Finding it difficult to write, but wishing to get back to your writing practice? Try working from these prompts created by IWC staff for the April National Poetry Month Poem a Day Challenge, and Journaling through the Pandemic program. Both are run through interactive private groups on Facebook.

Indiana Writers Center Poem a Day Challenge Week 1
1.    Write a poem about the sun.
2.    Write a poem about a place you enjoy. Make sure to include sensory details. Play with having some kind of unexpected encounter or event there.
3.    Write a poem about traveling.
4.    Is there an object in your house that used to belong to someone else? Write a 2 part poem. Part 1 about the object’s “before” you time. Part 2 about the object’s “now.” Try to incorporate 1 rhyme in each part.
5.    Write a “Nocturne” – a poem that is set in the night (usually midnight).
6.    Write a poem using Anaphora. Anaphora is a technique that uses a repeated phrase to begin lines throughout the poem. It doesn’t have to begin every line.
7.    Write a poem using language from a text message or email which you recently received or sent.

Journaling through the Pandemic

1. What does your pantry look like? Bring us into the space, detail the products, food, things you wish you had in your pantry, etc.

2. What have you observed outside recently? What is different/the same? Think of interactions with people, sounds, more chalk on driveways, etc.