The Wordsmith's Forge

May is for finishing open storylines. You can enter the May 2013 Raffle with comments, credits, or donations.

Fiction: Aurora’s World: Opal: Talking to Margery (part 3) talks about the creation of the races.
Sponsored Fiction: Afterlife: Samael: Talking to Gabriel reveals how some angels are daunted by losing contact with other spirits as they move on.
Sponsored Fiction: Afterlife: Samael: Visiting Earth introduces Samael to an interesting woman.
The World Walkers: Unknown World: Thalia: Meeting the King shows someone held for positive rather than negative reasons.
The World Walkers: Unknown World: Iola: Being Summoned demonstrates how spells can go awry if a sentient world dislikes your objective.
The World Walkers: Siaral: Maud: Peacock Dragons sound like lovely creatures.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, 24th continuation) explores more about Meriwether's past lives.
The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, 25th continuation) deals with further implications of the counterfeiting.

Other Fiction: The World Walkers: Unknown World: Jetta: Saved By Cough Medicine (part 2), The World Walkers: Unknown World: Rayner: The Seventh Son of a Seventh Daughter, The World Walkers: Taithmarin: Freya: Freya’s Arrival (part 2)

This month's theme was "homonyms, puns, and wordplay." I worked from 1 PM to midnight, so about 9 hours allowing for lunch and supper breaks. There were a few prompts early on, a trickle later, but far less than usual. I only wrote 13 poems.

Participation was so low, I actually didn't write enough to activate all the perks, although people could've covered those with general donations. Remember, it takes prompts to make the fishbowl work. I got some extra activity by doubling up on people who sent multiples, but there's a limit to how well that works.

I've had fishbowls tank before; it happens once or twice a year. I suspect it was due to the theme. It was popular in the poll but then people didn't prompt much; they may have found the topic hard to work with. I kind of expected it to be a challenge for me but was willing to give it a try. Sometimes those kinds of themes have turned out really well. But after this, I'm likely to be more selective about what goes into a poll or what I accept from the voting results, and weed out themes that I think might be harder to work with.

Most of the poems were free verse. Some used single prompts while others stacked a bunch together. I finished out the Rainbowfic Sunlight list. Length ran shorter this time: a lot of medium, some short and long, only three epics.

Activity was low. There were 41 comments on LiveJournal and none on Dreamwidth. A total of 11 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters or donors.


Read some poetry!
The following poems from the February 2013 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Balance and Tangle"
"Command Line Errors"
"The Geometry of Language"
"Greetings and Solicitations"
"Irony of Eight" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
"Ohm's Lawyers"
"Portmanteaparty"
"Spathic Personalities"
"Tantalizing"
"That Is the Question"
"Whole Loops"
"Won True Way" (An Army of One)

"The Voyage to Vaucouleurs" (11/6/12, The Arc of Joan)
"Scotch Hobby" (12/4/12, The Steamsmith)


Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, read the list of unsold poems from May. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available. The linkback poem "The Voyage to Vaucouleurs" (The Arc of Joan) currently has 12 of 16 verses posted. You can reveal more by linking to the unsold poetry post, or to your favorite poems from this fishbowl.

All currently sponsored poems have been posted. Per the $200 goal, "Scotch Hobby" is the free epic. The other perks did not activate this month. We do have a carryover from previous activity, however. There will be a half-price sale running May 20-26. I'm doing something a little different this time, offering the unsold stuff from the Rainbowfic Vellum list, which consists of 9 poems and 1 short story, spanning several different series.

Donors this month include: LiveJournal users Laffingkat, Zianuray, rix_scaedu, janetmiles, and technoshaman. The donor perk-post is "Wordplay."


The Poetry Fishbowl project also has a permanent landing page.

May is for finishing open storylines. Read the April 2013 Round-Up. The Update: 1st May introduces story bundles.

Fiction: The Fae World: Claire: Inheriting a Hotel (part 3) discusses fae family dynamics. The Donor House: Jean-Luc: First Visit to the Donor House (part 2) goes into Alice and Nick's shared past.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, 20th continuation) discusses doors to and from Quiar. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, 21st continuation) has a fascinating conversation about reincarnation.

Other Fiction: Aurora’s World: Mirica: A Thief in the House (part 2), AU The Brotherhood: Daniel: Turning Back Time (part 2), Thear: Maeve: Moving (part 2)

April is new character month. See an overview of New Characters: 15th – 21st April.

Fiction: The World Walkers: Earth: Amy: Losing Someone shows those left behind when someone disappears onto another world. The World Walkers: Gaelom/Avaera: Kiara: Multiplicity explores what it's like when souls share a body.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, sixteenth continuation) features a conversation between Lucille and Quiar. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, 17th continuation) returns to the counterfeit investigation.

Other fiction: The World Walkers: Kankirin: Yuki: Trapped on Kankirin, The World Walkers: Aerith: Theron: Trapped on Aerith, The Fae World: Jessie: Fae Families and Being A Spy, The World Walkers: Taithmarin: Morwen: Trapped on Taithmarin, The Fae World: Unknown World: Lyn: Talking to Jane, The World Walkers: Pendragon: Grania: An Accident

April is new character month. Meet the New Characters: 8th – 14th April. Polls – Please Vote because these are still tied. Update: 9th April talks about funding. Participate in the April 2013 Raffle with comments, links, or credits to win fiction.

Fiction: In The World Walkers: Athare: Riordan: The First World Walker (part 2) Riordan talks with Tegan about traveling between worlds. The Deities’ World: Hephaestus: Returning Home is an adorable introduction to a god and his wife and husband. The World Walkers: Athare: Eithne: Creating the First Weaver shows what can go wrong, and right, in creating new life. The World Walkers: Unknown World: Petra: A Key Given In A Will is a sweet and sad story about family heirlooms.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, forteenth continuation) talks about the fae. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, fifteenth continuation) features the worlds and their genders.

Other Fiction: The ‘Astral’ World: Rae: No Escape, Aurora’s World: Clay: Making an Informed Decision, The World Walkers: Unknown World: Guinevere: Walking Into A Trap

April is new character month. March 2013 Round-Up has a mention of the new character concept so you can leave requests there. This is crowdfunding: ask for what you want! See also the Giveaway – Character Adoptions and Setting Rentals for free fiction if you have not previously sampled these services. Update – 27th March covers the need for a new netbook. The Poetry Fishbowl: by Elizabeth Barrette is a guest post by me. This is a good example of how crowdfunding folks can network to help each other.

Fiction: The Fae World: Arkal: Art: Freedom (part 2) continues the story of Dragons escaping. The Fae World: Sebastian (part 5) concerns the status of griffins and their powers. The World Walkers: Taithmarin: Astrid: Arriving in Little Hill (part 4) describes the town of Little Hill.

The World Walkers: Quiar: Lucille: Hot to Moderate (part 2) explores Lucille's connection to Quiar. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, tenth continuation) shows Lucille musing over her job as a Walker. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, eleventh continuation) explores mindful doors and worlds, Lucille's work as a Walker, and changes in tattoos. There are also some interesting ideas about the missing log book and what the criminals might really be up to.

Other Fiction: The Fae World: Kristen; Waking Up (part 4), The Fae World: Adrian: The Coffee Shop (part 3), The FAe World: Arkal: Enid: An Early Morning Surprise

March has no designated theme. The World Walkers: A Conversation with Joel is a fascinating bit of meta that reminds me of similarities between a writer's life and a character's life. Update: 14th March covers the upcoming prompt session, ebooks, and news about The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments. March 2013 Raffle lets you enter with comments, links, or credits. Email Subscriptions have changed services, so pipe up if you want notifications of new content. Ask Me Questions -- any setting, any topic about the worlds, here's your chance to learn more.

Fiction: Thear: Trey: Trey’s First Encounter with Bast (part 2), yep, dealing with deities is like that. The World Walkers: Athare: Electra: Meeting a Rabbit (part 3) concerns how to provide decent living space for life clay animals. Afterlife: Gabriel: Finding a Friend (part 2) explores the nature and purpose of angels. The Deities’ World: Lucifer: Halloween (part 2) is about the disconnection between a deity and people who believe inaccurate things about him.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, sixth continuation) presents some unusual features about Kaito's charms. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, seventh continuation) reveals more of Kaito's backstory.

Other Fiction: The Fae World: Idwal: How to Change the Past, The World Walkers: Labyrinth: Lance: Landing in Labyrinth (part 2), Thear: Bree: Meeting Quinn (part 2), The Fae World: Esra: On Earth

sharpeningthebones has posted a call for prompts.  Provide three aspects of a story.  You get the first few sentences for free.  Donations will reveal more, privately or publicly.

March has no designated theme. 10th March: Plans, thoughts, and a general update discusses project plans and funding ideas. You can now vote in the Voter’s Story and Prompter’s Story Polls.

Fiction: The Donor House: Beatrice: Auctions (part 2) discusses background behind the human auctions. The World Walkers: Taithmarin: Luna: The Book Portal (part 2) introduces Luna to her new guide. The Fae World: Kristen: Waking Up (part 3) explores some party dynamics.

Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments Bonus Story is still tied; somebody please break this. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, fourth continuation) features a meeting with one of the raccoon guards. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, fifth continuation) is a very astute discussion of some things going wrong with the World Walkers Council, and an introduction of the charm maker.

Other fiction: The World Walkers: AU Taithmarin: Anna: Stepping Onto Another World (part 2), The Fae World: Ava: Finding Out Ava Has Magic (part 2), Aurora’s World: Mackenzie: The Thieves’ Hideout (part 2)

February is bonus material month. Update: 20th February touches on the state of the writer and some plans for next month. Update: 22nd February seeks input on what kind of personal posts people might enjoy. Plans for the future discusses some fiction pieces and characters that are open for input. General Fund 2 – Which Collection Should The Stories Come From is currently tied, so more votes there would be helpful. Note to self – donor house info explores the balance of vampires and donors, guests and residents. If you have ideas on who should be there, this is a good place to speak up. Update: February 23rd talks about pricing and freebies. Writing Plans mulls over meta conversations with characters, and unusual forms of fiction.

Fiction: The World Walkers: AU Taithmarin: Anna: Stepping Onto Another World is a fascinating double-stack because it takes a character who's already undergone a tremendous change and throws her for another loop. AU Donor House: Kestrel: Rescuing Harrison has a good focus on taking care of someone in need. The World Walkers: Unknown World: Malandra: The Talking House has a house as a main character; I really like that house. AU Donor House: Cole: Second Morning/Night has Morgan introducing Cole to some new vampires. The World Walkers: Unknown World: Ginevra: Taking Over is a shivery little ghost story. The World Walkers: Unknown World: Paige: Seeing Colour in a Black and White World is a haunting tale of alienation. The Fae World: Rose: Finding the School brings someone new into the school.

The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8) shows the weary heroes to a bed-and-breakfast where they can rest and make contact with more people in Seahorse Port. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 8, continued) introduces their guide, a chimera named Sini. The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments: Landing Page provides a guide to the story installments, characters, and supporting materials. Also I tipped, so you can vote on what Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments Bonus Story gets written.

The World Walkers: Athare: Leolin: Why is a story that I sponsored, from my adoption of this character. I love Leolin because he thinks like a scientist, using a logical method of analysis for a very complex situation in which mistakes have already had a tremendous cost. The fae (and everyone else) desperately need to have someone figuring out how magic and the worlds really work so they don't cause more damage. Plus, I love scholarly characters in general. Bookish heroes are fun. Have one.