Mystery Prompt Grab-Bag 01 (No Pre-Writes)

So, this works almost exactly like my Prompt Grab Bag contest. Except that, instead of having a bunch of prompts listed openly, I have a numbered list saved on my hard drive. There are images, lyrics, concepts/phrases, single words, titles, songs from my WinAmp playlist ... all kinds of prompts. (If you get a song prompt and can't find it or don't want to download it, you can look up the lyrics and use those, or just go by the title, unless your prompt specifically instructs otherwise.)

If you're in the mood for a random prompt, We're Here For You(tm)!

So, here's how it works. Pick a number between 1 and 36 that hasn't already been reserved (I'll keep a list in the contest description, but check the list of entries just in case I haven't had a chance to update the contest description when you look.) The title of your reserve should include the number you're reserving. In the body of your entry (where the poem will eventually go) write the kind of poetry you prefer to write and your preferred type of prompt.

I will take this information into account -- but be prepared to be challenged with something you're less used to! On the other hand, if you specialize in something that I'm particularly fond of or in the mood for, you might get your specialty on a silvered plate.

Once you've made your reserve, I'll comment on your entry with three (3) possible prompts for you to use. You may use one, two, or all of them. However, if you want to enter more than once, you must use a different prompt than your first entry. This limits each person to a total of three entries.

Also, I might not limit myself to the standard type of prompt. I might say something like, "Write a haiku chain about your most spiritual or intense experience with Nature." Or, "Write a rictameter inspired by this image." Or, "Free-write while listening to Megadeth." Or, "What is the difference between 'nothing' and the Zen concept of 'no-thing'? Answer in your poem. Use this word bank in your answer." Or you might just get a link to a photograph, a title, or a single word. It all depends. This is why I'm giving you multiple prompts to work with.

Due to the nature of the contest, pre-writes are not allowed. If you happen to have a pre-write that *exactly* fits a prompt I give you, send me a message with a link to the poem and I'll consider it, but as I type this I don't feel very inclined to make exceptions, so... fair warning, I guess. It can't hurt to ask, tho'.

EDIT: Since the list of taken numbers has gotten so long I decided it would be a good idea to keep a list of available numbers as well, higher up, to make it easier on new entrants.

Available Numbers


1
10
14
18
20
22
24
25
26
27
30
32
33
34

To be clear, the rules are:

1.) Make a single reserve entry with the title being a number between 1 and 36 which has not already been claimed. Once you have gotten your prompts, make a separate entry for each prompt you intend to use in a separate poem beyond the first. If you're only going to do one entry, you don't need to do this, of course.

2.) I will comment to your entry with three separate prompts. You may use one, two, or all three in a single entry. However, if you want to enter more than once, you must use a different prompt for each entry. Therefore, if you want to enter three times, you must use only one prompt per entry. If you only want to enter once, you can go ahead and use all three if you want.

2a.) You are not obligated to use all of your prompts. Please use only those which honestly/intensely (ideally) inspire you. If you know for certain you won't be using one or more of your prompts, please reply to my comment and let me know which, so I can re-use them for others who may like them. I intend to use prompts people know they won't be using as "second chance" prompt sets for people who just couldn't get anything from the first set. So please let me know if you'll be using all yours or not when you know! Thank you.

2b .) If you enter more than once, please send me a message and let me know which entries are yours, so I don't accidentally give more than one trophy to the same person. They've gotten smarter with the anonymization; putting it in AN doesn't work anymore.

2c.) If none of your prompts inspire you whatsoever, you can get a set of three more, but that's it. You are still limited to three entries total, but, if the old prompts happen to be more inspiring in context with one or more of the new prompts, feel free to use them. In any event, please note which prompts you used in your AN.

3.) Please, no pedestrian, purple, cliche or otherwise unaesthetic language. Do not molest your shift key or your Thesaurus (though if you have a comprehensive vocabulary and an unusual or obscure word feels natural and correct in context, use it! I'm a shameless logophile -- see "Feed the Verbivore" contest.)

4.) Do not break AP rules. If you choose to write about illegal activities, please keep firmly in mind the difference between portrayal and promotion. Do not advocate breaking the law, just illustrate the fact of law-breaking itself.

5.) I will do my best to comment on everyone's entries, and to leave concrit to those who want it. I'm on AllPoetry because I want to improve as an artist, and I like to do my best to try to help people the same way I want to be helped. But I also know that I can be blunt-spoken, and that some people don't really want intensive concrit, or any at all. So, in your AN, please note what kind of comment you want. If I have something to say, I will say it, but I'll do my best to honor your preferences.
5a.) That said, please keep in mind that when I say concrit, I mean concrit. I do not do the brutal sort of /criticism/ that some judges do. If I come across as blunt, it's because I'm in a very logical frame of mind and have forgotten to consider emotions in writing my comment -- nothing less and nothing more. So unless I outright say, "I hate your poem, and will now proceed to tear it to pieces and pee on the smouldering ruins," I do not hate your poem and I am not trying to tear it or you up.
6.) I reserve the right to DQ any entry:

-- if it violates any rule and the contestant fails to correct the problem after being warned;
-- if it has no connection whatsoever to any of the prompts provided to the contestant and the contestant cannot or will not provide an explanation of how the prompt(s) lead to the entry;
-- if the entry fails to meet certain standards of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and the contestant refuses to correct the problem after being warned.

6a.) I reserve the right to cancel the contest:

-- if I get fewer than 10 entries;
-- if I get too many obviously half-assed entries (put your all into it!);
-- if a bunch of people ignore the rules all over the place and suck all the fun out of running the contest (just ... don't, please.)

6b.) I reserve the right to edit the contest rules at any time. If I change the rules, I will send a message to all entrants to alert them that a change has been made. If you then fail to act on that information, and your entry violates the new rule, I will comment once to let you know. If the problem isn't corrected by the judging, you will be DQed. (Or, at least, you won't win.)

Points will go up and Honorable Mentions will be added based on the number and quality of entries. I may also send bonus points to people whose work stands out in some way or another even if they're not the overall best in the contest.

That caps all the essential information right now. Go reserve!

Taken Numbers:

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
15
16
17
19
21
23
28
29
31
35
36

---

The following is not a rule, just information for those who care. I prefer free verse, haiku/senryu/tanka and chains of such, rictameters, pantoum, unusual rhyming schemes (such as one that goes abccba per stanza, or abacbdcda) and related or similar forms. I particularly enjoy seeing people's original forms.

Thematically, I'm drawn to Nature, philosophy, dragons and dinosaurs, serial killers/gore and violence (especially hungry ghosts and the like -- mega bonus points to anyone who writes about the Wendigo in response to an appropriate prompt!) Animist/totemist/animalistic spirituality, drug use (as opposed to drug *abuse*; don't enter those), entheogenic experiences, science (especially psychology and quantum physics) and pure emotional abstraction.

Stylistically... In the end, a style that fits the theme of the poem is best, but I'm always strongly drawn to interesting portmanteaux, idiosyncratic turns of phrase, vivid imagery, powerful metaphor, creative use of personification... In short, use your artist's toolbox well. Express yourself, not what you think I or anyone else wants to hear. Avoid the conventional, the usual; express your own unique perspective via your execution.

This isn't to say that you must enter poems on those topics, or that you can't enter anything that isn't like that. I'm just letting you know where my personal interests lie so you know what kind of stuff is more likely to catch my eye. I try to be as objective as possible in judging these things, but let's be honest -- these contests are pretty subjective no matter what you do. So I figure the best way to compensate for my own biases is to let you all know what they are. That way you know and can make your own decisions accordingly.

Please don't take this as encouragement to "twist" your prompts in a certain direction. Let them take you wherever they naturally want to go. Part of the reason that I'm *not* specifying a theme for this contest is that I want to break out of my usual reading ruts and discover some interesting new things. So go for it!