Poetry Fishbowl Open!
Nov. 5th, 2024 01:16 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 "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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.
NOTE: Today is election day in America. If you vote, comment with "I voted" and tell me which open linkback poem you want to reveal a verse of. There's a list at the top of this post.
I'll be soliciting ideas for people on the ace-aro spectrum, dance partners, beat partners, leader-follower partners, housemates, communards, comares, superheroes, supervillains, introverts, activists, counselors, massage therapists, snugglers, therapy pets, other people who promote nonsexual intimacies, cuddling, holding hands, sitting back to back, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, growing closer, moving in together, formalizing a relationship, fumbling for vocabulary, starting a family, cooking together, discovering things, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, taking over in an emergency, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, healthy touch rooms, massage parlors, sharehouses, schools, clubs, quiet rooms, workplaces, kitchens, campsites, laboratories, makerspaces, nonhuman environments, gardens, other places where people interact closely, The Cuddle Sutra, family dynamics, partnerships not based on sex/romance, layered personal boundaries, emotional closeness, first contact, interspecies relationships, trial and error, lab conditions are not field conditions, innovation, skin hunger, loneliness, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.
Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:
Sleepytime Bear Bingo Card 11-1-24
Consider "Asexual / Demisexual" as shorthand for the whole ace-aro spectrum. Characters do not have to be acespec to participate in this event. Other types of partnership and attraction are welcome. Intimacy pr0n focuses on close personal connections. It can be exciting to acespec people much as genital pr0n is exciting to allosexual people, just in some way other than sex/romance. Look at nonsexual intimacies and Five Moments of Intimacy for inspiration. This is a previous FMI bingo card from a fest on Allbingo. The overall goal of this theme is to promote storylines not based on sex/romance that bring characters closer together.
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
The Blueshift Troupers travel in a living ship and are a very tight-knit group.
A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races (plus the dragons) who all have different cultures regarding relationships. This often poses challenges for the refugees.
Daughters of the Apocalypse has people trying to survive, when they absolutely must depend on each other.
Fledgling Grace involves a lot of spiritual intimacy.
Frankenstein's Family features two scientists running a valley in historic Romania, plus werewolves, vampires, and a mummy for all kinds of atypical intimacy.
Hart's Farm is a free love community with diverse bonding methods.
The Moon Door mixes a women's chronic pain group and lycanthropy, so it's all about sharing.
Not Quite Kansas has out-of-place humans forced to rely on each other, plus a demon for soul intimacy.
Peculiar Obligations is about Quakers and their allies among Native Americans and pirates, most of which relationships are platonic.
Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all of whom have their own interpersonal expectations.
Quixotic Ideas features diverse races who interact in nonsexual ways.
Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they're a very diverse group in a very conservative area.
Or you can ask for something new.
Linkbacks reveal verses 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 "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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: Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback 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.
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 bonus fishbowl.
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 "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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 a verse of any open linkback poem. The rest of the poems will go into my archive for future use.
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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.
NOTE: Today is election day in America. If you vote, comment with "I voted" and tell me which open linkback poem you want to reveal a verse of. There's a list at the top of this post.
I'll be soliciting ideas for people on the ace-aro spectrum, dance partners, beat partners, leader-follower partners, housemates, communards, comares, superheroes, supervillains, introverts, activists, counselors, massage therapists, snugglers, therapy pets, other people who promote nonsexual intimacies, cuddling, holding hands, sitting back to back, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, growing closer, moving in together, formalizing a relationship, fumbling for vocabulary, starting a family, cooking together, discovering things, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, taking over in an emergency, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, healthy touch rooms, massage parlors, sharehouses, schools, clubs, quiet rooms, workplaces, kitchens, campsites, laboratories, makerspaces, nonhuman environments, gardens, other places where people interact closely, The Cuddle Sutra, family dynamics, partnerships not based on sex/romance, layered personal boundaries, emotional closeness, first contact, interspecies relationships, trial and error, lab conditions are not field conditions, innovation, skin hunger, loneliness, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.
Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:
Sleepytime Bear Bingo Card 11-1-24
Consider "Asexual / Demisexual" as shorthand for the whole ace-aro spectrum. Characters do not have to be acespec to participate in this event. Other types of partnership and attraction are welcome. Intimacy pr0n focuses on close personal connections. It can be exciting to acespec people much as genital pr0n is exciting to allosexual people, just in some way other than sex/romance. Look at nonsexual intimacies and Five Moments of Intimacy for inspiration. This is a previous FMI bingo card from a fest on Allbingo. The overall goal of this theme is to promote storylines not based on sex/romance that bring characters closer together.
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
The Blueshift Troupers travel in a living ship and are a very tight-knit group.
A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races (plus the dragons) who all have different cultures regarding relationships. This often poses challenges for the refugees.
Daughters of the Apocalypse has people trying to survive, when they absolutely must depend on each other.
Fledgling Grace involves a lot of spiritual intimacy.
Frankenstein's Family features two scientists running a valley in historic Romania, plus werewolves, vampires, and a mummy for all kinds of atypical intimacy.
Hart's Farm is a free love community with diverse bonding methods.
The Moon Door mixes a women's chronic pain group and lycanthropy, so it's all about sharing.
Not Quite Kansas has out-of-place humans forced to rely on each other, plus a demon for soul intimacy.
Peculiar Obligations is about Quakers and their allies among Native Americans and pirates, most of which relationships are platonic.
Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all of whom have their own interpersonal expectations.
Quixotic Ideas features diverse races who interact in nonsexual ways.
Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they're a very diverse group in a very conservative area.
Or you can ask for something new.
Linkbacks reveal verses 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 "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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: Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback 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.
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 bonus fishbowl.
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 "Healthy Touch & Nonsexual Intimacy." 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 a verse of any open linkback poem. The rest of the poems will go into my archive for future use.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 07:24 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-05 08:48 pm (UTC)Re: Poem
Date: 2024-11-05 09:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 08:15 pm (UTC)The first thing I thought of was massage, but having someone skilled at it comb your hair is very intimate and sensual, especially if you have thick hair prone to tangles. That could fit into just about any setting.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-11-05 08:19 pm (UTC)Go you!
>> So Much Grey Area, please.<<
The linkbacks are the poems linked at the top. "So Much Grey Area" is one of the new ones below. Pick a top one?
>>The first thing I thought of was massage, but having someone skilled at it comb your hair is very intimate and sensual, especially if you have thick hair prone to tangles. That could fit into just about any setting.<<
I've already got a massage prompt from backchannel, so that works!
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-11-05 09:06 pm (UTC)Same 'verse:
- we discussed cuddly pirates at one point (well, they're cuddly if they like you anyways)
- I'm fairly sure Mary Dyer had what we would today call depression* and suicidal tendencies (in both worlds). Since the P-Earth version of her was kindnapped and relocated by pirates, how would they have handled the mental health stuff? :
"You wanna hate us for saving you? Fine, we don't care. You're to valuable to lose to some dumbf*** religious b*******. Now pick up a kid, or pick up some of the work around here [mother-and-baby house.] You /don't/ get to die while we still need you and /especially/ while the kids still need you..."
*historically she lost a baby and had several other emotional traumas concurrently...and she would have know the Puritans were going to kill her if she kept going back to their turf.
- does sign languague count for today? If so, Plains Sign / Handtalk prompt from yesterday.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-11-08 07:37 am (UTC)148 lines, Buy It Now = $74
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 08:22 pm (UTC)Done!
Date: 2024-11-05 08:56 pm (UTC)Re: Done!
Date: 2024-11-05 10:43 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-12 02:18 am (UTC)540 lines, Buy It Now = $270
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 08:52 pm (UTC)How about just adding something to Frankenstein? :)
Poem
Date: 2024-11-09 09:56 am (UTC)287 lines, Buy It Now = $144
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 09:19 pm (UTC)Misc prompts:
Cuddling/touch as a form of nonverbal communication, either with nonverbal humans or a different species.
Alloparenting.
Appropriate use of force as applied to tactile communication, i.e. gently moving, directing or relocating a person (i. Part or whole) rather than grabbing, shoving, hitting, etc.
Interspecies alloparenting, where the adult needs to be walked through very basic stuff: "The crying is a distress signal. The wiggling and outstretched arms mean 'Pick me up,' so try cuddling next to her and see what happens..."
Fledgeling Grace: theres as species of bat where mothers will share care of pups with unrelated friends. What kind of fledermaus would have those wings?
Quixiotic ideas: practical and consensual interactions of different bodyplans. Stuff like letting a tiny friend ride your shoulder, using a dragon-friend as a heater/heating pad, asking someone who can purr to calm down a stressed friend or quiet a crying baby.
Well ...
Date: 2024-11-06 06:01 am (UTC)It counts, but that's one of the new poems, not one of the linkbacks. The linkbacks are the ones at the top, linked so you can see how much of each is already up. Pick one of those?
Re: Well ...
Date: 2024-11-08 12:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 09:29 pm (UTC)*ETA: Whoops, I just realized the healthy touch program might have been at the Freeman Family Hospital. I can't remember which at the moment.
Alternately, Heron has done some massage for Shiv before. Have they done any more of that, perhaps trying to meet Shiv's skin hunger safely?
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 11:14 pm (UTC)I voted! Pumpkin Spice Prosperity, please & thank you.
Thank you!
Date: 2024-11-07 01:43 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2024-11-08 09:08 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-10 10:57 pm (UTC)272 lines, Buy It Now = $136
Poem
Date: 2024-11-10 10:57 pm (UTC)272 lines, Buy It Now = $136
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 09:34 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-06 05:54 am (UTC)$17 remaining if anyone wants to finish this.
Re: Poem
Date: 2024-11-06 10:22 pm (UTC)Re: Poem
Date: 2024-11-06 10:49 pm (UTC)Re: Poem
Date: 2024-11-07 11:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 10:15 pm (UTC)Medical care
Poem
Date: 2024-11-09 09:56 am (UTC)287 lines, Buy It Now = $144
Rough day
Date: 2024-11-05 10:58 pm (UTC)Today is a truly great day for nonsexual intimacy and healthy touch. How about something between Daniel Tamsen and Elisabeth Finn, after he's had a terrible day, too?
Re: Rough day
Date: 2024-11-06 11:15 pm (UTC)200 lines, Buy It Now = $100
Re: Rough day
Date: 2024-11-08 09:07 pm (UTC)Re: Rough day
Date: 2024-11-08 09:20 pm (UTC)... I went and looked up the first two lines.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-06 01:29 am (UTC)Polychrome Heroics, Schrodinger's Heroes, or Hart's Farm -
Bartering, cooperating, and learning what you can (and can't) do. Two characters: somebody born with disabilities but also high other intelligences, helping out a friend who had previously been the "abled assistant" now having newly acquired but temporary disabilities.
Done!
Date: 2024-11-06 02:26 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-30 04:20 am (UTC)638 lines, Buy It Now = $638
Double price for research.
Prompts
Date: 2024-11-06 04:14 am (UTC)Scalp massages, hair petting, brushing, or braiding. Not super fussed about a particular series, just some good long bliss inducing hair care. Reciprocal is awesome.
Re: Prompts
Date: 2024-11-06 06:03 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2024-11-12 02:19 am (UTC)540 lines, Buy It Now = $270
Done for the night!
Date: 2024-11-06 10:55 am (UTC)