2015 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines
It’s time! Time for the 8th annual April PAD Challenge on the Poetic Asides blog, and I’m super excited about it. I’m happy to report that we’ll have the anthology…
It's time! Time for the 8th annual April PAD Challenge on the Poetic Asides blog, and I’m super excited about it. I'm happy to report that we'll have the anthology and a new round of guest judges this year (more on both below).
First things first, this challenge is devoted to the goal of helping people write poems in a totally supportive atmosphere. Poets from around the world have participated in the past: Israel, Pakistan, India, Spain, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, the United States, and more. I’ve heard from poets with multiple collections who’ve used the challenge to create new work, poets who wrote their first ever poems as a result of the prompts, teachers who’ve had their classes participate, and so many others.
What is the April PAD Challenge?
PAD stands for Poem-A-Day, so this is a challenge in which poets write a poem each day of April. Usually, I’ll post a prompt in the morning (Atlanta, Georgia, time), and poets will write a poem in response.
Some poets share those poems on the blog in the comments; others keep their words to themselves. I don’t require comments on the blog to participate, but it does make it more fun when poets are firing away on the blog. Plus, there are some extrinsic reasons to share your poems in the comments this year.
Have you heard about the guest judges? Last year, we had a guest judge for each day of the challenge, and we're bringing that back this year. Click here to check out this year's guest judges. They're pretty awesome, I promise!
Who can participate?
Anyone who wants to write poetry–whether you’ve been writing all your life or just want to give it a shot now, whether you write form poetry or free verse, whether you have a certain style or have no clue what you’re doing. The main thing is to poem (and yes, I use poem as a verb).
I should also note that I’m pretty open to content shared on the blog, but I do expect everyone who plays along in the comments to play nice. There have been moments in the past in which I’ve had to remove or warn folks who get a little carried away with troll-like behavior. My main goal is to make the challenge fun for all.
(That said, please send me an e-mail if you ever feel like someone is crossing the line. I don’t want to act as a censor–so don’t use me in that way–but I do want to make sure people aren’t being bullied or attacked in the comments.)
Why should I participate in the challenge?
I believe there’s an intrinsic reason to participate in the challenge, because it leads to new poems. That alone is enough for most poets–and really should be the main reason. That said, there’s an incredible extrinsic reason to participate as well.
Words Dance Publishing is once again partnering with the Poetic Asides blog to publish an anthology of the top poems from each day of the challenge. The wonderful Amanda Oaks is in the process of designing this year's cover (the 2014 cover is above) and will produce an anthology that includes the prompts, winning poems, and a place for poets to include their poems.
Since the first volume totally rocked, I know this anthology is going to be something super special. The design was great; the production quality was wonderful; and the poems wowed. I expect the same for this year's anthology.
Where do I share my poems?
If you want to share your poems throughout the month, the best way is to paste your poem in the comments on the post that corresponds with that day’s prompt. For instance, post your poem for the Day 1 prompt on the Day 1 post in the comments.
You’ll find folks are pretty supportive on the Poetic Asides site. And if they’re not, I expect to be notified via e-mail.
If you are new to WritersDigest.com, you’ll be asked to register (it’s free) on the site to make comments. Plus, your comments will likely not immediately show, because I’ll have to approve them. This is just for folks completely new to the site. I believe after I approve your comments once, you’re good to go for future comments.
Avoid this problem by commenting on this post before April.
Have more questions?Click here to check out the official FAQs (and tips) for the April poetry challenge.
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Build an Audience for Your Poetry!
Learn how to start building an audience for your poetry one reader at a time with the Build an Audience for Your Poetry tutorial. This 60-minute tutorial provides practical advice on how poets can incorporate platform-building tactics to improve the reach of their poetry, whether it's getting published, connecting with fellow poets, or selling more books.
Presenter Robert Lee Brewer shares lessons learned first hand with his own poetry in addition to tips picked up over the years from other poets in his role as an editor of Poet's Market.
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More April PAD Challenge guidelines:
- Poeming begins April 1 and runs through May 1 (to account for time differences in other parts of the world–and yes, poets all over the world participate).
- The main purpose of the challenge is to write poems, but…
- We’ll also be choosing a top poem for each day’s prompt. I’ll be gathering poems by going through the comments for each day’s prompt. As a result, please make sure you include your name as you want it to appear in print.
- Poems included in the comments will be considered for the anthology. If chosen, Words Dance Publishing only uses one-time rights for including the poem in the anthology. In other words, poets can reprint the poems elsewhere and still own the rights to their poems. Poets selected for the anthology will receive a contributor copy.
- I cannot go in and delete or edit comments after they’re posted. It’s too much time and effort.
- I will attempt to make selections by August 8, and they’ll be announced on this blog.
- Poem as you wish, but I will delete poems and comments that I feel are hateful. Also, if anyone abuses this rule repeatedly, I will have them banned from the site. So please “make good choices,” as I tell my 3-year-old daughter.
Other rules, questions, concerns, etc?
If you need any other questions answered, put them in the comments below, and I’ll revise this post as needed.
Other than that, I can’t wait to start poeming in April!
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer's Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World's Problems (Press 53). In addition to this blog, he edits Poet's Market and Writer's Market, writes a poetry column for Writer's Digest magazine, leads online education, and a lot of other fun stuff.
This is totally the highlight of his year, and he's excited to get started.
Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
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Find more poetic posts here:
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
