2023 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 3
For the 2023 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. Day 3 is to write a problem poem.
We're through the first two days, and now we're facing two of the most important hurdles for completing this challenge. I've often noticed that people who make it through the first three days have the best chance at getting through the whole month. Also, those who make it through that first weekend. So here we are; let's poem!
For today’s prompt, write a problem poem. You could present the problem in your poem. Or maybe make the problem the title of your poem and either expand on the problem or attempt to solve it. If the poem itself is giving you problems, don't be afraid to lean into that.
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
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Write a poem every single day of the year with Robert Lee Brewer's Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming. After sharing more than a thousand prompts and prompting thousands of poems for more than a decade, Brewer picked 365 of his favorite poetry prompts here.
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Here’s my attempt at a Problem Poem:
“I'm sorry”
But sometimes I
have a problem
saying sorry
even when it's
not my fault. I'm
sorry, but I
can't help myself
it seems. I just
see space to fill
with my full a-
pology
for whatever
ails you or does
not or is some
where between ail
and not ailing.
I'm sorry; I'm
sorry; it's true.
I'm sorry for
me and for you.
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.
