This is the June edition of the Maelstrom News, where we take a look back at what happened at the board in the last month...and apologies for the length of this newsletter, but theres a lot to tell!
Last month saw a significant bout of spring cleaning at The Maelstrom; many of you will have noticed that the look of the site has changed a little; colour schemes are the same, but the order of the forums is definitely different! Bear with usthere is method in our madness! To explain:
We have changed the forum order to get back to our origins as primarily a poetry site. To this end, the first section is devoted exclusively to poetry of all kinds. Maelstrom Poetry, the main forum, is now at the top of the page, followed by The Rapids and White Water, the two critique forums dedicated to poetry. These are followed by Rivulets (Eastern & Short Forms), Into the Depths (Dark & Venting poetry), The Vortex (Sensual poetry), and Maelstrom Masterpieces (contest winners and Moderators Choice poems).
The second section contains a selection of writing resources designed to assist our members whenever they need inspiration, or just a helping hand. It also contains those forums used for expressing yourself in forms other than poetry. The Illustrators Isle is our Art forum, for anyone who wants to take a break from writing for a moment. Maelstrom Eddies contains challenges and contests, including form challenges, picture contests, and the 6 Words challenge. Short Stories is a place for writers who wish to express themselves more fully. Fluid Dynamics is a resource library of over 100 Forms, from the familiar (sonnets) to the obscure (huitains). Crystal Pools is a place to post your favourite poems from your favourite authors; sometimes when you have run out of words yourself, it is good to read the words of others!
The third section contains The Source, where all announcements and introductions are kept; Babbling Brook got something to say? Want to share your news? This is the place! The Chuckling Stream contains jokes, humorous stories, and funny poems, and Watersmeet is filled with links to other writing-related sites around the net. Below this section are the Archive sections.
We hope this new arrangement will work for everyone; if anyone has any comments on it, let us know!
Member News: We have some more changes in the Moderator staff to announce. Doug (dpg3) has decided to step down from the Moderator role for the time being, due to other commitments. Doug has always been an enthusiastic member of the team, and is always welcome back at any time. On the plus side, ERJ Cat has agreed to help us out with the Critique forums, The Rapids and White Water. Hes already made an impact in these forums, and wed like to welcome him on board in a more official capacity!
Writing News: Congratulations to Chanticleer, winner of the May Picture Competition with Trust Fortress. A strong field again, and a worthy winner! As if that were not enough, Chanticleer also scooped the April 6 Words contest, with Calm Amity Jane a great performance, Merlin! Well done! Thanks to all who participated, and all who voted without entrants and votes, theres no contest! Maelstrom Eddies holds the latest picture and 6 Words contests, so if you want a chance to unseat Chanticleer, come and see if you are inspired! Dont forget theres also the latest form challenge this month, its the Tetractys!
Art News: Many thanks to all those who posted in response to the May theme of Black and White some lovely pieces! For June, the theme is Freeso plenty of scope there! Please, bring your Free art to the Illustrators Isle this month!
Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics: Were now up to 607 members, so each month brings new talentswelcome to you all! Between you, youve contributed a grand total of 2,250,000 page views, and 139,000 posts! Once again, our thanks to you allwithout you, wed not be here!
As always, if you have suggestions, comments or criticisms of The Maelstrom, please let any of the staff know either via email or by dropping a note into The Babbling Brook forum. The Maelstrom exists for you, our members, and we will do our best to accommodate you, if possible. If you like us, tell your friends, and if you don't, please tell us!
The Maelstrom Crew
Last month saw a significant bout of spring cleaning at The Maelstrom; many of you will have noticed that the look of the site has changed a little; colour schemes are the same, but the order of the forums is definitely different! Bear with usthere is method in our madness! To explain:
We have changed the forum order to get back to our origins as primarily a poetry site. To this end, the first section is devoted exclusively to poetry of all kinds. Maelstrom Poetry, the main forum, is now at the top of the page, followed by The Rapids and White Water, the two critique forums dedicated to poetry. These are followed by Rivulets (Eastern & Short Forms), Into the Depths (Dark & Venting poetry), The Vortex (Sensual poetry), and Maelstrom Masterpieces (contest winners and Moderators Choice poems).
The second section contains a selection of writing resources designed to assist our members whenever they need inspiration, or just a helping hand. It also contains those forums used for expressing yourself in forms other than poetry. The Illustrators Isle is our Art forum, for anyone who wants to take a break from writing for a moment. Maelstrom Eddies contains challenges and contests, including form challenges, picture contests, and the 6 Words challenge. Short Stories is a place for writers who wish to express themselves more fully. Fluid Dynamics is a resource library of over 100 Forms, from the familiar (sonnets) to the obscure (huitains). Crystal Pools is a place to post your favourite poems from your favourite authors; sometimes when you have run out of words yourself, it is good to read the words of others!
The third section contains The Source, where all announcements and introductions are kept; Babbling Brook got something to say? Want to share your news? This is the place! The Chuckling Stream contains jokes, humorous stories, and funny poems, and Watersmeet is filled with links to other writing-related sites around the net. Below this section are the Archive sections.
We hope this new arrangement will work for everyone; if anyone has any comments on it, let us know!
Member News: We have some more changes in the Moderator staff to announce. Doug (dpg3) has decided to step down from the Moderator role for the time being, due to other commitments. Doug has always been an enthusiastic member of the team, and is always welcome back at any time. On the plus side, ERJ Cat has agreed to help us out with the Critique forums, The Rapids and White Water. Hes already made an impact in these forums, and wed like to welcome him on board in a more official capacity!
Writing News: Congratulations to Chanticleer, winner of the May Picture Competition with Trust Fortress. A strong field again, and a worthy winner! As if that were not enough, Chanticleer also scooped the April 6 Words contest, with Calm Amity Jane a great performance, Merlin! Well done! Thanks to all who participated, and all who voted without entrants and votes, theres no contest! Maelstrom Eddies holds the latest picture and 6 Words contests, so if you want a chance to unseat Chanticleer, come and see if you are inspired! Dont forget theres also the latest form challenge this month, its the Tetractys!
Art News: Many thanks to all those who posted in response to the May theme of Black and White some lovely pieces! For June, the theme is Freeso plenty of scope there! Please, bring your Free art to the Illustrators Isle this month!
Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics: Were now up to 607 members, so each month brings new talentswelcome to you all! Between you, youve contributed a grand total of 2,250,000 page views, and 139,000 posts! Once again, our thanks to you allwithout you, wed not be here!
As always, if you have suggestions, comments or criticisms of The Maelstrom, please let any of the staff know either via email or by dropping a note into The Babbling Brook forum. The Maelstrom exists for you, our members, and we will do our best to accommodate you, if possible. If you like us, tell your friends, and if you don't, please tell us!
The Maelstrom Crew
