Writing Articles

Poetry Forms Challenge 2026: “Pirouette”

Another form to try!

Poetic Inspiration or Lack Thereof

Writing prompts don’t always work well for me. Here are some of the things I use, when feeling “uninspired,” instead. Feel free to give them a try if you’re facing a bit of “writers block.” Or go out into the sunshine, paint a picture, work on a puzzle – do something el…

Poetry Forms Challenge 2026: “Quadrille”

Longer than a fortune cookie, shorter than an epic poem – try your hand at the Quadrille poetry form.

Another Poem Fished Out of the Moat

Somebody said, “You get all the best spam!” Sure. But that doesn’t mean I want or need more of it. Nor does it mean any of this made it through the spam filter. No link backs for you, Spammers!

It's a horror show, all right. I tried to get "an ingenue crab-walking up dimly-lit stairs to creepy music" and got a little girl walking up creepy stairs next to a giant crab. Whatever. That's AI for ya. Doesn't always give you what you want, but sometimes gives you exactly what you need.

Jump Scare

Nov 17, 2025 | Poetry, Writing

How is it that we know the tropes – they are, by definition, cliché – and yet, they can still make us feel something like fear or anticipation?

A bully faces off with a scrappy little girl on the playground.

Naani Naani November’s Here!

Nov 13, 2025 | Poetry, Writing

Not doing NaNoWriMo these days, but maybe I can write 30 poems in a month. Or not. One of these is inspired by Robert Brewer’s 11/1/25 prompt for the PAD challenge; the other is a form I was challenged to try by Barbara Ehrentreu.

For Once

Nov 4, 2025 | Poetry, Technical & How-To, Writing

A mischievous imp sits on top of a headstone carved with the word POET as a ghostly witch looks on

Formal Verse Magic Template

Sep 2, 2024 | Poetry, Writing

A template to help simplify the drafting of a formal poem such as the ballade, sestina, villanelle, sonnets, or ghazals. For everyone who’s ever gnashed their teeth and said, “This may be the death of me, yet,” while writing one.