Roppotucha Greenberg

Creatures Give Advice Agian and it's warmer now  was out on 21 June. It's all about summer. It was my way of keeping a bit of the summer, so really it's a lot like jam. Also it has an index, that's sort of like a poem, even though it is also an index. It was launched on 31 August, amid much merriment. The good people of Twitter contributed the music: Bohemian Rhapsody played on a fairground organ (contributed by Marsha Adams (@marshawritesit) And this was my response And then Maureen Docherty (@mordoc1) put this one on: Response: Happiness is a good thing to have at a launch, so this song was great to listen to (with thanks to Tim Warren @fFredTweetzsche) And the response was: Next came this piece from Sarah Allen Reed (@SarahAllenReed)  . It's not for the faint-hearted, but Creatures are brave (there used to be secret concerts in the Thicket that they used to sneak into, back when humans came in and out. So her...

Visit  Allotment 1  to see where Filigree might be hiding. 

Behold another creature from  Allotment 1  

We, of the Secret Theatre Society, are planning to 'stage' fabulous plays on Twitter We will gather every second Sunday of the month at 5pm GMT and play until around 9pm GMT on Monday. The play will be chosen by a public poll beforehand and announced on Twitter. This week's play is Twelfth Night. To play use use two hashtags in your tweet, one for the game (#secthesoc) and one for the character E.g. #Viola: Meh. Illyria looks so boring. #secthesoc   (Except you will probably be a bit more creative than that!) Also you can reply to another person's tweet, creating a dialogue.  Combo tweets are welcome as long as they are OK with the hosts of the other hashtags. Gifs, pictures, and other non-verbal responses to the theme are also OK.  Our next gathering is on 13 October. Join us. Let's do great things!

This is an important creature, recently spotted by Tamsin S. Head over to  Allotment 1   to see him in the wild.

Note: This one is obviously an   Allotment 1  creature. 

Note: And if you're wondering where you can try to catch them, head over to  Allotment 1

                                     Note: This specimen can be found in  Allotment 1

They said it wasn’t safe The water in the lake was black, even on sunny days, and there were devils. They are different from fish: if the poison spreads, they can dive to the bottom and hide, or they can wrap their belongings in bits of cloth and seaweed, dig into the earth and move to a safer country. But on that day, they floated close to the surface, and Natasha and I floated above them on big logs. There must have been a sawmill nearby, because there was a hoard of logs just where the river entered the lake. We ferried the sun on our backs across the dark water. My dog’s head was like a seal’s; she panted and chewed on small fish. Natasha’s log drifted beside me, and we talked slowly the way you do in water. Our bellies were hidden by the warm logs, so to the devils we looked like tree creatures with splashing legs. They didn’t mind us. In June, they lure particles of light and gather them in old cans. I let go of the log and dove in, and their gossiping was...

So a long time ago, long before Creatures gave advice again , but when it had already become warmer, I asked the good humans of the writerly world: 'What do you think this is?' I got many wonderful responses. But Elizabeth who lives on Twitter and who is known as @bookwyrm37  wrote this poem Monday, we wash the pancakes Tuesday, we cook the laundry  No, wait  Wednesday, we cake the washpan Thursday, we launder the cook Oh bother Friday, soapcakes float in midair Saturday, we float too! Help Sunday, Mother unravels a sock to tether us like panbubbles And well, what more is there to say?

You have a bike but  You can’t live in a bike,  You crank up your saddle, but it’s no property ladder.  I’m freewheeling with worry, for  You dangle too close to the traffic,  And the puddles leap into your pockets.  You swaddle puddles all day, full of diesel and pink-blown blossoms.  But you plan to sell tea.  Victims of frozen rain  Will get served at bus-stops, hard-shoulders.  Cups of guerrilla tea  You’ll deliver and make good money.  At night, you say, starlight will squeeze through the spokes,  Or you’ll spin it till raindrops scatter  And, reflecting the city lights, turn into fireworks  And they’ll gather to see the marvel around your spin-sleeping form.   By @Roppotucha Greenberg Originally published Hand to Mouth a Zine by Kissing Dynamite Poetry https://www.kissingdynamitepoetry.com/uploads/1/1/8/5/11859462/hand_to_mouth_zine.pdf

There is a new allotment on grassy hill . It's for creatures meant to help writers with their projects on their journey towards publication. For now we have one inhabitant, but we'd like more. Please get in touch if you feel like you'd like the creatures' help.                                                                                             Book  (and creatures) by Roppotucha                               Photo (and flowers)   by Tamsin S. @teabeesea

Allotment 1  is expanding beyond Steve and Tamsin's tree.

Mallow dwells in Steve and Tamsin's tree  Allotment 1                                                                                           Book  (and creatures) by Roppotucha                                                                                      Photo (and flowers) by Tamsin S. @teabeesea

Allotment 1 , also known as  Steve and Tamsin's tree also harbours Cloverly.

This creature may be occasionally glimpsed in  Allotment 1,  found in Steve and Tamsin's tree.

There's a flower at the edge of the world. Get it and everything changes. Light will be shadow, old songs will awake, Aunt Mina's knee will stop hurting. Go. Our neighbours will help you. Not that they like change (or you) It's their way of saying goodbye. Posted on 2 June 2019. #FairyTaleTuesday

Note: Zwoozh is a creature from Allotment 1, often found in Steve and Tamsin's tree.

We are proud to present  the story of Weft seen in Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

Here's some important information about Zwoozh  who lives in  Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

The long awaited (not least by its author) second creature book is finally here !. It explores a range of topics including King John's favourite food, caterpillar dreams, the habits of inanimate objects, life, and death. It has some scoop on the elusive river folk and some complaints against plants. In other words it is all about the time between late April until, well until June 21. Here is the cover image  with a very rare splash of colour. You can buy the book as an e-book or a paperback from any of the Amazon marketplaces.

Project Thicket Lore is another way for the creatures to connect with the various human writers  and scholars who enjoy their company At the moment the Advice Bureau is closed, and it will be another while before another book-project is announced.  Besides, it is good to explore other parts of the Thicket, including the beautiful meadows close to the sea, which is where Forest Allotments can be found. The project has several steps: 1. I advertise a vacant allotment (usually a tree, sometimes a hill or a clearing) Writers let me know the name of a particular creature they'd like to see on a tree . If they can't think of a name, but have a particular mood that they think the creature will help with, that's good too. (Anything, basically except direct attributes. Creatures are not illustrations). Here's one I am looking for interested owners (leaves might appear once it gets a few creatures). UPDATE: Nobody wanted this tree (too bleak perchance?), so I am going t...

Here's an origin story about Tea Sipper who lives in  Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

Here's an origin story about a mermaid living in  Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

Here's another story about one the creatures living in  Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

Here are the latest stories about the creatures living in  Forest Allotment 1 , in the tree belonging to Tamsin S.  and SpringySteve.

I am absolutely delighted to share Sylvia Petter's blog entry on Creatures Give Advice  Sylvia Petter is an author of several books and multiple flash stories. She is a regular contributor to the wonderful world which is the Twitter writing community. I was particularly taken by her Ad-Hoc Fiction winning piece, ' I, and My Lovers' . She also regularly tweets about worrying trends in Austrian politics. I was so glad to read what she said about the creatures: ' I must thank a bunch of creatures that unexpectedly kept me sane with just the right dose of crazy [... ]   ' No political movement this. Just a bit of clever and astute craziness in the mad world many of us ignore while others succumb to the siren songs of supremacy and tribalism. Read this entry and browse through the rest of Sylvia's blog. It is worth it.  https://www.sylviapetter.com/2019/05/29/heres-to-roppotuchas-creatures/  I also have to thank her for some new questions for the sec...

The launch started at around noon. It was nice to see that so many people came to support the book. Of course it was a shame that the person selling the books was facing the wrong way. But, you can still buy it as an e-book  here . Stuff happened: hedgehogs and the sea and dragons The book is also available as a paperback. Most people like it as a paperback, even though it's not water- or dragon-proof. Then I felt that I needed talk about my childhood. I am not sure why, but here I am as a small child, in Zglevia. By the way if you want to find out where Zglevia used to be and what happened to it, I wrote about it in this story: On the Proper Use of Mosquitoes , Twist in Time Magazine  Issue 1. (It is a bit sad). Drinks were being passed around, and people kept saying very nice things to me. (Like this review, for instance, by Alan Vincent Michaels  ) The party went on for a while. I was so happy to see André Lepine  from th...

Here is a link to the most magnificent song composed by Marsha Adamas (@Marshawritesit) in honour of the launch of Creatures Give Advice https://soundcloud.com/user-149370279/voice-026 The singer is a creature of legend who is mysterious and amazing.

‏  The ongoing launch has been attracting all sorts of merriment. I am so happy to have  Monique's permission to publish this poem. Monique asked three questions in Creatures Give Advice. She regularly tweets poetry, and is a great person to follow  @starfish_72 By Monique ‏ Gather land walkers starfish 'n flounders we're estranged from that which consorts with youth feeling blue from all angles let's group on this rock share a champagne sponge & toast to @roppotucha launching her book happiness plunges "Creatures Give Advice!" into a sea of readers.

I am not the only person who has to mark exams and essays. Sometimes it's hard. I remember that time I saw my friend. Most of him was buried in scripts, only the nose poked out and twitched in regret. "Please don't tell them," he cried. "I want them to think I enjoy reading them." I felt I had to stay in that room, with those scripts, with the smell of fear on every page, but my friend shouted: "Run!" And I ran down the stairs, as the scripts landed beside me. Anyway, I try to make it easier. I try to understand the enormity of the time and pressure that went into composing the text that I have to read and assess in 15 minutes. So I draw them, those students, sometimes nameless, sometimes not. The doodles help me connect with them, and then the correcting is a bit easier. Here they are, my lovely students:

Publishing I brought out a book, Creatures Give Advice . My book is all about meeting wonderful people on twitter and us having a bit of a giggle on the sly while doing our real work. If you buy it, I will feel awfully excited. I'd love to hear from you when you read it, and I'd love to feature your question in the next book. (To be fair, the book is more about questions than advice). Pricing: the Lumpfish Strategy In The Fish Can Sing , Halldor Laxness has a character who sells lumpfish. Winter or summer, regardless of the supply, the price stays the same.  This is the kind of loyalty to one's own labour and to one's customers that I'd like to emulate. I priced the ebook and the paperbook taking into account how much my readers would be able to pay, how much effort I put into the book, and the sufficient amount to give me a jolt of dopamine with every purchase. After that, the price will remain the same. I can't do special prices as this would di...

Ingredients: 1 author 100 grams of creatures 1 appreciation for whimsy 1 generosity 1-3 photos 1 twitter post

Lesson 1: Always order a proof copy. This is Amazon KDP’s new feature. It does mean that you have to wait, but it is worth it. Now, I am a person pursued by typos. I thought that with a tiny picture book, they won’t find me, but they did. When the proof finally arrived, the typos were all there, giggling.                                             Spelling Lessons in the Forest of Typos  By the way, my initial impatience resulted in a single copy with pretty unique typos.   One of my twitter friends has it, and I feel guilty about it. Lesson 2: Prepare to wait and suffer. After I’ve gone over the proof I made changes to the paperback and the ebook, but there was a catch. While the book went live, the changes took a while to update. As I didn’t realise that was the case, I might have slowed down the process by uploading the corrected file ...