Writing Contest: Poetry in Motion
This week’s contest announcement is in place of the Friday Freewrite in hopes that you will get crackin’ on your entries!
Announcing the Brave Writer August Writing Contest
Poetry in Motion
I will accept entries until August 31. Winners will be determined by September 10 and will be selected by hand-picked judges (that means I’ll run the entries by my husband and staff for their feedback). 🙂
The contest is based on Chapter 12, “Field Guide to Word Identification” in The Writer’s Jungle. You don’t have to have the book in order to participate in the contest. I mention it to help you if you do have it.
Guidelines for kids:
Write a poem with two stanzas, four lines each. Pick a theme for the poem that has to do with motion (be creative!). You’ll want to either rhyme the poem in an AABB CCDD format or in an alternating format like this ABAB CDCD.
Use a freewrite to come up with a word bank for your poem. Set the timer for ten or fifteen minutes. Make a list down the page with as many words as you can that go with your topic. You will then, after you stop, want to go back over your list and “upgrade” your choices. Use the PEN rubric to help you (if you have The WJ). If not, simply look over your words and think of ways to make them more precise, more economical, more novel.
Start crafting your poem (it’s okay if your moms help you, but don’t let them take over 🙂 ). You’ll look at your word bank for inspiration as well as a source of words for your poem. Remember to look for active verbs and vivid details.
Each line ought to have a similar number of beats. You can bang your hand on your leg as you say your poem to feel the rhythm. Have someone help you count the beats.
Here’s an example of a poem by my son Noah when he was in fourth grade:
Sliding on the rail like ice
Hearing the crowd’s roar
Landing squarely on the bolts
The fans shout for more.Board flipping wildly
Flying through the air
Feet reaching desperately
Over rail and stair.
Submission Details for Moms:
Send your child’s poem to: [email protected]
Include name, age, email address and a bit of detail about the writing experience (techniques used, methods for breaking through writer’s block, how many drafts, how you thought up unusual words, what you did to help you create the experience in the poem, etc.)
Prizes will be awarded in the following age brackets:
8 – 9
10-11
12-14
15-18
Each winner will receive a gift card to Barnes and Noble for $15.00. There will be one Sweepstakes winner which is outside of age categories. We will evaluate both the poem and the details about the writing process you used to write the poem for the Sweepstakes winner. Sweepstakes will receive a Barnes and Noble gift card for $25.00.
So get writing! (And tell a friend…)
(Winning poems will be published here on this blog. Other entries may be used in future Brave Writer publications or classes.)
