Today's writing prompt challenges you to write about your city, no matter how big or small. Use this prompt to explore the particular flavor of a real city or a fictional city if you prefer.

Years ago I had the opportunity to inteview poet Paul Willis when he was the poet laureate of Santa Barbara, the city where I grew up. One line especially struck me as an opportunity for a writing prompt.

“I guess when you're a poet laureate you're a poet for a particular group of people,” said Paul Willis. “It makes you think of the whole community, and how poetry can be part of their lives.”

What if you wrote for your city? To your city? How would that change your voice?

Poets were once the servants of kings and princes. They wrote the histories of the people, speeches for the great events, and sometimes, when the occasion called for it, a good ol' fashioned drinking song.

In a way, their words were food for the community.

I once wrote a prose poem to a group of friends. Sitting around a table full of Italian food, I read it to them. Never has anyone listened so intently to anything I've written. Since they knew it was for them, for them alone, they engaged with it more deeply than if it were written to some abstract audience.

What if you made yourself the unofficial poet laureate for your city? What would you write?

You could write about love, betrayal, joy, fear, peace, anger.

Maybe explore fond memories, favorite spots, or historical monuments.

But most of all, your words would be a gift for the community, food for their lives. “Life isn't a support system for art,” said Stephen King. “It's the other way around.”

What if your writing could support the life of your community?

PRACTICE

Write something for your city. What will you say?

How will you support the life of your community?

Write for fifteen minutes. When you're finished, we'd love to read what you've written in the Pro Practice Workshop.

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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