Poetry Fishbowl Open!: ysabetwordsmith

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your enthusiasm!

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! This is the perk for the fishbowl meeting the $250 goal three times. Today's theme is "Monster House."  (This is suburban fantasy set in contemporary America. You can read previous poems in the series via the Serial Poetry page.) 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.

The last linkback poem is still unfinished, so I'm reactivating it for this session. Click to read "Alone in the Bee-Loud Glade" (Hart's Farm, 15 verses). This poem is now complete, yay!

What Is a Poetry Fishbowl?

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.

In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is "Monster House." I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.

Cyberfunded Creativity

I'm practicing 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. You can also donate via check or money order sent by postal mail. 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. General donations will be tallied, and at the end of the fishbowl I’ll post a list of eligible poems based on the total funding; then the audience can vote on which they want to see posted.

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 on my blog for everyone to see, 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. Commission details are here. See latest photos of sample scrapbooked poems: "Sample Scrapbooked Poems 1-24-11"

4) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your LiveJournal, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social network.  Useful Twitter hashtags include #poetryfishbowl and #promptcall. Encourage people to come here and participate in the fishbowl. If you have room for it, including your own prompt will give your readers an idea of what the prompts should look like; ideally, update later to include the thumbnail of the poem I write, and a link to the poem if it gets published. If there is at least one new prompter or donor, I will post an extra freebie poem.

Linkback perk: I have a spare series poem available, and each linkback will reveal a verse of the poem.  One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Dreamwidth or Twitter, rather than all on LiveJournal.   "Alone in the Bee-Loud Glade" belongs to Hart's Farm and has 15 verses.

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 "thumbnails."

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, mostly using the LJ message function. (Anonymous prompters will miss this perk unless you give me your eddress.) 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.  While you're on the Donors list, you can view all of the custom-locked posts in that category. Click the "donors" tag to read the archive of those. I've also posted a list of other donor perks there. I customarily leave donor names on the list for two months, so you'll get to see the perk-post from this month and next.

4) After the Poetry Fishbowl concludes, I will post a list of unsold poems and their prices, to make it easier for folks to see what they might want to sponsor.

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 "Monster House."  I'll be soliciting ideas for human housemates, monster housemates, other folks who interact with them, household items, personal artifacts, family accomplishments or conflicts, milestones of life, complications due to having monsters in the family, locations you'd like to revisit, places associated with monsters, locations associated with suburban life, and poetic forms in particular. 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. (Remember, you get an extra freebie poem if someone new posts a prompt or makes a donation. Linkbacks reveal verses of "Alone in the Bee-Loud Glade.") The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.

rix_scaedu

September 18 2012, 18:03:43 UTC 8 years ago

New comment

The son and his black haired school friend.

A stormy night.

Falling asleep on the couch.

I have signal boosted here http://rix-scaedu.livejournal.com/104690.html and propagated to Twitter.

Thank you!

ysabetwordsmith

September 18 2012, 18:54:14 UTC 8 years ago

I have posted your 2 linkback verses.

Poem

8 years ago

e_scapism101

September 18 2012, 18:39:40 UTC 8 years ago

That cousin who always seems more like an extra sibling.

Turning 13.

Sleepover!

Monster Sleepover!

The family member you didn't get along with as a child, but now appreciate as an adult.

When radiator dragons whelp.

Putting an addition on the house...and who moves in.

What's the gardening shed like at Monster House?

Lawn gnomes.

September 18 2012, 21:41:19 UTC 8 years ago

From the prompt about a new resident, I got the free-verse poem "Dissonance and Concordance." When the school's music program closes, the music teacher gets invited over for supper, and things just develop naturally from there.

82 lines, Buy It Now = $41

September 18 2012, 18:50:54 UTC 8 years ago

This is from a Dreamwidth prompt by jb_slasher:

The poltergeist prompt led to the free-verse poem "Unspoken Noise," about the less famous form of this phenomenon, an upset teenager. What is true will find a way out.

87 lines, Buy It Now = $43.50

janetmiles

September 18 2012, 19:00:13 UTC 8 years ago

I wouldn't mind a follow-up to "Sticky Fingers" http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/1502508.html -- for example, what did the burglar's cohorts in crime have to say about his experience? Or whatever appeals to you, of course!

Ooh. Or more about the bookstore in "We Got It Covered" -- http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/2168395.html

Or maybe something from the POV of one of the monsters we've seen but not heard from?

Or future, one of the kids bringing home the first grandchild.

Or future (less happy), everyone dealing with a death in the family (not necessarily one of the humans).

Or what happens if one of the monsters meets someone and wants to start a family of zir own, or go take up residence in the other's home?

September 18 2012, 22:57:51 UTC 8 years ago

The prompt about the bookstore inspired the free-verse poem "Literally and Figuratively," in which the daughter of Monster House goes to work at We've Got It Covered.

36 lines, Buy It Now = $15

Re: Poem

Also, links

September 18 2012, 19:14:48 UTC 8 years ago

http://janetmiles.livejournal.com/718819.html

http://www.facebook.com/janet.miles.359/posts/111785118973970

https://fetlife.com/users/167313/statuses/6633120

Re: Also, links

September 18 2012, 19:21:55 UTC 8 years ago

I've posted your three verses!

September 18 2012, 19:49:15 UTC 8 years ago

my_partner_doug left a prompt which has inspired the first free poem, "Education Is a Matter of Perspective."

ellenmillion

September 18 2012, 19:51:13 UTC 8 years ago

An honest contractor (perhaps contrasted with one who is not...>.>)

The smallest residents of the Monster House. (Dust mote ghosts?)

A pest.

September 19 2012, 00:44:12 UTC 8 years ago

Smalls for the small! "Pest Control" is a cinquain about dustmice.

5 lines, Buy It Now = $5

siege

September 18 2012, 19:58:55 UTC 8 years ago

Regular maintenance for the house (seasonal, yearly, and so on)

A holiday scene

Cooking at home: Who likes to bake? Who likes to make meals? Does anyone have a special item they make?

What does an "evening out" look like?

September 19 2012, 01:06:50 UTC 8 years ago

From the prompt about cooking, I got the poem "Homemade," about making a meal together. It's unrhymed and unmetered but has a pattern of descending verse size.

21 lines, Buy It Now = $10

kelkyag

September 18 2012, 20:40:12 UTC 8 years ago

The bogeyman!

What did the lurking shadow do before the current residents moved in to the creaky old victorian?

Sibling rivalry.

Gardening. Things that live outside rather than inside the house, but still like to be nearby.

Cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, fenugreek.

Naomi and other "extended family". Introducing different genres of not-so-ordinary beings to each other.

The supernatural things you don't want following you home, and dealing with them when they try. What do you do when someone or something like the boy with the dark cloud hanging over him decides to pay attention to you?

Deadlines

"Stillpoint of the Spinning Wheel"

September 18 2012, 22:14:15 UTC 8 years ago

From the prompt about the dark cloud, I got the free-verse poem "Whatever We Feed." The son of the house encounters a niggling suspicion, and his sister is followed home by the boy with the cloud. The lurking shadow knows how to deal with these things.

55 lines, Buy It Now = $20

siliconshaman

September 18 2012, 20:48:08 UTC 8 years ago Edited: September 18 2012, 20:50:39 UTC

The monsters in Monster House are, well domesticated... but what would happen when one of the Old Monsters turns up? The sort of Monster that people don't tell stories about for fear they'd hear them, one of the terrifyingly dark and primal forces that were ancient when mankind was still cowering in caves.

In contrast, what sort of monster needs protecting from people?

September 19 2012, 02:01:40 UTC 8 years ago

From the prompt about old monsters, I got the free-verse poem "It Comes First and Follows After." The power goes out on the longest night of the year, and something comes hunting. This poem has a cold, ominous mood.

38 lines, Buy It Now = $15

the_vulture

September 19 2012, 01:00:48 UTC 8 years ago

Given what tomorrow is... PIRATES!!! (Or, at least a pirate's salty brogue.) (P-{D=

September 19 2012, 01:27:41 UTC 8 years ago

A cringing poem is shoved onto the gangplank at sabre point.

Stand and deliver ransom of $15 or I will feed "Talk Like ..." to the sharks. And then you'll miss the very creative interpretation of "pirates" taking place on the shadow-galleon in the living room. ARRRR!

September 19 2012, 01:03:59 UTC 8 years ago

I also offer this visual prompt:

zianuray

September 19 2012, 01:44:33 UTC 8 years ago Edited: September 19 2012, 01:56:30 UTC

Grandma's workshop -- do the monsters ever help her with the heavy lifting or such?

One of the monsters shows an aptitude for first aid.

Another is an artist, some of zir work gets in a garage sale "by accident" and zie is "discovered"

Linked on FB http://www.facebook.com/zia.nuray
and my LJ http://zianuray.livejournal.com/525266.html

September 19 2012, 02:09:36 UTC 8 years ago

I have posted your 2 verses in the linkback poem. There's just one left now!

Deleted comment

September 19 2012, 05:41:03 UTC 8 years ago

Nightmares really suck. *hugs*

"Learning at the Wheel" takes place after the daughter of the house has been studying for a while at her grandmother's school in addition to regular school, about how to keep the worlds safely on course. So when a bunch of ghosts show up homeless and desperate, she isn't content to leave them standing in the street. This poem is written in free verse.

63 lines, Buy It Now = $31.50

September 19 2012, 06:24:32 UTC 8 years ago

Based on a college prompt from DW user avia, "Personal Histories" is a conversation between the two owners of Monster House shortly after they move in, regarding how long they've known their special housemates.

25 lines, Buy It Now = $15

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