If you are in need of a creative blogging idea, then try a poememe. A Poememe is the internet version of the game telephone. The name is a portmanteau of the words poetry and meme. It was inspired by a scene from the movie The Princess Bride. The objective is to write the first few lines of a poem and then send it out to be completed by your friends on the internet. Of all the blogging ideas out there, this one is the most fun.
There are two types of poememes; complete and perpetual. A complete poememe is where you send the poem to another blogger (or group of bloggers) to finish. You then post the results so all of the participants can see each others' creativity.
For example in the movie, The Princess Bride, Inigo and Fezik are on the ship preparing to set sail. Vizinni, their captain, has finished yelling at Fezik. To soothe Fezik and take his mind off the tongue lashing, Inigo starts a poememe for Fezik to finish.
Inigo: That Vizinni, he can... fuss.
Fezik: I think he like to scream at us.
Inigo: Probably he mean no harm.
Fezik: He's really, very short on charm.
Inigo: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizinni: Enough of that!
Inigo: Fezik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezik: If there are, we'll all be dead.
Vizinni: Stop that rhyme, now, I mean it.
Fezik: Anybody want a peanut?
In this poememe Inigo sends one line to Fezik who completes the rhyme. Even though they continue back and forth, the complete poememe ends when Fezik responds and begins again when Inigo says another line.
A perpetual poememe is more like the game telephone. You send out the first few lines of a poem to another blogger who adds a line and sends it to another blogger to add a line and so on and so forth. This blogging idea can reach far and wide throughout the internet. You will be surprised at the interesting twists and turns the poem will take with each person putting their spin on it.
For example, you start the poememe:
There once was a priest from Nantucket.
You send it to Mary who adds:
He walked by a petunia and plucked it.
Mary sends it to Tom who adds:
Inside was a bee,
Tom sends it to Roger who adds:
That stung him on the knee
And so on and so forth.
Both types of poememes can be used for any size group. Keep in mind, though, the larger the group the more difficult this creative blogging idea can be to manage.
Here are a few tips for starting and managing a poememe:
Pick a Theme
Just like poems, poememes can traverse the range of human emotions and poetry formats; from funny limericks to a thoughtful Haiku. In the poememe instructions, write the theme you are going for (funny, romantic, holiday) and the format (rhyming, limerick, Haiku).
Pick a Length
Decide how long you want the poememe to be and how many lines you want the blogger to contribute. For example, if you want a four line rhyming poem about shoes, you could start it off by writing two lines and then have the receiver finish the last two lines. You don't want to overburden the blogger. So it is best to keep these types of Poememes short and sweet.
It is also recommended that you set a limit on the perpetual poememe otherwise it could populate out of control and you could easily end up with 300 (or more!) lines. Write something to the effect of 'When this poememe reaches 10 lines, send it back to the originator' and then include your email or blog address for the last contributor to send back to you.
Tracking Contributions
Perhaps the funnest part of this creative blogging idea is knowing who said what. Instruct participants to link their lines to their blog address so that readers can click the line and visit them. If you are looking to generate links to your blog, this is an excellent way to do it.
Send It Out
When you are ready to send out the poememe, pick blog friends who are most likely to participate in this blogging idea. Tag them and have fun.
Bringing It Home
When the poememe is complete, devote a blog post to showcasing it.
There are a million ways you can have fun with poememes. You can pick a circle of friends and make it a weekly blog thing, rotating responsibilities every week or you can just create a random poememe, send it into the wild to see how it fares. Either way this is a fun blogging idea that any blogger of any age and writing ability can participate in. Have fun!
Daria Black is a fiction writer, blogger, and avid coffee drinker. Visit her website Daria Black - Words By Daria located at http://dariablack.wordpress.com/ to read fiction stories, talk philosophy, or just laugh at life.
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