prompt websites and ideas to give anyone in the same boat fodder for their own efforts.

1. Kelli Russell Agodon, co-founder and co-editor of Two Sylvias Press, award winning author and fabulous prompt writer has provided a 30/30 prompt list here.
2. The Poetic Asides Blog, part of the Writer’s Digest website has weekly prompts on Wednesdays, but throughout April, poet Robert Lee Brewer posts a prompt a day. Not only that, the archives are jam packed with previous years/week’s prompts.
3. If there’s a book on your desk, use that, but if not, go to the nearest bookshelf and take the one third from the right. Close your eyes, and open the book to any page, jab your finger down, and write down two of the words under your finger. This is the title of your next poem. GO.
4. Put your music on shuffle. Write down a line from the first song that your device plays. Fast forward as soon as you find a good line. Write down a second line. Fast forward twice. Write down a third line. Now write a poem linking these lines together. When you’re finished writing, take away the lines from the songs and write new connective tissue.
5. Go back to grade school – write a secret word/phrase down the -right side- of your page, so that one letter per line becomes not the first letter of each line, but the last letter of each line. Now write a poem using your secret message as the main idea, but not the title.

Don’t be afraid to write very bad poetry. There’s no pressure in the 30/30s, because nobody thinks this is a reasonable expectation. Just getting anything down on paper every day is a victory! Happy NaPoWriMo!

Bloom/Scatter