 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 CreativityI'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 Notes1) 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. Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fishbowl, poetry, science fiction, writing
Current Mood:  busy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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! Tags: fantasy, fishbowl, networking, poetry, science fiction, writing
Current Mood: busy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have an editor expressing interest in my story "Peacock Hour" so I've been working on revisions for that. I've been digging into the background in ways that have revealed a lot more context -- like when the story takes place on the very long timeline of the Whispering Sands, and how the main character's ancestry plays into the plot tension. I also discovered an interesting match between climate and civilization: Long ago there had been a stable period of wetter and richer weather, during which a former civilization flourished. Then there was a long span in which the weather became harsh and erratic, dryer even along the coast; and this coincided with the time when people had broken into small nomadic tribes. Next the weather began to turn milder and more moderate again, somewhat wetter especially along the coast; and this is when the story happens, about 35-45 years after the foundation of the Empire. I think this is actually the earliest-set story I've finished in the Whispering Sands. Most of the action I follow dates about a thousand years later. At this point the Imperial language -- conglomerated from several related (and some unrelated) tribal languages -- is a creole, with two generations of native speakers. People of the generation that founded the Empire, and cobbled up a pidgin to get by with, have grown old so there aren't a lot of folks in the city who are fully fluent with the old tribal languages. Their children, now adults, grew up with the pidgin and started turning it into a creole; they know parts of the old languages but not as well. The grandchildren are coming to adulthood now; the creole is their language, they understand only a little of the tribal languages, and the Empire is all they or their parents have known. Here, then, are some vocabulary words that appear in the story, with their full dictionary entries. ( Seshaa Vocabulary )Tags: fantasy, fiction, | | |
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith's journal
Previous
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}