April is quite the month for writers! Not only is it the first Camp NaNoWriMo session of the year, but it’s also National Poetry Month!
We have focused primarily on writing fiction on this blog, but we’d argue that any and every writer should engage in exercising the poetry-writing muscles every once in a while. (You might just see a blog post on this soon…) This month, we’ll be sharing thirty prompts provided by poet, editor, author, and more Heather Lang-Cassera to help you get in touch with your poetic side. We’ve also included a few ways you could use the prompt if you’re feeling stuck.
Happy writing!
Prompt #1: For April Fools’ Day, write a poem including two truths and one lie.
- Most of the time, inventing two truths and a lie is part of a fun icebreaker, so you could make them all about yourself…
- Or you could make it about anyone but yourself—your closest friend, a distant relative, or a stranger you see waiting for the bus.
Prompt #2: What does your favorite color sound like to you? Don’t be afraid to get weird!
- You might first think of broad color names—red, yellow, green, blue—but specificity paints pictures. Research synonyms for your favorite color and pick one of them.
- If you’re struggling, start with music genres and go from there.
- Find objects in your home that are your favorite color and use them to brainstorm sounds. (For example, your bright pink bowl could lead to a line about the color pink sounding like a child slurping up melted strawberry ice cream.)
Prompt #3: Write a three-line poem. Don’t count syllables. Do include something very small and something very big.
- Sometimes a story helps to get the ideas flowing when you’re given narrow parameters. Take inspiration from “Jack and the Beanstalk” or “The Lion and the Mouse.”
- If you need help coming up with something big and small, creatures under the sea can fall into both categories.
- Maybe your somethings big and small need not be objects at all. Maybe they are concepts.
Prompt #4: Write a poem in quatrains with four words in each line, and include the number four.
- There are four seasons, four years of high school, four cardinal directions, four classical elements, and four suits in a deck of cards. A world of possibilities!
- Write the poem from the perspective of yourself at four years old (or a four year-old you know).
Prompt #5: Start a poem with the phrase “April showers bring…” Do not include these words: May, flowers.
- Usually, showers refers to rain. But what about actual showers?
- It says not to include the word flowers, but as we’ve previously stated, specificity paints pictures. Cheat a little and pull from this list of springtime blooms.
About Heather Lang-Cassera
Heather Lang-Cassera lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she served as Clark County Poet Laureate (2019-2021) and was named 2017 “Best Local Writer or Poet” by the readers of Nevada Public Radio’s Desert Companion. Heather holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Graduate Certificate in Literary Translation. She serves as an Editor for Tolsun Books and World Literature Editor for The Literary Review. Her chapbook, I was the girl with the moon-shaped face, was published by Zeitgeist Press. Her collection, Gathering Broken Light, was published by Unsolicited Press. At Nevada State College, Heather teaches College Success, Composition, and Creative Writing. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter and find out more via her website.
