Poetry Schmoetry – – The Fantasy Faire Workshop Chatlog

One of the four events my Second Life avatar, Ceejay Writer, hosted for the 2026 Fantasy Faire was a writer’s workshop. These workshops have become an annual tradition for me.  Transcripts of previous workshops are available in Second Life at my book shop (look on the back wall for the Freebies shelves). What follows is the transcript from this year’s event.

This year is extra-special for me, as I was chosen to the special guest author for Fantasy Faire’s Literary Festival! This was so meaningful to me, and ended up being a lot of fun!

LitFest’s Special Guest: Lori Alden Holuta

Ceejay Writer: For anyone who missed our chat about this: My workshops are held in local chat, not voice. This way I can preserve the chatlog and add it to my workshop library. You are welcome to pick up any of the free “workshop tool boxes” from the freebie shelves on the back wall of The Inkwell Book Shop in New Babbage.
Ceejay Writer: Another reason not to hold this workshop in voice is this Linden Lab notice: “WebRTC Voice Expands Gridwide: A major update to voice is rolling out across the entire grid starting May 5th, 2026, bringing improved reliability, lower latency, and new moderation tools. This upgrade also introduces voice chat on mobile, making it easier to stay connected from anywhere.” I can’t rely on voice on the SAME DAY they are rolling out a huge upgrade.
Ceejay Writer: With that said… I’d like to begin with an explanation of my journey to becoming a published poet. Take a deep breath, it’s a cautionary tale!
Ceejay Writer: I didn’t start out to be a poet. My occasional attempts were mostly limericks, as I love the rhythm of them, or simple rhyming couplets. I saved every poem I wrote in a little folder on my hard drive. After a while, that folder was rather full. I wondered if there might be enough good stuff in there to put together a tiny book, or maybe a notecard of poetry to stick in a Second Life book. As I browsed, I started to get a strange idea, which weirdly had nothing to do with my poetry stash.
Ceejay Writer: I love the Victorian era, pretty books, and unusual themes. What could I create that would scratch all those itches? I had an idea: 26 poems, one for each letter of the alphabet, all related to the Victorian era. Simples. What could possibly go wrong? An artist friend liked the idea, and offered to create artwork for each letter/poem. It was coming together perfectly! I quickly chose 26 topics so that the artist could get started, then buckled down to the task of being a serious poet for the first time in my life.
Ceejay Writer: Two years later…
Ceejay Writer: I’d written all the “easy” poetry. I felt good about my corset poem and Ada Lovelaces’s tribute. In all, I’d written only a dozen poems. The topics were getting harder to tackle. My artist had delivered all 26 completed illustrations a year earlier, so I was locked into the topics. Like it or not, I had to stick with the original plan.
Ceejay Writer: M is for Morse Code. P is for Penny Dreadfuls. Okay, I can manage those.
Ceejay Writer: S is for Susan B. Anthony? Y is for Yellow Journalism? What was I thinking?
Dreamsphere Zeimer smiles
Ceejay Writer: One year later…
Ceejay Writer: I finished all the poems. I was even happy with my poems about Susan B. Anthony and Yellow Journalism. I’d completed all 26 challenges… PLUS a bonus “letter”, the ampersand. For most of the Victorian era, the ampersand was a valid character of the alphabet. And (or should I say &?) that poem turned out to be my personal favorite. In total, I’d written 43 poems. Many topics ended up with two or even three poems.
Ceejay Writer: I’d also written introductions for each topic, and made lists of notable quotes for each. I wanted this to be a well-rounded book, one that would give readers an understanding of each topic. I had 26 illustrations to place on the pages. I hunted up a stylish ampersand, since I hadn’t included that in my original agreement with the artist. I toiled over the tricky formatting.
Symeon Siamendes: Hi Leif and Janet
Ceejay Writer waves at incoming folk!
Ceejay Writer: Finally, I published Parlor Poetry: A Victorian Versification Abecedary in hardcover, paperback, and eBook, with color interior illustrations. It’s available in most online stores, and in the UK it’s also at The Great British Book Shop.
Dreamsphere Zeimer: HAI everyone just text today no voice
Ceejay Writer: (feel free to comment anytime!)
Ceejay Writer: Hardcover copies of the book are permanently shelved in the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Libraries, the Cambridge University Library, and the Trinity College Dublin Library.
ilia sojourner: Awesome!
Dreamsphere Zeimer: Fantastic to hear CEEJAY
Leif Eriksson: I am more lyrics writer than poet
Ceejay Writer: Lyrics are poetry much of the time!
Symeon Siamendes: Hi Dante
Ceejay Writer: That may SOUND impressive, but I had to pay for those books to be printed and delivered. This was mandated by Legal Deposit. It’s a requirement that requires authors to submit copies of their publications to designated repositories. I didn’t mind paying for that, I was happy to be on such prestigious shelves! You can learn more about Legal Deposit at https://legaldeposit.org
Dante Rousselot: Hello there
Ceejay Writer: I’m American, but I was using a UK publisher called BookVault, so I got caught up in the Legal Deposit.
Ceejay Writer: And that’s how I became a published poet, and gained admission into Oxford and Cambridge. *humble curtsy* Now, on with the workshop!
Logicat Monroe: Well done you!
Ceejay Writer: My first bit of advice: Just enjoy yourself. Roll with whatever topic feels good and right. Allow yourself the freedom to just let the words pour out, even when they don’t all make sense. You aren’t writing a novel. You’re trying to capture a feeling, an emotion, perhaps a beautiful scene in nature. It’s hard to pin a definition on what will work – but you’ll usually know it when you see it.
Ceejay Writer: Thanky Logicat!
Ceejay Writer: Keep everything you write; your stumbling early works might be something you can complete at a later date. I keep all my poetry attempts in small notepad in a folder on my PC’s hard drive. You might want to use Google Docs, or another method. All systems work. Just find the one that works for you.
Chantal Harvey: hey hello
Symeon Siamendes: Hi Chantal
Chantal Harvey: Saffia is sending her sincere apologies
Ceejay Writer: (latecomers, this entire workshop will be available soon in my book shop)
Chantal Harvey: she is running late but is on her way
Ceejay Writer: Ah, Saffers. I am sure she is busy!
Ceejay Writer: No worries!
Dreamsphere Zeimer: Hey Chantal!
Ceejay Writer: Next!
Ceejay Writer: START THINKING LIKE A POET
Chantal Harvey: 🙂
Ceejay Writer: Dive into reading other people’s poetry. You’ll soon start to get a sense about what type of poetry you enjoy, and what you don’t like. I like to read something by a classic poet, such as T.S. Eliot or Shakespeare, then jump to something modern. Sometimes I read song lyrics as another form of poetry. I’m a big fan of Al Stewart and appreciate his lyrics on a poetry level.
Ceejay Writer: Read poems slowly. If you can, read them aloud. Pay attention to imagery, sound, and emotions conveyed. Sometimes a poem is more about a feeling, not a meaning.
Symeon Siamendes: Hi Saffia
Leif Eriksson: The poet Kristina Lugn read her poems so slooooow thaaat you feeellll a sleeeep
Ceejay Writer: zzzzzzzzz 😀
Ceejay Writer: Welcome Saffers!
Ravelli Ormstein: Hello everybody
Ceejay Writer: You may be thinking, where do I find all these poets? I’ll share some links to help with that. Don’t worry about saving all this information right now. This workshop, including links, will be available soon at The Inkwell book shop in New Babbage, and also at my websites, ceejaywriter.com and brassbrightcity.com. I’ll send an announcement in my Ceejaytopia group when that’s all set.
Symeon Siamendes: Hi Ravelli
Saffia Widdershins: Hello! So sorry to be late – we were making film voting boards for the Wafflies! Cassie used to do that for us 🙁
Dreamsphere Zeimer: Welcome Saffia
Ceejay Writer: Awww. Understandable, and no problem.
Ceejay Writer: You can get a SLURL to The Inkwell and join my Ceejaytopia group by clicking those book spines in Ceejay’s Bookpile.
Ceejay Writer: Years ago, I bookmarked a Top 20 Poets forum discussion, and I still refer to it.
https://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?72088-Top-20-Poets
Ceejay Writer: Very helpful for trying out poets you may be unfamiliar with.
Ceejay Writer: Next, I’ll share an article at Literary Hub. It features poets talking about the best poems they read in 2024. It’s enlightening to read how they describe those poems. The text of the article is peppered with lots of links so you can read the poems too, and also learn about the poets who chose them. I spent a long time following all the links, and enjoyed the experience immensely.
Ceejay Writer: 50 Contemporary Poets on the Best Poems they Read in 2024
https://lithub.com/49-contemporary-poets-on-the-best-poems-they-read-in-2024/
(I’m amused that the title says 50 poets, and the URL says 49.)
Ceejay Writer: Next are two must-visits in the poetry online community.
Poetry Foundation
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/

Poets.org
https://poets.org/
Ceejay Writer: That should be enough links to get you started! Onward to our next topic.
Ceejay Writer: START WRITING LIKE A POET
Ceejay Writer: You won’t get in over your head if you start simple! And you can’t get any more simple than a haiku. Three lines. The first line is five syllables, second line is seven syllables, third line is five syllables. No more, no less. No other rules. No need to rhyme. In fact, I’ve never seen a rhyming haiku. (If you are weird like me, you could take that as a challenge.)
Ravelli Ormstein: /me thinks we might be all bit weird
Dante Rousselot: Is there a reason why they come in threes?
Ceejay Writer: Okay, actually, you could get simpler than a haiku. Meredith Faulkner once wrote a 754 word analysis of Strickland Gillilan’s poem, “Fleas, Or Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes”. I’ll share Gillilan’s entire poem with you now. You ready?
Ceejay Writer: Dante, it’s a Japanese traditional form. Three is one of the lucky numbers, so I suspect that might be why.
Leif Eriksson: Vikings viewed very visual villages
Dante Rousselot: One step close to the most unluckiest
Dante Rousselot: In their tradition anyhow
Ceejay Writer: Okaaaaay, here comes that epic poem! Shorter than a haiku!
Ceejay Writer: Adam / Had ‘em
Ceejay Writer: That’s it.
Dante Rousselot: Ah yes Fleas
Ceejay Writer: (Yes, four is very unlucky)
Chantal Harvey: lol
Janet Rhiadra: archeology has confirmed that
Ceejay Writer: That’s it. It’s become one of the most famous, most quoted poems ever written. Here’s a link to that analysis by Meredith Faulkner for your amusement.
https://www.faulknerwritingandediting.com/blog/poetry-analysis-fleas-a9zge
Ceejay Writer: Janet, really? Cool.
Dante Rousselot: Have you a favorite word?
Janet Rhiadra: they found them in ancient fabric
Ceejay Writer: A favorite word. Hmmm. Possibly croissant. I love saying it.
Ceejay Writer: Anyway, back to haiku. 5-7-5 syllables. This brief form is ideal for capturing a brief glimpse of nature, or focusing on one particular emotion, or moment in time. In Parlor Poetry, I used a haiku to describe the feeling of removing one’s corset at the end of the day:
Ceejay Writer: Relief: A Haiku
Bow untied, laces loose
Ribs released, no longer caged
Expand, breathe, rejoice
Janet Rhiadra: lovely
Ceejay Writer: And I know from experience the feeling of that haiku!
Leif Eriksson: that is meditation
Ceejay Writer: I also used a series of seven haiku to delve into Robert Cornelius’s photography experiment in 1839, when he took his own photograph by aiming his camera at a mirror, thus creating the first selfie. He had to hold perfectly still for 15 minutes to achieve this. Side note: Mister Cornelius was a rather good looking man.
https://www.reddit.com/r/estoration/comments/fvct1x/robert_cornelius_1839_the_first_person_ever/
Ceejay Writer: Here come my seven haiku. Brace yourself!
Ceejay Writer: Eighteen thirty nine
The first selfie is taken
Tousled hair chemist

Gleaming reflection
Light etching a silver plate
Moment caught in time

Fifteen minutes each
No quick profile pic for you
Could you be patient?

Man and camera
Posing for posterity
Setting precedents

What are you thinking
While staring into the lens
Is the iron on?

Picture is taken
Robert Cornelius, sir
Breathe deeply and blink!

How could you have known
A future generation
Would call these selfies?
Saffia Widdershins: I like the way you use alliteration in that haiku. Tight in the middle, then slipping away like the corset
ilia sojourner: Very nice!
Leif Eriksson: smiles
Ceejay Writer: THANK YOU for noticing that, Saffia! In the printed books, I centered it, so the shape is well defined.
Saffia Widdershins: /me beams
Leif Eriksson: Like sheila wrote “Points Periods Purpose”
Ceejay Writer: I did another one that re-shapes the figure, for that same topic.
Ceejay Writer: A corset pinches
Ceejay Writer: many inches
Ceejay Writer: off your torso
Ceejay Writer: Pulled tight… moreso
Dante Rousselot: I like that one
ilia sojourner: 😀
Ceejay Writer: It makes me laugh.
Dante Rousselot: It’s catchy
Ceejay Writer: So one poem bows out, the other curves in.
Leif Eriksson: In SL an alpha is a perfect corset
Ceejay Writer: True, Leif!
Leif Eriksson: can make you thin like a wasp
Ceejay Writer: You can not only play with words, you can play with the shape of your poetry.
Ceejay Writer: Indent some lines, not others, trail off…….
Ceejay Writer: use all the typing tools.
Ceejay Writer: Haiku take some thought, but they are the least intimidating form of poetry. They also provide a good mental exercise in distilling a scene or a moment in time down to just a few words. I highly recommend new poets use this form as a way of sticking your toe in the waters and starting to find your own style.
Ceejay Writer: Other easy styles you could tackle:
Couplet: A two-line rhyming poem. A familiar example is:
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
Ceejay Writer: Free verse: Nonmetrical, nonrhyming lines that closely follow the natural rhythms of speech.
Ceejay Writer: Limerick: One of my favorites. I love the fun rhythm and the way it just begs you to be silly. This article talks about the history of limericks and gives some good advice about tackling them yourself.
https://kingoflimericks.com/what-is-a-limerick/
Ceejay Writer: Imitation: As you read other people’s poetry and discover styles and themes that appeal to you, feel free to imitate them, as a learning lesson. A friend once said, “copy others first, break out as yourself later”.
Ceejay Writer: Now, let’s start to build your reference library. You’ll be glad you did when you’re knee deep in a poem and can’t recall another word for “meander”, for example.
Leif Eriksson: .
making yourself strange
you can get much attention
more than you deserve
Ceejay Writer: Nice, Leif. I like that!
Ceejay Writer: REFERENCE SITES YOU SHOULD BOOKMARK
Ceejay Writer: RhymeZone
My favorite writer’s reference site for the past… couple of decades? I use it a lot. It can generate quick lists of rhyming words, near-rhyming words, synonyms, homophones, and a lot more. Open the drop down menu on the start page and marvel at what it can do.
https://www.rhymezone.com
Leif Eriksson: It is a pun to myself lol
Ceejay Writer: You have a loyal audience. 😉
Ceejay Writer: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
https://www.merriam-webster.com
You may eventually find an online dictionary you like better, but in the meantime Merriam-Webster is very good.
I also follow Merriam-Webster on X – they are clever and engaging and often funny.
@MerriamWebster
Ceejay Writer: Thesaurus.com
https://www.thesaurus.com
When you know what you want to say but can’t find just the right word, a thesaurus helps!
Ceejay Writer: IF YOU’RE DRAWING A BLANK – A HANDFUL OF PROMPTS
Ceejay Writer: * Describe an object as if it has feelings or memories
* Write about three things you can see or hear right now
* Combine an emotion and an object (example: loneliness and teacup)
* Pick any random word and describe it without naming it
Ceejay Writer: Thank you for coming to my workshop today! If you think of any questions later on, or write a poem and would like me to read it and perhaps offer advice, just drop me a notecard or a PM, or email me at lori@ceejaywriter.com. I get offline messages, so I’ll know I have a message waiting for me inworld. I’d love to see your poems. I really would!
Ceejay Writer: And don’t forget to stop by The Inkwell book shop to browse what New Babbage authors have published, and to pick up free toolboxes on the back wall filled with materials from past Fantasy Faire workshops.
Chantal Harvey: 🙂
Ceejay Writer: My final Fantasy Faire events are day after tomorrow. On Thursday, I will read from my books, including Parlor Poetry at 2pm SLT. And at 3pm SLT we will have a Steampunk Ball… a great way to blow off some steam! Hope to see you then!
Ceejay Writer: Any final questions, comments, rhymes?
Chantal Harvey: thank you so much!
Ceejay Writer: My pleasure Chantal, thank you for coming.
LilyCairparavel: Thank you so much! Very inspiring
Logicat Monroe: Thank you!
Symeon Siamendes: Yes thanks Ceejay
Ceejay Writer: Lily, I hope you are inspired enough to write!
Dreamsphere Zeimer: ohh i can’t wait Ceejay
Saffia Widdershins shouts, Thank you! This was inspiring – as your workshops always are!
Leif Eriksson: .
A gig that none hear
is a good time to rehearse
perfection comes close