Tag Archives: updates

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Chalked Out: Road Map for the Readings

In my last post, I hinted at the reading format but then never really expounded on it. I decided to take things in stages; call it taking pity on our readership. 🙂

So here’s the thing: the reading will be more along the lines of bringing our current “online” format outside of the digital world and into the real one. To that effect, it’ll be more of a writer’s forum where readings will just be one part of the overall experience.

The program for the reading in general stands thus: not only will writers be allowed to present their work, but also receive feedback on it (much along the lines of what we do now. However, they’re also free to just read their stuff. To just be heard, so to speak. We like to think we cater for everyone). The audience will then participate in a Q & A session with the writer, asking questions about his/her work to get an idea of where the writer was coming from. We will ask all readers to send in their material beforehand, so we can make copies of their work and distribute it to the audience ahead of their reading, most particularly useful to those who want to receive critique on their work; it’s always easier to comment on something that’s in your hands.

Unlike most readings with people standing before a microphone, looking down at the audience’s uplifted faces, we’ll retain the atmosphere of the ‘Lounge with people sitting informally in a circle. A nice, laid back environment. Peers getting together in an attempt to improve and encourage each other. Writers will be encouraged to introduce themselves before beginning, on three principal points: who they are, what kind of stuff they write and how they seek inspiration, and specifically, how they sought inspiration for this particular work. They will be told to expound on these points in advance.

At the end of the event, we’ll introduce a group activity which could take place as writers interpreting each others’ work (we all know how everyone interprets a work in different and varying ways, often insightful and helpful to the author in question), or dissecting an all time favorite (poem, short story, book, etc). These are just some examples. We will also present them with a sign up form, for the next event, to gauge who will be participating the next time around. Of course we’ll give out the dates and venues of the next reading.

Another thing we’re aiming at is to have the reading at a different venue each time (book store, cafes, any outdoor location, etc) and depending on how successful we are, bring in a few local (literary) celebrities now and again.

So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the plan we’ve chalked out?

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The Green Light

The three core members of the ‘Lounge based in Islamabad, met yesterday to talk about the reading and approximately three hours later, we had a full-fledged plan chalked out for the reading series and the first in that series, in particular.

We also covered the e-zine selection policies that were placed into effect with this issue and will be further refined for Vol 4. In the future, we will be allocating 2-3 months for the publication of each issue (beginning on the day the polls end), which will in all likelihood result in about 2 issues being published each year. The decision for the process now reads thus: once the polls close and the pieces have been selected by the core membership, a deadline date will be set by which all editors must have their pieces edited and finalized respectively, by each editor, feeling that they are all up to the par. After that, all pieces will then come to me, where the next 2-3 weeks after the deadline date will be devoted to going through them all . If I feel some pieces need to be further worked on, I will contact the respective editor asking for these changes. The editor will then see about those changes. This will thereby eliminate the need to eradicate any pieces that have been edited. I do however, stand by all decisions I’ve made for Vol 3.

That said, I also feel some writers have suffered because of the lack of a 100% effort put in by their editors, and for that I sincerely apologize. With these new rules in place, this will be eradicated in future issues and I thank those who graciously received their rejection letters. It was a ridiculously hard thing for me to do, having been the recipient of one myself. But…it only makes you stronger. And I have no doubt that our members will deliver for the next issue.

There is also another event planned in the future, which will be announced after the reading which itself, is planned for the end of March. We will be calling out to our members based in Islamabad to please email in their poems for the reading, or…if they have nothing new, to choose from their old material they would like to present. The emails will be going out presently.

For the event hinted at above, we will be chalking out an extensive marketing campaign.

Again, we urge our members in Islamabad to let their friends know about the reading…the only way we can get the message out there is through word of mouth, which is about the biggest weapon we have. After this, we’ll be opening up our readership to everyone else out there. Call the first reading a test run. And, to answer another question, we will be bringing in celebrated writers and poets as our readings progress. The reason why we aren’t introducing any in the first reading, is because of organization. We need to be thoroughly organized and professional, and once we’ve done it a few times and have a thorough feel for the whole thing, we will better be able to handle it when the celebrities waltz in.

So, everything has been discussed and once a date’s been decided, I’ll post it here emailing our membership to let their friends and/or family and other relatives out there interested in readings (not restricted only to poetry), to rope ’em in. At the end of each reading, we’ll have a sign up form to let people sign up for the next reading, giving us their names and email addresses (or other contact information).

As you can see, we’ve covered all our bases. If you’ve got any questions relating to the reading, ask away.

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Reading, Reading…Wherefore Art Thou Reading?

Now that the e-zine has (finally) been published, things are moving towards holding the reading. You may have thought that with all the recent activities that it wasn’t going to happen….WRONG! When I said we were planning a reading, we were definitely planning a reading. Because everything has been stretched, pulled and pummeled into place, things have been taking a little longer than originally planned.

Since we haven’t made anything official however, I am forbidden to tell you. Once we’ve chalked down a full plan, I’ll put it here for your viewing pleasure. Until then, just wanted to give you all a heads up that the reading will take place, and it will be one among a series of readings…which may or may not stretch into Lahore & Karachi judging by the success of the ones we host in Islamabad.

The only sure way to be successful is to spread the word…to your friends and friends of friends. For now, only people we know and who know others will be allowed. Like an invite only thing…again, judging by the reception of the first one, we’ll broaden attendance for the next. We will also be holding an open floor allowing budding poets from the audience to come up and read out their stuff.

And that’s about all the details I can give you. More as and when they come to me. Meanwhile, check out the ‘zine…it’s live, published and hopefully better than before. What do you think? Weigh in below.

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The Best Laid Plans

I know I promised a server switch over the weekend in the forums, but I’ve been a little lazy. Also, I’ve been mulling over other potential would-be hosts and have decided to go with the original I had in mind. In any case, we will be moving away from our current one, soon. Just need to sit down one of these days, and make a copy of everything which is the one thing I’m really not looking forward to at all. At all, at all.

Also putting our website and forums out of business for a while is another thing I’m not looking forward to, especially when they’re particularly alive and kicking right about now. So, things to consider. Meanwhile, of course, the e-zine just keeps being delayed and delayed doesn’t it? Despite the best laid plans and the best of intentions, things don’t always work out like they’re supposed to.

However, that said, our host does seem to have recovered itself somewhat from its downturn episodes, and I might be able to whip up something soon. Incidentally, everything has been done, they’re just a few things to be tweaked and then we’ll be all ready.

Oooh…just realized March approaches, and the issue has to be up before March. There is one piece that might be slashed further. As the count currently stands, we’ve got 10 pieces that have made the cut, out of which only 1 has survived in its category. Won’t give away too much, mustn’t spoil the surprise after all. Removing another would bring the count to 9, which is by far, the least number of pieces that have ever been featured in our e-zine but, and this goes without saying, this is by far the best issue we’ve released. Primarily because there have been some checks in terms of quality control.

Unfortunately, because this issue also represented a deviation from the norm, I’m afraid it hasn’t made me any friends! 🙂 It’s tough being editor-“in-chief” of this place. I have to say I like being just the writer a whole lot better. That said, I don’t think anyone else could possibly realize the vision for this place better. Oh well!

One last decision to make and then it’s home free…fingers crossed that our efforts will be appreciated–writers, editors, readers and critics–couldn’t have done it without ’em!

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Of Strikes & Other News

Now that the writers strike is finally over, we can all collectively breathe a sigh of relief. More importantly, as reported by UH.com (linked on the left), it occurred on the writers own terms. A literary triumph over the power suits; there is something to be said of the power of the written word.

In other news, I’ve re-usurped my editorial duties and as such, am fully on target to meet my February Vol 3 publication date. Still finalizing a few pieces however, I’m on the line about one and as such, may have two further rejection letters to send out. I’ve been holding off on the publication for this reason. Should have a final decision about the matter by later tonight. What follows is hopefully a productive weekend for the website.

Elaborate marketing is being held off for a little while, until the thing I mentioned a few posts back, the thing we are all intensely excited about, has been elaborately planned and once we’ve got that little reading out of the way. What would you think of carrying bookmarks home at the end of the reading, as a souvenir of sorts? For one thing, you can actually use them as bookmarks…genius! For another, you’ll remember the evening…or well, hopefully! 🙂

So this weekend will, in all likelihood, see the publication of Volume 3 and hopefully this issue will set the precedent for all the issues to follow. Lots of luck wishing and backslapping is in order. Till my next post then!

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The Question…

‘ello peeps. Yes, I realize that that’s a little uncustomary of me and what follows will continue in that vein. So to cut a long story short, I’m pasting the exact same thing I said on the forums for our non-member viewing pleasure.

“Hello everyone,

I realize the publication date has been pushed forward repeatedly. Just wanted everyone to know that I’ve been extremely busy lately, haven’t had time for anything including *gasp* all things Lounge related. I only recently penned a story, which I am ecstatic about…and that was on the only weekend I’ve been lucky enough to get off.

Along with that, the Internet on my end has been spotty though everything’s been resolved now. Glory be! I guess the only thing left to do now is to actually put up them pieces. Please note: not everyone who was contacted and worked with an editor, has made the cut. In fact, several pieces have been slashed (how very horror fest of me) to showcase the ones, in this humble editor’s opinion (I played no part in actually working with any of the writers. I’m just the evil one who goes down and sucks the life out of people…it’s late and I’m writing this in bed, reminding myself I need to be up early, so forgive the dramatics) that spoke for themselves.

This weekend was supposed to be The Weekend where I could put everything up, and my thanks go especially to Clarice who has worked with me on this. She’s really done more than I could ask from her.

Anyway, this weekend was also my only weekend off and I am not ashamed to say that I put my own writing and leisurely activities before this. However, in my defense, the site wasn’t working for me today. It’s working now, and I’m assuming that whatever fiber optic cable was damaged, has since been repaired. Otherwise, I’m doomed obviously.

So to sum it up, I know things haven’t gone according to plan but I do remember the e-zine and it will be released this month. Who knows? Maybe I might coordinate it with my birthday? Or better yet, hold out for a day, and give you all a Valentine’s Day gift. 🙂

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The Icky Stuff

In case some of you don’t know about the recent fiber optic cable cut beneath Egypt and Italy, allow me to introduce you to the facts: no internet. Or at the very least, spotty internet. What does this mean? It means the publication date’s been shoved forward. Just because I can’t do it, however, doesn’t mean the work won’t still be done…I’ll be pulling the strings while the GM (global moderator) will be doing all the hard labor. Tough job, but someone has to do it.

Naturally, because an ocean separates us coordinating times and bypassing risky schedules has put a damper on things. That being said, however, we are working around this.

The reading is still planned, any ideas any of you might have you can drop into the comments of the blog or email me personally at maryam@desiwriterslounge.net. We do appreciate the feedback you know, and contrary to legend, we don’t bite.

Promise.

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It begins

So, if you’ve been to the website or forums recently you may have noticed something in the way of a facelift. Yes, it’s finally happened. The new design has been fully incorporated. You may also have noted the new design of the blog in one of the fading images, but for some reason it can’t be seen here…there’s a reason for that. Let’s just say, it looked better as a screen shot. But I’m trying to see if I can capture the same gist of color here with this format, so let’s see how this works out.

Our e-zine publication date may see a slight flutter from its original conception, with the deadline being pushed back from Jan 18 to Jan 25. The reasons for this are the resolving of some personal issues of one of our editors. Publication will be one week after the administrator (yours truly) has received all pieces, to take that time to go through each in full and see if I can’t spot a few last minute fixes. So we might be seeing it going live around Feb 1, which if seen in a certain light, might actually work for us being the start of a month instead of the end or middle of it. All’s well that ends well, right?

Moving on, the next stage of our plan kicks forward after all pieces have been edited or at least after some of the editors have been relived of their editing duties. We do indeed plan on going ahead with the posters, fliers and bookmarks that will advertise our website. The reading as such, won’t be advertised since, at least for the first one, we’re limiting it to members and those invited by members. There still do remain certain issues to iron out, however, but it’s very much a part of our agenda.

We do have something else up our sleeves as well, something we’re not going to put up yet but will in all likelihood announce during or after the reading…so all the more reason to attend if you’re in Islamabad sometime in March or April.

In addition to the small announcement put up on the main site, we’d like to remind anyone who’s interested to help out with the marketing aspect of the site, to let us know. We will be distributing posters, fliers and bookmarks to be distributed in bookstores and possibly some “intellectual” cafes, though whether such places exclusively exist…may be debatable. But that’s us! The incurable optimists! For anyone who’s interested, you can email in at comments@desiwriterslounge.net.

Now my friends, is when it really begins…

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Be heard. Be inspired. Or…not so much?

Apologize for the lack of updates…realize it’s been seven days since my last progress report. 🙂

So then, what’s going on in the world of the ‘Lounge, you ask? Well, despite thinking that my designing days were over, I have managed to complete a new forum template with our new logo which will see its debut on this blog at the same time it goes on everywhere else. So the forum’s done, thankfully which now just leaves the bulk of the main website’s design which is significant…but it does progress. I am hopeful to have at least the color scheme related side of things, complete by tonight. I’ve started writing again, so unfortunately this also figures into the ‘weekend planning’ side of things.

My presence at the forums has been extremely limited to just signing in occasionally, with a precursor ‘all’s well’ and conveniently disappearing again.

Our editors are hard at work, working with their respective assignees to give you the best e-zine yet. Fingers crossed. The January 18 deadline will in all likelihood, be honored and the week following it will be my domain of going through every piece submitted, reading all the niggly bits and deciding on the end product. Meanwhile, I uphold my end of the deal by administering the site, designing the forums, designing a new template for the main site, receiving progress reports from my editors, and all along hoping that I can somehow bridge it all and have a deliverable by my own personal deadline.

Meanwhile, keeps the forums alive and well. There seems to be a strange tendency of things coming alive when the e-zine submission date comes around. The whole point of the forums is to be heard, to learn from others, be inspired by what you see, and take it from there. How can one expect to improve if you don’t let others rip into your creative process of thought before you even think of putting something solely for e-zine consideration. The polls will no longer, at least not in the foreseeable future, have as much of an impact on selection as before. So be involved, be prepared for a sense of community, help others improve, let us help you. It’s all about writing, working together to improve.

Or at least, that’s always been my perception of what the Desi Writers Lounge is. But I guess, perceptions change…or do they?

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Lanterns All Over The Place

I’ll admit: I was a little worried that the new design and the fact that it may or may not materialize. However, after extensive work on it on both Saturday & Sunday, both new designs are coming along quite well. The forums are done, but of course, have not been uploaded yet. So you’ll just have to wait for both to occur together before you see the new logo and design.

Editors are hard at work with their assignees and the publication date of Jan. 18th seems a likely and largely welcome one.

The quicker and better looking our website becomes, the larger chance we have of retaining our audience as well as keeping our existing members happy. Layout still remains a concern, and there will be a lot of testing in the two weeks ahead. Two weeks. What a ridiculously short period of time! However, I am also confident enough in my own abilities…another weekend is all I’ll need. But you won’t see anything tangible until the e-zine hits our virtual shelves. Sorry! All updates must occur together…a little thing I like to call homogeneity.

Then of course, there’s bringing the audience to our website…which is where the marketing (posters, fliers, bookmarks) comes in. Still have to locate a suitable designer for the work, and the budget is naturally not fixed although given the logo considerations, I think it’ll need to be substantially high to cover both design and printing costs.

Once these things are out of the way, I can turn my attentions to planning the reading. We have yet to set a workable date, but I suppose it all depends on coordination and a ton of hardcore planning.

And that’s a wrap for tonight. You’ll forgive me for not writing more, primarily because a) there isn’t much else happening 🙂 and b) my shoulders are killing me!

G’night!