July
July is intensity - desire, anger, passion, urgency, and emotional combustion.
These poems are raw, visceral, and unfiltered.
Craft Focus:
Sensory detail and emotional extremes
Urgency and movement
Desire, rage, and vulnerability
Your chapbook will explore intense emotional states, from love to anger to obsession. By the end of July, your poems will reflect the raw, fiery energy of passion and emotional extremity.
Here are sample prompts. The full 20-prompt list is included when you join the challenge:
Write about a desire that consumes you.
Explore anger that lingers beneath the surface.
Start with: “it was too much…” and capture emotional overwhelm.
Sample Writing Prompts
Why This Month Matters Now
July holds intensity - desire, anger, obsession, passion. These are the emotions we’re often taught to soften or silence.
But intensity cools quickly. If you don’t write it now, it turns into something safer and less honest. This month matters because it preserves emotional truth at full temperature.
Participation Options
This month, would you like to simply participate in the challenge or would you like a full publication package?
Option 1: Challenge-Only Package
Who it’s for: Poets who want guided prompts and structure, but do not plan to create a chapbook or prefer to handle publication themselves.
Includes:
20 detailed January writing prompts
Craft guidance and inspiration for your poems
Support for producing at least 20 poems
Tips for compiling and arranging your chapbook
What You’ll Do:
Write, revise, and polish your poems using the prompts. At the end of January, you’ll have 20-30 completed poems ready to share with your readers or ready to put in a complete manuscript and publish on your own.
Price: $28
Option 2: Full Publication Package
Who it’s for: Poets who want to focus solely on writing while we handle the rest.
Includes everything in the Challenge-Only Package, plus:
Professional formatting for print publication
Custom cover design aligned with January’s theme
Publishing your chapbook on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
You receive 100% of rights and royalties
Guidance on distribution and marketing
What You’ll Do:
Focus on your writing - our team takes care of turning your poems into a professional chapbook that’s ready to share with the world.
Price: $124