Finally getting over a cold, I am posting this Halloween prompt at the last moment. I am once again returning to an early favorite poetry collection: Stacy Gnall’s Heart First into the Forest.
As a former and always Midwesterner, I love this poem, its envy and awe, its challenge.
For the first prompt, begin writing about water and night and end the story or poem on a challenge.
The second prompt is to use “I’ll dress as a hand-held mirror for you” for a title and reflect images of a lover in yourself or surroundings. Remember to credit the poet in an after statement, as part of the title or through some other indicator.
For the third, write an essay, poem or story about what water is for you and your home, its heavy presence in the throat and across the nape or perhaps its aching absence in chapped lips and dusty roads.
The next prompt is to write a poem or story from the following words: “applause,” “narcissistic” “scrawled,” “hand-held,” “x-ray,” “costume,” “sheet,” “séance,” “seaweed” and “bully.”
The final prompt is to start a poem or story with the line “and this thought raises my soul as by séance” as a ghostline. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.
Bonus prompt: write whatever this photo of Brunswick Lake Peninsula in Ohio inspires.
Final bonus prompt: write about waking to see this shadow below you.
Good luck writing! Have fun tonight!