April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo!). To celebrate poetry month, some writers endeavor to write a new poem every day in April.
In our cold and reluctant spring weather, I thought that this would be a great thing to do for my writing–a fun project and challenge! If you want to participate as well, it is of course free and open to anyone (if you choose to post your poems online, you can link up here: https://www.napowrimo.net/).
Tips & Tricks:
- In the past when participating in such challenges, I’ve found it helpful to have an accountability partner to send my poems to each day (if you don’t know another writer who wants to participate, just a friend or willing family member will do).
- I’ve also found it useful to have books of poetry prompts (these are also easy to find online) and poetry books that inspire me close at hand.
- Don’t worry about editing this month–just get the words down on paper. Next month can be your NaPoEdMonth, right? (nationalpoetryeditingmonth).
- Along the same lines, write without judging yourself. Whatever topic pops up, explore it.
- Last tip–keep a notebook and pen on hand. When trying to write so much in a single month, it is helpful to kind of write “all day long”–any images, words, phrases that come to mind need to be captured.
Not every poem will be a keeper, but I did complete the core of my book Threshing Floor during a NaPoWriMo–so it can be a great way to jumpstart a collection.
Let me know if you are doing it too–I’ll be complaining about it — I mean commenting on it, haha — on twitter @thisquiethour!
Renee Emerson 
thoughts?