The Wordsmith's Forge

 ... really matters, because it determines what people can buy.  If there's only one megastore, or just a few, they have tremendous control over what can be read or even written.  That's a serious problem.

Until people walk away.  They're forgetting the bitter lesson of the music industry.  Once an audience scatters, you'll never get them all back.  They'll find other ways to spend their time and money.  And if people go to a store, whether online or on a sidewalk, and are told -- say, two or three times -- "No, you can't buy that here, we won't carry anything from that supplier/won't stock that kind of content," eventually they're going to say screw it.  If they REALLY want the content, they'll pirate it, where it's easy to get what you want; or they'll decide that they'd rather have some other thing entirely that is not such a wretched hassle to obtain.  That is not good for readers, writers, publishers, or booksellers.

 You can grow a lot of food on 1/8 acre.

rix_scaedu took one of my recent prompts and tied it into The Elf series, as an indication of what the antagonists are up to.  "The First Mission" is exciting, and creepy when the goal is revealed.

Plunge magazine will be a webzine focused on queer women across the genres. JOB CREATOR! Here is the Kickstarter update:
59 BACKERS, $1,612 PLEDGED OF $2,000 GOAL with 3 DAYS TO GO

So we need to raise $388 to finish funding this project. If it makes the goal, I get hired as the line editor. I also really want to see a new market for queer literature featuring strong female characters.

New: The submission form is now live on Submittable. ailelie wants to see how it works in preparation for the main thrust in July.

Finally catching up to this last detail.

The bonus fishbowl theme was The Steamsmith.  I've updated that entry on the Serial Poetry page.  A total of 14 people sent prompts.  There were 30 comments, including mine.  I worked from about 1:45 PM to 9 PM ... when the power blew out in half the house.  That's about 5 hours and 45 minutes, accounting for breaks in work and reality.  Due to the deleterious effects of alchemy in proximity to delicate hardware, I won't be doing another Steamsmith fishbowl but will  continue writing and accepting occasional prompts for this series.

I had finished three poems on Tuesday and was working on a fourth when my computer went down.  I finished that and wrote another since.  I have kept the remaining prompts and will probably write more poems from this session.  Three were long poems and the other two were epics, all free verse. 

Yes, this is low production for me, even on a half-day.  I've discovered that it takes about twice as long to write a Steamsmith poem as a regular poem, so after discussion with my donors, I raised the price.  (If I build up enough resources to knock down the writing/research time, I'll lower the price.)  You might also enjoy reading my post about additional Steamsmith characters. I am continuing to work on background materials for this series, which will eventually become available to series sponsors. Recently I acquired The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes, which is proving to be quite useful. So, progress.

Please welcome new prompters fabricdragon and paka.  You have them to thank for the second freebie.  Donations also went well.  Yay for Maryam helping to fund repairs to the electrical system!


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the February 21, 2012 fishbowl have been posted:
"Blowing Smoke"
"The Automaton Convocation"
"Songs from a Different Shore" (see also the editing discussion)
"Spots"

See the cute sketch of Farasat jumping on Maryam, an illustration of "Spots" by meeksp.  Comment or donate there to encourage more refinement of this picture.


Buy Some Poetry
There is only one unsold poem in Steamsmith at this time, "Tunnel Vision."  It features Maryam and Old Henry, two historic figures (Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington), and a couple of pesky young noblemen all debating the merits of railroads, tunnels, and other technological marvels.
181 lines, Buy It Now =  $181


The mid-month donors include: marina_bonomi and janetmiles.  Thank you all for your support and patience.

For complete details on this project, see the Poetry Fishbowl Landing Page.

I found this fascinating article about the physics of lava lamps.  I love those things.  My favorites are the original lava style (red wax in yellow fluid) and the spacey version (white wax in turquoise fluid).

Celebrating the clitoris.  It's the only organ that exists exclusively for pleasure.  Isn't that awesome?  Worship it with art.