Some days ideas and inspiration flow all around us as if we were a rock centered in a river, but other days it might be good to have a fill-in-the-blank kind or Mad Libs kind of prompt to get the day started. I appreciate prompts that feel like plugging in an image because they can so often inspire me to write during the dry spells. If you like this prompt, check out Joseph Fasano’s website for his books and individual poems.

Btw, I enjoy following him on Twitter: he creates threads of poems under a theme and invites others to share their favorites, and he often provides encouragement to new writers. You may too (for as long as Twitter is around of course).

The first prompt is to follow his prompt as is.

For the second prompt, take the poem you’ve written following the prompt and choose your strongest line or image. Begin your poem there.

The third prompt reverses the meaning: instead of loneliness or solitude, focus on togetherness. Follow the prompts instructions but change the repeated line to “Everyone knows where we are” (or something similar) and use “we” instead of “I” for the speaker. See what happens.

The last prompt is to take the poem’s repeated line “No one knows where I am” as a ghostline for a jumping off point. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.

Bonus story (or poetry) prompt: write a conversation between the rocks and the water as it rushes past but give the trees the final say.

Good luck! Have fun!