2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 1
For the 2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today’s prompt is to write a once upon a time poem.
For the 2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today's prompt is to write a once upon a time poem.
Let's get this poem party started!
For today’s prompt, write a once upon a time poem. The title of the poem could be "Once Upon a Time," or the first words could be. Or you could do what I did in my attempt below: I pretended the words "once upon a time" preceded the first line of my poem.
Quick note on commenting: I'm not sure how fast the comments will approve. I'm hoping they'll display immediately, but if they go into moderation, just know that I'll approve each and every one (that's not spammy or offensive) as soon as I'm able.
Recreate Your Poetry!
Revision doesn’t have to be a chore—something that has to be done after the joy of the first draft. In fact, revision should be viewed as an enjoyable extension of the creation process—something that you want to experience after the joy of the first draft.
Learn the three rules of revision, seven revision filters, common excuses for avoiding revision (and how to overcome them), and more in this power-packed poetry revision tutorial.
Here’s my attempt at a Once Upon a Time Poem:
“the boy & the forest”
there was a boy who entered the forest
with ideas of playing with sticks & stones
& listening to leaves under his feet
when a fog came & he lost his way home
wandering through bushes & over logs
across streams & along ridges both day
& night until eventually he found
a small abandoned cave where he could stay
while waiting for the fog to drift away
& so he waits as days blend together
& he'll keep waiting until a new friend
can play with him in the fog forever
so stay in the field to your parents' joy
lest you play forever with that lost boy

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.