Mad Macedonian

Prompting Yourself to Write 26: You're Standing in a Doorway...

You are standing in a doorway....

 (Set a Timer for 15 minutes, and write non-stop.)

As I stand in the doorway, on the porch of our woodframe house, on the Rudy Farm, I smile for the camera to please my mother.

I'm 18 years old, today &, dressed in my Sunday Best, I stand, arms folded at my waist.

Black pants, and belt, white long-sleeved shirt, and brown tie, my hair combed just so, I wonder, "Has time pased THAT quickly since my birth in 1898?"

It doesn't feel like it.

Mother is standing in the living room, behind me, just beyond the door, in her white blouse, and brown top, & I imagine what she must be thinking about this day.

I know she's nervous because I've asked her to finally tell me the truth about my birth, who my Father was, and why I had to spend all my childhood living elsewhere than with her.

She had looked at me, and simply said, "Yes, William, it's time. You are an adult now, and it's your right. I hope you will understand, and forgive me."

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Will what my Mother tells me change my life?

Will I want to share her story with my own future wife, and children?

 

NOTE: Prompt taken from A Writer's Book of Days (Original Ed.) by Judy Reeves.

If you attempt the prompt on your own blog leave a link in the comments. :-D

Prompting Yourself to Write 25: Write About Sunday Afternoons

Between Oct. 2007, and July 2010, I shared 17 editions of this series.

In 2010 I wrote 4 more.

In 2011 I wrote 3, with the last in September.

This morning I did what I should have done years ago, and created a new Category Archive for them all to be easily discovered, and explored...

Prompting Yourself to Write: Let the Mad One Stimulate U!

Why so few the last 2 1/2 years?

The usual excuses one uses when supposedly blocked, or afraid of challenging oneself because of any number of reasons from supposed lack of time, to would anyone care to read, comment, or try the prompt themselves?

I let life get in the way in many ways.

In the past year, though, I've been reading a lot of books meant to rejuvenate ones confidence, courage, determination, and writing skills, and ideas.

Even as my broken ankle set me back in my personal goings on, my creative side, here, and at Meowsings, have carried on, and I've even returned to the Open Mic Circuit.

I've taken up doing a Morning Pages Journal, and have begun a regular Journal, and a Writing Prompt Journal, all meant to inspire me to write every day, and maybe also give me different things to share on this blog every day, as well.

Maybe such scribblings will lead to changes in my personal, career, and creative, lives?

That's the theory, and the belief, behind such things, as promoted by Julia Cameron, and many others in the collection of books on my shelves.

So, here I am, with the first new Writing Prompt I've done since last year....

Write About Sunday Afternoons (Set a Timer for 15 minutes, and write non-stop.)

Sunday afternoons are for contemplating the sermon from church in the morning, or for trying to remember what the hell the subject was because you slept thru the sermon...in the front row, right infront of the Pastor.

Sunday afternoons are for nice, leisurely bike rides along the river trail, or a slightly more hazardous ride along the busy beach trail, the wind in your hair, the smell of flowers, or the sea, in your nostrils, as you find yourself laughing at the squirrels jay-walking across your path, along the river, as if you were not there, or you find yourself cussing out walkers, joggers, skaters, people walkiing their Dogs, or babies in strollers, and even your fellow  cyclists, for their dangerous inattention on the trail at the beach.

Sunday afternoons are for picnics at the park, or for sitting at home, popcorn, hotdogs, and beer, in your lap, watching a ballgame.

Sunday afternoons are for holding your significant other in your lap and, um, well, hee, hee, you don't need ME to tell you what to do, do you? :-D

NOTE: Prompt taken from A Writer's Book of Days (Original Ed.) by Judy Reeves.

If you attempt the prompt on your own blog leave a link in the comments. :-D

Prompting Yourself to Write 24: An Excercise in Dredging Up Memories of Growing Up

I was looking through a couple of Notebooks I hadn't touched in years, in a Sierra Club Backback of mine, notebooks intended to jot down creative writing, and poetry, ideas, for future use, and decided that the future was now.

At least for a few things...hee, hee! ;-D

I have no idea, anymore, when most of the stuff in them was written down.

Sometimes I've look at what I've written, over the years and, as good as it is, I just know it should, and could, be better.

As one note I found says....

I don't have the training, or practice, to know hop to do what I do better, and wonder how much fun a magazine, or book, editor would have with some of my longer, more detailed, & involved "masterpieces". ;-D

I imagine some poor editor pulling their hair out by the roots, wailing, "The Horror, the horror!" ;-D

So let's begin with this exercise...

People, places things, events, & how to describe them:

The Classroom

The layout of classrooms in our schools probably haven't changed since Hector was a Pup, I think, and that's why I can't pin down memories of any particular one in all the years I went to school.

1, 2, or 3 chalkboards, and several poster boards, lining walls between windows offering glimpses of the outside world.

Desks lined up in 8 neat rows of 5, or 5 rows of 8.

The desk of the teacher in one corner, or other, at the front of the room, most often by the door so as to prevent easy eascape by the inma, um, I mean, students. ;-D

Why couldn't there be  tables?

Why couldn't we put the tables in a square, or our desks in a circle?

With our "Beloved" teacher, & his, or her, desk in the center?

Just once in a while, to break up the monotony? ;-D

My home on Merrywood St, in Pomona, Ca., from 1969 to 1997

( Some of my Facebook friends will remember this place, I'm sure. )

The frontyard was HUGE.

There was ivy along a chainlength fence that went along 3 sides of the yard and, from its modest start, in 1970-75, grew so dense as to become a protective barrier from the outside world.

The lush green grass was separated from the row of apricot tree by our driveway, and a row of rose bushes.

There wer 2 large trees in the center of the yard, and another row of different trees, and more rose bushes, along the walkway to the front door, and in front of the windowa of the house.

Crows, Orioles, & Humming Birds, among other birds, hung around, especially during apricot season.

My parents began the garden that was this yard when we moved in, and after Mom died my sisters, & I, kept it up as best we could.

In the backyard there was a grassy area, & a huge tree, suitable for climbing, separate from a huge paved area.

There were walls to the north, and south, and a chainlength fence on the west side.

The walls, and paved area, were put in place by an Uncle who lived, for a time, in the house on the south side.

From here I could look out on an empty field, and a soon to declline shopping center, at Towne Ave. & Arrow Highway.

Until the whole thing was replaced by a gated housing community, in the early 90's, I could also see the Football field, & track, of Pomona High School, and watch games via binoculars. ;-D

This all was our playground as kids, with our friends, especially the ones who lived on the street, & a place to lay out in the sun, or the shade, & listen to the sounds of the neighborhood around us.

Prompting Yourself to Write 23: An Excercise in Word Association

A writing assignment from The Right to Write by Julia Cameron:

Take up to a half hour if you are so inspired.

Step 1: What are your Hidden Associations when you consider the term "Writer"?

What did I come up with?

1. Writers are Loners.

2. Writers are Crazy.

3. Writers are Broke.

4. Writers are Outspoken.

5. Writers are Researchers.

6. Writers are Creative.

7. Writers are  Intelligent.

8. Writers are Storytellers.

9.  Writers are Proud.

10. Writers are Involved.

Step 2: Change any negative associations to positive ones.

1. Writers Have Good Friends.

2. Writers are Sane.

3. Writers are Solvent.

So, what hidden associations, positive, or negative, do you attach to being a Writer?

 

Prompting Yourself to Write 22: Write Where You Are

Wow, has it really been since last November that I did a Writing Prompt?

Prompting Yourself to Write 20: Words! Aren't they Just Adorable? (Sept. 28)

Prompting Yourself to Write 21: 101 I Am's (Nov. 29)

I've been reading some books, over the last few weeks, mostly by Norman Vincent Peale, for inspiration, and strength, to carry me into the future.

This Writing Prompt is one inspired by Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write: An Invitation & Initiation into the Writing Life (Yes, she's the same one behind The Artist'sWay).

ASSIGNMENT: Use 3 pages of 8 1/2 by 11 paper (or 14 if, like me that is all that you have handy)...Describe How, and what, you are feeling right now - Begin with where you are...Physically, mentally, emotionally, & psychologically. Write about anything, & everything, that crosses your mind.

It's 1pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, at the end of August, in Orange, Ca.

I'm in a Carl's Jr., & spread out on the table before me are 3 books:

The Right to Write by Julia Cameron

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani

Physically, I've come a long way since 3 bones in my ankle, at the end of last May.

I'm wearing a brace &, while I'm not yet walking anywhere near properly, at least I'm walking.

If I could afford Physical Therapy my progress might see more progress. ;-D

Emotionally, the day began with my witnessing the immediate aftermath of a motorcylist getting up close, & personal, with a car, in the street in front of our apartment complex, at 7am, and calling the paramedics...

Moved on to fixing breakfast for the Cats, and myself, with the voice of my favorite morning talk radio guy issueing forth from my computer, and continued with my working on some Cat photos, on Adobe Photoshop Elements, then "Elvira Mistress of Felinity" posting 3 of them in a post on the Cat Blog around 1030am.

Mentally, & Psychologically, I am in a better, more hopeful, & optimistic place, than I was in June, & July.

Having spent a month reading 2 books by Norman Vincent Peale ( The Power of Positive Thinking, & You Can If You Think You Can), and one book which he edited & contributed 10 Chapter Intros (A 1957 Anthology of 75 Inspirational Stories called...Unlock Your Faith Power), will do that to you if you allow yourself to ponder what he, and others, have to say.

 Awakening each morning, showering, reading a collection of quotes put on my posterboard above my desk, before subjecting myself to some rousing, thoughtprovoking, talk radio, puts me in a positive frame of mind to start the day. ;-D

Unemployed a year now, disabled for who knows how long, as the Doctor, on the one hand, tells m that once the surgery heals h won't say I'm disabled, then tells me I'll need another surgery to remove the pins & screws, all the while I'm unable to walk properly, you would think I'd be hobbling around, wailing "Oh, woe is I !!!"

 

Prompting Yourself to Write 21: 101 I Am's

I first brainstormed this exercise, in a 1 hour, timed, writing prompt on the evening of January, 27, 2004.

I posted it on my first blog on February 1, 2004.

This was years before most of my readers, and Facebook Friends met, or re-connected with (Especially my old High School Classmates!), me. ;-D

This new version has updates marked in red. ;-D

Have you ever sat down, and tried to describe yourself?

If you take the time to think about what makes you, YOU, in your own mind, not what others might say about you, it can be an eye opener, and provide food for thought, and incentives for the future (The picture below, of Nikita, and I, is from 2002!).

1.  I am a 43 3/4 year old man. (I am 50 3/4)
2.  I am single man (Father of two - Cats, that is...Hee, hee!)
3.  I am a Macedonian-American.
4.  I am a bookworm.
5.  I am a movie buff.
6.  I am a Writer.
7.  I am a Poet.
8.  I am a Storyteller.
9.  I am a Journalist.
10.  I am a Family History Researcher.
11.  I am a former Violinist for 10 yrs. during my youth.
12.  I am a published Star Trek author.
13.  I am a much published Comic Book Letter hack from the 1980's.
14.  I am a person with many published letters to newspapers, and magazines.
15.  I am a Bicyclist.
16.  I am a bus rider.
17.  I am a walker and a hiker.
18.  I am a High School Graduate.
19.  I am a College Graduate. The 1st in my Family, and have a BS in Criminal Justice.
20.  I am a product of a single parent home from 10 years old to adulthood. 

21.  I am a former Bookstore Manager of 11 years experience.
22.  I am a friend to many people, all online.
23.  I am a man with many friends, all online.

24.  I am a man with 2 sisters, headstrong, and beautiful, whom I helped look after in my youth, and early adulthood, and whom I still care, and worry about, today.

25.  I am a man with a bright and charming adult Niece (Plus a 5 yr. old Nephew, and 4 year old Niece).
26.  I am a man with Uncles, Aunts, and cousins all across America, and on the other side of the world.
27.  I am a caring person.
28.  I am a man with a peculiar sense of humor.
29.  I am a smart man.
30.  I am a cautious man.
31.  I am a thoughtful man.
32.  I am a man who likes to sometimes be alone, but fears being all alone in the world.
33.  I am a sensitive man.
34.  I am a virgin. (Quick! Someone call the Guinness Book of World Records! Um, hee, hee!)
35.  I am a music lover who favors Classical, Jazz, Swing, and Big Band.
36.  I am a protective man.
37.  I am a man capable of anger, and willing to fight for what he believes, and what is right.
38.  I am a man unafraid to sometimes speak his mind.
39.  I am a Woman's idea of a dreamboat, if only the fog over the ocean would recede so she could see my magnificent sails blowing in the breeze.
40.  I am a worrier, sometimes, but that doesn't worry me, too much.

41. I am a real man who admits he loves Cats.
42.  I am a somewhat decent cook of some things, and am looking to do more (See picture above for proof!).

 

  

43.  I am a Classic Coke drinker.
44.  I am a recovering, 4 cups a day, coffee drinker, who has been dry for 26 years.
45.  I am a non-smoker.
46.  I am a man who has never tried drugs.
47.  I am a man trying to develope a Social Life, just needing to find time to work on it.
48.  I am a man with no medical, or dental benefits, and the good fortune to still be alive and kicking despite that difficulty (I've had both for 6 yrs. now, and hope to keep them).
49.  I am a man with no savings, who lives from day to day, and week to week (I may be unemployed, but I now have Savings, and a 401K).
50.  I am a man with dreams and aspirations.
51.  I am a man who doesn't snore.
52.  I am a man who doesn't walk in his sleep.
53.  I am a rubber stamp collector.
54.  I am a Blogger (As is my Cat!)
55.  I am a Republicrat who votes (I am a Republican, Moderate Conservative, who drinks Tea (Decaf, of course!).
56.  I am a Demopublican who votes (What was I thinking?).

Prompting Yourself to Write 20: Words! Aren't they Just Adorable?

I first wrote the following in December 2004, after reading a new book by a local author:

Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within By Local Writing Instructor (UC Irvine), and Radio host (PODCASTS on Writers on Writing Show Blog), Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.

Words!

We can't live with 'em!

We can't live without them!

So what's a writer to do?

Collect them, that's what!

In her new book, Pens on Fire, the author Barbara DeMarco-Barrett heads a chapter on "harvesting words" with a quote by Hortense Calisher, from her book Extreme Magic:

The words! I collected them in all shapes and sizes, and hung them like bangles in mind.

Barbara isn't the 1st author I've read, this year, who suggested collecting words for future inspiration, but her little pep talk on the subject inspired me to recently expand from 1 simple notebook to several.

The idea is to use them in writIng prompts, or incorporate them into your writing.

Ideas for stories, and poems, just waiting to be found, I suppose.

Thinking of the possibilities in the few words, and phrases, I've collected in the past week or so, appeals to my peculiar sense of humor just for starters.

WORDS: Quilted, Replenishing, Bangles, Swamps, Plush, Scum, hung.

PHRASES:

1. See Spot save.
2. Let us know!
3. Animals not allowed.
4. We're here for good!
5. The Standard of Purity


IST SENTENCES:

1. Has it been 3,000 miles?
2. I'd rather be surfing.
3. Get your own box!


AD SLOGANS:

1. Don't squeeze the Charmin!
2. College grads by the gallon
3. Let's make our taste buds merry!
4. Your window of opportunity
5. There is no substitute!


BUSINESS NAMES:

1. Miss Donuts
2. Lenders Liquidation Center
3. Smart and Final
4. Randy Rivers
5. Just us Girls


NEWS HEADLINES:

1. It's a busy Shopping day for Angels.
2. Making a joyful noise.
3. Back in the saddle.
4. Trying to outsmart bullets.

Just THINKING about the possibilities gives me the giggles. :-D

------------------

I've still got the book, and the notebooks, but have not added as many words to their pages as I'd originally planned.

Time to pick up where I left off, and see where it takes me. ;-D

Prompting Yourself to Write 19: Work, Work, Work, Work

You spend the majority of your waking time doing it, so why not? Write about your job: What is it like? Are you doing what you want to do?

My job?

I've written about being a Directory Assistance Operator already, so let's talk about the job before that. ;-D

I was a cashier for a major deptartment store chain for 2 years, and I wrote this on Sept. 15, 2003. ;-D

--------------------------

My job?

I'm a minimum wage cashier for a major department store chain.

I stand all day at a cashier lane and ring up the purchases, big and small, serious and amusing, understandable and inexplicable, that you, dear reader, send down the conveyor belt to me in front of the cash register.

From 10 cents to thousands of dollars, you pay me your money and then scamper happily on your way.

Anywhere from 900 to 1400 of you pass through my lane every week.

Some of you come alone, some bring the baby or toddler, and some drag along every member of the family you can scrounge up, and your dog, and the next door neighbor, too!

Many of you can't speak a lick of English, others pretend not to be able to so as to not get into a conversation with me that might lead to you signing on for a credit card, and others I wish didn't speak my language because... well, the reasons are legion.

On the other hand there are many of you who make my day a pleasure just through my encountering you.

I have to say the same thing to each of you before almost anything else simply because management requires I do my damndest to get you to start on, or continue on, the long road to credit card debt.

I went bankrupt due to credit card debt, and refuse to get another.

I no more enjoy asking you to apply than you enjoy being asked EVERY time you go through my lane.

Some of you I remember from times past, but others it's not so easy to remember, so bear with me as I get the preliminaries over with quickly so we can get on to more pleasant an interaction in the time allowed by our brief encounter.

This interaction involves ordinary pleasantries, and conversation instigated by my peculiar sense of humor.

It also involves helping you find answers to shopping questions, explaining why I have to do this or that with something or other, and sometimes saying just a simple "NO".

When I am not parting you from your hard earned money I am the one who fills the lanes with bags when they are empty or low, I am the one who keeps the side and endcaps at my lane neat and organized, and I am the one who picks up after you when you leave a basket, cart , or pile of merchandise strewn around my lane when you pass through.

It is a never ending chore, but hey! It makes the time go by faster during an 8 hour shift.

I get 2, 15 minute, breaks during that shift, and an unpaid, 30 min., lunch break, and after resting up and refueling I am ready to deal with you for another 2 hours.

I have been in retail since 1984. 18 of those years in the book selling business, and 11 of them as a Manager of an Independent Bookstore.

I could work around books all my working life. It paid better, though without benefits, than what I make now.

What I am doing now is not what I WANT to do , but it has its good moments and has advancement potential eventually.

But I can't wait for "eventually" to come.

I can barely survive after paying the rent, and so have decided to re-launch my job search in the hopes of landing something better.

What that is, and where my search will lead, I can not say at this early stage.

I only know that I must search.

 

Prompting Yourself to Write 18: Hot Nights

Yesterday it was Hotter than Hell in LA & here in Santa Ana.

It was a record setting 113 in LA, and a record setting 111 here, and the Cats, and I, felt it all day long.

We could feel the atmosphere pressing in around us, and Nikita, and Elvira Mistress of Pussydom, hung out in the coolest spots they could find.

It's been a year since my last entry in my "Prompting Yourself to Write" series...time to start up again. ;-D

Here is a thought: Write about hot nights and what can happen on them.

I wrote the following in August 2003, while living in Costa Mesa.

It was based on the above thought, which was a writing exercise on a short lived local website, of the era, that briefly tried to get area writers to stretch their creative minds....

Thank you Joel, for helping me re-discover my creativity, thru your writing group, & exercises. ;-D

It is something that I will never forget........

August, 29, 2003: Of Decision Making and Lounging

All this week it's been hot, and when you live in a studio apartment you can turn on the air conditioner or just deal with it.

I dealt with it, and alot of other things.

I sat at my computer and began to think about what direction I wanted to go with my blogging and mulled over the decision to not only switch to Movable Type, but to, with help from a friend, develope my very own website.

Over a couple of years ago I had a brief fling with website making by using Earthlinks CLICK & BUILD format.

It was good, and I was proud of it, but I wasn't ready to stick with it and expand it, and so eventually ended the experiment.

Now I am ready, I believe.

Weblogging, and using the net in my genealogical research, among other experiences have helped to make me ready.

So, in the heat of each night, I have begun to think of many things, and am looking forward to the adventure to come.

As for Nikita he just lays on my bed either dozing, or looking at me sweating and thinking, and typing.

If I look at him long enough he grins and rolls over and I take a break and go scratch his belly.

Getting a full body hair cut seems to have returned him to a more interactive personality than he's displayed in the last couple of years.

Go figure. :-D

Cats are the weirdest peoples! :-D

National Poetry Month 2010 is Here! Challenge Yourself!

April is National Poetry Month!

This is the 14th Anniversary of the is event founded by The Academy of American Poets.

National Poetry Month:

National Poetry Month was established by the Academy of American Poets as a month-long, national celebration of poetry. The concept was to increase the attention paid-by individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our poetic heritage, and to poetry books and magazines. In the end, we hoped to achieve an increase in the visibility, presence, and accessibility of poetry in our culture. National Poetry Month has been successful beyond all anticipation and has grown over the years into the largest literary celebration in the world.

I hope this post will encourage you to read poetry, and even write poetry of your own.

You may think you don't have it in you to write a poem, but you would be mistaken.

If even I can discover my talent for the stuff then you can, too!

To get things started....I receive E-Mails:

Robert Lee Brewer, of the wonderful Poetic Asides Blog, spreads the word about The 3rd Annual Poetry A Day Challenge...

On 4/1, we'll begin another poetic journey of a poem-a-day through the month of April over at the Poetic Asides blog. You can read the guidelines here.

The Basics: I provide a prompt and sample poem each morning (Georgia, USA, time). Then, poets write their poems in response to the prompt. Poets from all over the world can (and have in the past) participate. There is no fee, no registration, no pressure. This challenge is all about writing poetry and having fun.

Those who have participated in the past have ranged from poets who have published multiple collections to writers who have never written poetry before. It's also included many poets who haven't written poetry in years. And many poems written for these challenges have then gone on to be published in poetry journals and magazines.

Show up to the Poetic Asides blog Thursday morning (around 9 or 10 Atlanta, Georgia time) to see the first prompt.

See you there!

Robert

The First Prompt has been posted, and encourages one to write "a lonely poem".

If you can't do a poem every day...try to spend the month working on, and then posting when done, a poem for each prompt, or as many as you can.

You may even choose, like me, to keep the links on hand for reference through out the year. ;-D

We all live busy lives, and in my case commuting by bike, and bus takes up a good chunk of the day, but you can do as I do, and bring a notebook along in case inspiration strikes, and you can write something down. ;-D

As an example of the 1st prompt let me share, again, a poem I originally wrote in 2006:

ALONE


In the morning I will awaken, I will walk
In the clinging fog; myself
Will look about, and not see another,
Alone in the park, and break
The silence with breath and footsteps;
I will enjoy the grass and the trees
Seeing what is to see, and hearing what I can not
In the shadows of the dawn; and myself
With hands in my coat pockets,
Will smile in contentment, and
Plan for the day that will be.

NOTE: I will add links to each of Roberts Prompts, below, as the days go by.

April 2 = Write a Water Poem

April 3 = Take the phrase "Partly (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then write the poem. 

April 4 = Write a History Poem.

April 5 = Write a TMI poem (or too much information poem).

April 6 = Two pieces of art, and you are to pick one (or both) to write an ekphrastic poem.

What's an "Ekphrastic Poem"? Learn all you need to know, for this prompt, here.

April 7 = Take the phrase "Until (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then write the poem. 

April 8 = Pick a tool, make that the title of your poem, then write your poem.

April 9 = Write a self-portrait poem.

April 10 = Write a horror poem.

April 11 = Take the phrase "The Last (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then write the poem.

April 12 = Pick a city, make that the title of your poem, and write a poem.

April 13 = Two for Tuesday: 

1. Write a love poem.

2. Write an anti-love poem.

April 14 = Take the phrase "(blank) Island," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then, write the poem.

April 15 = Write a deadline poem.

April 16 = Write a death poem.

April 17 = Write a science poem.

April 18 = Take the phrase "To (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then, write the poem.

April 19 = Write a poem about somebody and be sure to include the person's name in the title of your poem (no reason to hide the person's identity here).

April 20 = Two for Tuesday:

1. Write a looking back poem.

2. Write a poem that doesn't look back.

April 21 = Take the phrase "According to (blank),"  replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then, write the poem.

April 22 = Write an Earth poem.

April 23 = Write an exhausted poem.

April 24 = Write an evening poem.

April 25 = Write a poem inspired by a song. ( Creating a Poem, Inspired by a Song is Right Up My Alley, and it's so easy even my Cat can do it! )

April 26 = Write a "more than 5 times" poem.

April 27 = Two for Tuesday:

1. Write a Hopeful Poem.

2. Write a Hopeless Poem.

April 28 = Write an end of the line poem.

April 29 = Take the phrase "And Suddenly (blank),"  replace the blank with a word or phrase, make that the title of your poem, and then, write the poem.

April 30 = Write a letting go poem.

***UPDATE - 4/30/10***

Robert Lee Brewer has been named co-Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere with Sina Queyras, who blogs for the PoetryFoundation.org and Lemon Hound, in a Poll at Blogging Poet.

Poet Laureate Of The Blogosphere 2010 A Tie!

Robert reacts to the news.

***END UPDATE***