Poem Writing Game

I learned this game from my friend Darcy. Basically, you write out a set of 10 constraints and give yourself 2 min to respond to each – write them out, toss them in a pile, draw one at random, start the timer, write, repeat.

Just like the songwriting game, the goal is to get yourself out of your head. You can use this as a warm-up, or, if you like what you come up with, shape it up into a proper poem.

I’ve loaded this up to generate a set of constraints from the ones I’ve used over the past few months. Every time you refresh the page you should see a different combination. Feel free to use these or create your own!

Prompts:

  1. use a taste, an -ing verb, and syballance
  2. use the word "______" (pick a word - "waiting", "resolve", ...)
  3. describe something out the window using a mathematical term
  4. use a random place (google "random place generator") and a random topic from wikipedia
  5. use a color, a shapre, and an -ing verb
  6. describe a victory
  7. describe fear
  8. use a mathematical term, a color and an -ly adverb
  9. describe a vehicle you see
  10. describe something that happened yesterday

I’d love to hear what you come up with – either ideas for constraints or what you create. Drop me a line or comment here to share!