Ursa Literary Magazine Prompts

Poetry

  • Brainstorm a list of every word you can think of that relates to ‘stars’ (for example, supernova, galaxy, light, meteor, constellation, etc.) Write a poem in which you use several of these words in an extended metaphor.
  • Learn about the story behind a constellation. Write an ode to that constellation.
  • Write about you talking to a star
  • Write a poem (or a story) about all the stars disappearing from the sky
  • Write a poem comparing stars to freckles on somebody’s skin
  • Similarly, brainstorm as many comparisons to stars as you can make (freckles, holes, etc.)
  • Write a poem about a memory that you associate with stars/the night sky
  • Write a sonnet about stars: feel free to break the traditional rules of rhyme and meter, but keep the general shape and purpose. A sonnet’s purpose is to build an argument in three 4 line stanzas then answer it/prove its point in the last two lines (no breaks for stanzas.)

 

Creative Nonfiction

  • Write about a time you looked up at the stars with someone (your family, a friend, etc.) What did you talk about? What didn’t you say?
  • Write about how other things you’ve seen look like stars (like Christmas lights, snow falling at night, lit-up windows in a city, flowers, etc.)
  • Write about when the light profoundly outshined the darkness
  • Write a story that parallels the life cycle of a star

 

Fiction

  • Write a story from the perspective of a star going through its life cycle: protostar to star to supergiant to supernova, etc.
  • Write a story where someone’s fate was written in the stars
  • Write a story inspired by the mythology of a constellation
  • Write about when the heavens betrayed man
  • Write about an oblivion of stars
  • “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” Isaiah 5:20-21