Poetry Prompts for the End of the Year

Celebrate the end of the year with these poetry prompts.

The end of yet another year is just around the corner. It’s a busy season packed with holiday shopping, gatherings with friends and family, and preparationg for the new year ahead.

When things get busy, it’s important for writers to keep their heads in the clouds. Don’t forget about your dreams! Don’t let your poetry fall by the wayside lest you forget to return!

Maybe you don’t have time to sit and write the way you usually do. Maybe your head is spinning with all the things you have to get done. That’s fine. Just set a few minutes aside and let these poetry prompts walk you through a brief writing session.

We’ll even keep the focus on things that are going on right now–things like food, holidays, gifts, goals, and the new year.

Poetry Prompts

To use these poetry prompts, simply pick one of the lists below and write a quick poem using all of the words in the list. The lists are categorized to make choosing a little easier. Select the one that speaks to you, and then get busy writing.

If you’re not as busy as everyone else and are feeling up for an even bigger challenge, try making one poem with all the words from all the lists. Up the ante by using the list titles as well. If you’re feeling lazy or have an itch to break the rules, go ahead and mix the lists up and just pick whatever words you want.

Just remember to have fun.

More Tips for Using Poetry Prompts

As you work through these poetry prompts, keep the following tips in mind:

• Try to write about something unexpected. If you choose the “Holiday” list, then make your poem about anything BUT the holidays.
• Mix two or three lists of poetry prompts together and take out some words or add in a few of your own. Then write your poem.
• Use the five list titles rather than the words in the lists.

As always, enjoy your poetry session and keep writing!

If you give these poetry prompts a try, feel free to post your poem in the comments.

Scary Poetry Prompts

Poetry prompts that might scare you.

Poetry prompts are great for those times when you have the creative itch but just can’t seem to reach around to scratch it. Hey, we can’t be inspired every single day.

Writing exercises like poetry prompts challenge us while stirring our creativity.

And these ones are just in time for Halloween.

All Hallow’s Eve

Halloween comes from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the time of year when people slaughtered livestock for the coming cold months.

Because it marked a new cycle, this festival was viewed as a kind of new year celebration. It was also the time of year when the fog between our world and the world of the deceased evaporated, which meant the dead could move about in our world and wreak havoc.

During this festival, people wore costumes. They might have been disguising themselves in order to hide from evil spirits. Maybe they were trying to pacify the dearly departed.

Poetry Prompts

These poetry prompts honor the tradition that is Halloween. Love it or hate it, it’s right around the corner and before you know it, those little witches and goblins will be gobbling up all your candy (or else you’ll be warding off tricks and pranks).

The rules are simple and you can change them as you see fit. Choose one of the word groups below and write a poem that contains all the words and phrases on the list. Or, scramble the lists to come up with new ones of your own.

Feeling really creative? Write a single poem containing all the words from all the lists below. Good luck.

Have fun with these poetry prompts, and feel free to share your poems in the comments, or if you publish them online, drop a link.

And keep writing!

Got any poetry prompts or writing exercises to share? Leave a comment!