Poetry Fishbowl Open!: ysabetwordsmith

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

The Poetry Fishbowl is now closed for prompts. (Other poem thumbnails may appear later.) Thank you for your enthusiasm.

Starting now, the bonus Poetry Fishbowl is open! This is the perk for recent fishbowls meeting the $250 goal. Today's theme is "P.I.E." 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.

You may also want to browse recent discussions about disability in F&SF and the vocabulary of disability on my blogs.

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 "P.I.E." 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.

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 "P.I.E." I'll be soliciting ideas for Brenda, Darrel, Nate, Rick, their friends and family, private investigators, people with disabilities, creatures of urban fantasy, adaptive equipment, interesting weapons, tools of the trade, clothes that are designed to look good while seated, adventures on wheels, bizarre things that happen in cities, urban legends, offices and office buildings, wheelchair-friendly places, mobility-challenging places, romantic spots, life on wheels, things able-bodied people rarely notice, saving the day, annoying things that unwelcome suitors do, side scenes from previous events, 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 Lewis Turco's The New 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.) The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.

janetmiles

September 16 2014, 19:33:24 UTC 6 years ago

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Every building I've ever worked in has leaked water -- roofs, around windows, from a/c units, etc. What sorts of odd things might leak through with the water?

Have Brenda and Darrel had another dinner with her parents?

How is Zephyr doing these days?

"Higgledy piggledy, Brenda the P.I.E. ..."

Do Brenda and Darrel ever go dancing?

Poem

ysabetwordsmith

September 17 2014, 00:57:32 UTC 6 years ago

Zephyr and the leaks inspired "The Tears of the Sky," today's freebie.

Theme idea?

ng_moonmoth

September 16 2014, 19:35:19 UTC 6 years ago

I went through the existing work to get into the setting. Thinking about things that might be interesting for a Wheelchair Action Hera and her action sport-inclined love interest led me to rock climbing. Have either of them had occasion to gain skills there?

For a research entry point, I looked up "adaptive rock climbing" and found a reference to Mark Wellman, an internationally known climber who was paralyzed below the waist in a fall and has since gone into business as a designer and builder of adaptive climbing technology. He continues to satisfy his thirst for adventure by being one of the primary testers for his equipment. (Among the things he's done with it is summit El Capitan.)

Lots of fantastic beings are known to inhabit places where climbing skills would be useful in an encounter. I bet you can combine those themes and come up with something interesting.

Re: Theme idea?

September 18 2014, 00:07:52 UTC 6 years ago

This combined with some other prompts to inspire the free-verse poem "Climbing Rocks." Brenda and Darrel have to deal with a rock monster -- but first they have to get to it.

178 lines, Buy It Now = $89

rix_scaedu

September 16 2014, 19:46:04 UTC 6 years ago

When the usually unimpeded are the ones who can't get access.

September 18 2014, 04:07:22 UTC 6 years ago

This led to the free-verse poem "Pitfalls." Darrel's job gets them both in trouble, and he's in no shape to drag them back out again.

190 lines, Buy It Now = $95

Also, linkbacks

September 16 2014, 20:11:44 UTC 6 years ago

http://janetmiles.livejournal.com/766595.html

http://janetmiles.dreamwidth.org/1387087.html

https://www.facebook.com/janet.miles.359/posts/565915760204776

the_vulture

September 16 2014, 21:07:13 UTC 6 years ago

I have but a setting suggesting: Prince Edward Island. :-P

September 16 2014, 22:52:30 UTC 6 years ago

I actually needed a beach for a selkie prompt, which inspired the free-verse "Born of Land and Sea." A young woman seeks help regarding her surprisingly-mobile baby, leading to a search for the father and some pleasant time on beaches.

300 lines, Buy It Now = $150

Re: Poem

6 years ago

zianuray

September 16 2014, 22:34:59 UTC 6 years ago Edited: September 16 2014, 22:39:52 UTC

Caving (spelunking)

Dealing with "Obstacles" encountered on a farm (or in a petting zoo, if that is more where she might end up)

Would Brenda use an adapted motorcycle? I've seen at least two here in the Ozarks.

How would a kimono and obi be adapted for a wheelchair?

An annoying thing that people do when trying to be helpful -- I will be using my cane in one hand and a heavy (business) door int he other for support/stability..and someone will YANK the door fully open and out of my hand screeching "Let me get that for you!" and wonder why I'm not thanking them as I pick myself up off the sidewalk or stairs where I was thrown, face-down.

September 17 2014, 03:12:21 UTC 6 years ago

Your obstacles prompt combined with one about San Diego, inspiring the free-verse poem "City of Sun and Rain." Brenda and Darrel relax in the city after closing a case, where they enjoy the shops and a trip to the zoo.

206 lines, Buy It Now = $103

kestrels_nest

September 17 2014, 00:25:24 UTC 6 years ago

Zephyr is not mobile, but is clearly sentient. Does she (don't know why, but the pronoun "feels" right) feel herself to be disabled, or simply different?

A way for Zephyr to communicate with Brenda when she's out on an investigation.

What happens if Zephyr is the one to find the "ghost in the machine"? Would she try to communicate? Would she tell Brenda about it?

Can the fae deal with Brenda, or does the steel in her chairs preclude that?

September 17 2014, 00:58:01 UTC 6 years ago

For more about Zephyr, see today's freebie, "The Tears of the Sky."

September 17 2014, 07:52:27 UTC 6 years ago

Dreamwidth prompts inspired the free-verse poem "The Door to Nowhere." A call from the university, a mysterious flickering outline, and a white cat make for an unplanned trip. This crosses over with Schrodinger's Heroes.

252 lines, Buy It Now = $126

Done for the night!

September 17 2014, 09:06:55 UTC 6 years ago

I'm closed for prompts, although I will be writing more tomorrow.

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Theme idea?

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Also, linkbacks

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Done for the night!

A Little Slice of Terramagne: YardMap

Goldenrod Gall Contents

Science and Spirituality