#WaterPoemProject: Day 13, Joy McCullough

It’s Day 13 of our #WaterPoemProject — 30 days of water-themed poetry prompts from your favorite children’s authors.If you’re looking for National Poetry Month writing prompts, we’ve got you covered. Start with Day 1 and you’ll have poetry prompts from now through the end of April.New to this project? Please read the Introduction and FAQ. Or you can watch this video of me describing how to participate. It’s on the YouTube channel Authors Everywhere.Sharing our writing prompt for Day 13 is middle grade author and YA verse novelist Joy McCullough. (Side story -- Joy was my PitchWars coach when I was revising The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. We have been friends ever since!)Joy's poetry prompt is: What Are Water Bears?

Do you know what a water bear is? Maybe you picture something like this:But did you know this microscopic water creature is called a water bear? (It’s more officially called a tardigrade.)Sometimes the same word can have very different meanings. Your task is to write a poem using a word with very different meanings, but to include both of the word’s meanings in your poem. So you might write a poem about water bears, and include both polar bears and tardigrades. What makes them different? Do they have anything in common?Here are some more words with different meanings. You can use one of them, or think up one of your own!cooldoveyardtearbarknailboltseasondraftharborracket

***Okay, poets! Draft a poem using a word that has two very different meanings by the end of the day tomorrow, Saturday, April 4, 2020.If you’re doing the #WaterPoemProject with a group, be sure to share or post your rough draft, read other people’s poems, and cheer for their efforts. Or leave your poem here, in the comments.Joy McCullough is the author of books for kids and teens. Her YA novel-in-verse, Blood Water Paint, won the Washington State Book Award and was long-listed for the National Book Award. Her middle grade novel A Field Guide to Getting Lost comes out on April 14th! Visit Joy's website.***#WaterPoemProject Series Posts:Project IntroductionFAQPrompt 1: Irene Latham, The Language of WaterPrompt 2: Elizabeth Steinglass, What Would a Raindrop Say?Prompt 3: Linda Mitchell, Found HaikuPrompt 4: Shari Green, Fogbow FibonacciPrompt 5: Margaret Simon, The Taste of WaterPrompt 6: Heather Meloche, The Shape of a WavePrompt 7: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, A Water MemoryPrompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day OppositesPrompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly SolagePrompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery HomePrompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen FogPrompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a LimerickPrompt 13: Joy McCullough, What Are Water Bears?Prompt 14: Linda Baie, Frozen Water SkinnyPrompt 15: Chris Baron, The Hidden World of WaterPrompt 16: Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Water WordplayPrompt 17: Susan Tan, The Sound of WaterPrompt 18: Mike Grosso, Waterplay!Prompt 19: R. L. Toalson, Wishing WellPrompt 20: Margarita Engle, Ode to the ShorePrompt 21: Faye McCray, Poem in a BubblePrompt 22: Meg Eden, Surprising ConnectionsPlease support the #WaterPoemProject authors by buying their books from your favorite independent bookstore.