🎉 Our next novel writing master class starts in – ! Claim your spot →

BEST POETRY WRITING PROMPTS

Join (probably?) the world's largest writing contest. Flex those creative muscles with weekly writing prompts.

Showing 24 prompts reset

October country with peter cameron, write a traditional english poem in iambic pentameter..

  • Write a poem with zero punctuation.

Choose a title from our Book Title Generator. Write a poem inspired by that title.

  • Pick a random number. Write a poem with that many stanzas.
  • Write a haiku about love.

poem assignment ideas

Introducing Prompted , a new magazine written by you!

🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE .

Write a poem about loss.

Write a poem based on your saddest memory..

  • Write a poem based on your happiest memory.

Write a poem about growing old.

Write a poem about wanting something that you can't have., subscribe to our prompts newsletter.

Never miss a prompt! Get curated writing inspiration delivered to your inbox each week.

Write a poem about your favorite part of nature.

  • Pick an emotion. Write a poem that expresses that emotion.
  • Write an acrostic poem using the word H-O-M-E.

Write a poem based on your favorite childhood memory.

  • Write a poem inspired by your favorite color.
  • Listen to your current surroundings. Write a poem based on what you hear.

Look around you. Write a poem based on what you see.

Write a poem about summer., write a poem about winter., win $250 in our short story competition 🏆.

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Contest #274 LIVE

Enter our weekly contest.

This week's theme: October Country with Peter Cameron

Prize money

Contest entries, closes at 23:59 - nov 01, 2024 est, recent contests ✍️.

#273 – Locked Away

#272 – Fright Night

#271 – Familiar Strangers with Barnes & Noble Press

#270 – The Perfect Recipe

Recent winners 🏆

Mortimer Ridgewood – read

Kate Simkins – read

Jay Wayne – read

Gabriel Muers – read

Leaderboard 🥇

#1 Zilla Babbitt

32437 points

#2 Deidra Whitt Lovegren

28847 points

#3 Abigail Airuedomwinya

22436 points

#4 Graham Kinross

14821 points

#5 Scout Tahoe

13202 points

#6 Chris Campbell

11812 points

#7 Thom With An H

10767 points

#8 Rayhan Hidayat

10221 points

#9 Story Time

10147 points

#10 Michał Przywara

9975 points

RBE | Illustration — We made a writing app for you | 2024-02

We made a writing app for you

Yes, you! Write. Format. Export for ebook and print. 100% free, always.

The best poetry writing prompts

Poetry is one of the oldest art forms in history, stretching back to the times when poems were sung and chanted as hymns around a bonfire, but even the greats back then had some help. While a poet of yore had to turn to technology-less sources in their life to find inspiration — music, friends, places, nature, even memories— these days you can simply go online to get the poetry writing prompts you might need to spark poem ideas.

Whether you’re looking to connect with your feelings on the page, understand your perspective on an event, or explore a past experience through the lens of words, poetry writing prompts are a great way to sharpen your writing skills and hone your relationship with language. We hope that these creative writing exercises can assist you in channeling those emotions and help you on your journey as a poet!

To get you started, here are our top ten poetry writing prompts:

  • Write a poem about fall. 
  • Write a poem inspired by your favorite saying.

If you're looking for some more help writing a poem, check out this free resource:

  • How to Write a Poem (blog post) : A poem could be a six-word haiku, or it could be a two-hundred page epic in the veins of Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients. Whatever you’re looking to write, this comprehensive series of blog posts will take you through all of the steps involved in writing a poem: from the different types of poetry that you can write to how to write (and publish!) a poem.

Want to expand beyond poetry and learn how to write a short story? Check out How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten day course guiding you through the process of short story writing by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.

Ready to start writing? Check out Reedsy’s weekly  short story contest , for the chance of winning $250! You can also check out our list of  writing contests  or our directory of  literary magazines  for more opportunities to submit your story.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months . Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢

Oops, you need an account for that!

Log in with your social account:

Or enter your email:

notebook, coffee, fall leaves to suggest the best website for writers

BRYN DONOVAN

Tell your stories, love your life.

  • Writing Inspiration
  • Semi-Charmed Life
  • Reading & Research
  • Works In Progress.

How to Write a Press Release For a Book (One Example!)

I put together a press release for my upcoming book launch,  and I thought that my fellow authors who follow the blog might like to see how I did it—just as one example! Be sure to pin it to Pinterest if you think you might want it for future reference! Why did I send out a book press release as

WIP Wednesday Next Month!

Hi all! I’m so sorry not to do WIP Wednesday this month! For the handful of new subscribers, “Work in Progress Wednesday” is when I share a snippet of the writing I’m working on, and I invite you to do the same in the comments. It’s usually on the first Wednesday of every month!  And I’m doing a lot on

7 Examples of Real Regency Era Letters

I dug up some actual historical love letters from the Regency era because I was doing research for my forthcoming novel Her Time Traveling Duke. It’s going to be the sequel to my book Her Knight at the Museum !  I wanted to get a sense for how my hero would phrase things romantically in a couple of instances. I

It’s Time for WIP Wednesday! Let’s Share Some Writing!

Hey writers! Let’s share what we’re working on! I’m still working on my sequel to Her Knight at the Museum, and I’m really enjoying it! I’ll share another one from this WIP next month, but that’ll be it. I’m writing it on contract and I don’t want to share spoilers…plus, it may change quite a bit in edits.  I’d love

25 Cute Fall Writing Prompts!

  A couple of you requested fall writing prompts… and now that it’s autumn and I’m back to regular blogging, I’m happy to oblige!  These fall writing prompts are for a few different genres, including young adult, cozy fantasy, and romance. These are appropriate for teachers to use in classrooms, too. Some of them are specific to autumn, and some

It’s WIP Wednesday! Let’s See What You’re Writing!

It’s time to share our works in progress! I’ve barely blogged in the past month, because I’ve been working on my sequel, but I’m getting back into it this month and in the fall. And of course, I didn’t want to miss WIP Wednesday! I always decorate my house with sunflowers in August, so I did that with this post,

Pet Peeve List – 75 Examples!

  This pet peeve list is to help writers with character development. Every good character needs a quirk or two, and a pet peeve can be a great (and sometimes funny) one! We can learn a lot about a character from what gets on their nerves. Pet Peeve Definition A “peeve” is an annoyance or aggravation. A “pet peeve” means

  • Next →

IMAGES

  1. Personal Poem Assignments by Wade Pratt

    poem assignment ideas

  2. English worksheets: Poetry Assignment

    poem assignment ideas

  3. Acrostic Poem Writing Assignment by ProjectBasedSixth

    poem assignment ideas

  4. I Am Poem

    poem assignment ideas

  5. 7 Poetry Activities Students Love

    poem assignment ideas

  6. Who Am I? Poem assignment by Curt's Journey

    poem assignment ideas

VIDEO

  1. How to write a poetry essay: the basics for Key Stage 3 students

  2. How To Analyse A Poem

  3. 5 EZ Steps to Write a GOOD POEM (Full Poetry Process Example)

  4. How to Read and Write a Poem

  5. Poetry for Beginners: Parts of a Poem

  6. Poetry for Beginners: Elements of Poetry

COMMENTS

  1. 130+ Poetry Writing Prompts

    Whether you’re a seasoned expert or a beginner starting out, here are over 130 poetry writing prompts to help you. This collection of poetry prompts covers everything from weather, life and even some random funny …

  2. 20 Easy Poetry Writing Prompts and Exercises

    Even if you write poetry all the time, one of these idea starters might spark your muse or take your writing in a fresh direction. And if you’re a teacher—whether you teach creative writing, English, or grade school—you …

  3. 15 Fun Poetry Activities for High School

    Try these fun poetry activities for high school students and engage even the most reluctant learners in creative thinking and poetry writing!

  4. 100 Poetry Prompts

    Whether you’re writing poetry to improve your skills, as a form of self-expression, or just because you find it enjoyable, here are one hundred poetry prompts to inspire you: 100 Poetry Prompts. Write a poem about …