[Comments] The Coffee Shop

[Naresh]

I love poetry, how everything is full of meaning, possibly ambiguous, so the use of 4 words can mean 5 different things. And the context, it's about what the poem doesn't say that means just as much as what it does, creating links from beginning to end, what looks like a fairly bland and boring poem on the outside can be one full of meaning if you go below the surface with a little knowledge.

Here is one along the "greek epic" lines I was on about, I've also nearly finished another one called "the errant knave" but Christmas stopped me from finishing it, and I lost my momentum...

Love poetry is something very special, but as you say, the love dies, but the poems remain, sometimes they can hurt more than anything else

My favourite poets are Keats and Eliot, I find their poetry great inspirations for many of my works

[Darkshard]

I love poetry but I'll happily admit I just don't have what it takes to write it well. Rhyming comes fairly easy to me (something my partner has actually commented on) but there's more to poetry than rhyme or description. It's rhythm and cadence, the length of word and the pacing...the 'music' of the verse. There's a lot of poems that I'd never have bothered to read to the end with on paper, which spoken aloud become magical.

Also, I'm sure someone wrote something on here about wanting an editor? I'm hardly a professional but I'll happily proofread and comment on stuff

[Peter172]

It would be nice to have a poetry competition too, since there's bound to be more than a few members interested. I have no idea how to write poetry myself, other than a few clumsy songs I wrote for a bard I'm playing, I would like to learn how.

[Darkshard]

I've also written songs for bard characters and such. If nobody objects to reading terribly bad poetry, I'll happily enter a competition like that

[Naresh]

I used to hold a poetry competition every year, but last years interest was so abysmal (1 entry?) that it was scrapped, if there is more interest I might start up another competition along the same lines as the short story comp.

I have one character who talks in nothing but poetry, it's generally a bunch of very confusing (but flowing) words with very little meaning to the untrained reader. Once you start to decipher it a little, it is amazing

The general reaction to meeting him is either "Kill him!" or "errr wut?"

[Vitus]

I still write the occasional poem, more often for songs now than anything else. I like to add music for the mood and feel of a song. I have to admit, though, it'll be a long wait before I pick up a book of Emily Dickinson's stuff again. Yeesh. Sometimes a poem will flow right onto the page and I'm not even creating it so much as trying to write it down the way it sounds in my head.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was good about using the tools of poetry in his prose. If you pick up the Great Gatsby some time, just pick a sentence or two at random. He may have written prose, but that man was a poet. I'd really like my writing to go in that direction... Fitzgerald was the Man, and he obsessed about every word. Check out his notes sometime. He would write and rewrite and rewrite one line until it suited him only changing a preposition, or just turning the phrase a little differently. You've gotta respect that kind of critical writing. He wanted every word to be perfect...and now he's one of the most celebrated American authors. Is it too much to aspire to that?

[Naresh]

I love the Great Gatsby

When I write poetry, I don't force it, it flows out, I wait until I am inspired to write

[The Jaded]

Not to change the subject, but I do have a question for those of you who've been on this site longer than a few weeks. Would it be violating some unseen protocol for me to post a short story to the Library general forum? I noticed posts of that nature are rare (hence question), but I've got a project that has been burning a hole in my digital pocket for about three months and I would love to share it and have some feedback on it.

[dimitri domovoi]

@The Jaded,

Actually, that is exactly what The Library's intention is - a place for members to post various works (be it short story, poem, w/e). The Library is still governed by the DnDOG site rules, of course, and I would strongly advise you to read and understand everything found here.

I remember when this first became an issue, I was a contributing member of The Library back in '05. Countless arguments were made back and forth as we tried to come to some consensus what the law actually entailed. The end result was that linked post from Medesha herself, who has always 'held the reins' of The Library, and the discussion seemed no longer open for debate. So no matter how you interpret the copyright and IP law, understand that what is laid out in the post is how the owners of the site view it - and post accordingly.

Ultimately the rules seem to match the intent of IP regulation, and I agree with the sites ruling, but an aspiring author looking for exposure or feedback should understand that any publishing, even on this medium, has consequences.

[The Jaded]

I've already read over the publishing rights thread, and I've decided I can live with things that way. While it's always been my dream to have something seriously published, it's not likely to ever actually happen. Writing is after all a hobby, not a career.

Anyways, it's killing me to keep some of this stuff to myself. I think I'll throw the aforementioned story up in the Library, after I run through it again (I haven't read it in some time, I'll probably catch a few more typos in the process).

Sorry for the silly questions, by the way. I've been on other forums, on which new players bumping old forums/threads is a general source of annoyance.

[Vitus]

I'm happy to note we've got a bunch of really good stories this month (if I can humbly include myself). I was getting worried that we had a loss of interest. The tavern was a good idea. There isn't a player out there that hasn't begun an adventure in some dingy bar. Why if it weren't for treacherous inns, DMs would be crippled for opening scenes for years to come!

[Naresh]

We'd probably move on to trendy and fashionable cocktail bars

[The Jaded]

Originally Posted by Vitus

I'm happy to note we've got a bunch of really good stories this month (if I can humbly include myself).

Agreed, they were all good reads.

Who wins the honor of "best story" doesn't bother me too much. After all, writing the story and having it read is enough for me. Just giving people ten minutes of mental vacation is reward and victory enough: I know I get a little less overstressed every time I read good fiction, and I would hope I can do the same favor for you guys.

Also, writing fiction is just as relaxing for me as reading it, if not more so... For me, they're almost the same mental process. Perhaps that's common writer psychology, I wouldn't know.

[Naresh]

I read some and they were top notch, and definitely highlights the fact that I cannot write short stories
On a side note Here is a poem along the lines I will be entering in future competitions (as in standards and style, not the poem itself )

[Vitus]

Naresh I thoroughly enjoyed your most epic of poem. I couldn't turn away until I knew the fate of the errant knave. All kinds of fun! Cheers.