Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, February 4
This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, February 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "I believe in dragons, good men, and other fantasy creatures." I'll be soliciting ideas for dragons, unicorns, pegasi, griffins, centaurs, merfolk, shapeshifters, boyfriends or husbands, caregivers, first responders, clergy, outreach workers, philanthropists, an anonymous benefactor, activists, volunteers, teachers, parents, comares, superheroes, supervillains, other fantasy creatures or kind men, questing, volunteering, making donations, supporting people in hard times, offering crash space, helping someone move, yarnbombing, planting trees, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, cooking together, falling in love, getting married, discovering things, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, sharing, fixing what's broke, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, castles, the forest primeval, dragon hoards, romantic restaurants, Triton Teen Centers, the Peace Store, charities, homeless shelters, clothing banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, sobering centers, mentor circles, support groups, churches, sharehouses, intentional communities, gay bars, social justice departments in schools, clubs, quiet rooms, inclusive workplaces, Thalassia, the Maldives, community gardens, other helper hangouts, magic, enchanted artifacts, romance, the language of flowers, intentional neighboring, altruism, acts of kindness, harm reduction, diversity, inclusivity, safety pin peace signs, other activist symbols, interfaith work, family dynamics, alternative family structures, partnerships not based on sex/romance, emotional closeness, rescue, interspecies relationships, trial and error, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
Clay of Life depends on the friendship between a blacksmith and a golem.
A Conflagration of Dragons is about dragons crushing civilizations, and how some people survive that.
Daughters of the Apocalypse has very few men left, but many of those are good.
Eloquent Souls features a lot of good men, mostly in the context of soulmates.
Frankenstein's Family is led by a queerplatonic male couple, plus diverse subgroups interacting.
Hart's Farm features a free love commune in historic Sweden, full of good men.
Peculiar Obligations explores the connection between Quakers and pirates, with most but not all of the good men falling on the Quaker side.
Polychrome Heroics is largely about people helping people. Threads particularly focused on this include Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, Aquariana, the Big One, Iron Horses, Officer Pink, Rutledge, and Trichromatic Attachments.
Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they take care of each other.
Starfather features a young man who accidentally adopts an alien baby.
The Yellow Unicorns is about a world where people normally can't see the color yellow, except for the unicorns.
Or you can ask for something new.
Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.
If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.
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.
I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Tuesday, February 4. I'll be soliciting ideas for thematic characters, plots, settings, objects, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair.
Perks: I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy, and an extra one if there's at least one new prompter or donor. The rest will be available for audience members to buy, and whatever's left over will go into my archive for future use.
If donations total $100 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.
I want to promote linkbacks pointing people to the "Fishbowl Open" post on Tuesday. Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem. One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Twitter or LiveJournal, rather than all on Dreamwidth.
(See the complete list of current perks.)
If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote interest in fantasy creatures -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!
Among my more relevant series for the main theme:
Clay of Life depends on the friendship between a blacksmith and a golem.
A Conflagration of Dragons is about dragons crushing civilizations, and how some people survive that.
Daughters of the Apocalypse has very few men left, but many of those are good.
Eloquent Souls features a lot of good men, mostly in the context of soulmates.
Frankenstein's Family is led by a queerplatonic male couple, plus diverse subgroups interacting.
Hart's Farm features a free love commune in historic Sweden, full of good men.
Peculiar Obligations explores the connection between Quakers and pirates, with most but not all of the good men falling on the Quaker side.
Polychrome Heroics is largely about people helping people. Threads particularly focused on this include Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, Aquariana, the Big One, Iron Horses, Officer Pink, Rutledge, and Trichromatic Attachments.
Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they take care of each other.
Starfather features a young man who accidentally adopts an alien baby.
The Yellow Unicorns is about a world where people normally can't see the color yellow, except for the unicorns.
Or you can ask for something new.
Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.
If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.
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.
I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Tuesday, February 4. I'll be soliciting ideas for thematic characters, plots, settings, objects, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair.
Perks: I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy, and an extra one if there's at least one new prompter or donor. The rest will be available for audience members to buy, and whatever's left over will go into my archive for future use.
If donations total $100 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.
I want to promote linkbacks pointing people to the "Fishbowl Open" post on Tuesday. Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem. One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Twitter or LiveJournal, rather than all on Dreamwidth.
(See the complete list of current perks.)
If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote interest in fantasy creatures -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!