Skip to main content

Wordy 30: Poetic Games

Poetic Form Fridays are made to share various poetic forms. This week, we're not doing a poetic form. Instead, I thought of a little poetic game that may (or may not) be fun to play.

I'm going to be honest; I'm between poetic forms at the moment, and I'm getting ready for this year's April Poem-A-Day Challenge. But I want to try playing a little poetic game this week.

You see, I've been playing Wordle the past couple months, trying to guess a five-letter word in 6 guesses (or 30 letters). So I thought it might be fun to try writing a poem in 30 letters. Here's how it would work:

  • Write a poem using exactly 30 letters
  • Each line should have the same number of letters
  • Each line should use one word 
  • As such, poems should have one of the following combinations of lines x letters: 6 lines x 5 letters each line (like Wordle); 5 lines x 6 letters each line; 3 x 10; 10 x 3; 15 x 2; 2 x 15; 30 x 1; and I don't know if there are any 30-letter words, but I suppose such a word could be a one-liner

So let's see what we get; I hope you'll poem along.

*****

The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here's my attempt at a Wordy 30 poem:

"QUEST," by Robert Lee Brewer

ENTER
BELOW
WHERE
STUMP
WITCH
SINGS

Perfectionism in Writing: Overcoming the Pressure to Be Flawless, by Deanna Martinez-Bey

Perfectionism in Writing: Overcoming the Pressure to Be Flawless

Author Deanna Martinez-Bey discusses perfectionism in writing and shares strategies for overcoming the pressure to be flawless.

Beth Kander: Write the Book You Want To Rewrite

Beth Kander: Write the Book You Want To Rewrite

In this interview, author Beth Kander discusses how entering a competition at the last minute led to her writing her new literary novel, I Made It Out Of Clay.

One Piece of Advice From Short Story Authors in 2024

One Piece of Advice From 7 Short Story Authors in 2024

Collected here is one piece of advice for writers from seven different short story authors featured in our author spotlight series in 2024, including Sally Wen Mao, Deepa Rajagopalan, Greg Sarris, Naomi Wood, and more.

Finding Your Writing Niche, by Chris Saunders

Finding Your Writing Niche (And Making the Most of It)

Chris Saunders discusses the importance of finding your writing niche and how writers can make the most of it.

Joshua Corin: On Modernizing the Classic Sleuth

Joshua Corin: On Modernizing the Classic Sleuth

In this interview, author Joshua Corin discusses how getting reacquainted with Golden Age mysteries helped inspire his new YA mystery, Assume Nothing.

Poetry Prompt

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 721

Every Wednesday, Robert Lee Brewer shares a prompt and an example poem to get things started for poets. This week, write an only one poem.

Writer's Digest JanuaryFebruary2025

Writer's Digest January/February 2025 Cover Reveal

Presenting the January/February 2025 issue of Writer's Digest, featuring articles to help you write your next great story and an interview with Booker Prize-winner Pat Barker.

online prompt 12:10

Imperfect Day

Every writer needs a little inspiration once in a while. For today's prompt, write about a perfect day gone awry.

Joseph Knox: On the Public Explosion of Grifters

Joseph Knox: On the Public Explosion of Grifters

In this interview, bestselling author Joseph Knox discusses how his fascination with grifters helped lead to his new thriller novel, Imposter Syndrome.