The Wordsmith's Forge

Thanks to a donation from Anthony & Shirley Barrette, "Faeder Way" is now complete.  Find out how the shifting human relationships affect their interaction with the fifers.

"Not the Absence of Fear" and "When the Road Is Bent" have also been fully funded.  I'll get the remaining verses of those posted later.

This poem came out of the June 17, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "backstory" square in my 6-10-14 card for the fanbingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Frankenstein's Family.

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The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED.  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 "Frankenstein's Family."  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.

Keep in mind that this series has its roots in historic horror, gothic, and dark science fiction but has evolved in a much more positive direction.  Feel free to explore that tonal shift by re-imagining dark motifs in a lighter way.


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 "Frankenstein's Family." 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 "Frankenstein's Family."  I'll be soliciting ideas for Victor, Igor, Adam, the villagers, the bat vampires, other gothic character types, mad science devices, historic clothing, torches and pitchforks, monologues, castles, graveyards, churches or cathedrals, mansions, mysterious forests, science labs, making discoveries, parenting, teaching and learning, fixing up the home, saving the day, queerplatonic love, sex/gender issues, madness, body horror, things man was not meant to know, 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.

You can now read my poem "Indoor Men and Outdoor Men" on Torn World, visible to everyone.
Tetefii likes all different kinds of men.

If you like this poem and want to see more like it, please consider sending me credits or karma through Torn World's crowdfunding options. Not a Torn World member, but still want to support the work? I have a permanent PayPal button on my LJ profile page.

The June 3, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl met its $250 goal, so there will be a bonus fishbowl session on Tuesday, June 17.  The audience poll has selected Frankenstein's Family as the featured series, which you can find via the Serial Poetry page.

This poem is from the November 2013 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from jeshyr who wanted to address the issue of bystander pity and curiosity, and mobility devices as empowerment. Several poems in P.I.E. have come directly out of requests or comments from people with disabilities, which has really added a lot to the complexity and verisimilitude.  It also fills the "curiosity" square in my 8-13-13 card for the origfic_bingo  fest.  This poem is posted as the free epic for the June 3, 2014 fishbowl reaching the $200 goal, selected in an audience poll, and I'm amused you did that right after "Going Places" was posted. Point and counterpoint at your convenience; tell ALL the stories!

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This poem was a commission for dialecticdreamer and is presented here in barter for her poem "Childish and Foolish." It fills the "waterboarding" square on my 6-10-13 card for the hc_bingo fest and the "first kiss" square on my 5-22-14 card for the origfic_bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Schrodinger's Heroes project. It is a prequel to the story "Don't Try This at Home."

WARNING: The following poem contains intense topics which may disturb some viewers. Highlight to read the warnings, which are also spoilers. A happy interracial relationship is interrupted by bigoted hazing. Teen boys emulate waterboarding which they have seen on TV. Unsurprisingly this results in PTSD.   If you're not sure whether you want to read this poem, dialecticdreamer is willing to discuss it without spoilers so you can make a more informed decision.

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This poem is from the June 3, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles.  It also fills the "friends to lovers / friends with benefits" square in my 1-2-14 card for the Trope Bingo fest.

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Today we went to see X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was largely enjoyable overall, with excellent effects, a pretty good storyline, and entertaining performance. More detailed thoughts, including spoilers, lie below the cut ...

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 sharpeningthebones has written "Blood, Violence ..." based on my prompt.  I wanted something about a supervillain and a superhero who are in love but trying to avoid admitting it.