2007-01-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Well, it is little and black, but it has a New Yorker cartoon of a dog on the front. :P I have the refrain in it and I made a little folder in the back where I put the piece of paper on which I was trying to determine an outline. I'm wondering if each character should have a constant theme or not...

2007-01-28 [GoneGone]: Huge decisions when planning to write Beauty and the Beast as an epic. I've got a couple "black books" of my own. Except they're pretty. Anyone know the "Blank Notes" company that makes Renaissance and Classical looking notebooks? But I've got about three journals full of story snippets. I take a journal with me everywhere I go.

2007-01-28 [Daemon SaDiablo]: Thats a good idea Deost, though I really can't do that at work, they'd fire me.

2007-01-28 [GoneGone]: :( That's too bad. Defy them!

2007-01-28 [Daemon SaDiablo]: Well, I'd defy them, but money means I can live in my apartment. No money means I'm sort of homeless.

2007-01-28 [GoneGone]: Hmm...that is a tough choice.....defy them quietly!

2007-01-28 [Daemon SaDiablo]: I'd defy them with flying colors if I was on third shift. No supervisor to eyeball me constantly. Anyways, back to the poetry talk. Gotta stay on topic. -laughs faintly-

2007-01-28 [GoneGone]: Yes. Topic......which topic is it at the moment?

2007-01-28 [Daemon SaDiablo]: I think we were talking about K'chona and her epic of Beauty and the Beast, then deteriorated to the little black book of poetry. So I guess a new topic is in order.

2007-01-28 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: I needa go get me a zip up little black book...hrmn...now if I had money...I need a publisher >.>

2007-01-28 [Linderel]: Bind your own books! ^_^

2007-01-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Oooh, that could be fun! I have no artistic talent when it comes to drawing and stuff, but I can follow patterns and sew and tie knots like anything.

2007-01-28 [Linderel]: I have a whole wiki dedicated to the books I've made myself... well, the wiki is co-owned with a friend, but anyway. :) Most of the books have gone to other people, but the two I have kept for myself are full of poems. Crafted with love <- in case you're interested.

2007-01-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Wow, that's awesome.

...my school dun' offer bookbinding. I did take pottery, though.

2007-01-28 [Linderel]: Ooooh, pottery. :D I bet that would have been an interesting course as well.

2007-01-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: It was fun. Especially the wheel! I love the wheel. Even though I'm crap at it.

2007-01-30 [GoneGone]: So, who's submitting a poem for the Valentine Competition?

2007-01-30 [Daemon SaDiablo]: Already have.

2007-01-30 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: I will. Just ummn...closer to the deadline, when everyone's already posted theirs...so I can enter an awesome one...or that's what I'll think of it when I come up with it, lol

2007-01-30 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I'm planning to...but I'm writing a good friend of mine sonnets for every year of her life for her birthday this year...soooooo...yeah, I need to write one.

2007-01-30 [GoneGone]: I wrote one tonight on the train. :D I'll have to see if it's any good, though.

2007-01-30 [Linderel]: I might. If not for the fact that I'm running it. :P

2007-01-30 [GoneGone]: That definitely makes unbiased judging difficult.

2007-01-30 [Linderel]: I wouldn't be so cheap as to choose my own poem, though. Not unless other Council people said I should.

2007-01-30 [GoneGone]: No, but it could call up questions, unfounded as they may be.

2007-01-30 [Linderel]: Yah. When I became Council, I decided to drop participating in official poetry things... But then I was persuaded to participate in the Christmas Poetry Competition. xD Which I could do, because I wasn't running it. I helped with the choosing of the winners, but my poem was clearly not one of the top five.

2007-01-31 [GoneGone]: Ummm....if anyone cares: Deost's Collected Works
It's still under serious construction, but since people asked...

2007-01-31 [Linderel]: *goes and stalks*

2007-02-01 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I'll go take a look-see when I'm done with homework! Yay, new page!

And for your amusement, Deost... Fireblade's Poetry.

Enjoy. I hope.

2007-02-01 [GoneGone]: Any feedback?

2007-02-01 [Linderel]: I'll work on giving all of you some feedback after I get done with all the other stuff I'm supposed to do, at least.

2007-02-01 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Heh. and I've updated my wiki a little bit. PhoenixV's Poetry
there's also now a second page =)

2007-02-01 [Linderel]: Hey, I see you've joined Writersco, [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]. :D

2007-02-01 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Why yes. Yes I have =)
Would you be Linderel on there, also? or some other name?

2007-02-01 [Linderel]: I'm Calann. ;)

2007-02-01 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: oooh. alright.

2007-02-04 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I thought you guys might like to know...National Poetry Day is October 4th.

http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/aboutus/npd/

....October 4th is also my birthday. O.o Weird, huh?

2007-02-04 [Daemon SaDiablo]: S'five days shy of mine. Odd, incredibly so since its your birthday.

2007-02-04 [Linderel]: National or international? :P *clicky* Ah, British National Poetry Day. As could be suspected from the address. xD

2007-02-04 [Fireblade K'Chona]: ...the American one might be different, but meh, October 4 is still October 4!

(strangely enough, October 4 is also when Graham Chapman from Monty Python died. He died the *day* I was born. Freaky, huh?)

2007-02-16 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I wrote another sestina. It's called, "The Wrong Bus". It is about someone getting on the wrong bus. I shall summarize it thus.

If the man across the aisle says, "I'm burning for you," and it's not a metaphor, you are really on the wrong bus. It involves Morpheus from Sandman, too. Just a bit.

2007-02-16 [Linderel]: Oooh, Dream! I love him. <3

2007-02-16 [Fireblade K'Chona]: It's a friend-only entry, but I'll send it to you if you like.

2007-02-16 [Linderel]: I'd like that. :)

2007-02-16 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Mmkay.

2007-02-21 [Linderel]: Thanks for sending it. ^_^ I shall read it with attention once I get over my current lazy period.

Anyone active on the Elftown Wiki Poetry Dueling Arena, by the way?

2007-02-22 [Fireblade K'Chona]: The whatta wha? -goes for a look-

2007-02-27 [Junko987]: HEY [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]!!!! look what i found *shows you* it's the wiki!!!!

2007-02-27 [GoneGone]: You think it would be a good idea to put up any pertinent links (such as public poetry wikis or anyone with a private wiki of their poetry) at the top of this page?

That way I could, for example, easily find fireblade's poetry wikis without going in circles.

2007-02-27 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Hehe, yep. there you are =)

2007-02-27 [GoneGone]: And links to other sites like NaNoWriMo and others can be posted above too...

2007-02-27 [Linderel]: Poets meeting point has links to communities and private wikis. :3

2007-02-27 [Fireblade K'Chona]: wow, I never found the NaNo page and I've been doing it for two years... O.o

(and if you'd like to put up Fireblade's Poetry, go ahead. ^_^)

2007-02-27 [Linderel]: It's not a very active wiki, even in November. And the forum is practically dead. :P

2007-02-27 [Fireblade K'Chona]: yaay! -dances-

-cough- Anyway. Returning to the topic of poetry! I know that I'm rather an anomaly and a nerd (:D) but it drives me insane when I'm trying to analyze poetry in class and no one else takes it SERIOUSLY. Argh!

2007-02-27 [Linderel]: Hmm. What level of education is this?

2007-02-27 [Fireblade K'Chona]: High school. Junior year.

We're all-girl's, though. So off-color references really shouldn't make us shriek like freshmen. -eyeroll-

(er. No offense towards freshmen meant, of course. It's just that at my school, they're the only ones not used to an all-girl's requirement and are the most likely to be shocked...)

By the way, Linderel, have you recieved my Sandman-esque sestina?

2007-02-27 [Linderel]: Hmm, senior secondary, then. I guess there are some people on that level who still have trouble taking things seriously.

Ummm... Junior high is three years (freshman, junior/sophomore, senior) and high school four years (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), right? Or do I have it all mixed up? <_<

Off-colour references? *tilts head*

Ah, yeah, I have. Giving it a thorough read is on my to-do list.

2007-02-27 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Well, in junior high we called it 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, but your high school thing is spot-on. ^_^

And off-color references...um...you know some of the Romantic poetry gets a little bit explicit in spots? well, in the book we use it doesn't get all that bad, but just a *mention* of what happens during sex shouldn't suddenly make everyone shriek. -eyeroll-

Excellent, excellent. Just let me know when you get to it...actually...just answer the message, and I'll message back, you know the drill. :P

2007-02-27 [Linderel]: I mostly use the Japanese system as reference, since it's about the same. In anime, they talk of ichinen, ninen and sannen even in reference to middle school/junior high, and the subtitles translate them as freshman, etc. so... :P *ramble ramble* Aaaaanyways.

Aha. I see... Immature people much? xD

Aye-aye. ^_~

2007-02-27 [Fireblade K'Chona]: yes, we do get immature people. -le sigh-

Do you read Neil Gaiman's blog? Someone emailed in with an interesting comment about possibly using his Oracular Journal (...you had to be there, though it's now a feature on the sidebar) for prompts for writing.

I thought that was interesting. Maybe, perhaps, we can use something as a Poetry Oracle and hold a contest around it? (if we told Neil Gaiman about his Oracular Journal being used on an international website like this, he'd probably be amused...)

And speaking of him, I think I might mail him my Sandman sestina. He likes sestinas. He's said so.

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: Hell yes I'm reading his blog!

Well... It's a shame to admit, but I haven't been reading the posts that carefully. I should go back and read them all.

Poetry Oracle? Sounds very intriguing indeed.

2007-02-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Heh, just check his sidebar for the Amazing Oracular Journal and you'll get the gist of it.

And I don't know what we'd use as a Poetry Oracle...maybe...a Complete Works of William Shakespeare? After all, he is the Bard. But then again, there are just so many poets out there...

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: I'll do that tomorrow if I remember. Hmm, this means I need to go to the actual page, I've just subscribed to the LJ feed...

Wilde? Plath? Byron? A number of other poets whose works I should be reading but have not yet got around to? So many...

2007-02-28 [GoneGone]: Deost's Collected Works if you don't mind! Thank you!

2007-02-28 [GoneGone]: Thanks! Glee! Should I be keeping tabs on Neil Gaiman's blog?

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: You definitely should!

2007-02-28 [GoneGone]: Is it that interesting?

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: Everything Gaiman says or does is interesting.

2007-02-28 [GoneGone]: He's the creator of Sandman, right?

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: Ayup. That's probably what he's most known for.

2007-02-28 [GoneGone]: What else is he known for?

2007-02-28 [Linderel]: Novels. Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods... Good Omens in cooperation with Terry Pratchett. A hilarious book, a must.

2007-03-01 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I am slowly, surely getting all of my friends just as addicted to Gaiman as I am. :P

2007-03-01 [Linderel]: Woot for you! :D

*steers* Okay, anyone else want to gripe with me over how hard it is to do metres that require you know something about the nature of syllables? More often than not, I don't even know how a certain word is divided unless a dictionary tells me, because there just is no sensible pattern about it.
Like a limerick. Or even iambs. How the hell am I supposed to know what's a long syllable, what's a short one, and which is emphasised? >_<

2007-03-01 [Fireblade K'Chona]: When I'm writing in iambic pentameter, I usually just mumble the words along to find the rhythm. However, English is a bitch. There are all sorts of ways to emphasize words. >.< If I get too frustrated, I just call it poetic license and leave it there.

2007-03-01 [Linderel]: Compared to English, Finnish is so simple! The emphasis is always on the first syllable, without exception. I'll claim that I'm better at English than the average person around this part of the world, but there are just some things that don't make sense whatsoever. English is absurd - though one might argue that that's the reason I'm so good at it, since I suck at languages like German and Swedish that are fairly logical, comparing.

Poetic license is a good thing to have, though. xD

2007-03-29 [Linderel]: Dead?

2007-03-29 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: I think it is...poke it with a stick

2007-03-29 [Linderel]: *looks around for a stick, notices her staff in the corner* Hmmmm. *picks up and prods with it*

2007-03-29 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Yeah, I think it's dead. Maybe it's not too late to revive it though =P

2007-03-29 [Linderel]: I certainly hope so.
Any bets on the first Grandmaster Poet? :D

2007-03-29 [pelv13]: not dead... just sleeping...

2007-03-29 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Or acoma?

2007-03-29 [GoneGone]: Me! [Linderel] It's gonna be me!

Or, just wishful thinking...a girl can dream, eh? Even if she's not a poet at heart. :P

2007-03-30 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Grandmaster Poet? Eh?

2007-03-30 [Linderel]: Grandmaster Poets - there are none currently. :P

2007-03-30 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Oh, okay. Hm. I may have to work towards that...

2007-03-30 [GoneGone]: It takes a very long time to even get a poem posted on Mainstreet. I think I submitted a poem in November and it still hasn't been posted. I think achieving Grandmaster depends mostly on somebody's updating ethic. :P (no offence intended)

2007-03-30 [Linderel]: Point your finger at Trues about the updating, not me - it's his responsibility. I do the featuring and the submissions-page bitching. :P
I would have had a chance if I hadn't become a Boss. Ah, the sacrifices I made for making Daily Poem daily. xD

2007-03-30 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Hehehe. -snickers-

I think we poets need to arise and overtake the world by verse! Muahaha!

2007-04-03 [Linderel]: *grin* That's a tempting prospect right there.
Hmm, I'm under a challenge for this month (see keep the doctor away! for details), so I wouldn't mind some suggestions. Any formats you think I should try? :3

2007-04-03 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Try a series of haikus or limericks.

2007-04-03 [Linderel]: Haikus I thought of already. Will have to see when to try them out.
Limericks are a nightmare. *dies* But maybe I'll give it another shot. xD

2007-04-05 [Linderel]: It's dead. Again. *sigh* Any ideas on how we could keep it alive? More people, perhaps?

2007-04-06 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: I've tried Haikus, found to love them =)
I have some in my diary

2007-04-06 [Linderel]: Yes, they are quite the lovely format, simple to do once you get the hang of them. ^_^

2007-04-08 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I quite enjoy them. They're a bitch to get exactly right, though.

2007-04-08 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Ah, yes. That can be a problem.
Sometimes things start out as a Haiku, but you want it to be more once you do write...but I usually want it to stay a Haiku so I just rewrite it to have less syllables...usually...I'm thinking about if it keeps on happening, just free form it, hehe...

2007-04-08 [Fireblade K'Chona]: What's the weirdest form of poetry you've ever heard of?

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: My knowledge of poetry forms is extremely limited, can't really contribute there. :S
What did you have in mind?

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Oh, I was thinking about my friend, who had to write a Fibonacci poem...she took the first 15 terms of the Fibonacci sequence, and each term defined syllables per line. It was most peculiar.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: *blink blink* Eh? That indeed sounds most curious.
Fibonacci sequence... that's the thing that's used in 'The Da Vinci Code', right? (Yes, I've read it. After I saw the movie. <_<)

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: it's also, like...everywhere in nature. But yes. It was in the Da Vinci Code too.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: I obviously need to read up on stuff. :P
Note to self: Devour Wikipedia articles, starting in June.
*waits for uni entrance exams with horror*

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: You don't like to be patted, I know, so I shall just wince in sympathy. -wince- Look, a wince!

I'm happy because my baseball team won today. Go Mariners! It was 8 to 3. I am very happy.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Either you're a stalker or I've been more loud about it than I thought/remember. *grin* Hehe, thanks. ;P

Wheee! Congrats to you, and them.

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I patted you before and you bit my head off, actually...but people had been bugging you over your removal of their poem...

And yes, thank you, it made me very happy indeed. ^_^

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Ah, so that's it. I apologise; I have a very sad excuse for a memory. Shoddy as hell.

^__^

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: It's okay, I forgave you. ^_^ I've a very easygoing personality.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Thanks. It's good to know I can be forgiven even if I can be a bit too grumpy. :)

Hmm, anyone up for writing trochees? Though I do think that the Trochaic Poetry Contest is pretty much dead anyhow, one doesn't see much of [Kiddalee] these days.

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: No, one really doesn't.

Trochees? Hm. -goes for a look-see-

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: She's apparently more online at Writersco. Oh well. :S

I'll have to take another stab at trochees, too. I tried once, but failed miserably. Same problem as with limericks: I don't know where the emphasis goes, so it's really hard to try and get the metre right. <_<

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I think I'd have trouble with it. I'm a big fan of iambic pentameter.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Which I also need to try...
I had a crazy idea. Acrostic haikus in iambs.
... okay, going to bed. It's 4 a.m. and I can hear the birds singing. <_<

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: yes, Linderel, you really need some sleep. Come look at what you just said when you've gotten some sleep.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Well, I've already written an acrostic haiku. The iamb thing might be an impossibility, though. :P

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I think it is. 5-7-5? In iambs? I don't think that would work.

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Probably not. *grin* And I'm not just yet crazy enough to try.

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: If you do, good luck...

2007-04-15 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: well, it don't hurt to try =\

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Of course not!

2007-04-15 [Linderel]: Haha, thanks. xP

2007-04-15 [Fireblade K'Chona]: April is Poetry Month at my library. They have a contest. Should I enter?

2007-04-16 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Sure, why not?

2007-04-16 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I think I just might. I'll have to hunt something suitable down, though...

2007-04-16 [Linderel]: Do they have a theme, or is it just a general poetry contest?

2007-04-16 [Fireblade K'Chona]: No theme, really.

2007-04-16 [Linderel]: Hmmm. Writing contests would be nice to participate in. Unfortunately, by now my creative writing skills are better in English than they are in Finnish... Which is kind of, er, sad. xD

2007-04-17 [Fireblade K'Chona]: just a little. I shall shed a tear. -sheds a tear- Oh look, I'm done.

:P

Ignore me, I'm in a weiiiird mood.

2007-04-17 [Linderel]: Okay. :P *ignores*

Nah, weird moods can be fun.

2007-04-17 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I think mine says, "Ho-dee, ho-dee, ho, sir?"

Because, of course, of Jeeves.

2007-04-18 [GoneGone]: Working on a writing contest for Eltown, personally. With [Vameyre] (I think I spelled that properly). We figured there weren't enough writing contests on here. Besides, we both suffer from serious writer's block. :P Maybe hosting a contest will rid us (and the contestants) of it. That's the hope, anyway.

Besides, the more you enter writing contests, the more experience you gain. Submit, Fireblade! Your library will thank you.

2007-04-18 [Fireblade K'Chona]: That would be nice indeed! I got a very interesting idea for a short story yesterday that I think I may do for...my own amusement. It's about a college student who moves into her (or maybe his, I haven't decided yet) dorm, and finds out that she (or he) has been assigned God as a roommate.

And thank you for that, I'll sort through my stuff, perhaps write something new, and try and reach the deadline this time!

2007-04-19 [GoneGone]: Sounds like a definite potential plot. And good potential for a lot of humour. When you do write it, you should add a link here so we can read it.
I only really write for my own amusement, and occasionally for contests.

Does anybody here write only for contests, and only occasionally for themselves, and vice versa?

2007-04-19 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I write for myself, by and large.

I'm glad that people like the concept...

2007-04-19 [GoneGone]: Well, I do....don't know about everyone else.

2007-04-19 [Linderel]: I don't know why, but it reminds me of Bruce Almighty. Anyway... it would be nice to see how you pull it off, sounds like a very nice idea. :D

I probably write for both myself and others, equally. I write because I can't not do so, but most of what I write I display in hopes of getting feedback. Contests help me with this. :3

2007-04-19 [GoneGone]: You should enter my contest *poke*

2007-04-19 [Linderel]: I should? When can I find a link? :P

2007-04-19 [GoneGone]: As soon as [Vameyre] and I actually make it....*keeps poking anyway*

2007-04-19 [Linderel]: In the meantime, can you tell me what it's about? xD

2007-04-19 [GoneGone]: It's split into two halves. One the writer is given three "musts" like the story must have a battle scene, a romantic kiss turned wrong and a pair of socks. The plot, setting, genre is up to the writer as long as the story meets all the guidelines.

The second half is for people who have had a story in mind, but haven't had the time or initiative to start it. So for each size of story (short story, novella, novel etc.) there's a minimum number of words expected (not a whole novel, but enough to be a strong start to it) and the person who wins has the minimum words required and a strong, engaging beginning to their story.

2007-04-20 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Except if it's ever made into a movie, Linderel, Jim Carrey will not be included. :P

And that sounds like a very awesome contest, but I've got three...no...four writing projects on with a deadline right now.

2007-04-20 [GoneGone]: That's alright! This wasn't a "please submit" explanation, more of a "this is what I'm up to." We're barely in the beginning stages, so it'll be awhile, anyway.

2007-04-20 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Oh good.

2007-04-21 [Fireblade K'Chona]: So I went to a book sale tonight, where there were tons and tons of books for sale...and I bought about eight poetry books...and the only reason I didn't buy more was because I couldn't find a Byron book that I wanted.

I'm such a dork. :P

2007-04-21 [Linderel]: I scent a bibliophile. :3

2007-04-21 [Fireblade K'Chona]: yes, yes you do. I have to seriously restrain myself every time I go to that book sale.

2007-05-08 [Linderel]: I know the feeling... I find it, in a way, very unfortunate that I am in peril of a thinning wallet in other places than book sales. Like... craft supply shops. I seriously go all starry-eyed.
Dangerous business, shopping. Mmmm books.

If this comment seems random or less than sane, it's because it is 2 a.m. and I should be going to bed, but this wiki's lifeless state saddened me and I decided I should say something. <_<

2007-05-09 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Very good, very good!

I was writing a poem while volunteering last week...there's dead time where I work, so I have the time and I forgot my cards for card tricks...I quite like it so far, but it's not done.

It's kind of a story-poem. A love story. All dialogue. But I doubt it will end well. Their differences are too great.

One thing that's interesting about it, I think, is that you can't tell which of the speakers is a man and which is a woman...you can fill in whatever voices you like.

2007-05-10 [GoneGone]: I'm also working on a poem. It's based off my recent visit to the United States, and the things I saw there. While I was on the highway three cars were driving like a blockade. A bird on the road flew up to avoid one car and hit the window of the car next to it. Then the third car ran over the bird, and none of them seemed to notice. Wonderful symbolism among the horror in that...

2007-05-10 [Linderel]: I'm currently trying to tackle the book Mastering the Language of Literature by Malcolm Hebron, for my uni entrance exam - and lamenting the fact that I've no time for writing. I don't have that much inspiration, either, for that matter, but I've a snippet series left hanging from last month and my muse is going to throw a tantrum if I don't do something about it soon. Also, thinking about trying my hand in writing a sonnet.

You should both post your poems when you're done! The story-poem sounds really interesting... I take it it's going to be long? :P
Deost... Not much to say to that incident, except the highly expressive 'meh!'. That's just so... depressing.

2007-05-10 [Fireblade K'Chona]: It's probably going to be fairly long, Linderel. But I'm not sure yet.

I bought a book about writing poetry! More on that later.

2007-05-10 [GoneGone]: It is, but there's so much meaning behind it as well. At least I see lots of meaning behind it. But then, my muse at the moment is also really "meh!", so maybe it's appropriate.

2007-05-19 [Fireblade K'Chona]: This year for one of my dear friends who is graduating, I wrote a sonnet. She is now in possession of the sonnet, and I destroyed the only other copy. Very few people recieve poems from me as gifts...

Ooh, and I'm on Daily Poem today! Which makes me very happy. Although I was completely flummoxed for a moment; I hadn't remembered I had submitted that poem! :P Yay! -dances-

2007-05-19 [Linderel]: It is generally a good idea to keep track of what you submit and where. :P

Hmm, what about that book you mentioned a couple of comments back?

2007-05-19 [Fireblade K'Chona]: oh, I remembered I'd submitted it after a few moments, it just took me a bit. :P And...book? Oh! Book! It's a book about writing poetry to be used either as a textbook in class or to guide someone solo. It's up in my room...somewhere...I'll dig it up. So far it's been talking about effective points of view and why style doesn't matter quite so much as the word choice.

2007-05-21 [GoneGone]: Word choice is everything. Poems are so much harder than stories because each word chosen must be the exact word. I find I have to choose the words based on how they sound, how long or short they are, how many there are and where they're placed on top of their meaning. Style's a second thought. The right choice of words is what holds the power in a poem.

2007-05-21 [Linderel]: Wow, that's intense. Usually, if I'm not trying to follow a specific metre, I just write without a second thought. Of course I may then change some of the words, revise an entire line, etc., but I'm not quite that careful... Yet I still think my poetry isn't half bad.

2007-05-21 [Fireblade K'Chona]: People write different ways. I'm a fan of sonnets, which means I have to work more carefully than people who like free verse, because I just don't have as many syllables to work with...

2007-05-21 [GoneGone]: I'm in free verse, which means the only thing I'm focussed on is word rhythm. Fireblade has to focus much more on style as well as word choice. Like she says, it depends on your own methods. But if you want to get the idea across, you'd better make sure you get it just right, any way you do it.

2007-05-21 [Linderel]: I just tried writing a sonnet. Bloody hard, that is! I'm pretty sure the metre is all funky, and the last two lines don't rhyme at all. xD

2007-05-21 [GoneGone]: I admire you! I stay far away from styles. :P

2007-05-21 [Linderel]: Hehe, my thanks. I try different styles nowadays, to see how I might fare in them. Even though it's really difficult sometimes, it's also fun. :D And sometimes, like now, I even like the end result, even if it's not a perfect example of its style.

2007-05-21 [GoneGone]: I don't know. Sometimes style is very helpful, and sometimes there's just too much emphasis on it, and not enough focus on the idea behind it. For example, a very recent poem was submitted to the daily poem by [Tyrana] that to me is just absolutely mindblowing. There's no style to it, it's not very long, and yet I personally think it's the best poem I've seen submitted in a very long time. And it's the best poem not because it follows some difficult style, but because of the idea behind it.

2007-05-21 [Linderel]: It takes some concentration to get it, which is probably part of what makes it good. I wouldn't exactly call it mindblowing, but then again, poetry is subjective.

2007-05-22 [GoneGone]: Alright, mindbowing may be too strong a word, but it's still brilliant. Then again, given some of the manure splattered onto that page, I may not be too far off...

2007-05-22 [Fireblade K'Chona]: argh, my entire comment was just deleted because my computer spazzed. -headdesk- Anyway.

You're right about the...erm...manure, ED. (hey, Ed! haha. Don't mind me, I'm easily amused. :P) Still, poetry is subjective...although I once found a book in a store called "Godawful Teenage Poetry" and it made me laugh myself sick. And I AM a teenager. Remind me to show you guys the Gothic Poetry Generator sometime...anyway. I wish I'd bought that book, it cheered me up.

Anyway. The book I've been talking about is called The Poet's Companion, and it has analyses of types of poetry (mostly contemporary) and exercises to do...it can be either used in a class or solo, which is what I'm doing. One prompt that intrigues me is this. "Describe a pair of shoes in such a way that the reader thinks of death. Do not mention death in the poem."

There are many, many others as well...

Good luck with styles, Linderel! And, you know, I may like style poems (I love sonnets possibly more than is healthy :P) but I'm not a slave to it. I've been known to let an eleven-syllable line slip into a sestina or a sonnet if I need certain words.

Also, I wrote a free verse poem today. However, I'm not showing it, because it's about my friends and I (we've been hanging out for years and today we're saying goodbye to our seniors) and it's...deeply personal to me, and to them. I wrote it in such a way that the event I'm describing didn't actually happen, but it could have. So we can all kind of remember it, even though it never actually happened.

I'm very proud of it, actually.

2007-05-22 [Linderel]: Eep, long comment. I can only imagine the pain of having to type it all up all over again. xD

'Godawful Teenage Poetry'? Wow. Someone must have had fun while composing that. Cruel fun, but fun nonetheless. Maybe you can find it again somewhere.

Shoes... How intriguing. xD If possible, I'll have to get a peek of that book. I wonder if I could find it here in Finland. Who has written it?

Thanks! Like previously stated, I've fallen in love with haikus, and those that I've written are even pretty good. If I may say so myself. They're actually very easy once you get the hang of it.
But sonnets... I salute you! To be able to write in such a demanding style. :D If possible, I'd like your opinion on the one I wrote, seeing as you have more experience with them.

I'm sure it's lovely. :)

And, uh, speaking of the manure... I probably shouldn't say this in public, but imagine having to look at those poems when they get to the queue and think that sooner or later, you're going to have to feature them. It is sad, very sad indeed.

2007-05-22 [Fireblade K'Chona]: heh, it was indeed painful to type it up, but no matter. It's all in my head anyway. I've got everything up in my head, sooner or later. Although retyping is always a pain.

Heh, that person compiled the Godawful Teenage Poetry book, I can only imagine how many times they had to leave and read a good book until they calmed down. :P

I'll...look up the author when I have the book on hand. :P It was cowritten, that much I know.

ooh, haikus are fun! I occasionally go nuts with them. :P I wrote a set of them about Sandman once that I was pretty proud of.

I would love to read your sonnet. It's always fun to look at one that I didn't write myself. Because I don't know the nuts and bolts of that one, so I get to theorize...which I don't get to do about my own poetry...

Oh, Linderel. -sigh- Sad indeed. Still, at least the contests retain some integrity.

2007-05-22 [Fireblade K'Chona]: By the way.

http://www.deadlounge.com/poetry/created.html

2007-05-23 [Linderel]: Mmh, that's handy. Once my whole bio got deleted, for one reason or another (can't remember anymore), but I remembered most of the stuff I'd written, if not the exact wordings, so I could just type it up again with no real problems.

I said 'composed'? Erm, I meant 'compiled'. xP My fingers got ahead of my brain and I didn't realise to check... Ah well. I'd imagine compiling such a book is both painful and amusing at the same time.

...I still have to read that one poem you sent me. I've marked it unread, so I will have to click on that blue text sooner or later... I won't promise anything, but I'll try to take the time tonight. <_<

Great! It's in my description, you can read it there.

Yeah. I could go off on a rant concerning a whole lot of things that tick me off while at the job, but I think I'll pass. Suffice to say that sometimes, I just feel like headwalling times infinity.

Oooh, I need to try that. By the way, this "It will only crash your system if your computer becomes depressed." is brilliant.
Hmm... 'The Black Abyss of Righteous Hatred', let's try that one. Scary. It wasn't even total rubbish. Just mostly so.
'The Feeling Very Sorry For Yourself'. Pfffft. xP

2007-05-23 [Fireblade K'Chona]: first off while I'm thinking about it, the book I've been reading is called "The Poet's Companion/A guide to the pleasures of writing poetry"
(the slash is between lines...)
by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux.

It's actually quite fun to read. Although I skipped the grammar section because...I do grammar in school...anyway. The rest of your comment now!

Heh, don't worry, my fingers run ahead of my brain all the time. And I'll read your poem tonight too, I don't have time to do it as thoroughly as I want right now.

oh dear. -wince- And you have to deal with the people who refuse to use the format, too, on the job...ah well. you can flee here when you like!

Isn't that a good website? :P I have a little too much fun with it. I particularly like the "Eternal Love of Vampires Darkly" one...one of the choices for the color of her lips is "Really very deeply crimson" and half the choices for skin color are "pale". They got a bit cynical there. :P

2007-05-23 [GoneGone]: Ok, little late here, but whatever.

Usually when I have to write a huge text on Elftown, I select all of it, copy, and then click send. If it logs me out, I just log back in and click paste. It saves me a lot of time.

I've never actually bothered to sit down and read books on how to write. I never felt I needed it. Maybe a little egotistical on my side, but I've never really felt like it would help.

I usually have the issue of my brain ahead on the next sentence and my fingers haven't caught up yet. I get things like two completely different ideas in one sentence. Sometimes it's kinda crazy.

I understand completely Linderel! At the insectarium where I work, I have to deal with all sorts of stupidity all the time. It's amazing how people will give in to their irrationality and self-interest (or faulty preservation ie. "EWWWW!!! That's spider's gonna kill me!!! Squish it! Quick!" even if the spider is behind glass). A good retreat saves even the most resilient of minds.

Off to check website!

2007-05-23 [GoneGone]: Checked website. It cracks me up. I love it.

2007-05-23 [Linderel]: I think the bio-losing thing was when Elftown's database crashed and all changes made in the last day or two were lost. I wouldn't bet on it, but that's the image I have. That copy+paste method is good as long as it's only the website or browser that bugs, if your computer goes down, it doesn't really help. I actually sometimes write parts of my presentation (or diary entry or whatever) on paper.

Hmm, can't remember if I've read books on how to write. Currently, however, I'm reading a book on how to read. :P Anyway, thanks Fireblade, I'll have to look it up!

Truth be told, most of my frustration comes precisely from the people who seem to be unable to read/comprehend instructions. Worse are those who argue back, or those who behave like I should list off their mistakes for them after pointing out that there is something to fix. It's like, erm, they wrote it, and entered it, they should take the time to figure out what they need to fix. Yet somehow, I end up telling anyway, because that just seems to be easier than telling them, again and again, to just go read the damn instructions or use a spellchecker or anything. *inhales*
Okay, sorry, seems like I went off on a rant anyway. xD

Ece-Deost: My sympathies. That sounds possibly even more idiotic than what I have to deal with.

2007-05-23 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I don't usually read books on how to write, but sometimes I do. I'm having fun with this one, actually. It just provides suggestions and guidelines, and the whole attitude is like, "...and you can tell us to screw ourselves if you want, but this helped us." It's fun to read.

I like spiders. Oddly enough.

agh no time for a longer comment -has to run-

2007-05-24 [GoneGone]: The premise between your situation, Linderel, and mine are the same. We keep having to repeat ourselves over and over again and no matter how often or how detailed we do, people will just keep doing the same thing over and over again. It's part of human nature; I'm honestly surprised we manage to evolve at all. Sometimes I even wonder how far we could have evolved if stuff like this didn't keep us in circles. :P

But then, if I walked into a garage and tried to figure out what was wrong with my car, I'd be just as lost as the visitors staring at the spiders.

Spiders and scorpions and everything else in that family are my favourite kinds. :)

And rants are good. They help vent. Venting is good so you don't keep everything inside. Keeping everything inside is bad because you might take it out the wrong way, like accidentally squashing a submitter. I think it's bedtime for me....

2007-05-24 [Fireblade K'Chona]: yay spiders! -hops- Rants are also fun. And....I don't actually have anything constructive to say right now.

2007-05-24 [Cascading water lillies]: Hey, I had never checked this page out before. I like it. I'll return to input something worthy of conversation if that is okay. :) May I place my wiki here for you to read if you have a spare few minutes of reflection for yourselves? YouarethePetalsoftheReincarnation

2007-05-24 [Fireblade K'Chona]: lovely! Linderel will have to put it up, though. :P

There was a bee in my house today. I think it was stunned. So I took it outside. I'm also working on another sestina right now...god help me...

2007-05-25 [Linderel]: There we go, it's up.

Good luck with the sestina, Fireblade!

Ece-Deost: Well, even if I do rant elsewhere, I still end up being grouchy at some people on DP because they just don't get it... <_<

2007-05-25 [Fireblade K'Chona]: well...they should read the rules first! And excessive stupidity is never good. Although some people are just genuinely clueless...

Sorry, not helping. thanks for the wishes.

2007-05-25 [GoneGone]: Good luck Fireblade!

And you're right, Linderel. Well, if you ever need any help with any of it in any way, you know you've got some people happy to do so. :)

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Haha, thanks. :P

I should write a cinquain before the month is over. Hmm. Means I still have a couple of days before deadline.

2007-05-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by...

Yay Douglas Adams! -waves flag-

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Was? *blink*

2007-05-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Um? I have no idea what you're asking.

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: *is speaking in tongues* "Was" = German for "what". :P

2007-05-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: Oh, okay. I don't speak German at all. I was quoting Douglas Adams in that comment...although I really should have waved a towel.

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Oooh, I see. :D

2007-05-28 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Du sprechen Zie Deutch?

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Nür ein bißchen. Ich habe Deutsch acht Jahren gelehrnt, aber habe alles ... whatever was the word for 'forgotten'.
It's spelled 'Sie', by the way. :P

2007-05-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: ...er....je parle beaucoup de francais?

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: No. I only know 'oui', 'merde' and 'bonsour'. :P

2007-05-28 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I didn't ask you anything. :P And it's bonsoir...

But I know no German whatsoever.

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Aha, okay. xP Well, knowing no French I guessed that you might have asked if I spoke French, but... my bad. :P

2007-05-28 [NukleaЯ EveЯgloW™]: Erm, I knew that. was testing you >.>
Ich spreche Sie Deutch kleine

2007-05-28 [Linderel]: Suuuure. :D
Erm. Back to topic?