Freda's Place

 Each Monday in SL, I lead a 45-minute workshop on creating short-form poetry.  We Play with our words, individually and as a group.  In the process, we learn the simplicity and complexity of short poetic forms.  In the past, we've looked, limerick, epitaph, tanka, haiku. and couplet, to name a few.  This past Monday, we created Sijo.  Below is one  sijo I wrote during that lesson.   Join us any Monday at 10 AM SLT at Freda's in Second Life.  Click on this link to get the SLURL for the writers' studio. Don't Ask Me If I Love You (Sijo) By Stephanie Mesler Don't ask me if I love you; If you pay attention, you already know.   Would someone who does not love stay, even when your eyes do not focus and your thoughts stray?   The thing to ask, will I stay forever-- will I love forever?   Don't Ask Me If I lLove You (Sijo) is © Stephanie Mesler 2023

Babble Cafe and Books has opened a new location at The Lanes, a very smart shopping district operated by Cherry Charlesworth and Veronika Garzo in Inworldz.  The shop is still "under construction" and probably always will be.  But it's starting to take shape.  Feel free to pop in whenever you like.    http://places.inworldz.com/The%20Lanes/243/143/22 At The Lanes, Hex and I will be hosting events at the cafe and in the luscious Lily Lanes Ballroom. The first of those ballroom events will be held Friday, May 26 at 5PM Grid Time.  It will be a night of tango! We hope you'll stick a rose between your teeth, don your formal dancing shoes and join us! Tuesday, the 23rd, Freda will host Fine Arts Talk at 11:30 AM Grid Time in the Cafe.  This is a time for artists of all kinds (as well as their patrons and fans) to discuss the arts that are their passions.  There is no agenda for this session.  The discussion takes us where it ta...

(ZG) Quiet Write-In 6:00 AM Wednesdays Join Freda Frostbite for 90 minutes (or so) of quiet work time.  Freda will be writing her next novel.  You can work on whatever you like:  Homework, poetry, sorting inventory, correspondence...  If you arrive and Freda does not notice immediately, it just means she is "in the zone" and will say hi when she comes up for air.  Or caffeine.  More likely, caffeine.  In the meantime, go ahead and take a seat. hg.zangrid:ch:8002:HyperShopping The cafe is shop #21 in Hypershopping on Zangrid.  If you can't find your way there, just IM Freda when you land in the region.  She'd be happy to offer you a ride.

(SL)   Quiet Writing 6:00 AM Tuesday and Thursday Join Freda Frostbite for 90 minutes (or so) of quiet work time.  Freda will be writing her next novel.  You can work on whatever you like:  Homework, poetry, sorting inventory, correspondence...  If you arrive and Freda does not notice immediately, it just means she is "in the zone" and will say hi when she comes up for air.  Or caffeine.  More likely, caffeine.  In the meantime, go ahead and take a seat. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Minarlo%20Vite/106/246/4004 (SL)   Open Hours For Tarot Readings Wednesday at 12:30 PM SLT Freda has been using tarot to guide herself and friends for many years in her first life and for several in SL.  If you would like to schedule a reading with Freda, just IM her.  If you have arrived for one of Freda's free single-card promos and she is not in the studio, just IM her and she will be right here. The cost for more extensive re...

Being a professional writer means that I am pretty isolated on most days.  I have several tricks for managing to get the work done without becoming a complete hermit.  One of my methods is the virtual world write-in.  At write-ins, avatars gather so that their typists can be together while working individually.  There is very little chat during these sessions.  Of course, people greet one another (once they have looked up from their own work to notice someone new has entered the room) and occasionally someone will share the progress they have made when they are done.  Most write-ins are drop-in oriented.  You come when you can and leave when you are ready.  I sometimes attend write-ins on Nara's Nook in the Greyville Writer's Colony or the ones hosted in Second Life by Bhelanna Blaze.  I host them myself in Second Life, Kitely, Great Canadian Grid, and Inworldz.  In general, write-ins are scheduled ad hoc, so watch for notices inwor...

New Year, New Habit (Quiet Write-in) It is so easy to let our eyes stray from the ball.  For me, the ball is writing.  For lots of you, it is too.  Let's start 2015 off productively.  New Year, New Habit will be a month-long event that will allow us time and space for writing together daily in supportive silence.  If it works for a number of people, we'll run it again in February.  I will be in my office daily at 4:30 a.m. slt and will stay until 6:30.  I'll spend that two hours writing and will be glad to have you join me daily or whenever you can.   Feel free to IM here or inworld with questions. 

There are people who don't get virtual worlds.  That's okay.  I used to be one of them.  There are folks who think virtual worlds are just computer games with no real value.  That may be true for them, but for me and countless others, the metaverse is a place where creativity comes alive.  It is obvious in the creation of avatars and virtual settings.  Even people who are deprived of avatars can see and appreciate that by looking at pics taken in virtual worlds.  What they probably don't get is how much real art and literature and drama and music is made inworld.  For that reason, I share a poem I created while attending an open write-in in Second Life yesterday.  Sure I maybe could have written this poem without logging into my virtual office first, but would I? True Platitudes by Stephanie Mesler (AKA Freda Frostbite) I’m that dot on the map calling your name when you’re bored and lonely and need a fresh game.  When you need a...

      Quiet Write-Ins Times for writers to gather in silently supportive work times occur several days each week.  Watch Freda's Place announcements in Second Life to know when and where.  Freda's office is available anytime for folks who want a quiet place to work in sl.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quoll/30/71/104   Tuesday Babble 1 pm Pacific, Tuesdays, at Freda's Place in Quoll Open Mic for writers, musicians, actors.  If you can do it in local voice on a moderate sim, you are invited to do so.  Come to perform or come to listen.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quoll/11/87/97   Live Literature at Freda's Place 2 pm Pacific, Tuesdays, at Freda's Place in Quoll This week, Live Lit presents Caledonia Skytower!  Cale, one of SL's best loved story-tellers, will read from her own works.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quoll/11/87/97   Tea T...