Poetry Fishbowl Open!
Apr. 7th, 2009 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithStarting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! 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.
In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is sword & sorcery. I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.
Today's donation goal is $100. We're mostly using the fishbowl funds to buy groceries, but if enough comes in, this month I get a bit for plant shopping. That starts at $50 and goes up a little more at $100, so there's the goal. Fresh herbs for cooking, mmm...
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.
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) Matching donations. If you crave a particular poem but can't afford the whole thing yourself, you can team up with someone else to sponsor it. Matching donations are also allowed for the general fund.
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. Details are here.
5) Spread the word! Post about the Poetry Fishbowl on your blog and link to it. Tell your friends about it and encourage them to participate. Rate my poetry on Poetry Blog Rankings so it will attract more attention.
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.
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 through LJ's private-message function. If you're not logged in but you want to see the poem inspired by your prompt, give me your eddress; I recommend using {at} and {dot} to discourage spammers. 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.
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 sword & sorcery. I am especially looking for:
heroes and heras
magical characters
adventures
strange swords
strange things that can happen to swords
magical artifacts
classic fantasy locations
unusual fantasy locations
reversals of tropes you think are stupid
and poetic forms
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 first edition of Lewis Turco's The 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. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.
In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is sword & sorcery. I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.
Today's donation goal is $100. We're mostly using the fishbowl funds to buy groceries, but if enough comes in, this month I get a bit for plant shopping. That starts at $50 and goes up a little more at $100, so there's the goal. Fresh herbs for cooking, mmm...
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.
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) Matching donations. If you crave a particular poem but can't afford the whole thing yourself, you can team up with someone else to sponsor it. Matching donations are also allowed for the general fund.
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. Details are here.
5) Spread the word! Post about the Poetry Fishbowl on your blog and link to it. Tell your friends about it and encourage them to participate. Rate my poetry on Poetry Blog Rankings so it will attract more attention.
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.
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 through LJ's private-message function. If you're not logged in but you want to see the poem inspired by your prompt, give me your eddress; I recommend using {at} and {dot} to discourage spammers. 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.
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 sword & sorcery. I am especially looking for:
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 first edition of Lewis Turco's The 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. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:20 pm (UTC)Dragontina
Knife juggler
Crown
Helm
Shy elf
Chain mail
footpawsoldierEvil eye gnome
(no subject)
From:Poem
From:Poem
From:One last time...
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:24 pm (UTC)Poem
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:29 pm (UTC)Also, what if it takes special materials to make special items?
Poem
From:Second Poem
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:36 pm (UTC)I want the same thing, but with three people!
O_o
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:43 pm (UTC)*laugh*
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 05:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:*gasp* *pant* *wheeze*
From:Re: *gasp* *pant* *wheeze*
From:Poem
From:Poem
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 06:23 pm (UTC)(I was also going to offer a prompt about the ridiculous size of Japanese fantasy swords - the weapons in the game Final Fantasy VII are a prime example of this - but I couldn't find a decent online image to illustrate my point!)
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:Poem
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:Yay! Yay!
From:(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 06:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:Poem
From:Done for the Night
Date: 2009-04-08 07:49 am (UTC)Ideas, please leave me alone the rest of the night so I can get some sleep.
*flop* zzzzzz...
story about live fish
Date: 2009-04-09 01:30 am (UTC)http://shabbarsuterwala.blogspot.com/2009/04/japanese-and-fresh-fish-story.html