How to Turn One Word Prompts Into Cliche-Busting Poems

In my earlier post on poem starters, I promised I’d write a second article on handling one word prompts. Well, here I am, being as good as my word.

One word prompts abound on the Internet, from my 100 Themes challenge to the Wednesday prompts on Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides blog. They’re a great challenge because they force you to think and write about a theme you might not have thought about, otherwise.

On the other hand, working from only a single word can be tough. Since the prompts tend to be abstract words, turning one into a concrete poem isn’t always easy. It’s especially hard when you already feel a bit blocked.

What’s more, doing it without slipping into comfortable clichés is even harder.

That last point is important. After all, if you’re stuck in a rut, what you want to do is break yourself out — not dig yourself in further! You need to find a fresh way to approach the subject, as well as unexplored forms and language to express it.

To help you get there, I’ve collected a few tips for making the most out of your one-word prompts.

Notice I’ve said a few, because this is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, you may have found some other techniques that work wonders for you.

If that’s the case, I’d love to hear about it, and I hope you’ll share in the comments!

For now, here are my 3 basic tips for hunting down inspiration:

1. Give Your Creativity a Workout

To avoid clichés, you often have to avoid the first idea that comes to mind … along with the second. And the third.

In fact, you’re better off making a list of ideas — a long one. The farther you get down the list, the more your creativity will stretch to think of something — anything — related to the subject. That’s where it gets interesting.

So make your list. Explore alternative meanings of the word .. various contexts where you might hear it … and all associations you personally have with this word. Especially consider unexpected contexts, strange associations, or other ways you could turn your typical approach on its head.

Don’t be satisfied until you have a long list. Even if you get a brilliant idea at #12, keep going until #15 … or even #25. What you discover in those badlands at the end of your creative comfort zone might surprise you. You could end up with a whole stockpile of ideas. (Why get only one poem out of a prompt, when you can get five, amirite?)

This technique will especially help you when you have a cliché-rich prompt, like “LOVE.” That was the second prompt in my 100 Themes challenge. Fortunately, I’m bad at writing love poems. I can only write them when I’m not trying to. So I was forced to find an alternative route, which gave me a highly personal yet well-received poem, “A Litany of Non-Loves.”

2. Give Your Mind a Vacation

Confession: I’ve already given you this tip. It was #6 in my poem starters post, where I recommended you “write a dream or daydream.”

Sometimes, even after you’ve settled on a great idea, you’re still not sure how to get started. Maybe you don’t have a clear emotion or image in mind. If that’s the case, you should try letting your mind play.

Shut off distractions. Turn off lights, draw curtains, silence electronics. Settle back into a chair or sofa and close your eyes. Make sure you’re alone, so you can relax without worrying about someone tackling you. (Am I the only one who worries about that?)

Anyway, breathe evenly and start relaxing your body, part by part, until you feel yourself kind of slipping down into a state of super-relaxation. I guess that’s what some people call meditation, but whatever. If you need help on this part, see the tips in my previous post!

Then, while you’re still awake, dream.

Dream of your poem, and dream about a hundred other random things not related to your “real adult life.” Then get up and write.

I think many of us are daydreamers already — if not, why are we writers? — but not everyone consciously daydreams. It just kind of happens, and we’re not always aware of the fact. Why don’t you try doing it with purpose and attention? You’ll notice more … and I bet you’ll have more fun, too.

Most importantly — in giving your mind some room to breathe, you’ll create a space where inspiration can find its way in.

In fact, several of the poems I’ve written in the last year have grown out of dreaming sessions like this. One example is “The Hill-Top Exile, Dreaming Still,” which found its almost-first line while I was daydreaming on the sofa.

3. Give Your Imagination Free Rein

This is possibly the easiest and most “productive” tip I have for you.

It’s only this: write whatever comes to mind. Doesn’t matter if it’s clichéd, or if it’s just a rant, or if it’s more like prose than poetry.

All you’re doing, at this stage, is making dirt. Or clay. Dirt is for digging; clay is for shaping. Both metaphors imply that your work really comes later.

When you finish your freewriting — either by running out of time, running out of space, or coming to a point that feels like a resolution — set the work aside. Preferably for a few days, at least.

Then, when you can hardly remember what you wrote, get it out again and read it. Dig for unique gems you can use in a second draft. Usually there’ll be at least one image or idea that intrigues you, and that will give a clearer direction to your revisions.

That’s exactly how “Diptych: A Line in the Snow” came about.

Remember …

You only need one image, one idea, one little angle from which to slip into the poem, like light through a crack in the door. Then, once you’ve found your way into that world, you’ll build the rest as you go.

The key is to remember that we write in layers. Creativity is never — I dare say never — a clean, one-off process. As writers, we all know this, but by our actions it seems we refuse to believe it.

If you try to get it right the first time, you may not write at all. Perhaps even sadder, you could miss the serendipitous little surprises that come with the process. Layer by layer, though, you can uncover something awesome.

I’ve just given you three ways to dig — but I’m sure you’ve got your own to share. What are your favorite ways to deal with one word prompts?