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.
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**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 . . .
Fin Pal asks Norman "What Do You Eat?”
Hey Norman! I have a question for you . . .
So then, what do you think Norman likes to eat best? Do you think he likes worms? Or salad?. . . Definitely not other goldfish!!!
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
But first!
In June, we proudly celebrate rainbows at the Fishbowl; here’s a fintastic drawing by one of Norman’s fin pals!
And, a finny!
Q: Why did Norman the Goldfish swim under the bridge?
Q: Why did Norman the Goldfish swim under the bridge?
A: To get to the other tide!
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl?
Do you have a finny fish joke to share?
Send Norman a letter!
Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!
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 . . .
What Inspires Me? The King of Swing
May 30, 1935: 712th! 713! 714th Home Runs!
Babe Ruth set a MLB Career Home Run Record in his final appearance as a MLB player.
And they said he was “too old” “washed up” “used to be” …”over the hill. . ..
And then he went and slammed it OVER THE WALL!!!
The Babe’s career record of 714 home runs stood until April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron slugged his 715th career homer. Ruth came out of retirement to play one game for the Boston Braves at Forbes Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Babe Ruth ended the game, and his career, with a triple crown: 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and 3 walks.
For more about baseball and Babe check out the SABR—the Society for American Baseball Research
“On May 26, 1935, at in a game against the Pittsburg Pirates, Babe went four for four, hitting three home runs—No. 712, 713, and 714 to set an MLB career home run record that stood until 1974—and driving in six runs. Number 714 was truly a “Moonshot.” It stands as the first ever hit over the right field grandstand at Forbes Field. The hit was measured to have flown 524 feet. Pirates Pitcher Guy Bush later recalled, “It was the longest cockeyed ball I ever saw hit in my life.” ”
Make that a big 715!
In the July 8, 1918 game against the Cleveland Indians, bottom of the 10th inning, with the score tied 0-0, and Amos Struck on first, Babe blasted a homer into Fenway Park’s right field stands. Because, as Struck touched home plate to score the winning run, the game was technically over, Babe was credited with an RBI and a triple but not a home run.
Friends—Don’t Miss Out!
55% discount on Amazon
That’s right! Right now, The House that Ruth Built is on sale. Limit 4 copies. Free shipping with Prime.
Get yours—and all your baseball fans a copy!
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 . . .