Poetry Challenge #25-Double Dog Dare You . . .
When it comes to “don’t dos” I’m like a bull in a ring and that’s the red flag. It’s almost impossible for me to resist doing what I’m told not to do.
And yes, that does make me a lousy at word games like Password and Taboo.
As hard as it is for me (and maybe you) to resist using a word or phrase on purpose, it’s fun to try.
As having fun with words is the purpose of these 7-Minute Challenges, for this prompt we double dog dare you to put on your logologist’s hat.*
Say what?
A lipogram consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided. In its easiest form, a writer avoids using uncommon letters like X, J, Q, or Z. Or avoids words with “ing” or “ed” endings.
More difficult lipograms avoid common letters like A, T or E—E being the most common letter in the English language.
If you think avoiding using E is tough, consider this: Ernest Vincent Wright wrote an entire 50,000-word novel, GADSBY, without using the letter E.
Below is an excerpt.
“So this small town of Branton Hills was lazily snoozing amidst up-and-doing towns, as Youth’s Champion, John Gadsby, took hold of it; and shook its dawdling, flabby body until its inhabitants thought a tornado had struck it. Call it tornado, volcano, military onslaught, or what you will, this town found that it had a bunch of kids who had wills that would admit of no snoozing; for that is Youth, on its forward march of inquiry, thought and action.”
James Thurber’s The Wonderful O is a fairy tale about an island where the letter O was banned.
Poetry Challenge #25
Double Dog Dare You to Drop the E!
Begin with a poem you’ve already written.
Revise it by deleting every “E” word and replacing it with another word, if necessary.
Or, if you’d rather, revise it using only “E” words.
Or, if you’d rather not mess with one of your existing poems, try writing an entirely new poem without the letter “E”.
(And no fair intentionally mis-spelling words to avoid using “E”, that’s cheating.)
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
*We have award-winning author/VCFA faculty advisor Tim Wynne Jones to thank (or curse) for this prompt. Tim shared his passion for logology during a VCFA lecture one summer long long ago, in a world far far away.
And if you’ve caught the lipology bug, enjoy Michael S. Hennessey’s University of Cincinnati Lipogram Poetry Worksheet!
The example, on the left, is one Hennessey shared.
.
**Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 #24-Poncho and Lefty
This lone cowpoke is trying to decide which form to use: “Sonnet?….Haiku?….or should it be a ballad?”
Sometimes it’s fun to write a poem on a topic; sometimes it’s fun to try to use a form.
We often use a form when it feels as though a poem is wandering around or getting wordy.
Forms force you to pay attention to the number of syllables you use or to a rhyme scheme.
A fairly easy form is the ballad.
Poetry Challenge #24
Ballad of ____________________
Try writing a ballad of at least two verses.
A ballad usually has four lines in each verse with an ABAB rhyme scheme (every other line rhymes). It also has a strong rhythm. Lines alternate between four and three beats.
If you aren’t good at hearing beats, use eight syllables on one line and six on the next. Remember you can always write a ballad (or haiku or acrostic.)
Ballads are great to set to music if you are musically inclined! So if you’re having trouble finding that next line, hum a few bars.
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Ballads for inspirations Playlist:
“Pancho and Lefty” by Townes Van Zandt, sung by Willie and Merle
“Yesterday” by the Beatles
“Edelweiss” from Sound of Music by Rogers and Hammerstein
After poeming, you enjoy Townes Van Zandt telling a story of “Pancho and Lefty” on TexasHillCountry.com
But now, sit back and enjoy as Grandboy Dylan strums “Edelweiss” on the streets of NY. If the video link won’t work, view the clip on Kelly Bennett Books YouTube Station
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 #23-Where in the World
Easy to get lost geocaching, but the treasures you find… Here’s the official Geocaching blog
Where in the World?
It’s easy to get lost. And then, hard to find our way—especially when we don’t know where we’re going. This is true in life . . . and poetry . . .
You know that phrase “Just say the word”?
Sometimes it is just that easy. Let’s try.
Although its contests, etc. are for UK students, the resources on the Young Writers website are for everyone!
An Acrostic Poem is one of the simplest forms of poetry and yet it’s soooooo confusing to describe in words. It can also be one of the most fun to write (and thus it’s one of the first forms of poetry children learn). Every Acrostic Poems begins the same way: With a word or phrase. This word or phrase is usually the title, too. (For clarity sake, I will refer to it as “the title” from here on out.)
In short, the title is written in a column down the left side of the page. From there a word or phrase beginning with the letter—which defines or relates to the title—extends off the side of the letter left to right across the page.
Poetry Challenge #23
Where in the World?
Spin the Globe. Pick place in the world.
Create an Acrostic Poem by writing that place name down the left side of a page. Then, as in the example above, use words that begin with each letter to describe that place…or, if you’ve never been there, describe what you imagine that place is like.
If you think that’s too easy, try creating an acrostic in which the last letter of each line spells out the name.
Or harder still, try creating an acrostic with the name in the center of the line.
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 at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 #22-SURPRISE!
STOP! Whatever you’re doing right now….STOP! Look! Listen!
Look around you. What do you see that surprises you?
The house plants that have added new leaves and height?
Dust covering a surface you just cleaned?
The red flash
of a cardinal in the leafing tree?
Poetry Challenge #22
SURPRISE!
List as many things as you can and then rearrange them to make a poem.
Think about the order and the sound of the words and what makes it the most surprising poem you can make.
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 at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 #21-UPSIDE DOWN, INSIDE OUT…BACKWARDS
Have you ever had one of those “Duvet” experiences? When after having done something one way, and thinking that was the way, someone comes along and offers up a try this? THAT TURNS THE WHOLE THING UPSIDE DOWN…
Dang duvet cover won't behave...
Gotta love DYI videos! And the folks who take the time to find them--like daughter Lexi, who solved one of the greatest frustrations of my life with the link to one short clip: HOW TO PUT ON A DUVET COVER Thank you Lexi!
WARNING: Not all DYI tips work (neither do all poetry prompts) . . .
Have you ever had one of those “Duvet” experiences? When after having done something one way, and thinking that was the way, someone comes along and offers up a
try this? THAT TURNS THE WHOLE THING UPSIDE DOWN—for the better?
Or not… but often interesting.
Poetry Challenge #21
INSIDE OUT, UPSIDE DOWN & BACKWARDS!
Begin by taking a minute to read through the poems you've already written and select one you think is HORRIBLE! or one you are excited to revise.
First: Giving yourself a pat on the back for having written it!
Now: Mix it up. Pluck a line out of the middle and move it to the beginning; move the last line to the first; the first line to the end, etc. etc. And so forth . . .
Why? Sometimes a poem is like a duvet cover—or a house…You've got to turn it inside out to make it work!
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 at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
“Upside Down, Inside Out & Backwards” Playlist:
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 #19-Zippity Doodle
"Play Time! Before words came letter, before letters came doodles. According to those in the know, doodling, scribbling, drawing taps into your creative brain--the play filled side.
According to those in the know, doodling, scribbling, drawing taps into your creative brain--the play filled side.
So, what happens if we get into a playful mood first, then begin writing?
Like laughing and jumping jacks, doodling is good for you. Do take my word for it, read The Science Behind Piccles.
“Doodling might seem like a simple activity, but it's actually a powerful tool for enhancing memory, improving concentration, and sparking creativity.”
“Give yourself permission to play!”
as Carin Channing, creator of 365 DAYS OF DOODLING, a book Cindy and I use to find our playground voices.
In other words . . .
"Climb Back into the Sandbox, People!"
Poetry Challenge #19
It's a Zippity-Doodle Kind of Day!
Start with a blank sheet of paper and pencil (or pen). Doodle your idea of zippity. Zippity might be a thing, a place or a feeling. Now write a short poem, no more than 10 words about your Zippity Doodle!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
For more about Carin Channing and doodles, click over to this Writing Barn Interview!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2800+ 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 . . .
7-Minute Poetry Challenge #20-We are the Balloon
Intake! Outtake!
Writing…even poetry… is like taking a ride in a hot air balloon—soaring up! uP! UP!
If we think of the product— the words, the thoughts, the story—as the basket, then we, the creator are the. . .
Balloon
Make it stand out
Which means, due to changes in elevation, exertion, weather…
or maybe a tear or leaky value, we all need a refill.
An infusion of fresh air. That’s why today is . . .
Memorize a Poem Day!
Reading poems helps you feel the rhythm and rhyme (if there is one) and forces you to look at each word more closely. Reading poetry fills you with fresh ideas, fresh ways of writing, of thinking about creating.
When you memorize a poem, you internalize it—really take it inside—like you are sucking in deep, refreshing gulps of fresh air!
Once you’ve memorized a poem, it’s stored in a tiny secret pocket of your brain. You can pull it out whenever you want, recite it to get through a tough time, put someone—maybe yourself—to sleep, inspire, remind…Amazing the uses!
Poetry Challenge #20
We Are the Balloon
Today, instead of writing a new poem, read some favorites and pick a verse or two or the whole thing to memorize.
Say it aloud!
Say it in your head!
Say it while walking or doing chores or waiting in line.
Some of favorite poems—and ones Cindy knows some or all of—include C.S. Lewis’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, lots of Robert Frost (“Fire and Ice”, “The Road Not Taken”, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”), Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot”, Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
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 at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 . . .
7-Minute Poetry Challenge #18-Moody Blues
In the mood? Not in the mood?
What gets you in the mood?
It’s sort of a Catch 22 question isn’t it?
Frankly, deciding what will get me in the mood depends on what I want to be gotten into the mood for?
That’s true for most of us, right? You know what else is true…
Our moods can be changed, affected, swayed, moved by tone.
I call this image “Moody Blues.” Get it?
Poetry Challenge #18
Moody Blues
Pick two vowel sounds. Make a list of words that use each sound.
Write two verses of a poem—use one vowel sound in one verse and the other in the second. Try to use that chosen vowel sound it in as many words as you can in the verse.
What mood does each sound create for your poem?
Do you want your end words for each line to rhyme or not?
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Moody Blues Playlist:
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? 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 . . .