Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 682
Every Wednesday, Robert Lee Brewer shares a prompt and an example poem to get things started for poets. This week, write an “Avoid Blank” poem.
For this week's prompt, take the phrase "Avoid (blank)," replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: "Avoid Chocolate," "Avoid Drama," "Avoid Public Speaking," and/or "Avoid Driving in Inclement Weather."
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
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Write a poem every single day of the year with Robert Lee Brewer's Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming. After sharing more than a thousand prompts and prompting thousands of poems for more than a decade, Brewer picked 365 of his favorite poetry prompts here.
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Here’s my attempt at an Avoid Blank Poem:
“avoid talking about yourself,” by Robert Lee Brewer
instead
talk about your neighbors
or the weather
whether it matters or not
because anything
is more interesting
than trying to divulge the contents
of your own hopes and dreams
and anyway
it seems so boring
(and hazardous)
to share
where you've been
what you've done
and what you have planned for the future
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.
