Do you have any words you’ve used so often in your writing that they are now forbidden?

A few of the stereotypical “poetry words” include: dark, darkness, moon, love, dawn, dusk, and words that mean various shades of red.

My own forbidden words include: light, sky and, yes, dark.

I’m curious why I want to write about light and the sky so often. At times, I allow those words to creep into drafts and edit them out.

Writing Prompt: If you’re here looking for a creative writing prompt, try this exercise. Write down 6 of your forbidden words. Write down 6 words you’ve never used in a poem before and that don’t often come up in your daily reading or conversation. Write a poem with the 6 “new” words and see where it takes you.

What are your forbidden words? Please share them with us in the comments below.