Poetry Challenge #8-Moonlight in Vermont
Confession Time: Somedays--many days--I am not in "the mood" to be poetic.
Today's prompt is exactly perfect for one of those days.
(Can't take credit for it, this was Cindy's idea.)
Here goes:
Poetry Challenge #8
Moonlight in Vermont
Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry made up of 3 lines with 5/7/5 syllables on each line. Traditional haiku has something to do with nature, but you can write them about anything.
Whenever I groan “I can’t write a Haiku… it’s hard…”
Cindy reminds me how, rhythmically, syllabically, miraculously, the first three lines of the song “Moonlight in Vermont” make a perfect haiku. That gets me humming every time.
If you know the song (or at least the tune), you can write haiku very quickly by putting your own words to the tune. Here’s a link to Willie Nelson singing “Moonlight in Vermont”
How many haiku can you write in 7 minutes?
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #7-Mixing it UP!
In a recent “Chat” to her band of merry (and sometimes not) writers—of which I’m happy to be included—Book Doctor, Robyn Conley, wrote suggesting how, especially in difficult times, we could and should encourage kindness.
To that end, she asked us to share stories of times when we entered a situation or encountered a person with one belief and came away with another.
Has that ever happened to you?
It has me.
“Diversity: “The condition of having or being composed of differing elements :variety; especially: the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization.”
— https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity
Poetry Challenge #7
Mixing it UP
For today’s challenge, look around your space and pick out two completely different objects (or people).
Write a poem that begins with the differences between the two, and end by exploring how they are the same.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #6-I Am The One Who ____
If you, like me, get songs stuck in your brain, please forgive me in advance.
The moment I read this prompt a Toby Keith song popped into my head (RIP Toby), I Wanna Talk About Me, the one about the guy who really likes to hear every-single-teeny-itsy-detail of his gal's life, but Occasionally...
So, here's your chance:
Poetry Challenge #6
I'm The One Who ___
Write a list poem.
What is it you do?
What makes you you?
(Or because it is Valentine’s Day, if you usually do most/all of the talking, write it about your sweetie!)
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
And because, regardless of his politics, Toby Keith sang some great songs, in memory here’s the Link to I Want to Talk About Me.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #5-What's that noise?
A poll of incredibly interested 2,3 & 4 year-olds revealed noteworthy data: Their favorite part of my picture book, Not Norman, A Goldfish Story, was:
—Not the spunky main character…
—Not the brilliant story…
—Not Noah Z. Jones delightful pictures…
—NOT . . . NORMAN ???
It was the dark page toward the end of the story when our tad-bit-scared boy says . . .
If your tots haven't read this book, they are missing out--and so are you! Buy It!
"What's that noise?"
Prompted by certain sounds, our minds take us places--interesting, provocative, visceral...scary places. Which leads me to this week's prompt. Let's use sounds to mess around with readers minds--and make our poetry...well...Sing!
Poetry Challenge #5
What's That Noise?
Take a walk—around your house, a store, the school, or your neighborhood.
Write a poem about it. But, rather than focusing on what you see, focus on what you hear.
Extra points for using an onomatopoeia—or a few. In case you forgot: that’s a words that sound like the sound of the object it’s describing.
For inspiration here’s a poem chock full of sounds: A Sound Collector by Roger McGough
“A Sound Collector
A stranger called this morning
Dressed all in black and grey
Put every sound into a bag
And carried them away
The whistling of the kettle
The turning of the lock
The purring of the kitten
The ticking of the clock
The popping of the toaster
The crunching of the flakes
When you spread the marmalade
The scraping noise it makes
The hissing of the frying pan
The ticking of the grill
The bubbling of the bathtub
As it starts to fill
The drumming of the raindrops
On the windowpane
When you do the washing-up
The gurgle of the drain
The crying of the baby
The squeaking of the chair
The swishing of the curtain
The creaking of the stair
A stranger called this morning
He didn’t leave his name
Left us only silence
Life will never be the same”
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #4-Counting With Words
Channeling the Von Trapp Family Singers today, sort of. . .
Let's start at the very beginning. . .
but not with ABC or with Do-Re-Me . . .
with 1-2-3!
Sing it Franz!
One-two-three
One-two-three
One-two three
Poetry Challenge #4
Counting By Words
Today's prompt was created for the math side of your brain, because it's a counting poem.
Line 1 can have only 1 word.
Line 2 can have 2 words.
Line 3 can have 3 words, and so on.
Keep going in that pattern up to line 10. Extra credit if you can work back down from 10.
If you’re stuck for a topic, write about something you can see right now or your favorite color.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #3-Party Time!
Hurrah! Happy to have you with me. You know the drill (and if you don't it's easy enough): Grab a pen, a paper, your timer, and--why not!--a party hat!
Poetry Challenge #3
PARTY TIME!
In honor of poet, singer-songwriter, cartoonist, screenwriter, and children's author Shel Silverstein's whose birthday isn’t for months (Sept 25, 1930) but we are celebrating now anyway, just because…
Write a silly-funny poem about a made-up animal--or the perfect birthday party.
For inspiration, read one of Shel Silverstein's Birthday poems:
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it!
Write a poem, paragraph, or story. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it’s not even about writing anything good. It’s about one thing, writing IT!
And, if you do join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge be sure to let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem, in the comments!
And for a real treat, celebrate by reading one of Shel Silverstein's books!
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #2-When You Sing You Begin With ABC
Know how sometimes just the thought of doing something will stop you cold?
(Maybe, if you read the Challenge I tossed out in my last post, it did.) You are so not alone! I am not a poet. Worse, I'm a lousy poet. So you can believe 2700+ days ago, when VCFA Faculty advisor/author Mary Quattlebaum, sweetly suggested poetry might help my writing and suggested I "try" some poetry prompts, I scoffed.
The only thing that kept me from say @#$*NO! and running away (aside from shame) was that timer.
That goofy, wonderful, shame-saving Timer
If you've been slogging through The Fishbowl for a while you know I'm all about the timer.
My mom introduced us, my brother Joe and I, to the timer back when we were waist high. She used it for good and evil. If we wanted to do something (say play longer, stay up longer, swim longer) she'd say "I'll give you five minutes!" and actually mean it--I'm talking watch the timer and tap off seconds with your toe mean it."
Likewise, when we didn't want to do something (say clean, pick up, straighten up, grown up...) she set the timer. "Next commercial you clear the table, vacuum, dust, brush your teeth... Hurry or you'll miss the show!"
Amazing how much we could accomplish during a commercial break. Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' keep them doggies rollin' Rawhide!"
Come on, give it a try. Grab a paper, pen, a timer and give it a go! You might surprise yourself!
Poetry Challenge #2
Back to School—ABC’s
I remember the excitement of going back to school every year, both as a student and a teacher. Friends to see, things to learn, books to read! I barely slept the night before. Always, I loved getting back to the schedule of fall.
Write one line—five words—that begin in order with the letters A, B, C, D, E.
This line will be the first line of your poem.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #1-First Things First
I've got a proposition for you. A challenge. A dare. AGAIN!
Three hundred and twenty-nine weeks ago, we began sharing the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge with you all, dear subscribers & friends. Some of you have taken up the gauntlet and joined us in the committing 7 minutes a day (sometimes less, sometimes more) to giving the sometimes stagnant creativity pot a stir.
Some have even shared them.
But few if any of you, Cindy and myself aside, even saw those early Challenges (called The Seven Minute Stretch Back then.) So, to kick off a brand new year of creative living, quixotically on the 2nd week of 2024 we are giving those early prompts and second go around. Looking forward to seeing what we—and YOU—come up with!
First things first—Challenge Rules:
Read the prompt.
Set the timer
Write a poem, a paragraph or a story —creator’s choice!
Don't think about it too much; just do it. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it's not even about writing anything good. It's about one thing, writing IT!
Gavin & Keira's 1st Day of School 2017
Gavin & Keira (yes the same now bigguns featured in last week’s Christmas jammies post: Festival of Sleep) were our guinea pigs for that first shared 7-Minute Challenge, Sept. 6, 2017. Weren’t they cute!
For a treat, you’ll find a snap of Keira and Gavin’s results afterwards. But first, the prompt:
Poetry Challenge #1
The First Day
On the first day of school what things do you bring? A backpack? Pen? Paper? Maybe you’ll wear a new pair of jeans or shoes?
Think about it: Not only will it be your first day of school, it will be that “things” first day of school too. How do you think those “things” feel about going to school for the first time? Write a “First Day of School” poem from the point of view of one of those things.
Note: It can be the first day of anything. Just tell the story from the point of view of one of the thing you bring with you that first day.
For Inspiration read: SCHOOL'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Adam Rex, illus. by Christian Robinson (Roaring Brook Press, 2016), the story of the first day of school as told by Fredrick Douglass Elementary—a brand new school building!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
And now the promised treat: Gavin's Binder shared. Keira's dress was "shy" on that first day:
Happy Creating! We look forward to reading you!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .