Writing poetry is a creative and cathartic way to explore ideas and vent emotions. Poetry taps into life. If you’re looking for inspiration for your next poem, writing prompts for poetry can provide the nudge you need. Look for a prompt that encourages interest in a topic. It can stir inspiration or provide a challenge. Either way, an effective prompt introduces and limits the writing topic. It should also provide clear instructions about the writing task. For instance, if the writing prompt is timed, it will tell you how long you have to write.
Ways to Use Writing Prompts for Poetry
Writing prompts for poetry can be used in different ways and offer different results for each person. My first two novels were based on a writing prompt—the same prompt. Once I had my initial scene, I reversed engineered it, (I called it the flip side exercise) changing details to the opposite of the original to generate another story. I used this process and other prompts for the entire writing process and came up with two completely different novels. You can do the same with poetry.
If you haven’t used a writing prompt before, there are several ways you can use them to get you writing. One of the first I used was the timer prompt. I felt like I didn’t have time to write, but I equipped myself with a writing prompt and challenged myself to write 20 minutes per day, 3 days a week. That exercise quickly taught me I had more than 20 minutes a day to write, and it provided a collection of things I could submit.
Here’s a list of ways to approach using a writing prompt (If you have other ideas please share them in the comments):
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Challenge yourself to write without editing. Just let your ideas flow. If you get stuck, pick the last word of any of the lines you’ve already written and repeat it in another phrase. Continue doing this until you find your mojo or your time is up.
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Set a timer and free write without stopping for 15 minutes.
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Think of prompts as a springboard, a starting point. Follow the prompt as loosely or as closely as you want. The key is that you are writing, what the prompt inspires you to write is based on your interpretation of the stimuli provided.
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Use a prompt to add new texture to a revision by incorporating components of the prompt into an existing draft.
8 Writing Prompts for Poetry
Don’t expect to write a polished piece in one sitting. The purpose of the prompt is to get you writing. Sometimes the result is a wash, but even then the exercise may inspire another idea, other times you’ll find phrases and lines you can harvest and turn into a first draft. Once in a while you’ll hit gold with a first draft that flows naturally and touches you emotionally when you read it. These 8 writing prompts for poetry are varied. Try one, a few, or all eight:
Overwhelming Emotion
Write a poem based on overwhelming emotion that isn’t fully understood. The poem should try to make sense of the feeling. First select an emotion. When writing include:
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Physical sensations
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Thoughts
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Memories that flood the mind
Whiskers and Words
This poetry prompt is for cat people. Base it on what cat language means to you. Choose one or any combination of the following:
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It can be vocalizations: meows, growls, hisses, howls, chirping (trills), and purring.
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Body language from head to toe includes ear position, tail position, posture, facial expressions and eyes.
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Position and shape can indicate alertness, relaxation, or fear.
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Incorporate vivid imagery
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Give the cat(s) human-like qualities
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Use dynamic verbs, and engage the senses through detailed descriptions
First Day Jitters
Choose one of the following. Extra points if you can write it with humor.
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First day of school from the student’s point of view
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First day of school from the teacher’s point of view
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First day of school for a child from the parent’s point of view
The Essence of Morning
Go through your morning, make note of things you smell. The shampoo or soap in the shower, the smell of the minerals in hard water, coffee brewing, toast toasting, your child or pet cuddling, someone leaning in for a kiss. If you get in a morning walk/run or trip to the gym, include fresh air, pine trees, decaying leaves, or even a dead animal, exhaust, or gym smells, if you want. Your life will dictate what aromas and odors you’ll include. Once you have your list, use that as your prompt. Incorporate some of them in a poem depicting a slice of life and decide on a fitting title.
Flip Side Poetry
Take an existing poem and re-engineer it to be the opposite. If it is about love, make it about hate. If it is about beauty, make it about unsightliness. If a word in the original doesn’t have an opposite, leave it be. This is a discovery prompt. It will take your poetry to a place you might not otherwise discover.
Tribute Poem
Tribute poems draw inspiration from memories of your loved one or other meaningful person in your life: their habits, personality or anything else that comes to mind will make your poem personal. She Had Her Mountains by Lori Soard embraces the beautiful legacy of her grandmother’s unselfish life in a tribute poem. Consider the overall theme before you start. This will offer direction as you write.
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Choose the person you want to write about
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Optional: Use photos to remind you of details
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Jot down personal recollections (these will give your poem emotional power.
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Write your tribute poem
Lessons from Trees
Trees have inspired poetry for ages. Joyce Kilmer includes the famous line: “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree,” and Rudyard Kipling Tree Song is another popular poem. Author Kate Williams published a creative teaching and learning opportunity using trees to inspire poetry in The School Magazine, NSW, Australia. When writing poetry about trees, she says “the main literary areas in focus include imagery, personification, action words and sensory description.” We will use that wisdom for this prompt:
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Visit a tree or use an image of a tree as a visual. (examples: sprouting buds, autumn leaves, vibrant green, bare branches, or an evergreen)
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Describe the tree using verbs and sensory description (example: Limbs stretch toward the cold winter sky like gnarled fingers).
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Give your tree a voice (talking or singing
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Add an interesting element (age/history, wildlife, roots, shape/size, initials carved, etc.)
Headlines Poem Prompt
Grab several magazine headlines and select interesting words and phrases. This is a simplified form of the cut-up technique which cuts a page of text into pieces and rearranges the words and phrases to make new combinations. Instead of a whole page of text, this prompt is based on magazine headlines.
Finding Inspiration in the Flexibility of Poetry Prompts
As you use writing prompts for poetry, remember they are there to inspire. You can follow it as loosely or as strictly as you want. When using a prompt, finding ways to fit your words into a specific form can be just as enjoyable as breaking the rules! Let your creativity flow and you’ll find the form that suits your subject matter.
