Poetry Prompt 31 - The OctPoWriMo Journey

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

The last day of OctPoWriMo has arrived. It always seems to go by so fast. How has your journey been for you? Have you discovered new ways to write poetry? Were you able to dive deeper into the words and uncovered new/old truths?

I want to thank Bev and Tamara for helping out this year, I couldn't do this without our loving and compassionate voluteers!

I want to thank you for showing up, reading our prompts, and writing your poetry whether you used our prompts or not. I am just glad you came along for the ride and explored poetry with us.

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry Prompt: 

Write for ten minutes about your journey with poetry this month, ask yourself some of the questions I posed up above.

Word Prompts:

trip
expedition
excursion
trek
voyage
cruise
ride
drive
jaunt

Sentence Starters: 

The journey isn't ending...
exploring my depths...

Thank you so much for joining us, I hope you decide to join us again next year. Remember you can share your poetry all year long in our facebook group, Writing Poetry Group. I will also share with the group any prompts I write during the year within the group.

Oh and for those that would like to do some catching up with their poetry, the links will be open until Nov. 7th at the end of the day EST.


Peace to you,
Morgan Dragonwillow

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Drawing to a Close | OctPoWriMo Day 29

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ~Seneca

I think this will be my final post for this month. I'm a bit sad that the month is drawing to a close. It feels like October just began to me. But all good things must end. In honor of the approaching end, let's write a poem about endings. Think about an ending that's happened in your life, and talk about the positive aspects of it. We always talk about endings in negative terms, but there's definitely occasions where the end was needed. Like when you quit the job that made you cry every morning, or you stopped smoking. Be bold and write beautifully fellow poets!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 28 - Will You Accept This Challenge?

“I have accepted the challenge of life, to be all that I can possibly be.” 

― Lailah Gifty Akita

Photo by Peter Hager at PublicDomainPictures.net

Poetry Prompt:

It is that time of year again... Every year I post this challenge. Choose your favorite poem and record yourself reading it, either an audible recording or video. Remember, all of our prompts are only suggestions, but I hope you decide to take the challenge.

Word Prompts:

confident
positive
pessimistic
sanguine
inauspicious
buoyant

Sentence Starters:

Flying into the wind...

It's a bright new day...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Childhood Favorite | OctPoWriMo Day 25

Let's take a trip down memory lane. Do you remember your most beloved childhood toy? Was it a well-loved teddy bear missing a button eye? Did you have a Transformer that was the best thing ever? Or were you like me and instead of a favorite toy, you had a favorite blankie. Whatever happened to it? Do you remember a story about the toy? Do your remember why it gave you so much joy? Tell us about your childhood favorite it today's poem. It's day 25 y'all. The end is nigh! I hope you're enjoying yourselves and reading each others writing. Until next time...

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ― Philip Pullman

Photo by Bobby Mikul at PublicDomainPictures.net

Several years ago I was searching through the photos on PublicDomainPictures.net and came upon the above photo. I immediately started hearing a story poem that I ended up writing called Blind. Most of the time my poetry tends to be either how I am feeling or something from my life but sometimes, I enjoy writing story poetry.

Poetry Prompt:

Search through the photos at PublicDomainPictures.net until you find one that sparks a story poem for you.

Word Prompts:

Imaginary

tale

adventure

drama

fantasy

Poetry Type: 

With my poem, Blind, I chose to count syllables (I chose 4) and every line the same amount of syllables with the rhyming abcb format. You can choose to do the same as I did or you can go and choose a different type at ShadowPoetry.com 

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Two Lies and a Truth | #OctPoWriMo Prompt 22

Have you ever played the game: Two Lies and a Truth? That's when you tell someone two things that are a lie and one thing that is the truth. And through that the person has to guess which is the truth. Let's try to play a game with our poetry today. In today's poem, let's put the focus directly on us. For some of us- myself included- it's preferable to write about others. This time around, let's tell each other two lies and one truth. Whether they're ridiculous, mundane, shocking, or interesting tidbits, weave them together so we cant' tell the difference. You can decide on your post whether you want people to guess the truth or just tell them. Remember the prompts are just suggestions and have fun!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 17 - Are You Dancing?

“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.” ― Rumi

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry Prompt:

What stage are you at in the above quote? Are you dancing? Write for ten minutes asking yourself the previous questions. 

Word Prompts:

Free

Middle

Bandage

Poetry Type: Cascade

I created a poem for this poetry type for the last A to Z challenge. I enjoyed playing with it and I hope you do as well.

The shackles binding her in place fell to the ground.

She discovered a freedom never felt before.

Smiling into the sun, she laughed and walked away.

She didn’t know her prison was her own making.

She longingly looked out over the horizon.

The Shackles binding her in place fell to the ground.

The door opened and suddenly she had choices.

Stepping out the breeze gently stroked her hair and face.

She discovered a freedom never felt before.

Now was her chance to be who she was meant to be.

She didn’t hesitate or think to look backward.

Smiling into the sun, she laughed and walked away.

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Conquer the World | Day 15

This is the 15th day of OctPoWriMo! How are you doing? Have you been hitting each day with a poem or joining us upon occasion? Either way, we're glad you came.

Imagine if today was the day where you could do anything you wanted. All foods had no calories. You could speed without getting pulled over. You could climb onto a plane and fly without having a ticket. What would you do? What is your wildest dream for you one day? Tell us all about it!

Remember the prompt is only a suggestion!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 14 - Between Yesterday and Tomorrow

“Trust is the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow, built with planks of thanks.” ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Photo by Larisa Koshkina at PublicDomainPictures.net

Most of the time I don't have any clue what prompt I'm going to use. Today I started reviewing the photos on PublicDomainPictures.net and one thing led to another until I saw this photo and immediately knew what wanted to be here for the prompt. I love it when inspiration kicks in!

Poetry Prompt:

What is on the bridge between yesterday and tomorrow? Write for ten minutes focusing on that question.

Word Prompts:

Connections

burning bridges

Between

Sentence Starters:

The difference between then and now...

I stood on the bridge...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 13 - Risky Business

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” 
― T.S. Eliot

Photo by Alex Grichenko from PublicDomainPhotos.net 

I wanted to do something light and fun for today's prompt but it just wouldn't coalesce. Hope your week is going well and the words spring from your fingers.

Poetry Prompt:

What risk are you willing to take with your writing? Write for ten minutes exploring that question and see where it leads you. 

Word Prompts:

Exposed

Honesty

Chance

Sentence Starters:

If I'm honest with myself...

Engaging all of my senses...

Possible Poetry Type to explore - I wrote a Blitz poem early on in this journey and now let's see who would like to try writing a Blitz poem from Shadowpoetry.com 

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 10 - Wild Writing

How are things going? Are you writing poetry everyday, every other day, are you stuck? Remember wherever you are it is right and perfect. Be kind to yourself, take a bubble bath, go for a walk, or as I talk about below, dance.

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

Wild Writing: Wild writing comes from the wild mind. For me it is accessing that part of myself that is primal, that part of myself that doesn’t listen to societal conventions. Dancing takes me to this place like nothing else can. It takes me out of my body and into that space of imagination, possibilities, and no thought. I know you’re probably wondering how you can write if you are in a place of no thought. Well, that is the place where your ego steps out of the way and deep connection happens. It is a place where your writing can fall onto the page almost of its own volition. Try it for yourself, put on some music and dance into and out of your own way and let loose your wild writing.

Writing Prompt:

If you already have music that you want to dance to and access your wild writing, great! If not I am sharing one of my favorites that help me get to that place. Listen to the music, dance, and get in touch with your wild self. When you feel ready, come to the page and let it pour out.

Word Prompt:

Unknown
Uninhibited
Untamed Heart

Sentence Starter:

Blood rushes through my veins...
As I dance...

Hope you are having fun on this OctPoWriMo Journey and your muse is visiting you often!

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Color Me Good | #OctPoWriMo Day 8

Two questions: One do you remember a R&B group from the 90s called Color Me Badd? I'm going to guess probably not, but now you know why the name of this post. Two: Did you know in the United States, often in hospitals the patient rooms are blues and blue-greens? It's because those muted shades promote the feeling of tranquility. Now that I think about it, I had a lot of classrooms with those colors also. I don't think the trick works as well with young kids, who may be a little hyper active.

I'm sure you've noticed it as well. Certain colors may make you happier when you see them. Maybe dark blue reminds you of your Aunt Tilda's dining room curtains. That's where you'd always eat supper when you visited as a child. It was one of your favorite childhood memories, because she always made the best dinner.

Write a poem talking about a color and your memories attached to it. Bring us along for the memory's journey.

 Remember, the prompts are just an option.

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing it's first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 6 - Life Changes

“Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.”
― Marie Rutkoski, The Winner's Curse

Poetry Prompt:

What in your life do you wish was different? Free write for ten minutes about what freedom looks like to you. Choose some or all of what you wrote and create a poem by counting syllables. In a Haiku you count syllables, 5-7-5. I love playing with syllables and now you can play with them too. How ever many syllables you choose, stick with it throughout the poem. For example, 3-5-7, 3-5-7 or 3-5-7-7-5-3 and so on. If you need further examples you can check out the Etheree poetry type ShadowPoetry.com 

Word Prompts:

Courage

Brave

Freedom

Daring

Sentence Starters:

If I was brave...

What matters most...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 4 | Do you believe in magic?

It's Day 4 of OctPoWriMo! How has your writing been going so far?

You're probably getting ready to start your work week today, but let's not think about that. I wanted to concentrate on something fun. Obscure. Fantasy.

Magic. 

Take the time to write a poem featuring magic. It could be the Harry Potter fame with wands and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Or it could be the things that you find so beautiful, so wonderful that they feel like magic when you observe them. Have fun with it!

Word prompts: 
Mystical
Fantastic
Magic

Sentence starters:
With a flick of the wrist...
When I started to...

Remember, the prompt is only a suggestion.

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 3 - Showing Up

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

"Showing up is half the battle." I've heard this time and again through out my life, sometimes it annoyed me and sometimes I knew it was right because you have to show up to the page to be able to get the words written for your poetry.

There is a lot of chaos in my life right now and I tend to not even want to show up at the page. I'm sure you have days such as these as well, days that you feel so drained of energy that you don't think you have even one word you can write down.

Poetry Prompt:

Image by George Hodan from PublicDomainPictures.net 

Free write for ten minutes about what drains you, what depletes your energy and makes you want to stay away from the page and what you do to change or transform it to help you get your words written. After you are finished, choose some or all of it and create a shape poem, that is when you arrange the words to create a shape and you can find samples on Shadow Poetry. The shape can be anything that you want it to be.

Word Prompts:

Exhaust
Consume
Flow

Sentence Starters: 

When I begin to feel...

As the water drains...

Remember our prompts are only suggestions to help light your words on fire.

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 2 - Let's Hit the Ground Running!

Image from PublicDomainPictures.net - George Hodan

If there's one thing I'm known for in the local creative scene, it's for my poem that I adapted into a short film. The Last Line is doing pretty decently on the festival circuit this year so it's not actually available for public viewing yet, but it's something nice to think about.
"Write cinematically" is how I say it.
Find those key moments in the imagery and tell us every detail. Visualize every detail. No taste, no touch, no smells, just pictures and words.
It's the small things like a tequila sunrise next to a red candle. It's the cherry blossoms raining down on a first kiss, not just flowers, pink cherry blossoms. Dig in deep, feel the earth of the poetry in well... not between toes usually... but wherever you feel that poetry.

Here's an exercise for you. Go to one of your favorite movie scenes or music video (I tend to think the ones with no dialogue are better for this), captions off and mute. What do you feel? What can you write? Do you put words in their mouth? Is that laughter or something else?

Need a jumpstart? Here's a clip from one of my favorite movies: "The Hours"

Feel anything? Write anything? What's your favorite movie? Tell us in the comments and/or tweet @beverlytanfilm #OctPoWriMo

OctPoWriMo Begins!

“All great beginnings start in the dark, when the moon greets you to a new day at midnight.” 

― Shannon L. Alder

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

So glad you have decided to join us for the fourth year of the OctPoWriMo Poetry Journey!

There aren't many rules and we like to think of them more as guidelines.

• Be courteous to your fellow poets.
• Visit, share, and comment on as many participants as you are comfortable with (A minimum of one or two before and/or after your name in the linky.), sharing logs of encouragement and supportive word love.
• And most of all have fun!

Why Do You Write Poetry?

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

There are probably as many reasons to write poetry as there are people that write it. When my first book came out and I started doing interviews for it, why I write poetry was one of the questions that popped up. Below was my answer.

"I write poetry to be able to say things, feel things that I can't seem to be able to express or feel anywhere else."

Of course I'm sure there is a lot more to it than that but that is it when you get right down to the nitty gritty.

Finding Inspiration to Write Poetry:

Three major things I do to get my words on the page when I'm not feeling inspired.

1. I look at my photos or public domain pictures until something calls the words forward.
2. I pull out my magnets and randomly choose words until a poem begins to form, such as, How to Create a Poem with Magnetic Poetry.
3. I get a dictionary and randomly open to a page to find a word and do an acrostic poem such as Lipstick or Penetrate, and one of my favorite acrostic poems is the one that I did for the word Poetry itself.   .

Playing with my words

Opens the door

Especially stirring

The Imagination

Rather than feeling stuck

Yet again in stagnation 

Acrostic and be as simple or as in depth as you choose just like any other poetry type. I guess that is why I like it so much.

Where do you find inspiration when you aren't feeling poetic?

Day after tomorrow OctPoWriMo begins. I would love to hear why you write poetry in the comments below with a link to one of your favorite poems you have written on your blog or a link to one of your poems on Twitter or Instagram if you don't have a blog.

Remember to have compassion for your poetry process during the OctPoWriMo journey.



1 More Day until OctPoWriMo!

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Ready for Liftoff!

So we've got 9 days left until OctPoWriMo starts!
How are you kicking off the month?
Some of us are the types to write alone with peace and quiet. But there are also some of us who love to PARTY! Sometimes I'm one of those people. I work well with support groups to motivate me.
So here are some slightly wacky ideas for throwing poetry parties while you have time to plan them!

• Throw a tea party! What goes better with poetry than some nice tea sipping with some fellow poets? Add in some cucumber sandwiches and you're in for a classy time. The smell of tea and coffee goes well with paper if you're the type to handwrite. Maybe go to a garden and be surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. 
• Dog park poetry anyone? Again, it's the beautiful outdoors! Granted, this would be most effective with a dog that doesn't get into so much trouble, but there's a lot a laugh at with your furry friends
• Wine & Dine- This is a classic! Think finger foods including cheeses and balsamic vinegar and a nice wine, it'll make you feel like the classy stereotypical poet right? Well personally I'd probably break out the whiskey pretty quickly, but you get the point. Just don't get too drunk to write! 
• Midnight kickoff! If we do them for books, movies, and New Year's why not for poetry writing? Take it to the next level and make it costume required (it's October!), pop some popcorn, brew the coffee, and stock up on red bull and sour gummy worms! This could be a super fun lock in and write! Again, if you put vodka in that red bull, just don't puke on someone else's poem and edit sober! 

Are you planning something to kick off your writing? Tell me with your comments and tweet/insta me at @beverlytanfilm! 

I don't know types of poetry?!

Have you had these thoughts before? You don't really know different kinds of poems and how can you possibly write 31 poems in 31 days if you don't know different forms?

How many, "There once was a girl from Nantucket" poems can you really write? (I guess you could write 30 if you really wanted to, but geez that girl would be so tired by the end of the month...)

First take a breath and let it out slowly. We're got you covered. We'll be sharing prompts, possible poetry forms and different media to give you inspiration. But if that's not enough, here's some resources to check out different poetry forms.

The Poetry Foundation gives you a glossary list of forms and then gives you an example of a famous poem to refer back to.

Poets.org goes much more in-depth with about a dozen poetic styles including links to examples.

Kathi Mitchell has listed poetry that's good for kids to try out.

And there's so many other forms to try out and explore.

Do you have a favorite form that you like to write? Is there something that you're wanting to try out in October? Let me know in the comments!


10 Days Until OctPoWriMo! 

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing it's first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.