That’s a Rap: A few summers ago we were totally into this rap made by some kids as part of a summer program. Today I bought some Takis because of them. So here’s an invitation for you to write a rap about what inspires you. If you prefer other types of music, you can go ahead and do pop, rock, anything with lyrics. Too intimidating? Why not just try the chorus?
Ode: Similar to the rap about Takis, an ode is a poem about something (or someone) you love. Odes often use smiles, metaphors — your usual arsenal of descriptive language — to help you compare the object in question (a boy, a girl, Cheetos) to summer’s days, ambrosia, etc. They tend to be long, but yours doesn’t have to be. Check out this example over at young writers.
Thanks for teaching me: I wrote a sentence that turned into a poem this summer and thought I’d turn that into a writing prompt. It works like this. Your first line will be: My ____ taught me. Fill the blank with the name of someone who taught you something: Your mother, your sister, your best friend, the president, the postal worker, your teacher, etc. Then give us one image. Make it as detailed and tangible as possible. Arrange that detail into a poem. If you’d like, you can string a couple together. Here’s mine:
My son taught me
that a lily, when you throw
the bud
into the fire,
will open and bloom
for a few seconds, at least,
before turning to ash.
My daughter taught me
that I am overcomplicating
this business of making friends,
that “wanna play?”
is all you need to say.
One sweaty game of tag
and the deal is sealed.
Senses: Let’s play around with the senses. Pick a food. Describe how it tastes, looks, smells, feels, and sounds (if it has a sound). You can try to arrange those details into a poem if you’d like. The silent grape… Well. You get the idea.
Draw: Draw something you’d see at the beach. Give me five descriptive words to go with it.
Story time: If you’re working on a story, you should be cranking along by now. If you’re not, try writing a story in just six sentences.
Story time 2: Is six sentences too many? How about six words then? Here’s a whole site devoted to writing six-word stories.