If you’re an avid writer, you know that National Poetry Writing Month, fondly referred to as NaPoWriMo (have fun saying that one), is almost here! From the makers of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge, beginning April 1st, poetry writers all around the world will be participating in a 30-day challenge to write a poem every single day to celebrate National Poetry Month.
The official NaPoWriMo site will be posting prompts for each day to help get your creative juices flowing, but encourages you not to feel obligated to follow them – the point of the challenge is to explore more of yourself and your writing abilities through the exercise of the free form that is poetry. You can write whatever you feel like, prompt or no prompt, as long as you have fun doing it and do it everyday!
I thought I’d contribute some prompts of my own in honor of the month myself – feel free to use these for NaPoWriMo, for a class, or just for fun! Hopefully, they inspire you in some way shape or form:
SINGLE WORD PROMPTS (write down the first things/feelings/emotions that come to mind when reading these words on their own.)
-
home
-
intertwined
-
yearn
-
disappear
-
posed
-
happy
-
ingenuity
-
deep
-
fade
-
light
PHRASE/QUOTE PROMPTS. (write down the first things/feelings/emotions that come to mind when reading these phrases/quotes. complete them, repeat them, or don’t use them in your poem at all – just go off of how the words make you feel.)
-
“It matters to me that…”
-
“…beneath it all.”
-
“Tell me your story.”
-
“Where do you run to?”
-
“Hold on tight.”
-
“I love…”
-
“Where are you from?”
-
“I exist for…”
-
“What I am”
-
“Please don’t…”
MEMORY/NOSTALGIA PROMPTS. (write on the memories these prompts urge you to remember.)
-
Write about a time you realized you weren’t alone.
-
Write about how your safe place became your safe place.
-
Write about the last time you stargazed and what you thought about.
-
Write about where you had your first kiss.
-
Write about how your favorite song made you feel when you first heard it.
Whether you consider yourself a poet or not, consider trying NaPoWriMo for kicks. You might be surprised what your creative side can come up with and you might even find a new hobby doing it! There’s a poet in everyone, maybe you just haven’t found it yet. Be sure to check out the NaPoWriMo official website (http://www.napowrimo.net/) to read more about the 30-day challenge, view out some of the blog sites following the progress of participants all around the world, or submit a site of your own so others can see what NaPoWriMo will bring out of you!