2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 23
For the 2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today’s prompt is to write an Instructional Poem.
For the 2019 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today's prompt is to write an Instructional Poem.
For today's prompt, write an instructional poem. Your poem could be a set of instructions, or be from the perspective of the teacher or the student. Ironically, there are no instructions for writing an instructional poem (until somebody writes one!).
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Recreate Your Poetry!
Revision doesn’t have to be a chore—something that has to be done after the joy of the first draft. In fact, revision should be viewed as an enjoyable extension of the creation process—something that you want to experience after the joy of the first draft.
Learn the three rules of revision, seven revision filters, common excuses for avoiding revision (and how to overcome them), and more in this power-packed poetry revision tutorial.
Here’s my attempt at an Instructional Poem:
“How to Annoy Someone”
Start with a question--any will do--
and ask a person to answer for you.
No matter their answer or position,
take the view of the opposition.
If, for instance, they say grass is green,
tell them it's not from the grass that you've seen,
and if they agree exceptions can be made,
argue the point you originally said.
Say down is up and up is down
and watch happy people suddenly frown.
If anyone ever grows wise to your game,
serve upon them all portions of blame
by claiming when they point out failures in you,
they're admitting their own failures too.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
