Writing Prompts and Exercises

The exclusive writing exercises below have been written by Poetry In Voice anthology poets and members of our Poet Network. Many of their own poems have been written from similar exercises.

Some of the exercises are simple and others invite you to think through multiple steps — don’t worry about writing a perfect poem, just focus on enjoying the experiment. If you’re like most poets, you’ll write some stuff that you’ll want to tear into thousands of pieces and bury deep in the ground. But if you stick with the process, you’ll also write some poems that will genuinely surprise you.

Be sure to submit your creation to our poetry journal, VOICES/VOIX. And check out our featured monthly prompt for a chance to win $100 in our Poetry Prompt Prize. 

 

Featured Writing Prompt

Make a song list

cassette tapes

We used to make mixed tapes, or receive them, and they usually had to do with close friendship… more

language is locked away inside a tin can

Write into the tin can

I think that the best incentives for poems are internal and already in you, with you, waiting, nudging. Scars, worries, doubts, embarrassments,…
text reads rewind and a person holds up an undeveloped film strip

Tell it in Reverse

Many poems tell a personal story. Think of one of your own that you’d like to tell. Does it have a crucial moment that you want to build up to? For…
a Ouija board and some tarot cards

Be Casually Supernatural

Sometimes a poem uses the supernatural for a twist. Maybe it is an interesting, non-human narrator, or a memorable image of bigfoot. For this…
an excavation site uncovering a teddy bear, trophy, journal and more

Go On an Archaeological Excavation

Excavating is the process of digging something out, of exposing or revealing. Just as archaeologists excavate remains to learn about the past, we can…
a collage of different celebrities and cartoon characters

Write about your least favourite character

Write a poem about your least favourite character from your most favourite piece of media - TV show, movie, comic, novel, children's story, video…
a collage of shadows and eyes

Write the unseen

The unseen is a site of mystery, fear, magic. Under the ground or the water. In the dark, or shrouded in mist. There is, too, the way the prefix “un…
answering machine in space

Answering Machine

This prompt is inspired by writers Natalie Goldberg and Nancy Pagh. An "answering machine" is a recording device that stores messages after a missed…
seedlings

Plant a Seed

“The new metaphor is a miracle, like the creation of life.” – Donald Hall Get your hands on a packet of seeds from a friend or hardware store, plant…
a collage of a house and crumpled paper

Find Poetry Flying or Furled under the Snow

On a piece of paper, write a line from a poem that you love. Explore the poems at Poetry in Voice if you need to find one. Repeat this two more times…
letters

Write a poem about your name

Do you like your name? Do you ever wonder about the meaning of your name? Are there interesting stories behind your name? Have you ever asked your…
Picture of decoy ducks

Write a Distractor

Put the test back in its place by writing your own poem to fit the question. Write a distractor poem. In test-maker lingo, the (plausible)…
Picture of a bear, a key, a cup, and a house in a collage style

Write a Mini Autobiography

Part One: Do not look at Part Two until you have completed Part One In this exercise you will describe seven things — using whatever form you like-…
A red maple leaf superimposed over an urban landscape

Find a bit of wild

Find a bit of wild, green space in your town or city. Set aside some time to hike some new trails—next to water or woods, or even just in a larger…
a collage with a radio and a ghost

Dialogue With a Ghost

Find an audio recording of a dead poet or musician. Play the recording. Start writing words and lines of your own that jump in your head. Write a 10-…
time capsule

Create a Time Capsule

Time capsules are a way to communicate with future generations and to express what it feels like to be alive at a particular time, in a particular…
Picture of upside down houses and a lemur hanging upside down

Write Upside Down & Backwards

Changing our habits as writers can really transform our writing. One way to change is to try writing a poem and then rewriting it from the end! (It’s…
picture of different musical instruments blended together

Let the music take you

Listen to a piece of instrumental music—any kind, any style. The important thing is that it has no words, and that it’s something you haven’t heard…
Picture of seashells and soundwaves

Let the waves speak

If you are fortunate enough to live near a shore where waves arrive, go and listen to them. If not, please find their auditory likeness on the…
Picture of taxes, saltines, files, and a boiled egg.

Be Boring

One of the challenges of the blank page is the pressure to be beautiful or startling or profound or a number of other lofty and tiresome adjectives.…
an eagle and a golden dragon

Re-write a fable or myth

Myths, fables, legends, and tall tales—these stories fill our lives, serving as cultural touchstones, entertaining us, and allowing us to reflect on…
large question marks and dominos over a board with math

Answer Poem

Choose a “why” question you heard someone say recently (little children are great for this - why is the wind so strong?) or google “list of why…
Two women dancing in parellel

Compose a poem in parallel

Find a particular poem that is truly inspiring. Then challenge yourself by rewriting the work with the intention to emulate it; for instance, you…
a busy city collage

Discover the world around you

On an outing or a walk around the neighbourhood, observe the people, places, and things surrounding you. Find unique signs, items of clothing that…
books and quotation marks

Take an Amazon expedition

On Amazon.ca, select the search category “books” and enter a search word that interests you. Choose your cultural background, favourite hobby, or a…
many old fashioned women listening at a door and a woman on the phone

Eavesdrop

Listen in to someone else’s conversation. It’s best if you don’t know them. Write down a few things that they’ve said and then imagine the life…
skeleton keys and a lock

Give your poem a secret...

...and then give us one hint: too perfect rhymes; markedly jagged lines; a strange, deliberate change in tense; a notable, symbolic object; a…
twitter bird and Instagram logo

Use social media to write poetry

The barrage of words that come at us on social media runs 24-7, so why not use Twitter and Instagram for poetic inspiration? Start on Twitter and…
Picture of dictionaries from different languages stacked together

Play with code-switching

Did you know that Canada has over 213 “non-official” languages spoken — including over 60 Indigenous languages? Did you know that multilingual people…
a window with birds, space, and a measuring tape

Look out the window

Sit yourself beside a window, real or imagined. Look out the window and stay focussed on what it is you see, as though you were meditating on the…
an ice cream over lego

Constrain yourself to one part of speech

Get a page of text in front of you. Anything. Online or print. Make sure you have a timekeeping device. In seven minutes, focus on nouns in your text…
a hand reaching into a fish bowl and some toy horses on blocks

Morph the nouns

Make a long list of nouns (names of things) by looking around you or using your imagination. If you’re using pen and paper, cut the list with…
a cat in a cat house inside another house

Dream awake

Start by thinking of a place that you grew up in and jotting down some details that you remember about it: what sounds do you recall (the clattering…
A domestic scene wherein the oven becomes a part of outerspace

Make the ordinary strange

The riddle is a poetic game of metaphor. Riddle poems explore the strangeness of ordinary objects and help you to see the world in a new way. Riddles…
knots and a magnet

Start a lifelong friendship

Get a piece of paper and answer these questions in writing: How do you identify — in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual…
cassette tapes

Make a song list

We used to make mixed tapes, or receive them, and they usually had to do with close friendship and love. Make a new kind of list: a Spotify list or…
a man sitting in a busy traffic area

Go outside yourself

If you find yourself in emotional distress or with thoughts weighing on you, prepare to leave the house for a few hours. Bring water, snacks, a…
some photos and a cell phone on selfie mode

Write a micro selfie poem

Instead of sharing selfies on social media, why not break the mold a little and share a selfie of your inner world? Poems are, in fact, an ancient…
a negative emoji in a garbage can with a daisy and a heart

Share what's important & unimportant

Write a poem using text, pictograms, or made-up words (don't concern yourself with spelling or grammar) that expresses something that's important or…
an assortment of random images in a collage

Peel the onion

Some of our most defining experiences growing up involve the presence of food - around the warmth or tension of the dinner table, at celebrations or…
people jumping from a tower with random numbers

Do the impossible

What do you imagine is impossible? Take a moment and make a list of all the impossible things you’d like to do or see happen, both every day,…
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