Poetry Fishbowl Open!
Nov. 3rd, 2020 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Crossing Cape Lines." 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.
I'll be soliciting ideas for superheroes, supervillains, blue-plate specials, supernaries, black hats, gray hats, white hats, cops, robbers, fantasy species, nonhumans with superpowers, medics, first responders, social engineers, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, diverse teams, rebels, wild young things, other people who cross cape lines, picking fights, making friends, convincing people to switch sides, rescuing, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, social engineering, integrating superpowers into society, making changes, cooperating, bartering, speaking, listening, taking over in an emergency, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, creating connections, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, parks, streets, classrooms, political arenas, hospitals, ambulances, battlefields, workshops, laboratories, patch rooms, wilderness, rural areas, supervillain lairs, fantasy worlds, other places where crossovers happen, enemies to friends, enemies to lovers, truces in improbable contexts, unexpected bonds, medical neutrality, improvised tools and supplies, divergent drug reactions, scientific discoveries, innovation, old tools in new applications, problems that can't be solved by hitting, moral injury, logic vs. intuition, alignment change, forced alignment change, sea change, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, confusion, independence, cooperation, values conflict, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.
Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:
Sense-Ation Bingo Card 11-1-20
Hurt/Comfort Bingo Card 6-15-20
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races plus the dragons, who get along badly more often than well.
Fledgling Grace has angels, demons, and winged humans variously cooperating or squabbling.
Frankenstein's Family includes humans, werewolves, vampires, a mummy, and two doctors who make for creative alliances
Monster House has human inhabitants plus a bunch of different monsters.
Not Quite Kansas has humans, angels, and demons connecting in ways they're not necessarily supposed to.
Path of the Paladins includes deities, followers, and paladins of often conflicting alignment.
Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, and supervillains trying to get along as best they can. Threads that specifically feature cross-cape relations include:
Antimatter & Stalwart Stan
Berettaflies
Calliope
Dr. Infanta
Officer Pink
Shiv
Or you can ask for something new.
I have a linkback poem, "Autumn's Palette" (7 verses, standalone).
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 "Crossing Cape Lines." 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. "Autumn's Palette" has 7 verses and stands alone.
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; four of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be four 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.
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 "Crossing Cape Lines." See above for details. 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 "Autumn's Palette." The rest of the poems will go into my archive for future use.
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Crossing Cape Lines." 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.
I'll be soliciting ideas for superheroes, supervillains, blue-plate specials, supernaries, black hats, gray hats, white hats, cops, robbers, fantasy species, nonhumans with superpowers, medics, first responders, social engineers, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, diverse teams, rebels, wild young things, other people who cross cape lines, picking fights, making friends, convincing people to switch sides, rescuing, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, social engineering, integrating superpowers into society, making changes, cooperating, bartering, speaking, listening, taking over in an emergency, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, creating connections, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, parks, streets, classrooms, political arenas, hospitals, ambulances, battlefields, workshops, laboratories, patch rooms, wilderness, rural areas, supervillain lairs, fantasy worlds, other places where crossovers happen, enemies to friends, enemies to lovers, truces in improbable contexts, unexpected bonds, medical neutrality, improvised tools and supplies, divergent drug reactions, scientific discoveries, innovation, old tools in new applications, problems that can't be solved by hitting, moral injury, logic vs. intuition, alignment change, forced alignment change, sea change, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, confusion, independence, cooperation, values conflict, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.
Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:
Sense-Ation Bingo Card 11-1-20
Hurt/Comfort Bingo Card 6-15-20
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races plus the dragons, who get along badly more often than well.
Fledgling Grace has angels, demons, and winged humans variously cooperating or squabbling.
Frankenstein's Family includes humans, werewolves, vampires, a mummy, and two doctors who make for creative alliances
Monster House has human inhabitants plus a bunch of different monsters.
Not Quite Kansas has humans, angels, and demons connecting in ways they're not necessarily supposed to.
Path of the Paladins includes deities, followers, and paladins of often conflicting alignment.
Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, and supervillains trying to get along as best they can. Threads that specifically feature cross-cape relations include:
Antimatter & Stalwart Stan
Berettaflies
Calliope
Dr. Infanta
Officer Pink
Shiv
Or you can ask for something new.
I have a linkback poem, "Autumn's Palette" (7 verses, standalone).
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 "Crossing Cape Lines." 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. "Autumn's Palette" has 7 verses and stands alone.
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; four of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be four 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.
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 "Crossing Cape Lines." See above for details. 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 "Autumn's Palette." The rest of the poems will go into my archive for future use.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 06:47 pm (UTC)Well, Ashley pretty much crosses a few cape lines just by existing; she's a dark super-hera [or hurrah] who uses black cape methods [with a gothic aesthetic] for white cape ends, and vice versa... I would just love to see her knock some heads together when a classic super-hero/arch nemesis couple roll into town and get them to see some sense.
Boss Finn also crosses a few of those lines too, as a nascent Shadowlight boss... I'd kind of like to see her accidently collecting a couple more gang members, one soup from either side say. Balancing those would be interesting.
Signal boosted
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 10:41 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-06 01:03 pm (UTC)"Well Served by a Cosmopolitan Attitude"
Boss Finn connects with Captain Kelvin, and they discuss various improvements to Mercedes.
323 lines, Buy It Now = $162
"Continuities and Changes"
A capybara morph comes to Mercedes to help people get along across cape lines.
187 lines, Buy It Now = $94
Re: Poem
Date: 2020-11-07 02:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 11:14 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-06 01:03 pm (UTC)"Well Served by a Cosmopolitan Attitude"
Boss Finn connects with Captain Kelvin, and they discuss various improvements to Mercedes.
323 lines, Buy It Now = $162
"Continuities and Changes"
A capybara morph comes to Mercedes to help people get along across cape lines.
187 lines, Buy It Now = $94
what I'd like to read, more than anything in the world...
Date: 2020-11-03 07:06 pm (UTC)... is to see Boss Finn getting a Triton Teen Center as soon as possible, somewhere close to the Soup to Nuts site.
Re: what I'd like to read, more than anything in the world...
Date: 2020-11-06 01:02 pm (UTC)"Well Served by a Cosmopolitan Attitude"
Boss Finn connects with Captain Kelvin, and they discuss various improvements to Mercedes.
323 lines, Buy It Now = $162
"Continuities and Changes"
A capybara morph comes to Mercedes to help people get along across cape lines.
187 lines, Buy It Now = $94
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-04 05:30 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-08 11:15 pm (UTC)544 lines, Buy It Now = $272
Poem
Date: 2020-11-08 11:15 pm (UTC)544 lines, Buy It Now = $272
So many ideas!
Date: 2020-11-03 08:25 pm (UTC)Leo going to Bennett for help after Boss Finn chewed him out.
A cape/hat clash, maybe set during a nature clean up or a planting day, where one white hat is giving the black hats a hard time even though they are helping, and another white hat steps up to defend the black hats?
More of Dr. Infanta and Judd, either with the speech therapist or with the police woman who rides Ziggy (I forget her name)?
Re: So many ideas!
Date: 2020-11-04 12:03 am (UTC)Yes please!
Re: So many ideas!
Date: 2020-11-04 03:14 am (UTC)And now for something completely different
Date: 2020-11-03 08:42 pm (UTC)Re: And now for something completely different
Date: 2020-11-05 03:03 am (UTC)127 lines, Buy It Now = $64
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 09:43 pm (UTC)Any/all of the following, which fit together surprisingly well:
Actual respect for medical neutrality; healers doing their thing without interference.
Officer Pink and Dr. G commiserating over their respective "supervillains", since both Turq and Shiv hover in that murky area for similar reasons.
(I feel like Ansel's bound to ask Soup to Nuts for help at some point just because there's less high-and-mighty-heroism than SPOON.)
More of Hugo and Alicia together.
(You can tell which poems I've been rereading based on what my prompts are, lol.)
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 10:44 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-14 10:37 am (UTC)1219 lines, Buy It Now = $610
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 09:59 pm (UTC)*Guai Qiao/Brokendown getting the heck out of China, and receiving necessary care once she's escaped, as confirmed by Capricorn in a previous poem. Maybe medical, technological, and emotional assistance come from different highly reputable, ethical sources, all with different cape shades?
*Xu Sháng/Still_Life's escape. I cannot get the idea of her eventually being introduced to someone (or someone's, because why limit to one contact?) human born with tetra amelia out of my head, and of their forming a friendship founded on the delighted relief of meeting a person just like themselves. If the go-between who makes the overtures and eventual introductions is a darker grey hat of the Kraken variety, but the person or people! who eventually meet Xu Sháng are, say, white hats from the other side of the world...
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 11:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-03 11:31 pm (UTC)Wait, are any/many of the centaurs old enough to vote? Setting poem(s) a couple years ahead could work, if not.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-04 12:00 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2020-11-04 12:14 am (UTC)I'm working out birthday timing, but it looks like the requested characters should be eligible for the 2016 election. That's a bit beyond most of the current timeline, but things are established enough that writing that should not create problems.
Also, Pogonip was 18 when rescued and Arun was 17, so they should be able to vote for the full ballot.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2020-11-04 01:59 am (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2020-11-04 02:10 am (UTC)Ariel is the one with wings, likely voting as an adult.
However, pushing on election day is not legitimate practice. T-America is more liberal on allowing people to express approval of voting in material ways, but it has to be for all voters, not by party.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2020-11-04 07:20 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-04 11:30 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-04 11:30 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-03 11:53 pm (UTC)274 lines, Buy It Now = $137
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-04 02:54 am (UTC)Howz the centaur clothing coming along? Would Penny or the Faire people want some new models for their designs? (Also, would Miriam volunteer to pal around with Dr. Infamta at a Faire?)
Watched part of Dreamworks Trolls the other day. Was impressed that one of the main characters who helped save the day was an anxious introvert who likely has PTSD, and thought "Hey, we need more stuff with anxious crazy-prepared introverts helping to save people, instead of being jokes, one-off enemies or item drops." (Also, as I once joked: "If aliens invade you're on your own; I do not have alien repellant.") So: crazy-prepared introverts helping to save people.
Instead of ralorolo-ing on TV about 'we awesome!,' a politician actually shows up at the disaster site and asks "How can I help?" Actually helps (gets muddy/whatever), then has a beer (or whatever) with the badass bystander improvised rescue crews.
Bystander intervention?
I keep wanting to see Simon and Tolli start a self-defense school for everyone (soups included). Perhaps the Marionettes and Boss Finn would be interested in helping...
Poem
Date: 2020-11-04 11:29 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-08 11:15 pm (UTC)544 lines, Buy It Now = $272
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-04 04:35 am (UTC)Hmm ...
Date: 2020-11-04 04:51 am (UTC)Re: Hmm ...
Date: 2020-11-04 05:05 am (UTC)Boss FINN!
Poem
Date: 2020-11-06 01:03 pm (UTC)"Well Served by a Cosmopolitan Attitude"
Boss Finn connects with Captain Kelvin, and they discuss various improvements to Mercedes.
323 lines, Buy It Now = $162
"Continuities and Changes"
A capybara morph comes to Mercedes to help people get along across cape lines.
187 lines, Buy It Now = $94
(no subject)
Date: 2020-11-04 07:01 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-11 05:52 am (UTC)375 lines, Buy It Now = $188
Done for the night!
Date: 2020-11-04 11:41 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2020-11-17 03:40 am (UTC)196 lines, Buy It Now = $98