Alaeha

For the time limit... I'll be opening on the sixteenth... So... I give it three weeks, maybe four, or until the end of the Ball, for my part of the show. Whichever comes first. After that, the thread can stay open, I'd say... but it'll be an Open Mic deal at that point, rather than my introducing them. That way, if real life jumps up and bites me, it won't slow people down so much. As for the location of the posts... I'll be starting a main thread up after Ayshela gets the ball and the show started. As I said... PM me to have me introduce you, then I'll send you a message letting you know you have the stage, and then post the thing... It's a bit odd... and probably more than a little time-consuming, and for that I apologize... *Hugs*

Ok... Step 1) Find a song that satisfies a few basic requirements. You must like it. It must have good imagery, or a good story, or a mood which lends an atmosphere you can combine with the lyrics to create the basis of a story, or some such. Step 2) Write your story, poem, short play, or other piece of work, based on the song. For a poorly written example, you might look at One of Us, a story I wrote based on Miseria Cantare (AFI) when I couldn't sleep. It's not very good, but it should give you an idea of what I mean. To explain it a little more clearly using that as an example... The lyrics I incorporated mostly are from the "Verse" of the song. "Nothing from nowhere, I'm no one at all" was worked in through the destruction of Jede's past. "Dark flame" of course, made it in as well. "Your faith, lost." was also part of the destruction of her past, and her denial of it. That's the sort of thing I mean. Taking images and the general sense of the song, and making something new with them. Step 3) PM me to let me know that you have a piece called "Such and such" based on "This or That" that you would like me to introduce, when the Show starts. Then, I'll introduce you, and I'll PM you back to usher you onstage. ... Does that help clarify any?

Sorry... too tired to come up with a good name for this right now... but I want to let people know about this now. As Ayshela mentioned, my Quill Quest is intertwined with hers. She hosts the Fall Ball, and I've been approved to help with the entertainment for it. I'm going to be MCing what she called a semi-open mic type thing... I think of it more as a show, myself. Balls are, by nature, musical... and music is essential to this event as well. In this case, music is the inspiration. The idea is for people to write stories, poems, plays, etc. based on songs with particularly good imagery or anything else that strikes a chord with them. Once the piece is finished, and they've officially "Arrived" at the Fall Ball, it's just a matter of PMing me to tell me a little bit about the piece so that I can introduce them properly in the main thread. I'm thinking this event should probably start running shortly after the doors open for Ayshela's, so I'll aim to get things started on the second day of hers. For the time being... this thread is open for suggestions of songs, questions, all that good stuff. In the way of suggestions... I'd have to recommend the song I'm doing, The Great Disappointment by AFI... Or a couple of their other songs: ... But Home is Nowhere, and This Time Imperfect. If those don't really appeal to you, and you don't mind reading texts with impolite language, Idle Hands, and Monolith, by Stone Sour, aren't bad. I'll try to come up with more suggestions later... (Links are to Lyrics) Other opinions?

Well... I've got to admit that I am the stereotypical Pisces... for what little that may be worth. But Tamaranis pretty much said it for me... but while I'm not going to disbelieve in the group as a whole, most of them, at the very least, are just out for easy money off the gullible.

*Hugs* Happy Birthday!

Normal (Adj.): 1) A word used either as an affirmation of belonging, if spoken by those who conform, or as a derogation toward the aforementioned conformists by those who do not. 2) If spoken by the former of the two previously mentioned groups, a word meaning "like me". 3) If spoken by the latter, "Like them." 4) Conforming to the norm, or relative set of standards of the group in question. In a gothic group, for example, dark clothes and bad poetry are the norm, therefore one who wears perky yellow t-shirts and writes limericks about mechanical pencils would not be normal within that group, even if she were in other groups.

Whereas, in turn, I stay in the shadows largely because I'm ignored. It's an interesting poem... I like the rhyming pattern... And I can sympathize, to a certain extent. Nobody really seems to think I'm perfect, though...

... I'm not sure how the ending fits in with the rest of it... though it (the last two lines) is very true. It just doesn't seem relevant to the rest, to me. Am I missing something?

It rhymes... It fits the rhyme scheme... so I guess that it depends on what you wanted to get out of the exercise. So long as it fulfills the minimal requirements (the rhyme scheme is used, there's some sort of meter to it) then it's up to you as to whether or not more is required. For what it's worth... I thought it was interesting in a random, nonsensical sort of way. Not sure whether it's a poem or not... but it was interesting and mildly amusing one way or the other.

You know... For myself, I don't see that a Christian has to worry about it that much... Standard Christian belief is that God is Loving and Kind. I don't know about you... but I can't really imagine a Loving, Kind person telling me "Ok... you did the best you could... you lived the best life you could... but you took the wrong number of sacraments/ate your entree with your salad fork/some such. You did what you could, and I recognize that. But... To hell with you." I'm not saying that you shouldn't try... I'm just saying that if God is as good and forgiving as they say, he can forgive us if the best we're capable of is still imperfect. Now... if it turns out that, for example, the Hindus have the right of it... or some other religion completely unrelated to Christianity... then if they even have a Hell, it's a different concept. So that's a whole different issue. But those are just my thoughts on it.

This may or may not be harder than some of my past ones... it depends entirely on your aptitude with meter. The idea is to write at least four or five Heroic Couplets (couplets in Iambic Pentameter) For those unfamiliar with the terms, that means eight or ten lines with a rhyme scheme of AABBCC... (with a lines rhyming with a lines, b with b, etc) Each line consisting of ten syllables with emphasis on the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth. Heh, I should dedicate a post to explaining terms... Anyways... Example written on the fly as per usual: (Note: The following poem is written solely for the sake of an example, and does not represent the opinions of Alaeha as a whole. ) If you would master poetry divine, you first must learn to write a proper line. A line that's structured, ordered, and precise is perfect for a poet. Very nice. Heroic couplets are the perfect tool, for if you've mastered them, you are no fool. If you cannot, it matters not, for then you simply clear the page, and start again!

My favorite bar joke: Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Elvis, and an old Bum walk into a bar together... The bartender takes one look at them and demands "What is this, a Joke?"

*Hugs to all* Happy Birthdays!

*Laughs* That sounds almost like the Triolet I wrote that was entirely about how to write a Triolet...

*Laughs* Pink Cat. Pinku no Neko. I'd much rather have one of those than a Murasaki no Inu. Purple dog... eww... *Hugs* Happy Birthday!

... "Wow"? *Confused look* I'm not that impressed with it, myself... It was mostly a challenge that I thought people might appreciate. A villanelle is so repetitive that I figured you'd probably be sick of it when you finished... To give a brief-ish explanation, the structure is as follows: A line marked by A is just a line with the same ending as all the other A lines. A line marked by A1 is a repetition (or the first instance) of the first line of the first stanza A line marked by A2 is a repetition (or the first instance) of the third line of the first stanza. Stanza 1: A1,B,A2 Stanza 2: A,B,A1 Stanza 3: A,B,A2 Stanza 4: A,B,A1 Stanza 5: A,B,A2 Stanza 6: A,B,A1,A2, Or for those who understand it better this way: A villanelle is a poem of six stanzas with the rhyme scheme ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. The first line of the first stanza is the third line of the second, fourth, and sixth stanzas. The third line of the first stanza is also the last line of the third, fifth, and sixth stanzas. Whichever explanation makes more sense to you.

Now that's a point.... Heh... I really didn't expect this one to be that good, but I guess it's as Ayshela said. Sometimes sleep dep is a good thing.

Very, very nice... I think Ayshela made all of my suggestions... so... Yes. Very nice. You really should write in here more often.

Nah... you should be writing... It just means that you need to read more! No better way to improve one's spelling and vocabulary than by reading a couple hundred good books! *Hugs*

Hmm... I think the word you want on the third line is exasperation. Am I right? I like this. It pretty much sums up the feelings of writers block. That "Done to Death" sense...

I decided to try writing a Villanelle. After working on it for... about an hour, give or take... I have this. Any suggestions, comments, complaints, etc. are more than welcome... The Bay The tide ebbs slowly out, and drifts away as light beams down, and forms a brilliant glare. Light blinds with glee the poor men on the bay. The sands were soft, and safe from heaven's ray when tides were high. But now, you men, beware... the tide ebbs slowly out, and drifts away. The sun glows on the sand throughout the day, and when the tides go out, without a care, light blinds with glee the poor men on the bay. The children here were merrily at play, and now they cry, for they did not prepare... the tide ebbs slowly out, and drifts away. The ground beneath their feet is soft, like clay, yet glistens underneath Sol's threat'ning glare. Light blinds with glee the poor men on the bay. The day at first looked dismal, dark and gray... yet, as the heat grows far too great to bear, the tide ebbs slowly out, and drifts away. Light blinds with glee the poor men on the bay.

Alaeha's Poetry Exercises: Exercise #1 Exercise #2 Exercise #3 Exercise #4 Exercise #5 Exercise #6 Exercise #7 [Elder's note: Good plan, but 3 pinned topics crowd the top, this condenses them all and still is what it should be ]

Depends on what you mean by power. Living as if you control your own destiny certainly leads to a more realistic, responsible life. I tend to regard fatalists as people who don't want to take responsibility for their actions... But a more powerful life? That depends on your definition of power.

Actually... Unless I'm mistaken, Mr. Bunny is God. Wyvern was just paraphrasing one of Mr. Bunny's better parables. Very, very cute...

Safe: An adjective. Generally used to describe an activity, situation, or person which holds or poses no threat or danger to the one for whom it is "safe". Also a statement that something is likely to turn out as expected. Example: Jaywalking in the middle of the night in an empty street is safe, whereas jaywalking in at four PM in downtown Seattle is most emphatically not. Likewise, a piece of paper which has just been run through the insinkerater is probably "safe" from prying eyes. Heh... I should see about spending a couple weeks in here, one of these days when I have time... and bump my old poetry lessons back up. Or something along those lines. You're walking in those things just fine... it's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.