# Poetry Maneuver Challenge Guide



## Shawn (Jan 12, 2008)

[ot]Adapted from Selorian's original thread. All street creds should go to him.[/quote]
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Poetry Maneuver Challenge Guide*

*What is it?*

Once a month, the poets of WF get together to flex their artistic muscles and push their creative boundaries. They go head to head, offering up their own take on a singular theme, twisting and bending words through their mastery of poetics. They make us laugh, cry, or simply take a moment to stop and think. It’s a chance to learn, to master, and to teach. But in the end, it comes down to whose work rises above the rest, speaks to their peers and the judges, and claims the top spot.

*A Brief History*

The LM Poetry Challenge began as a simple poetry challenge in the Poetry forum started by Baron. It’s popularity was overwhelming, and after three very successful challenges, it made the transition from its initial beginnings to a place of permanent residence on the WF.com Challenges, Contests, and Prompts forum. It’s still the same great challenge, just with a more structured and consistent means of execution and the promise of a long and exciting life.

*How It Works*
*Every four weeks, on a Monday morning, a theme is set*. The theme could be anything; there are no limits, as long as it falls within the WF.com Rules & Guidelines. The theme for each challenge is chosen by the winner of the immediately previous challenge and submitted to the Poetry Challenge (PC) Director. If for some reason, the winner is either unable or wishes not to do so, the second place winner will submit the theme. The PC Director then posts the theme in a challenge thread inside this forum in the format of _MM/DD/YEAR | Theme Title._
*To enter the challenge*, simply write your poem and post it as a reply in the challenge theme thread.  All submissions must be titled.
*Submissions are open* for two weeks/fourteen days.
*A small panel of reviewers/judges then score* the poems that have moved forward. Submissions are judged on a 25 point scale.
*What’s the Point?*

The most important reason is that it’s fun to do. But if you need more than that, let’s face it, we’re creatures of comfort and habit. The LM Poetry Challenge pushes us to explore writing about things we may have never written on our own, it challenges us to take our writing to the next level, and it gives us the chance to see how our peers approach and execute the same writing. It’s a chance to learn and to possibly pass along some of what we know. And who can forget the competition? Winning isn’t everything, but it sure does feel good to be King of the Mountain from time to time.

Poetry matters.

*Rules*
Use the 'off-topic' tags, _*[ ot]* comment *[ /ot]*_, for any posts in the challenge thread that are not submissions. (Spaces added to display code.  Remove spaces when using.)
Reviews/critiques on poems by members and participants of the challenge are not allowed in the challenge theme threads. Poems may be posted in the Poetry forum after the challenge is finished for general review/critique.
Titles in bold and text in black.
Only theme and score threads are allowed within the LM Poetry Challenge forum. Questions and discussions are welcome in The Bards’ Bistro.
Good luck and have fun!


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