What Can I Write When I’m bored?

October 18, 2026 ~ Brooke F. ~ 1 Comment

What should you write when you’re not sure what to do? You don’t want to work on any of your big projects but you don’t want to not write. So, where to start? You’re bored and want to hone your craft but the next step isn’t entirely clear and, maybe if you’re honest with yourself, you’re feeling a little creatively lazy. You don’t feel like writing a gazillion words tonight (yes, that is definitely a real number).

Well, I get it, dear writer! And, I promise, I’m not judging you. I have found myself in a similar position more often than I’d like to admit. So, I’ve collected a few tips and lists to get your creative juices flowing. I implore you, read on!

1. Little writing side quests

For when you want to write something just for the fun of it, without worrying about whether it’s good.

Write a letter to your future self about the very specific details of your current life.
Describe your ideal cottage, including what’s in the cupboards, what grows outside, and who visits.
Write a page from the journal of a village witch who has had a very inconvenient Tuesday.
Invent a holiday that your fictional kingdom celebrates. What are its traditions?
Write a list of things you would collect if you were a goblin.
Describe your dream life as though it were a location in a fantasy novel.
Write a dramatic review of the last ordinary thing that mildly inconvenienced you.
Invent a little shop that sells things nobody actually needs but everyone secretly wants.
Write a conversation between two people who have completely different ideas of what makes a good life.
Document an ordinary day as if you were the protagonist of a fantasy novel.

2. Short stories you can write in one sitting

You don’t need to start a novel. Give yourself a character, a problem, and a little room to play.

The Unclaimed Letter: A postal worker discovers a letter that has been arriving at the same abandoned house every year for fifty years.
The Witch’s Day Off: A village witch tries to spend one peaceful day doing absolutely no magic. Unfortunately, the village has other plans.
The Last Bookshop: A woman discovers that the bookshop she inherited only stocks books that its customers need, rather than books they want.
The Dragon’s Hoard: A dragon has collected thousands of objects, but its favorite treasure is a completely ordinary item that nobody else understands.
The Borrowed Memory: A young woman buys a beautiful old locket and begins remembering someone else’s happiest moments.
The Village Matchmaker: A matchmaker in a small fantasy village is excellent at finding everyone else’s soulmate and completely hopeless at recognizing her own feelings.
The Ghost’s Complaint: A ghost submits a formal complaint to the afterlife because the new owners of its house have renovated the kitchen.
The Girl Who Stayed: In a world where everyone receives a magical calling at eighteen, one girl receives nothing. Years later, she discovers why.

3. Poetry prompts for when you don’t feel like writing prose

Try writing just 8–16 lines. No need to produce a polished poem.

Write about repairing something that you thought was beyond saving.
Describe the feeling of autumn without mentioning a single color or weather condition.
Write a love poem about an ordinary task or item.
Write about a childhood memory as if it were a place you could physically revisit.
Describe faith as a tiny light that someone keeps tending.
Write an ode to something mundane: your favorite mug, a grocery store, a blanket, or the first sip of coffee.
Write about the strange grief of outgrowing a version of yourself that you once loved.
Write a poem in which each stanza begins with “I used to think…”
Write about a home you haven’t found yet.
Write a poem that reads like a prayer or song.

4. The 10-minute writing game

Just set a timer and go! Whatever comes to mind! Write it down. It could read like a story or a journal entry but don’t stop!

5. Get a Random Image or Song and Run with it!

Go to pinterest and the FIRST image you get that isn’t text based is what you need to write a story on! Alternatively, put your playlist on shuffle and write inspired by the first song that comes up!

Hopefully that’s all enough to get you started for now! Let me know what you make below in the comments or feel free to leave your tips for what you write when you’re bored if you’re willing to share! 😉

Preview of my Next Book

June 16, 2025August 10, 2025 ~ Brooke F. ~ 4 Comments

I don’t talk about my faith a ton on the blog. Not that I am ashamed of it but it’s something I usually I don’t delve too deep into as most people are probably here for writing tips and random writing experiments. BUT when I write poetry, it tends to spill out in all its honest glory. My next poetry book is all about love lost and God. The heartbreak stuff, the deep stuff, the wrestling-through-questions kind of stuff. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve been with my writing in a while, admittedly.

I wanted to give you a little sneak peek. If this sounds like your cup of tea at all, feel free to keep reading. If not, see ya in the next post, I’ll not hold it against you 😉

This poem came from one of those thoughts that just wrecks you in the best way: Do you think Jesus, when He prayed in the garden, thought about Adam and Eve? About walking with them in the cool of the day? And did He already know that His sacrifice would reach all the way back to redeem even them?

I had never considered that before and when I did, the parallel seemed interesting. So, naturally, I wrote a poem about it.

Here it is: The Tale of Two Gardens

The Tale of Two Gardens

Do you think, when Christ knelt in the garden all alone,

That He thought of the first breath, or the first bone?

Of footsteps that walked on soil in the cool of the day

Two souls unashamed, then two led astray.

Did He think of the fruit, the reaching of hands,

Yearning beyond what he commands.

Of fig leaves stitched with a shiver of dread,

Of paradise lost, and the very first tears ever shed?

Did he think of their conversations with his first own,

As He whispered His prayer in that garden of stone?

Did He see not just thorns but a tree once denied,

Where mercy was given, but they were not yet justified.

He sweat drops of blood where they once walked free,

But even then, grace reached backward, far beyond what we see.

Redemption is deeper than we understand.

It touches the first folly of humans, the Savior’s extended hand.

And Father, perhaps, when night turned to day,

And the stone rolled back from where Love chose to stay,

The echo of Eden rang sweet through the skies,

For even the first ones were brought back to life.

Big Life Update!!!!!!!

April 28, 2025 ~ Brooke F. ~ 7 Comments

I wrote a poetry book!!

Aaaand I’m officially in the thick of the ongoing battle that is trying to get it published through KDP. If you’ve never wrestled with Kindle’s formatting system, let me just say: it’s an extreme sport. This time around, my main enemy has been margin sizing. (Margins! The most boring yet somehow most powerful force known to man.) A few of my poems that originally played around with white space had to be rearranged, which was honestly heartbreaking. There’s nothing like fighting for your artistic vision against a stubborn little “your margins are off” warning box.

But!! After many rounds of staring at my laptop, dramatically sighing, and reworking layouts, I finally got my proof copy in the mail today!
For those who don’t know, a proof copy is basically the version you get to lovingly (or not-so-lovingly) scribble edits all over before you fix everything and upload your final manuscript. I immediately busted out my pen and started making notes because, of course, the second you see your book in print, all your little mistakes jump out like “SURPRISE! You missed me!”

The book ended up being about 100 pages of narrative poetry, telling the story of a girl who lives in a cottage and her various adventures and conversations with the Carpenter (a stand-in for Christ). It’s cozy and intimate and feels like sitting on a creaky wooden porch, sharing life with someone who knows you inside and out.
There are poems about baking bread, going on little walks, asking hard questions, sitting quietly, making things by hand…all the small, sacred moments that make up a life of faith.

I’m honestly so excited (and so nervous) to share it when it’s ready. It’s one thing to write poems privately; it’s a whole other thing to send them out into the world and hope they land softly somewhere.
Either way, just holding a physical copy of something I made…even a messy, needs-edits version…feels surreal and really, really special.

Thanks for cheering me on through all the margins, the formatting fails, and the many, many sighs. I can’t wait to show you more soon! 💛

Minimalist Poetry: Lazy, Uninspired, or Genius?

November 27, 2024 ~ Brooke F. ~ Leave a comment

Minimalist poetry is a curious art form. On one hand, its simplicity can be breathtaking, distilling complex emotions into a few perfectly chosen words. On the other, it can sometimes feel like it crosses the line from evocative to, well, lazy. The debate on whether minimalist poetry is inspired or just minimal effort has only grown with the rise of social media.

One of the most famous examples of minimalist storytelling is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, though its authorship is debated:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Six words. That’s it. And yet those six words pack an emotional punch that lingers far longer than some novels. The story leaves gaps, but in a deliberate way. We, as readers, fill those gaps, and in doing so, we become co-creators of the story’s meaning. The economy of language isn’t a flaw here; it’s the whole point.

This, in my opinion, is minimalist poetry at its best. It’s clever, intentional, and layered. The writer has done their job by crafting a framework that invites you into its world, offering just enough to ignite your imagination.

But then there’s the other side of minimalist poetry, the kind that’s been popularized by Instagram and TikTok poets. These poems, while often beautifully packaged in neat fonts and pretty backdrops, sometimes feel hollow. They can be so sparse that they rely almost entirely on the reader to find meaning where there may not have been much intention.

I’ll admit, I’ve spent far too long scrolling through Instagram poets’ pages, trying to glean the mass appeal of their work, but more often than not, I just don’t get the hype. Atticus, one of the most well-known Instagram poets, is a prime example. His work is often beautifully presented—each poem feels like it’s been carefully curated for aesthetic appeal. But when I read the actual words, I sometimes find myself wondering: Is this it?

Take this Atticus poem, for instance:

“She conquered her demons
and wore her scars
like wings.”

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad poem. It’s empowering, and I’m sure it resonates deeply with many people. But does it feel crafted? To me, it’s a nice sentiment wrapped in poetic phrasing, but it lacks the depth and precision that truly memorable poetry offers. It’s easy to read, easy to share, and looks great on a Pinterest board—but does it challenge or linger in the reader’s mind?

Or take a hypothetical minimalist poem like:

“The sky is blue.
I feel, too.”

Is it poetry? Sure. Is it meaningful? It could be, depending on how the reader interprets it. But at some point, I think the burden of creating meaning needs to be shared more evenly between the poet and the reader.

So, is that a problem?

I think it depends on how much work you believe the reader should put into the process of poetry. In some ways, all poetry is a collaboration between the writer and the reader. Even a densely worded, highly descriptive poem leaves room for interpretation—it’s part of what makes poetry so powerful. But minimalist poetry amplifies that collaborative element, sometimes to the point where the writer’s role feels diminished.

At its best, minimalist poetry uses its sparseness to make every word essential. The space between the words isn’t empty; it’s charged with meaning. At its worst, it can feel like the poet handed you a blank page and said, “Figure it out.”

Social media has undoubtedly democratized poetry, which is a beautiful thing. But it has also encouraged a kind of fast-food poetry, where pieces are churned out quickly for likes and shares. Some of these poems are deeply moving, proving that a few well-placed words can touch hearts around the globe. Others feel more like placeholders, banking on the reader’s goodwill to imbue them with meaning.

Ultimately, whether minimalist poetry is lazy or inspired comes down to intention and execution. If the poet has truly worked to make each word count, the results can be stunning. If they’ve used minimalism as a shortcut, it shows.

For readers and writers alike, the challenge is to discern the difference. Everyone’s answers are going to be different of course. That is the fun (and sometimes irritation) when it comes to art.

Welp, I think that’s all my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for listening and feel free to continue the dialogue in the comments. Do you enjoy minimalist poetry? Are you perhaps more brilliant than me and understand the hype? Or do you have similar concerns with lazy, (and often) formulaic art appearing more and more mainstream? Am I actually just a pompous jerk who is overly critical (also perhaps).

Nature, Childhood, and Brood

February 11, 2024 ~ Brooke F. ~ Leave a comment

Childhood. It is something that is near all our hearts. I am sure many of us can recall summers spent outdoors. Bare are feet skimming the soft grass. The scent of freshly cut grass. The distant hum of cicadas. Fireflies blinking and winking at us from the dark. Fresh air that zips past us as we run and play and enjoy nature and childhood freedom.

Nature and childhood is often something that is connected in our minds, whether we realize it or not. It is this connection that Kimiko Hahn taps into in her chapbook titled “Brood”. She explores this connection through a series of poems giving us a full sense of her childhood and nostalgia.

Hahn is a seasoned poet who is the author of a whopping 10 poetry books. This includes but it not limited to Foreign Bodies (W. W. Norton, 2020), Brain Fever (Norton, 2014), Toxic Flora (Norton, 2010), The Unbearable Heart (Kaya, 1996) which was the winner of the American Book Award, and Earshot (Hanging Loose Press, 1992), winner of the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize and an Association of Asian American Studies Literature Award. Science and nature are common themes in her work and this chapbook is no exception when it comes to this.

Hahn grew up in New York and Tokyo. It makes one wonder if these urban backdrops caused her mind to wonder to what little nature there was in her childhood. Her chapbook “Brood” even opens with a little snapshot of a Damselfly caught in a web.

“When you spot a damselfly

Caught in a spider’s thread

Blow gently…”

Early on, Hahn draws our attention to the delicate and intricacies of nature. But, these pictures are also contrasted with humanity and the modern. One such poem titled “Folding Fan Advertising Kikkoman Soy Sauce” exemplifies this while also introducing us to a memory and a person who has passed.

“My kindergarten handprint in clay! Pearls! But you never belonged to me. I’m not sure I care, odd ephemera in the debris of my father’s home.”

She does the same in the following poem titled “Noise”.

“The neighbors teething baby wails, a grating cranks shut, a woman calls out, a man shouts back, the sanitation truck pulls to the curb with engine, men, and suction…”

Overall, this contrast between nature and the modern creates a well-rounded experience as Hahn delves into feelings of loss, nostalgia, and family. Hahn masterfully weaves these thoughts and ideas together to give us a colorful picture of childhood and her specific upraising. It is just a small peak as the works are often brief, but they are rich with vivid imagery and beautiful scenes that pull us in from the first sentence.

Pssst! Hey! Thanks for reading! This post is a bit different from my usual blog posts but I read this chapbook and did a review on it for school so I wanted to share. I not only got to pick the book but I found it was fun to share my thoughts. If you’re into poetry, definitely check out Kimiko’s work!