Earth Day Creative Writing Prompts with Peace in Wild Things

© Paul Schneider | Dreamstime.com

Because Friday is Earth Day, and it is still National Poetry Month, I thought I would share one of Ted Kooser's earlier column's from American Life in Poetry.  Please enjoy the column which features a poem by Wendell Berry, and your prompts will be waiting for you below.

American Life in Poetry: Column 17

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

Nearly all of us spend too much of our lives thinking about what has happened, or worrying about what's coming next. Very little can be done about the past and worry is a waste of time. Here the Kentucky poet Wendell Berry gives himself over to nature.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wendell Berry, "The Peace of Wild Things" from The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry. Copyright © 1998. Published and reprinted by arrangement with Counterpoint Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group (http://www.perseusbooks.com/). All rights reserved. Introduction copyright © 2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Poetry Writing Prompt:

Wendell Berry ends his poem, "I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."

What is the grace of the world to you?  Write about the grace of the world as it relates to nature with a poem titled, "The Grace of the World."

Fiction Writing Prompt:

Write a scene where a character discovers some peace in something wild, something from nature.  What was the conflict the character was facing, and how did nature bring him or her to ease?  Show us all that in your writing.

Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt:

Pick something in nature you truly enjoy and write about how it enriches your life.

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Creative Writing Prompts with Kangaroos and John Steinbeck

YOUNG JOEY WITH MUM
© Gary Unwin | Dreamstime.com

April is National Poetry Month and today we celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day!

Here is my bonus page of pocket poems for you today.  You can click here:

http://promptsforwriters.blogspot.com/p/poem-in-your-pocket-day-poems.html

And for your regular prompts:

Today I also offer you a picture of two kangaroos.  The little one seems to be watching something.

Fiction Writing Prompt: 

Write a short scene about what the kangaroo sees.

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Today is the day The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was published in 1939.

Here is a quote by John Steinbeck:

"I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession."

Memoir Writing Prompt:  Write about a time when you were very proud of something.

Poetry Writing Prompt:  Write a poem about something you are proud of. 

Creative Writing Prompts Inspired by "The Country" by Billy Collins

Creative Wrting Prompts:  A Little Bit Billy Collins, A Little Bit Country Mouse

photo by LockStockBob, Dreamstime.com

I am partial to mice right now because my son, who has limited langauge ability, has been speaking about a character he refers to as "Ultra Mouse."  Apparently, "Ultra Mouse" is associated with Obama, and on request, I've been asked to make up stories about "Ultra Mouse."  It is an interesting mystery, but I go with it. 

Today's prompts for creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry are all the same.  In celebrating Natinal Poetry Month, I am providing the link to the Billy Collins' animated poem, "The Country," to inspire you, and you can turn a few of these little phrases from the poem (which I listed below) into any genre you would like. 

Here is the link to the animated poem:
http://movingpoems.com/2009/11/the-country/


Phrases as prompts:

"The one unlikely mouse. . . "
"The tiny looks of wonderment. . . "
"Behind the floral wallpaper. . ."

Title as a prompt:  Title a story, poem or short memory, "The House in the Country."


And for a bonus children's story writing prompt, "The Crazy Adventure of Ultra Mouse" is your title.  Write a short story about "Ultra Mouse" in less than 1,000 words.

Happy Writing!

Creative Writing Prompts with the Decorah Eaglets

Creative Writing Prompts

If you haven't see the Decorah Eaglets, you have to take a minute to watch this video.  I think it is just an amazing project to have a web cam follow the life of these beautiful creatures.

Fiction Writing Prompt:  Write a short story that starts out with a character observing a live creature in nature.

Creative Nonfiction:  Write about a strong connection you have had from observing an animal and how it influenced you. 

Poetry Writing Prompt:  Write a poem about an animal that is endangered or has been endangered.  See the poem below for  inspiration. 

Song Writing Prompt:  Write a song about animals who have become or are becoming extinct. 

BONUS!

Since it is National Poetry Month, I've inserted a Ted Kooser column from American Life in Poetry that features a strong and sad poem about many endangered species by poet Charles Harper Webb.  You can use this to jump start a poem of your own if you'd like. 

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American Life in Poetry: Column 203

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

To read in the news that a platoon of soldiers has been killed is a terrible thing, but to learn the name of just one of them makes the news even more vivid and sad. To hold the name of someone or something on our lips is a powerful thing. It is the badge of individuality and separateness. Charles Harper Webb, a California poet, takes advantage of the power of naming in this poem about the steady extinction of animal species.

The Animals are Leaving

One by one, like guests at a late party   

They shake our hands and step into the dark:   

Arabian ostrich; Long-eared kit fox; Mysterious starling.

One by one, like sheep counted to close our eyes,   

They leap the fence and disappear into the woods:   

Atlas bear; Passenger pigeon; North Island laughing owl;   

Great auk; Dodo; Eastern wapiti; Badlands bighorn sheep.

One by one, like grade school friends,   

They move away and fade out of memory:   

Portuguese ibex; Blue buck; Auroch; Oregon bison;   

Spanish imperial eagle; Japanese wolf; Hawksbill   

Sea turtle; Cape lion; Heath hen; Raiatea thrush.

One by one, like children at a fire drill, they march outside,   

And keep marching, though teachers cry, “Come back!”   

Waved albatross; White-bearded spider monkey;   

Pygmy chimpanzee; Australian night parrot;   

Turquoise parakeet; Indian cheetah; Korean tiger;   

Eastern harbor seal ; Ceylon elephant ; Great Indian rhinoceros.

One by one, like actors in a play that ran for years   

And wowed the world, they link their hands and bow   

Before the curtain falls.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright © 2006 by Charles Harper Webb. Reprinted from “Amplified Dog,” by Charles Harper Webb, published by Red Hen Press, 2006, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright © 2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Creative Writing Prompts with Cat, Dog, and Random Words

Creative Writing Prompts

Today your prompts are based on the picture below along with some random words.

Random Words:  bus, breeze, heeled, baby blue, jungle, parallel, lift, moon, imagine, wild, icy white, sway, tight, away, poppy, seek, speckled, luck

Fiction Writing Prompt: 

Write a story about  what happened before the cat and dog arrived where they are now.  Use at least 5 of the random words in your story. 

Caption Writing Exercise:  Write a caption for this photo using one of the random words in your caption.  After you write the caption, you can write a  paragraph about what happens next. 

Poetry Writing Prompts: 

1.  Use at least 5 of the random words in a short poem about any subject of your choice in 15 lines or less.

2.  Give one of the animals a name and write a poem about the animal.  Use at least 4 of the random words in your poem.

Bonus Writing Practice Prompt:  Make an opening line with at least four of the random words.  Use it for an opening line of a story or poem.  You can use any other words you want to in your opening line, but limit your sentence to under 18 words.

Many thanks to the photographer of today's photo, Jiri Vaclavek , and Dreamstime.com for making this photo available.

If you would like to celebrate National Poetry Month by learning more about poetry, I highly recommend the book below by Steve Kowit.

Creative Writing Prompts: To Be a River

Happy Poetry Month! 

It is my pleasure to kick off National Poetry Month with a special treat of a poem and a photo.  Take a few minutes to soak in the beauty, and you'll find your prompts below.  There are four prompts today so that they will give you lots of writing ideas to get through the weekend.

 Photo by Susan Hering (Madison, WI)



To Be a River by Susan Elbe

In late March on gray days

when the water runs like glass,

I want to be a river

birds hover over

as if preening in a mirror,

the weightless shadows

of their wings kissing back.

When the melt is running high

and winter races down, away,

I want to be a river,

to reshape myself again,

and yet again, coming

and going easily between

rip and reach, torrent and strand.

When ice still crazes at the edges

thin as burned-out velvet,

I want to be a river, a scarf

of light visible from far away,

a landmark for return,

offering dark birds, silver fish

from my drifting, silted hand.

"To be a River" first appeared in Wisconsin Trails Magazine (March/April 2004) 

This is reprinted with the author's permission.

Today's Prompts

I hope you enjoyed the poem by Susan Elbe and the photo by Susan Hering.  Today's writing prompts are inspired by both.

Poetry Writing Prompt:  Susan connected with the river in her beautiful poem.  Your assignment is to write a first daft of a  poem  in twenty minutes that connects with nature.  Your working title will be "To be a ______."  (You put in something from nature in the blank.)  After you write the first draft, change the title to something else. 

Fiction Writing Prompts: 

1.  Focus on the scene in today's photo for at least a minute.  Start a story from this scene.

2.  Story starters: 

a.  As she looked up at the dogwood tree, she remembered. . .

b.  The river reminded him of the scarf she was wearing when. . .

Journal Prompt:  Reflect on what memories the word
"river" triggers for you.  Start your journal entry:  

When I think of rivers, I think of. . .

Today's writing inspiration is possible thanks to the generosity of Susan Elbe and Susan Hering.  Thank you, ladies! 

Susan Elbe is the author of Eden in the Rearview Mirror (Word Press) and a chapbook, Light Made from Nothing (Parallel Press). Her poems appear or are forthcoming in many journals and anthologies, including Blackbird, diode, MARGIE, North American Review, Salt Hill, and A Fierce Brightness: Twenty-five Years of Women's Poetry (Calyx Books). Among her awards are the inaugural Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize (Calyx), the Council for Wisconsin Writers Lorine Niedecker Award, and fellowships to Vermont Studio Center and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin. You can learn more about her at .http://www.susanelbe.com/.