Poetry Fishbowl Open!: ysabetwordsmith

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your support. Please keep an eye on this post as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Self-Discovery." 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.

Some of my series play into this. One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis, Feathered Nests, and Clay of Life all have relevant themes. Frankenstein's Family, Hart's Farm, Monster House, Polychrome Heroics, Path of the Paladins, and The Blueshift Troupers all have larger, diverse casts with plenty of room for personal journeys.

Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:
Cottoncandy Bingo Card 9-1-18
Ladiesbingo Card 9-2-18

Click to read the linkback poem "A Lively Feast" (16 verses, Feathered Nests).

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 "Self-Discovery." 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) Swim, Fishie, Swim! -- A feature in conjunction with fishbowl sponsorship is this progress meter showing the amount donated. There are multiple perks, the top one being a half-price poetry sale on one series when donations reach $300.

3) 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.

4) 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"

5) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your Dreamwidth, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, 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. Comment with a link to where you posted. "A Lively Feast" has 16 verses and belongs to Feathered Nests.

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.

5) If donations total $100 by Friday evening then you get a free $15 poem; $150 gets you a free $20 poem; and $200 gets you a free epic, posted after the Poetry Fishbowl. These will usually be series poems if I have them; otherwise I may offer non-series poems or series poems in a different size.  If donations reach $250, you get one step toward a bonus fishbowl; three of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be three months in a row. Everyone will get to vote on which series, and give prompts during the extra fishbowl, although it may be a half-day rather than a whole day. If donations reach $300, there will be a piece of bonus material in one series.

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 "Self-Discovery." I'll be soliciting ideas for adventurers, clergy, gurus, shamen, seekers, psychedelic explorers, teachers, students, intrapersonal experts, superheroes, teenagers, other people who explore self-awareness, traveling, tripping out, meditating, counseling, studying, coming of age, troubleshooting, discovering problems, finding creative solutions, confronting deception, asking questions, exploring new techniques, discovering yourself, learning what you can do, liminal zones, the forest primeval, inner space, the subconscious, cthonic realms, higher planes, battlefields, the glory road, churches or temples, counseling centers, classrooms, hippie houses, other introspective places, personality quizzes, self-help, personal growth, different schools of therapy, enlightenment, Buddhism and other illuminating religions, genealogy, intrapersonal intelligence, existential intelligence, escape clauses, unforseen circumstances, when the whole world changes out from under you, rites of passage, superpower manifestation, therapy tools, gnosis, 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 New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco 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, and additional perks at $100-$300 in donations. Linkbacks reveal verses of "A Lively Feast." The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.

rix_scaedu

September 5 2018, 00:31:38 UTC 2 years ago

New comment

Who am I like?

Expected and unexpected talents.

The lights and shadows of self revelation.

Poem

ysabetwordsmith

September 5 2018, 06:14:28 UTC 2 years ago

A backchannel prompt combined with yours and several others to inspire a pair of poems.

"An Opportunity to Develop"
Alvie explores two possible schools -- a public school and a private Christian one -- in Lincoln along with her parents, Dr. G, and Manushi.
319 lines, Buy It Now = $160

"Provisions for Parent Education"
Since nobody is thrilled with the schools in Lincoln, they move on to Omaha, which offers much better options including a college prep school and a Montessori school. They also scout job and housing opportunities in case of a move.
594 lines, Buy It Now = $297

September 5 2018, 07:12:17 UTC 2 years ago

I crammed all of these into "Whose Work Is Never Done," a free-verse poem about prosaic inventions.

30 lines, Buy It Now = $15

September 5 2018, 08:31:26 UTC 2 years ago

Several DW prompts contributed to the free-verse poem "A World Possibly Not Born." Bexley finds a new friend in the Clipper Angeldust R1212.

140 lines, Buy It Now = $70

September 5 2018, 08:32:12 UTC 2 years ago

"Learning to Cha-Cha" is today's freebie.

September 5 2018, 09:37:09 UTC 2 years ago

Your prompt inspired the free-verse poem "You Have Already Proved It." Ari struggles to master the art of praying and fighting at the same time.

118 lines, $90, $40 donation in hand, needs $50

September 5 2018, 12:26:11 UTC 2 years ago

Your prompts about yoga and meditation inspired the free-verse poem "Be Open to That Change." Vagary attends a yoga class.

159 lines, Buy It Now = $80

September 6 2018, 19:27:03 UTC 2 years ago

A forest prompt inspired the free-verse poem "Raining Leaves." It's a nature poem about autumn, not an intrapersonal poem, but I figured you wouldn't mind. There's an implication of mortality if you read it slant.

15 lines, Buy It Now = $10

September 6 2018, 23:23:38 UTC 2 years ago

This inspired the free-verse poem "The Most Terrible Poverty." Calliope finds an opportunity that leaves her excited and Vagary devastated.

435 lines, Buy It Now = $218

September 7 2018, 02:10:08 UTC 2 years ago

A backchannel prompt inspired the triolet "His Kitchen Garden." Shiv is growing herbs.

8 lines, Buy It Now = $10

September 7 2018, 23:18:54 UTC 2 years ago

This inspired the free-verse poem "A Double-Edged Sword." Calliope and Vagary go to a bondworker. It does not go well.

573 lines, Buy It Now = $287
Available for publication after "The Most Terrible Poverty" has been sponsored and posted.

September 9 2018, 00:44:26 UTC 2 years ago

A DW prompt inspired the free-verse poem "Becoming, Evolving, Ascending." Divinity student Micha Bautista meets Dazhawn Alvarez, whose superpower is Projective Altruism.

236 lines, Buy It Now = $118

September 9 2018, 23:18:26 UTC 2 years ago

A DW prompt inspired the free-verse poem "The Scars on the Mind." Shiv gets an unexpected opportunity to address past damage.

610 lines, Buy It Now = $305

September 10 2018, 05:09:59 UTC 2 years ago

This inspired the free-verse poem "The Worst Word in the Dictionary." Shiv picks up his half of a trade.

364 lines, Buy It Now = $182
Available for publication after "The Scars on the Mind" has been sponsored and posted.

September 13 2018, 02:50:11 UTC 2 years ago

This inspired the free-verse poem "The So-Called Truths." Shiv deals with the unsettling aftermath of personal repairs.

1172 lines, Buy It Now = $586
Available for publication after "The Scars on the Mind" and "The Worst Word in the Dictionary" have been sponsored and posted.

September 18 2018, 00:28:00 UTC 2 years ago

I have written two sequential poems showing Candy Cain during the Cascadia Cataclysm:

"In the Tremor of the Earthquake" is a free-verse poem on the first day, showing the minor shakeup in Mercedes and then their organization of relief efforts for refugees from other places hit worse.
408 lines, Buy It Now = $204

"The Storybearer" is a free-verse poem set two days later. It shows an example of disaster news coverage in T-America.
138 lines, Buy It Now = $69

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