Poetry Challenge #30-Just Plain Loopy
Ever feel like you’re just chasing your tail?
Here’s a cute “Pup chasing his tail video”
Maybe instead of trying to stop the best solution is to do like the dogs do. (Truth is, the answer to many of my frustrations lies—sits-stays-rolls over—in asking “what would a dog do?” And so . .
Round and round and round we go!
Poetry Challenge #30
Loopty-Loop
In a loop poem, the last word of a line becomes the first word of the next line and so on until the last word of the poem which should be the first word of the poem.
Here’s an example Cindy made up:
Read a book,
book a plane,
plane a board,
board a train,
train a dog,
dog-ear a page,
page my doctor,
doctor the soup,
soup up the horse,
horse around time,
time for a walk,
walk home and read.
Here's one I came up with:
Dance eyes closed, head back
Back and forth, side to side, slide, knees high,
High on sound waves thumping
Thumping thumping to your heart beating
Beating out the tune with head, your hips, your feet
Feat of daring, proud, with love. . .
Love the sound, love the moves, love
Love the way you feel,
Feel the love. Dance.
Now you try it. Can you write a loop poem of at least seven lines?
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2870 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #29-Name Name Bo Bame Game
Who says poetry has to be serious? Not me. Not today.
Have you ever played The Name Game? It’s a jingle really. And was a popular 1964 song by Shirley Ellis, a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name.
Shirley Shirley Bo-Berly
Banana-fana fo-ferly
Need a little more to get with the beat? Listen to the song: “The Name Game” and if you’re in the mood sing along.
Now that we’re all warmed up, get your “Shirley” on:
Poetry Challenge #29
Name-Name Bo-Bame
Start with your name, ala “The Name Game.” How?
Repeat your name twice, stick a "bo" in the mix, finish by changing the first letter of your name with a B. Like this:
Kelly-kelly bo belly
Now, using that as the beginning, write a rhyming poem by changing the endings of other words so they rhyme, too.
(If you're stuck start by making a list of words that end with the same sound your name does: belly, swellie, jelly, ellie, smelly, umbrellie . . . ) Feel free to make up words, too. After all, this is your poem!
Sound hard? Maybe . . .
Sound fun? YES-YES BO-BES!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2870 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #28-Like a Light Bulb
What's Say We Try Something New!
Imagine writing a biography or a memoire—or maybe a roast—in four lines! Impossible? POW! Mind blowing!
Let’s try.
Poetry Challenge #28
UP For A Balliol!
The balliol is a four-line poem that has two pairs of rhyming couplets (a couplet is two lines). Each line contains four beats (which you can get by writing eight syllables).
Balliols are usually funny and about a person.
The first couplet includes the person’s name.
The second talks about what they do or who they are.
Here’s an example:
Inventor Thomas Edison
had light bulb moments in his den.
He lit the streets so all could tell
’twas one o’clock and all was well.
Now It’s Your Turn!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2870 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Fin Pal asks Norman “Are You Real?”
Hey Norman! I have a question for you . . .
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
But first here’s a finny to get your gills flapping. A cartoon by our friend Jim S.
And now, finally… this time for real…no fish hooks or Santa fish…Ready! Set! Read!
Whoops: Forgot to tell you about that “Portrait of Girl” at the top of the post. One of Norman’s finpals drew it. Isn’t it fintastic!!!
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl?
Do you have a finny fish joke to share?
Send Norman a letter!
Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!
Poetry Challenge #27-Here Comes the Sun!
On my side of the planet, it’s full-on summertime!
But . . .
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sunny.
Nor does it mean, as the face on this little poopsie shows, that wherever you are —outside or inside—is summer or summery.
“Moods are like light bulbs, sometimes they just burn out—even LED.”
Truth is truth: We may not always be able to change the lightbulb. We may not be able to change the season. But sometimes, with a little luck and determination, we can change a mood. Let’s try!
Poetry Challenge #27
Here Comes the Sun!
Move to a brighter spot, somewhere you are either in the sun, or where you can witness the effects of sunshine.
Or, if it’s really gloomy wherever you are, turn on a bright light.
Don your sunglasses and shade hat, turn on some music. (A “Here comes the Sun” playlist is below.)
If that’s not enough, add sprinkles to your coffee and put on disco clothes—Get your sunny on!
There! Now you are ready!
First: Brainstorm a list of words that rhyme with sun.
Now: Using the words from your list, write a sunny poem entitled "Here Comes the Sun!"
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
What do you know…It worked!
Okay, yes. There is a time lapse between the “Sad Bennett” and “Happy Bennett” photos…a year, a haircut, a cooler “swimming pool” and hose with the nozzle cocked and ready, but he’s sunny now!
Here Comes the Sun Playlist:
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2870 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #26-Take IT Away!
Quite often we use too many words to get our point across. Blah…blah…blah.
Filler words are like food—if we give some away, the calories don’t count!
We do the same thing when we write.
“Filler words” are the ummm and like and well and wah-wah-wah….the space holders we click when we’re thinking.
Unlike when we talk, when it comes to our writing, we can go back and cut the fat.
Time to put our poems on a diet!
We’re going to do some math today. Do I hear a yeah?
Don’t worry…it will be simple.
Just do one step at a time!
Poetry Challenge #26
Take it Away!
Pick one of your poems. Count the words in the poem.
Divide that number by 4 (round up if it’s not even).
Take away (delete!) that many words.
Set the Timer for 7 Minutes
Ready! Set!
Subtract!
Reread your poem aloud. How does it sound?
If you’re game: See if you can’t take away even more words…. say 10% more.
For more on Filler Words, maybe way too much more, here’s Smart Blogger with “298 Useless Filler Words that Rob Your Writing of Its Power.”
The best part is, that ummmm, along with the words come, like, suggestions for better choices. I know…just…well…
.
**Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .