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Tips From The Bar
 
 
Almost every week, I give a prompt for poets.
Many of the  2011/2012 blog post titles are from the brain of Simone Beaubien.
Photo by Marshall Goff.

You Know I'd Set This Song On Fire

2/28/2018

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A Botnik Keyboard is a predictive text generator where you feed a specific block of text into the program, and when you type a word, it makes suggestions, based on that block of text, for which word should come next.

I've been using Botnik keyboards based on sections of And Keep That Going: 25 Years Of Poetry Slam At The Cantab Lounge to create new poems, and it's been fun and eye-opening.

For your prompt, create your own Botnik keyboard(s) and use it to create new poems.

(The title for this prompt comes from a Nickelback Botnik keyboard that someone spent too much time creating.)
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The Freddy Kreuger Is The New Director Of Human Resources Prompt

2/21/2018

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Work related nightmares are The Worst. Particularly if you're involved in the service industry in some way. All those tables waiting on food. Or the cash register at the store isn't working. Or a family member is yelling at you for letting a relative die. There are so any awful work dreams.

Write yourself an ending to a work nightmare where you either conquer it, or it conquers you.
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Holy Thrift Store!

2/14/2018

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"What was the fight about?" My Worst Ex Ever asks me.

"Which one?" I ask.


He rolls his eyes. "The one you were just talking about?"


"It's not important."


"So. Me, then. It was about me."

"No." I say, which is mostly true.

"
Was it about the subtle communist undertones of Fraggle Rock and how it's affected Generation X?" he asks.

"No." I say. "It was stupid."

"Politics?" he asks.

"No." I say. "Fine. I called him by your name."


"So," he says, "you do still have feelings for me?"

"Feelings for you?" He's right, but they're not the feelings he thinks they are.


"And you think about me during sexy times."

"No." I say, glaring at him. "You know I don't take attendance during sex. I called him by your name when we were arguing about something that was only slightly less stupid than arguing about the fact that when I'm frustrated about something stupid, I think of you. Because you're incredibly annoying."

"And you still liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike me."

I roll my eyes. "Your name is a curse word to me."

"And curse words are named after the things we most enjoy doing. Nobody says 'Holy Appendectomy' or shouts 'Taxes!' when they drop something on their toes. No, they yell the things that release tension and bring them fleeting moments of serenity."

"If only my moments with you were more fleeting." I said.

He's right about the curse words, though. What's something in your life that brings you joy but you are also kind of ashamed of? Make it your obscenity of choice, and build a poem around it.
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John Cusack, Get Off My Lawn!

2/7/2018

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Picture
During a discussion Cassandra deAlba raised about the worst cliches that show up during Valentine's Day open mics, someone mentioned the 80s and 90s and 00s trope of creepy men not taking the hint that people aren't interested in them, making sweeping dramatic gestures that are fucken gross. Both Simone Beaubien and Adam Stone immediately chastised John Cusack. Simone threatened to write a piece about Cusack's behavior, while Stone said he would right about how uncomfortable the situation was, from the perspective of the boom box that Cusack holds above his head in the creepiest scene.

Take an important scene from a movie, TV show, or book and tell the story from a perspective we've never considered before. The ball gag in Pulp Fiction, Azrael the cat from "The Smurfs",  the polar bear from "Lost". Teach us some things.

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    Links
    Write Or Die

    Scott Woods's Twitter Prompts

    ​Rachel Mckibbens' Prompt Blog

    The 30/30 Prompt Blog

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All work on the Crooked Treehouse is ©Adam Stone, except where indicated, and may not be reproduced without his permission. If you enjoy it, please consider giving to my Patreon account.
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