Previously in this series, Be Inspired, Part One

“April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.”

from “The Waste Land,” by T. S. Eliot

Whether in beautiful, contemporary English or in that jumble of symbols that claims to be textspeak, poets all around the world are gearing up for our version of National Novel Writing Month. During NaPoWriMo (interNational Poetry Writing Month) poets and poetasters worldwide stir their dull brains and attempt to write a poem every day in April, a total of 30 poems in the 30 days. Not an impossible task, but at times mentally exhausting, rage-inducing, tedious, and the surest cause of writers’ block this side of the North Pole. It’s also fantastically inspiring. After all, if you can write a poem a day for thirty days, you no longer have to fear writers’ block or make excuses for why you can’t write. If you have the discipline and inspiration to write every day for thirty days, you can easily continue that habit after NaPo, even if you don’t produce a poem a day. You also end up with thirty poems to cut, polish, and beat into shape as you see fit.

NaPoWriMo has one more advantage: The Excuse. Is today’s poem horrible? Of course! You were busy, so you wrote it in half an hour on your bus ride home! In the forty seconds until midnight! While on the phone with your grandmother in Omaha! You hired your cat to write it for you, so of course the iambic pentameter isn’t perfect! Cats are all about rhythm, everyone knows that.

Have I mentioned that maintaining a sense of humor is essential to NaPoWriMo?

Of course, no excuses are necessary, because everyone participating is going through the same thing. The Excuse (‘My poem isn’t great because I have no time and no inspiration’ ) is built into the mission. No one is expecting anyone to write masterpieces, or even polished poems; people write a lot of mediocre poetry during NaPo, and that’s normal.

Since you will have The Excuse available for all of April, use it. Have you always wanted to write a pantoum but been afraid it will be horrible? Have you been putting off learning meter? Do you want to try to write in the voices of woodland creatures? Do it, and do it all. Since everyone knows time and inspiration are scarce during NaPo, this is the one time of year you can get away with posting your unpolished experiments scotch-free.

Now, I’m not advocating writing drivel; you should always aim to write well. The point is that NaPoWriMo should encourage you to put aside your fears of failing and writing badly, to step out of your comfort zone, and to try something new, and if it's not great, no one's expecting it to be. Maybe you’ll work on your iambs every day for a week, or the whole month. Maybe you’ll venture into topics that you’ve been hesitant about. Maybe you’ll switch subjects every day, or imitate thirty different famous poets throughout April, or write love poems without pretty images. Maybe you write prose, or don't write at all, and want to try this poetry thing while you have an excuse for the quality. Whatever you’ve been dying to try, try it in April.

Last week, the focus was on things that might inspire you, like words, phrases, images, and ideas. This week, grab your ideas file and jot down some challenges for yourself, things that will push you from your comfort zone.

Here are some of mine:

To write four poems in non-haiku forms, preferably ones I haven’t used before (pantoum, sestina, ghazal, terza rima, etc.).

To write four poems in regular meter, preferably ones I haven’t used before.

To write a poem that celebrates life, a darker poem, an intimate love poem, and a poem about something that scares me.

To experiment with voice and tones.

To learn at least three new literary terms and attempt to use the devices in three poems.

To write four genuinely emotive poems.

My personal superbonus challenge is not to write directly about anything that’s happened to me (unless/until I’m desperate for subjects). If I write about my life, the narrator must not be a part of the poem (third-person, no main character), it must be hypothetical (and so not my actual life), or it must be veiled in allegory, conceit, etc.


As Ms. Frizzle used to say, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.” With April showers come April mud, so get your rain boots out and go set your goals for NaPo. You just might find yourself blooming in May.

Yes, that was cheesy. Try to write better than that in April.

Who's in? Anyone care to share their goals in the comments?