Friday Freeforall: Poetry Prompts to Keep You Going

7:56 p.m. — Walnut Creek

Hello all. Yes, I am a trifle late. Mom’s day in the city. I like to accompany her. Lunch at Japantown. Yum! That was my opening last night before my mom’s internet went wonky. I learned the panicky feeling people are beset with when they have a regular blog that goes out, not to mention the emails I knew were piling up! The time is now 11:45 a.m. and I am hoping to get this posted before something else happens.

We start, as always, with Donna’s Poetry Tow Truck and a prompt that says: Today, I will ask you to take one of your “ugly” words and transform it into something beautiful. There are several ways to approach this….. To find out the ways and to see what Donna is talking about, you know what to do. If you missed last week’s because you wait until I post Friday, trawl back through her posts. You are looking for a prompt on reverse sonnets. I know! These both sound intriguing.

The next site is The Sunday Whirl. Visit to see Brenda’s wordle and to read up on how it works, if you wish to post responses. Otherwise, enjoy a weekly wordle, the words of which come from responses to the previous week’s wordle. And be sure to go over to see what others have done.

Poetic Bloomings, hosted by Maria Elena Good and Walt Wojtanik, asks us to try a Japanese form: This week our featured form is the Dodoitsu. The Dodoitsu is a fixed folk song form of Japanese origin and is often about love or humor. Visit the site to learn the structure, and read the poems by the hosts in response.

For Carry on Tuesday, we have a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Play with it before going over to the site to see what others have written and for a link to read other lines from Hamlet. You will be surprised how many you know..

One Single Impression offers us respect which can be approached on many different levels. To find out more go over to the site. Check out some of the participants’ offerings while you are there.

At Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Sunday Snaps’ Susan May James has three photographs ready for you to look at. They are lovely. If you use one, consider submitting your creation to ‘Sunday Snaps: the Stories’  a collection of 52 photos and stories/poems. Susan is finalising submissions for her next book and has posted a deadline. Head to the stories’ link to read up on it.

Whether you like to read them or want to try writing one, this site is the place to play with limericks. I enjoy the whole site more every week. It is plain fun to browse. Go to Mad Kane’s Humor Blog for her Limerick-off Mondays and a lot more besides.

Jingle Poetry’s ‘Monday Potluck’ offers us Life in Free Verse. Remember to pop by and check the site. Next week they want us to focus on art.

Visit Magpie Tales for our other image prompt. The painting is by Thomas Hart Benton and if you aren’t sure what to do with the whole, pick an individual or a small group to write on. Ask yourself what story just happened, or is about to happen, here.

For you alliterists out there, here is ABC Wednesday‘s letter for this week: Gad zooks!   Can you believe we have traveled from A to Z one more time on ABC Wednesday?  Head over to read the rest of the Z prompt and for a link to zydeco music, which is great fun.

The three words this week for Three Word Wednesday are indecision, option, and fate. As always, visit them for their definitions. They have a particularly good source. I realised, this time, why what intrigues me more than the words are the definitions. A mini found poem can be written from them. When you look at the definition each week keep that in mind.

We Write Poems starts its prompt with: Elizabeth Crawford’s suggestion for our prompt is to use the dictionary (or thesaurus), find some words new to your vocabulary and use them in creating the poem you write this week! Go on over and read the rest of the prompt.

Poets United ends their prompt with: So this week we give you the prompt of loneliness. When does it strike you the most, the holidays after the family has left? When someone close to you has passed on? When you move away from your childhood home? When do you feel you’re most alone?. They always have more to help us choose possible paths, so go over and read the rest of the prompt and view the photographs. Loneliness is a powerful thing to write about.

Scribble & Scatter’s ‘Alpha to Omega Thursdays‘ says: Theta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet and the focus of our next alpha to omega challenge. Head over to see the two words chosen and to read their definitions.

New entry this week. I know several poets try their hand at flash fiction so thought I would include a site that looks open as far as focus and topic but is there as a place to post. I haven’t quite found my way around it but you younger brains out there may be able to figure it out. Flash 55 is a site hosted by the G-Man, who posts every Thursday…I think. Feel free to let me know in comments if you know how the site works. I did look for directions.

Remember to check out Elizabeth Crawford’s discussion site Writers Speak where she asks writers of all genres to stop by and talk about the life of a writer. She will post new topics every week around Friday. This week’s topic is a series of ten questions. We may answer one, a couple, or all. Here’s a chance to get to know our fellow writers and cyber friends a little more.

That should keep you busy and writing. If you think anyone else would enjoy these, click on the buttons below. If you have questions ask. If you write in response to any of these, both the people whose blogs you visit and I would love to read your responses. So, post!

I shall see you Tuesday for a new form; Thursday for a discussion of a topic yet to be decided [Hey! I’m on vacation!]; and next Friday for more of the same. Happy writing, everyone.

P.S. If I disappear it’s my mother’s internet.