Finally catching up to this last detail.
The bonus fishbowl theme was The Steamsmith. I've updated that entry on the
Serial Poetry page. A total of 14 people sent prompts. There were 30 comments, including mine. I worked from about 1:45 PM to 9 PM ... when the
power blew out in half the house. That's about 5 hours and 45 minutes, accounting for breaks in work and reality. Due to the deleterious effects of alchemy in proximity to delicate hardware, I won't be doing another Steamsmith fishbowl but will continue writing and accepting occasional prompts for this series.
I had finished three poems on Tuesday and was working on a fourth when my computer went down. I finished that and wrote another since. I have kept the remaining prompts and will probably write more poems from this session. Three were long poems and the other two were epics, all free verse.
Yes, this is low production for me, even on a half-day. I've discovered that it takes about
twice as long to write a Steamsmith poem as a regular poem, so after discussion with my donors, I raised the price. (If I build up enough resources to knock down the writing/research time, I'll lower the price.) You might also enjoy reading my post about
additional Steamsmith characters. I am continuing to work on background materials for this series, which will eventually become available to series sponsors. Recently I acquired The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes, which is proving to be quite useful. So, progress.
Please welcome new prompters
fabricdragon and
paka. You have them to thank for the second freebie. Donations also went well. Yay for Maryam helping to fund repairs to the electrical system!
Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the February 21, 2012 fishbowl have been posted:
"
Blowing Smoke"
"
The Automaton Convocation"
"
Songs from a Different Shore" (see also the
editing discussion)
"
Spots"
See the cute sketch of
Farasat jumping on Maryam, an illustration of "Spots" by
meeksp. Comment or donate there to encourage more refinement of this picture.
Buy Some Poetry
There is only one unsold poem in Steamsmith at this time, "Tunnel Vision." It features Maryam and Old Henry, two historic figures (Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington), and a couple of pesky young noblemen all debating the merits of railroads, tunnels, and other technological marvels.
181 lines, Buy It Now = $181
The mid-month donors include:
marina_bonomi and
janetmiles. Thank you all for your support and patience.
For complete details on this project, see the
Poetry Fishbowl Landing Page.