Quick Writing Prompt: What's Your Elevator Pitch?

In the big bad world of having a real adult job, the phrase "elevator pitch" pops up a lot. What's an elevator pitch, you may ask? It's a quick little speech that highlights the most important parts of whatever you're selling or promoting in a buzzworthy and interesting way. What does an elevator pitch have to do with poetry? I'm glad you asked.

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One of my biggest hurdles as a writer is that I consistently find myself addressing this mysterious "you," writing each poem as a conversation to some silent but vivacious other. In those situations, I tend to cast myself as the onlooker, the lesser. Which is fine, for some poems. But damnit, sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and say, "You know what? I'm pretty great."

So, today we're going to talk about you. Well, in your case, you're going to talk about yourself. Which brings us to today's quick and easy poetry prompt.

Step One: Write an 'elevator pitch' about yourself, keeping these questions in mind:

-What do you have to offer the world?
-How do you envision yourself?
-What is your deepest ambition?
-Why should you be taken seriously?

It doesn't have to be a work of poetry quite yet, but just get the creative juices flowing.

Step Two: Circle the 'sparkly spots.' You know how much we love those sparkly spots.

Step Three: Let the editing begin!

Now, don't get your panties in a bunch if you didn't have fun writing about yourself. Trust me, it's not fun for me either. But one of the most important parts of being a poet is challenging yourself, so at the very least, today's writing exercise may have (hopefully) helped you break your writing routine. Which is good. We promise. Until next time!