by Teddy L. Friedline
Here at The Fourth River, as you may expect of a journal partially of nature writing, we get a lot of birds. Bird poems, bird stories, bird essays – you name it, we get it. Our 20th anniversary digital issue, FOR THE BIRDS, comes from a kind of in-joke among the editors. We get it: they captivate like nothing else. We aren’t complaining. In fact, we’re enablers!
Here are 7 bird-related writing prompts to inspire your next feather-filled masterpiece:
1. Write about an unexpected bird as an omen – what is heralded by a parakeet or an emu, rather than a raven?
2. Write a piece with a bird as the main character
3. Use a random bird generator and write from the fifth bird you’re given
4. Write a sound-based piece mimicking a specific bird’s call
5. Go out in the world and try to identify some of the birds you see or hear. Write from one of the birds you discover
6. Describe a particular bird without explicitly stating that it’s a bird
7. Write about a bird somewhere it shouldn’t be. We hope to see your winged things in our inbox – our submission period is open until January 15th!
Teddy L. Friedline (he/they) is a queer poet based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in Vagabond City, Hood of Bone Review, Fauxmoir, and elsewhere.