ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The 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 "Twisted Genres." 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 genre-specific characters (e.g. final girl in horror), tricksters, contraries, rebels, researchers, journalists, historians, explorers, partners, housemates, children, parents, teachers, leaders, superheroes, supervillains, teammates, alien or fantasy species, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, queerfolk, other people who defy expectations, upsetting predictions, twisting tropes, flipping stereotypes, expecting the unexpected, researching, revising theories, parenting, teaching, adventuring, leaving your comfort zone, discovering things, conducting experiments, observation changing experiments, experiments changing paradigms, adapting, improvising, troubleshooting, cleaning up messes, cooperating, taking over in an emergency, saving the day, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, coming out, running away from home, going off the rails, subverting fate, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, preparing for the worst, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, worldgates, haunted houses, archeological digs, the forest primeval, liminal zones, Underhill, schools, sharehouses, kitchens, campfires, libraries, laboratories, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, stores, farmer's markets, starships, bizarre exoplanets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other places where the unusual happens, hybrid genres, fusions, crossovers, mashups, reversals, contradictions, conundrums, puzzling discoveries, sudden surprises, inventions that change everything, time travel, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, polarity, weird food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, lab conditions are not field conditions, superpower manifestation, the end of where your framework actually applies, ethics, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Fun ways to make a prompt that are particular to this fishbowl theme:
* two genres that are oil and water (see a list of genres and a discussion of black speculative fiction subgenres)
* one genre and a contrasting aesthetic (see a list of aesthetics)
* one genre and a contrasting trope from some other genre (see a list of tropes)

Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:

Valentines Bingo Card 2-1-24

Also Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week runs February 18-24, so aro/ace prompts are welcome.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:


An Army of One is a whole society of neurovariant people.

The Blueshift Troupers is diversity science fiction, designed for easy crossing with other genres or tropes as they visit different planets.

Daughters of the Apocalypse is postapocalyptic hopepunk.

Frankenstein's Family is gothic fluff.

Hart's Farm is a free love community in historic fantasy.

The Moon Door is women's literature and horror.

The Ocracies is political fantasy based on every governmental system except monarchy.

P.I.E. is a three-way fusion of paranormal investigation, romance, and disability literature.

Schrodinger's Heroes is dimensional science fiction, designed for easy crossing with any other characters / setting / genre.

The Ursulan Cycle is genderbent King Arthur.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.


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 "Twisted Genres." 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. Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback 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.

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. If donations reach $300, there will be a half-price sale 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 "Twisted Genres." 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 will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem. The rest of the poems will go into my archive for future use.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-06 08:12 pm (UTC)
anxious_songbird: AI Turo bowing holding a masterball in front of him (AI Turo)
From: [personal profile] anxious_songbird
IDK how well this fits, but (pick and choose if you feel like it);
- love as a destructive/toxic force
- transgender robots
- the void/darkness as something good/holy

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 04:50 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
I think Kung Fu Robots already has a trans* [i.e. not agender] robot.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 08:37 am (UTC)
anxious_songbird: AI Turo bowing holding a masterball in front of him (AI Turo)
From: [personal profile] anxious_songbird
Oh, thank you for informing me! I'll check it out :3

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 10:16 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
You are welcome.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-06 08:36 pm (UTC)
nsfwords: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nsfwords
Eloquent Souls + the “Ethical Sluts” square of your bingo card - the standard for Soulmates who’re passionately involved is that they are also romantically involved, but I’d love a couple who’re Soulmates because they’re highly sexual/aromantic. They’re just having a great life together, and with their many many play partners.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-06 09:21 pm (UTC)
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)
From: [personal profile] siliconshaman

Hmm... How about one where the supervillain Nemesis who has fought their hero counterpart for years, notices that the superhero is off his game, and stops mid battle to ask: "Are..are you ok? What's wrong? Want to talk instead maybe?"

Oh.. and how about if the 'final girl' was the killer all along?

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 04:51 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
One day I'd like to see a horror story where all the white people die first, because they ain't got no survival skills (says my European-descended self.).

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 08:28 am (UTC)
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)
From: [personal profile] siliconshaman

Well, that would explain why the 'last girl standing' survived!

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 10:06 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Well, the same principle coul apply to gender - the teen boys stand around blustering and then try to fight the monster in vengeful single combat.

Meanwhile, all of the girls worked out how to escape, as a team, with improvised weapons (as the monster is so.ehow no more scary than the usual amount of drunk psychos they deal with every week.)

End result: the girls escape (and maybe notify somebody) whilst the guys all get eaten.

Re: Poem

Date: 2024-02-09 09:09 am (UTC)
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)
From: [personal profile] siliconshaman

And very satisfying it is too! Like the twist at the end.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-06 11:29 pm (UTC)
rix_scaedu: (cat wearing fez)
From: [personal profile] rix_scaedu
The Ursulan Cycle's take on the Lady of Shalott but with some actual commonsense being involved.

An archaeological dig that discovers instructions to go with their 'mysterious' new find.

Haiku and Limerick Body-Swap

Date: 2024-02-07 12:08 am (UTC)
scrubjayspeaks: a California scrub jay perched on a rail (Jaybird)
From: [personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
Local haiku-obsessed creature reappears! :D

This isn't exactly a mash-up--more of a bodyswap between forms? I was thinking of other short forms with strong structure and landed on limericks. What if you had a limerick that focused on a small moment of observation about nature? And as a flipside to it--it would be cool if they worked as partners somehow--a bawdy, punny haiku?

As the internet says: is this anything?

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 01:59 am (UTC)
mama_kestrel: (Default)
From: [personal profile] mama_kestrel
I think this is for Daughters of the Apocalypse. Kokopelli has manifested, but the whole situation seems tailor-made for the heyoka, the holy trickster or clown, to manifest as well. The heyoka belong to the Lakota people, but limits such as staying within a single people or region are exactly the sort of thing they would ignore! So what happens when the holy beings manifest?

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 04:54 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
It seems to me that there would be a variety of, hmm apocalypse-renewed religions of all sorts. I can imagine a church refocusing on Madonna Mary as a single mother, for example. Or a surviving Pagan group being the dominant religious force in a particular religion.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 02:27 am (UTC)
janetmiles: Cartoon avatar (Default)
From: [personal profile] janetmiles
You mentioned journalists, so I'll prompt for Nellie Bly, one of the first, if not the first, woman investigative journalists.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 02:36 am (UTC)
wyld_dandelyon: (Default)
From: [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon
I always like a good Coyote story. What about Coyote as a small kid, maybe a girl? Maybe in Daughters of the Apocalypse.

What about crossing a musical with one or more of the soups in Terramagne?

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 02:46 am (UTC)
nsfwords: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nsfwords
Seconding a Polychrome Musical - I don't know how it happens, maybe someone's superpower misfires, and now everyone is bursting into song! :-D

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 03:37 am (UTC)
readera: a cup of tea with an open book behind it (Default)
From: [personal profile] readera
Thirding a polychrome musical!

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 04:55 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Someone could get cursed, or have a power amplified by music.

Re: Poem

Date: 2024-02-12 01:12 am (UTC)
wyld_dandelyon: (Default)
From: [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon
I like this one too!

Re: Poem

Date: 2024-02-12 01:09 am (UTC)
wyld_dandelyon: (Default)
From: [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon
Oooh, I like this one!

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 02:43 am (UTC)
fuzzyred: Me wearing my fuzzy red bathrobe. (Default)
From: [personal profile] fuzzyred
I'm not sure if this counts as a twisted genre or a twisted trope, but a common theme in Superhero fantasies seems to be the hero saving the day and defeating the villain.

What if the villain(s) are the ones saving the day from the heroes? Perhaps kraken intervening with SPOON, or Boss White/Shiv stepping in in Omaha (the city or on the rez) when a potentially well-meaning hero starts causing problems?

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 04:55 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Some heroes can be rather self-righteous.

Re: Poem

Date: 2024-02-14 06:11 am (UTC)
fuzzyred: Me wearing my fuzzy red bathrobe. (Default)
From: [personal profile] fuzzyred
Eeee!!!! I can definitely send you the balance of the poem, although I will probably wait until Friday to check whether I can do so this week, or if I have to wait one more week.

Re: Poem

Date: 2024-02-14 04:18 pm (UTC)
fuzzyred: Me wearing my fuzzy red bathrobe. (Default)
From: [personal profile] fuzzyred
In pieces is okay with me.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 03:45 am (UTC)
readera: a cup of tea with an open book behind it (Default)
From: [personal profile] readera
An urban fantasy that is twisted with cottage core or country core.

Like Boss Blasters parks or the T American farmers markets.

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 05:32 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Q-verse versions of:
- Supernatural (child soldier vigilantes, I also imagine the eventual social worker being a vampire whose rather resigned/exasperated about having a kid try to stake them i.e. "This again?" [facepalm])
- Charmed (press-ganged child 'heroes')
- Magic school (please be sure they have a counselor on staff)

Q-verse magic school
- it would be interesting to see how diversity works here. Like Dinotopia, or Zootopia, or Sector General. Dunno if it would make more sense to set it as a civil rights thing where they are converting a previously-separated school, or one that has been designed for everyone from the beginning, but either option would be good.

The Moon Door - I remember there was something about one of the ladies looking for a werewolf boyfriend? I wonder if it would be possible to do a supernatural romance that wasn't all...well, abs and hormones and airheaded nonsense somehow. (Seriously, those books are doorstoppers of UST with very little substance.) I also wonder if she could be happy with a human partner who is related to a werewolf, or even a different type of were.

[probably but not necessarily] The Moon Door - Supportive partner or other male relative for 'that time of the month.' Not a Sick Episode but just an annoying day, and mood swings are a reason to be careful, but not an excuse to get away with being mean.

Daughters of the Apocalypse - How did the "It's the End Of The World!" crazy-or-drunk street person (as seen in every disaster movie ever, usually as comic relief) survive the end? Also, how does someone who wasn't a great example of mental functionality before The End survive afterwards? (Community? Friends? Something else?)

Polychrome Heroics - sociopath and prosthetic conscience, where it is a symbiosis that benefits them both and the prosthetic conscience needs the sociopath to reign in their self-destructive compassion.

Daughters of the Apocalypse - "He's not my [pet], I'm his human."

Daughters of the Apocalypse - The backwoods/mountains, where you aren't local until you've got relatives in the local cemetery...and the resident small college or artist's colony that gets all the weird people (The artists, the Buddhists and hippies, the queerfolk, the special-needs kid who needs communication accomodations, the eccentric inventors...or at least the ones who aren't manufacturing guns and brewing moonshine). Plus the two groups having a reasonably functional symbiotic relationship.

Daughters of the Apocalypse - Can we please, for once in this universe have a disaster story where people wear sensible clothing (boots, hat, scarf, jeans and long sleeves, leather gloves as necessary) instead of going around sleeveless and bareheaded, with the ladies in skintight boob-window whatever, and far too many of the guys shirtless and bedecked with bullets? Also, why does no-one ever seem to carry bags in these stories (and if they do, the bags get lost in the first 30 minutes and are never seen again)? How /should/ one pack for post-apocalyptic adventures?

Kung Fu Robots - One of the robots takes in a war orphan or child soldier (flips the human as parent to AI bit, as well as the aggressive badass and helpless kid plots)

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 05:42 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Oh, & I don't know if that pirates one we discussed last month has enough of a framework to write? (I could suggest other ideas in the same 'verse, too, but you said you didn't want to jump too far ahead, and I think a couple hundred years might be too far...)

(no subject)

Date: 2024-02-07 06:11 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] see_also_friend
Conflagration of Dargons, what happens to all of the disaster orphans who aren't the Chosen One, don't have a secret pedigreed heritage (or do, but it is no longer relevant because society kind of got smashed), aren't miraculously rescued from the gutter, etc.

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ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
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