The Wordsmith's Forge

Why Things Change

2008-05-18T05:07:29Z

Here is a fascinating discussion laying out 10 forces that drive change.

Science fiction writers may have fun picking one or more of these and using them as a basis for story development. For maximum fun, map out a set of 10 alien races or political bodies and assign each one a different change-driver. Then bang them briskly together and listen happily to the screams.

Yes, I'm mean. I make my characters learn foreign languages and deal with xenotropic ideas. If they can't take the heat, they can find some writer who will only put them in front of cannons or women scorned.

In media res: for your "Like This" collection

2008-05-17T14:28:11Z

ozarque has posted a brilliant set of story openings, all with the same beginning phrase, about finding an alien stuck in a storm drain. They are quite different from each other, in terms of the story they set up and the characters they introduce. If you're looking for examples of idea brainstorming, instant characterization, or in media res ("in the middle of things") openings, here's something to tack on your wall and label "Like This."

Poetry Fishbowl Report for May 15, 2008

2008-05-16T20:13:50Z

Yesterday's Poetry Fishbowl went very well! Thank you all for joining the fun.

I wrote 16 poems. Of those, I posted "Air Beyond Breath" as the freebie; arielstarshadow sponsored "Long Live the Queen"; and janetmiles sponsored "Growing Panes." There were a total of 36 comments on the main post, plus a few elsewhere -- not much feedback on posted poems this time. At least 11 people posted prompts while the fishbowl was open.

Donors and sponsors this time were haikujaguar, janetmiles, and arielstarshadow. I'll try to get the perk post up later today. (We're going to see Prince Caspian this afternoon, and I've got a ton of backlogged work, but I'll do my best.) So far I've made $35 from this fishbowl, and it looks like more will be forthcoming. Your generosity and enthusiasm are deeply appreciated!

I had some fun mixing and matching prompts this time, although some of the poems were inspired by single prompts. I got to try a couple of forms that I rarely use, the abecedarian and terzanelle forms. Most of the poems were medium length, with a couple of short ones and a few long ones. There was a trend towards cautionary and creepy poems, but I also got a few with notable humor. On the whole, I'm pleased.

Now if I can just find time to make a few more magazine submissions...

California Upholds Right to Same-Sex Marriage

2008-05-16T18:29:20Z

According to this article, California overturned two state laws denying marriages to same-sex couples, on the grounds that it constitutes sexual discrimination. Kudos to California for calling a spade a spade. The next hurdle will be to prevent people from changing the state's constitution to allow that kind of sexual discrimination.

Poem: "Growing Panes"

2008-05-16T16:24:47Z

This poem is brought to you by janetmiles. Many science fiction writers have explored the motif of sentient crystals; here's my take on an old and honored concept.

Growing Panes
– a terzanelle

We’re growing, but we’re growing awful slow.
This truth above all else is crystal clear.
We hardly even know what we don’t know.

We cannot let ourselves be formed in fear.
That fire burns more than it births. Believe:
This truth above all else is crystal clear.

We must grow out, not in, and learn to leave
The world that formed us. Give no heed to hate.
That fire burns more than it births. Believe

In life on other worlds. It’s not too late.
How can we plan to kill what we’ve not met?
The world that formed us gives no heed to hate.

Believe we have not doomed ourselves. Not yet.
We must take time to think before we act.
How can we plan to kill what we’ve not met?

This is unacceptable. That’s a fact.
We’re growing, but we’re growing awful. Slow!
We must take time to think before we act.
We hardly even know what we don’t know.

Poem: "Long Live the Queen"

2008-05-16T01:21:23Z

This steampunk poem is brought to you by arielstarshadow. It's about history and religion and unintended consequences, and science helps save the day.

Long Live the Queen

We thought it was the thing to do.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
“God save the Queen!” we chanted, and
“Long live the Queen!”
God, we were fools.

At first, the signs were subtle.
Her Majesty moved with a light quick step and
Her face remained as fresh as a girl’s.
“What remarkable cosmetics,” the ladies cooed,
And sought in vain for the formula.

As the years passed, Queen Victoria’s peers
Turned wrinkled and gray, then passed away.
She remained as sprightly as ever, pinpoint arguments
Pricking away at all our proposals. Her wisdom outstripped us all.
By the time we were sure, it was far too late.

We had made the Queen immortal –
We had prayed the Queen immortal.
The scientists proved it with whirring gadgets;
The priests proved it with Bible verses;
But Time’s evidence was the most impeccable of all.

What could we do?
We couldn’t stop praying.
That would be a sin.
Don’t think for a minute we considered it.
(All right, so we considered it, but we would never do it.)

It was the Bishop of Canterbury who found the solution.
“The meek,” he said, “shall inherit the Earth.”
The rest of us set about leaving as expeditiously as possible.
Space dirigibles were built, crewed, and stocked for lengthy voyages.
As we left, we prayed.

“God save the Queen,
Meek and mild.”
“Long live the Queen,
Meek and mild.”
“The meek shall inherit the Earth.”

Poem: "Air Beyond Breath"

2008-05-15T23:47:29Z

Here is the free poem, a sijo inspired by tabard:

Air Beyond Breath

– a sijo

What is the breath of life? What is the life of breath?
Before us the Earth was barren, only air before breath.
After us, we do not know, but it may become barren again.
Life inhales. Air becomes breath. Death exhales.
We are the breath while it’s held in Earth’s lungs.
We exist only in this instant, until our spirits are released into air.

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

2008-05-15T16:42:10Z

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

Cyberfunded Creativity

I'm venturing into cyberfunded creativity. If you enjoy what I'm doing and want to see more of it, please feed the Bard. The following options are currently available:

1) Sponsor the Fishbowl -- Here is a PayPal button for donations. There is no specific requirement, but $1 is the minimum recommended size for PayPal transactions since they take a cut from every one. If you make a donation and tell me about it, I promise to use one of your prompts. Anonymous donations are perfectly welcome, just won't get that perk.

2) Buy It Now! -- Gakked from various e-auction sites, this feature allows you to sponsor a specific poem. If you don't want to wait for some editor to buy and publish my poem so you can read it, well, now you don't have to. Sponsoring a poem means that I will immediately post it here, with the name of the sponsor (or another dedicate) if you wish; plus you get a nonexclusive publication right, so you can post it on your own blog or elsewhere as long as you keep the credits intact. You'll need to tell me the title of the poem you want to sponsor. I'm basing the prices on length, and they're comparable to what I typically make selling poetry to magazines (semi-pro rates according to Duotrope's Digest).

0-10 lines: $5
11-25 lines: $10
26-40 lines: $15
41-60 lines: $20
Poems over 60 lines, or with very intricate structure, fall into custom pricing.

3) Commission a scrapbook page. I can render a chosen poem in hardcopy format, on colorful paper, using archival materials for background and any embellishments. This will be suitable for framing or for adding to a scrapbook. Details are here.

Additional Notes

1) I customarily post replies to prompt posts telling people which of their prompts I'm using, with a brief description of the resulting poem(s). If you want to know what's available, watch for those.

2) You don't have to pay me to see a poem based on a prompt that you gave me. I try to send copies of poems to people whose eddresses I already have. If you want to see the poem inspired by your prompt, give me your eddress; I recommend using {at} and {dot} to discourage spammers. These are for-your-eyes-only, though, not for sharing.

3) Sponsors of the Poetry Fishbowl in general, or of specific poems, will gain access to an extra post in appreciation of their generosity.

Feed the Fish!
Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is speculative fiction. I am especially looking for:

characters

settings

events

alien or phantasmagoric motifs

and poetic forms

But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have the first edition of Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms which covers most common and many obscure forms.

I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems here so you-all can enjoy it. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.

Narwhals in Danger

2008-05-15T05:17:50Z

This article implies that narwhals may be in especially grave danger from global warming. Narwhals are unique cetaceans, a kind of small whale with a spectacular "horn." (I call them "sea unicorns," and I've written poetry about them.) Because of their narrow habitat and food preferences, changes can hit them harder than other animals. Little is known about them because -- like terrestrial unicorns -- they are extremely rare and elusive. Keep an eye out for further news in case they need special protection.

Progress on "Pebbles from the River Lethe"

2008-05-15T04:24:18Z

I've finished the first sweep of revisions on "Pebbles from the River Lethe." We went through it in three sections. I've printed out the revised version for Doug to read. Next will be an overall sweep of the whole thing. Hopefully we've caught the major structural issues (two scenes out of sequence) and all that's left will be little changes for continuity, clarity, and correction of typos.

Our Debt to Veterans

2008-05-14T19:41:54Z

According to this article, conservative Democrats and Republicans are teaming up to block a bill that would expand educational benefits for veterans. This is shameful. It's bad enough that young adults in general are saddled with crushing debt if they want to obtain the college degree needed to have even a chance at above-menial work. But when this is done to veterans, it is an absolute disgrace.

When soldiers risk their lives to protect society -- even if society has sent them into a stupid, needless war -- they are owed the same in balance: a life. They are owed the means to obtain a living wage, they are owed education, they are owed health care and pension, and they are owed support if their service leaves them unable to care for themselves adequately. If society is not willing and able to provide these things, then it should not be luring people into the military at all. When well-to-do, powerful people reward loyalty with stinginess, they are doing far more harm to the country's social infrastructure than any enemy artillery ever could. Only a fool starves the guard dog.

The Carbon Sponge May Be Full

2008-05-14T06:18:56Z

According to this article, the Earth may be losing its ability to absorb excess carbon dioxide. Previously some of the pollution was soaked up by forests and oceans. That seems to be happening less; the carbon sinks may be saturated. And the people in power seem to be mostly folks who can't figure out why there's sugar in the bottom of the cereal bowl...

Poetry Fishbowl on Thursday May 15

2008-05-14T04:26:40Z

Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.

I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Thursday, May 15. This time the theme will be speculative fiction. I'll be soliciting ideas for characters, settings, alien or phantasmagoric motifs, events, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair. I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.

If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote speculative poetry -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!

Disturbed Cartoons

2008-05-14T03:14:30Z

My partner Doug, an animation maven, alerted me to this fascinating collection of warped cartoon clips from the 1980s. Most of the examples are, indeed, kind of creepy.

But Cheetara nude? Come on ... it's Cheetara. She is teh HAWT.

GMO law in France

2008-05-13T20:05:05Z

According to this article, France is debating a law covering the use of genetically modified organisms. It has some strong and weak points, as most compromise laws do. But at least it's a step in the right direction: allowing people the freedom to choose whether or not to use GMOs. It's moderate, and that's a vital point in an arena plagued by extremists who either want to take over the entire agriculture with GMOs despite resistance, or want to ban all GMOs whether they are useful or not.

Poem Accepted!

2008-05-13T17:18:59Z

I just got word that my poem "Dancing with Stones" has been accepted for publication in Strange Horizons. This poem came out of the January 2008 Poetry Fishbowl, from prompts by veronica_milvus and talithakalago. Thanks for your support and inspiration!

How to Herd Cats: Monofocal Organizations

2008-05-13T16:40:56Z

Sorry that I didn't get this posted yesterday -- we had a bunch of people over to the house most of the day, and I had flowers to plant. "How to Herd Cats" is beginning a little sub-series on organizational structure. The first example is monofocal structure: an organization with one leader.

What situations have you seen where one person was in charge? How well did that work?

What are some advantages and disadvantages of having a single leader?

What kind of organizations do best with just one leader? What kind would do better with a different structure?

Do you think that monofocal organization is a good idea for Pagan groups?

Grow a Victory Garden

2008-05-13T02:09:58Z

Someone else raised a question about replacing lawns with gardens, in response to my post about "Surviving the Middle Class Crash." I added...

It's actually been done before, during World War II. They were called "victory gardens" and were used to supplement the food supply:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

I grew up watching the show "Crockett's Victory Garden" on PBS. There's a related site here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/victorygarden/

And someone has cleverly made the connection between fighting a war and fighting for our planet's survival, calling for the revival of the victory garden as a means of slowing global warming:
http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/

Our local efforts are coming along nicely. I got a bunch of flowers and a few more herbs planted today. A couple of friends dropped by to give me some spare tomato plants. I'm going to try growing those, although I've had marginal luck with vegetables. (They require a lot of attention, and I can't work in summer heat.) I may try drying more herbs than I need personally, though, and adding those to my list of trade goods. I'm hoping we'll get a good crop of fruit in this year, too. Several other folks I know are planting gardens. We plan to do some food swapping and communal canning later in the year.

Surviving the Middle Class Crash

2008-05-12T23:11:02Z

This website has lots of information on modern survival skills: cheap cooking, gardening, herbalism, small livestock, community building, and more.

Query Eagles

2008-05-12T05:16:15Z

There is a new community, query_eagles, devoted to helping writers create good queries to submit to agents. Fiction only, speculative fiction inspired by not required. Open to readers and writers alike.

Carbon Threshold

2008-05-12T01:02:03Z

According to this article, the target threshold for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million -- if, the scientists explain, "humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted."

Guess what the current amount is.

385 ppm and rising fast.

Not only is the frog not jumping out of the boiling water, he's actually turning up the dial on the stove. Yee.

More information on lowering the carbon threshold is here.

The Origin of Mother's Day

2008-05-12T00:25:23Z

Before it became just another Hallmark holiday, to be celebrated like all other holidays with cards and gifts and fripperies, Mother's Day was ...

... a war protest. It was about women saying, "No, you cannot take this young man I spent 18 years teaching how to be a decent human being, and turn him into a monster, and then get him killed in your STUPID WAR." It was about the shameful waste of human potential that every war entails.

You can read the original proclamation here. It begins:

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

10 Things in My Yard

2008-05-11T05:04:59Z

My first thought was "only 10" ...? Because my yard is 2 acres of generously landscaped habitat, designed for human/wildlife use, currently imitating a jungle because the lawn mower has been in the shop for over two weeks. Off the top of my head, my yard contains or has been crossed by:

10 Birds
Great-horned owl
Barn owl
Red-tailed hawk
Cardinal
House Sparrow
Red-winged blackbird
Mourning dove
Dark-eyed junco
Goldfinch
Downy woodpecker

10 Animals
Cottontail rabbit
Grey squirrel
White-tailed deer
Opossum
Skunk
Raccoon
Deer mouse
Monarch butterfly
Garter snake
Wolf spider

10 Plants
Red clover
White clover
Crabapple
Redbud
Oak
Foxtail grass
Echinacea purpurea
Lamb's quarters
Burdock
Blackberry

There are probably dozens of grass species alone. Central Illinois used to be mixed tallgrass prairie and eastern woodlands. Just walking through the yard I can see many different shapes and colors of grass ... at eye level, sometimes. This year we've got a new one. There are a few blades of volunteer ornamental grass sprouting beside the road, very pretty cream-striped ribbon grass.

Aside from planting things for food and shelter, I also provide bird seed and suet in winter. In summer I put out water gardens, which I just filled a few days ago. Those will have plants and goldfish added shortly. I keep hoping that someday a heron will stop by for a snack. So far, it's just cats and raccoons that I know have raided the water gardens ... hence the feeder goldfish.

So, what's in your yard?

Protecting Reporters' Sources

2008-05-11T02:25:52Z

I was very pleasantly surprised by this article, which covers a move to protect reporters' sources and their right to confidentiality. This is supported by classic conservatives -- yay, they aren't extinct in politics after all! They are also dead right about the importance of protecting the public's right to know.

Sustainable Food in Schools

2008-05-10T05:52:12Z

According to this article, some colleges are adapting their food service to provide food that is organic, locally grown, and otherwise more sustainable than previous mass-produced options. I have also heard of some lower schools raising some of their own food and using that for educational purposes.