SLWriters: Allegations Response

2024.11.19 An Official Statement from SL Writers collaborative publications project regarding SWoodham's allegations, here

SWoodham has written her blog After The Event of her being released from the project for her decision to choose a path of malice toward it. 

1 “but suddenly there was a suggestion to remove some of our existing stories.” 

The only story censored was one SWoodham objected to on the basis it contained the word ‘Sasquatch’ along with a list of similar entities. Direct quote from original draft:  “Yeti? Abominable snowmen? Sasquatch? Bigfoot? Just words for that, which they do not understand.’” SWoodham’s virtue-signalling rejected the writer from the project so she could blog about protecting indigenous rights. 

2 "writers don't write to make money,"

Nobody said that other than SWoodham. A private message regarding the project suggested it is more important at this stage that writers develop their writing ability with the intention to publish quality,  than to set out with the intention of writing simply for commerce without developing skills. This observation results in better work, more respected and acceptable to publishing houses. SWoodham has taken this out of context, again has used it as leverage. 

3 “Pay writers for contributions, pay a cover artist, create a theme and a deadline.” 

The SL Writers project has since its inception agreed to pay contributors a % of any money it makes. An understanding that we do not guarantee it will make any money at all because that significantly has to do with advertising. All of the projects banking will be made available for view to those involved. SWoodham was not let into the know on the projects marketing strategy although she was in agreement with where any proceeds should be directed. Training workshops for the projects contributors are already being held on a weekly basis regarding such matters as successful advertising strategies within the publishing industry. SWoodham has not been attending them. 

It came as a surprise when SWoodham began insinuating the project was being mishandled for reasons which she has invented. The project deadline has been pushed back as a direct result of SWoodham encouraging its contributors to pull their stories from it for allegations which she has made up in attempt to discredit it. 

This post is a follow-on from previous update, here. 

SYMPHONY magazine

 

It has been my great honour to work on a publication called Symphony magazine. 

At time of writing we are on Issue 4. 

It is available inworld from vendors at Sunset Sway Arts Community sim. 

SLURL:  SUNSET SWAY - ARTS CENTER, Symphony  (174, 194, 21)

It is available online, here: 

Website: https://symphony-sunset-sway.webnode.page

SL Writers OFFICIAL response to allegations, with apology

Apologies. SWoodhm has once again forced my hand. I am in objection to being positioned such way to elicit a response from an ex-colleague. 

This statement is to raise awareness of not becoming caught up in other peoples drama. 

I have absolutely no intention of this situation escalating further. 

This statement is to raise awareness of not becoming caught up in other peoples drama.  

Contrary to the notecard sent by SWoodham     2024-11-09 17:23:26

SL Writers by SWoodham 

In which she makes allegations (written form, 'libel') about myself and my political stance, which does accurately describe my opinions and political stance. It is technically incorrect, a matter she has previously failed to discuss objectively, she has expressed due to her hyped up state regarding the American election last week. 

SWoodham's use of the SL Writers Group to send that NC is considerable as targeted harassment, in breach of multinational legislation including SL Terms and Conditions, which is detrimental to the Project, to myself and to SWoodham herself.  

For her ongoing public provocation SWoodham has now regrettably been banned from the group and from the SL Writers project. Her statement about my intention is not my position and neither does her statement represent in any way at all my own words or opinions on the matter. This situation is very sad. Please regard this as symptomatic of a mental health breakdown on Sylvia's part which I have previously been reticent to discuss in public, for respect for her. 

I intend to continue maintaining a level of professionalism despite the behavior of one ex-member of staff who is going through difficult times and is continuing to target both myself personally and the project and by consequence all of the writers who are involved in the collaboration. 

With regard to and in answer of her allegations; 

When I first approached the SL Writers community with offer and suggestion to start this collection, along with funding it throughout, with intention any profits be fed back into the writers community of SL and to marketing the project, I did not want to censor anything beyond that necessary Amazon Kindle's terms & conditions for the target market for this product. This is documented in the original Project Proposal notecard, June24> 

SL Writers OFFICIAL response to allegations, with apology

Recently I implemented a "One Rule For All" policy following SWoodhams decision to censor some of the stories which did not fall in line with a Female Supremacy agenda as perceived by SWoodham. Her activity in this regard did not immediately come to my attention. I explained to SWoodham the problem that if we apply the restriction of not publishing 'potentially offensive material' to writers selectively, it is amoral. To maintain 'one rule for all' would mean that we would have to also reject other writers whose works are 'potentially offensive' to different demographics. I suggested as a resolution to this that we can develop and expand the SL Writers Project to direct those writers whose works might be deemed potentially offensive, into other publishing projects, for the adult market outside of SL. This is documented in my previous notecard, Project Update Nov2024.

SL Writers Project Update Nov24

SWoodham's decision to sabotage the SL Writers collaborative project as much as she can by persuading writers who have kindly donated to it already and any others who might in future, to boycott myself and the project; this is about her, not about myself and not about the project. Several have already pulled out due to her backstage take-over campaign. 

It appears she is manipulating this project to gain herself some sort of leverage, by lying about me. I understand this in terms of SWoodham exhibiting classical symptoms of Bipolar / Borderline Personality Disorder. As a professionally qualified counselor with 30+ years of experience I am qualified to make that assessment. It is my request to the public that SWoodham's notecard be interpreted as a cry for help rather than as an offensive statement intended to cause harm to others, albeit that it is an offensive statement intended to cause harm to others. 

Please, in your assessment of this, recognize all of the hostility and manipulations are coming FROM SWoodham, leveled personally against myself, and not the other way around. Her goal is quite simple, as she has stated in her notecard; hostile take-over from within of the SL Writers project. It is Machiavellian misconduct. 

For clarification : SWoodham HAS BEEN SACKED from SL Writers for her refusal to work with me and lying about what I have said and my stance on the stories which I have already accepted as valid to be published by the SL Writers collaborations. 

SWoodham is apparently reacting with overt aggression with manipulation, engaging the writers into an 'us verses them' power struggle, which I for one certainly have zero interest of being caught up in. My intention is to publish publishable stories. SWoodham is virtue signaling and is throwing me under the wheels of her own runaway train by lying about me. I do not understand why a respectable person would do that other than it being symptomatic of mental-emotional breakdown. 

It is tragic that things have come to this. 

All I can do is apologize to you all for the time wasted in your being caught up in SWoodham's drama. 

It has come as a shock to us all. 

SnakeAppleTree 2024.11.9 

ADDITIONAL

Since posting this, SLWoodham has unfortunately been making more allegations in the public arena regarding the project. This has elicited another public statement for clarification, here. 

SL Writers by SWoodham

In response to the   SL Writers Project Update Nov24,

SWoodham (Sly)  sent this note out through the group: 

Future of Your Stories

Following concerns raised about Snakeappletree’s recent notice, I want to provide clarity on the direction of our project and why we’re at a crossroads.

As it stands, we are short on stories for a complete collection. However, I strongly oppose Snakeappletree’s recent decision to reclassify certain stories as "countercultural" simply because they address current cultural events. It’s become clear that this decision may have been influenced by personal discomfort with certain themes, like the story addressing abortion and religion, which was targeted for removal.

Many of you found Snakeappletree’s tone unwelcoming, and several writers now worry that their work might be deemed “offensive” due to recent goal-post shifting that could affect valuable contributions. I have been committed to upholding the diversity of perspectives that make this collection so powerful and representative of the SL creative community. However, I do not support decisions made unilaterally or in a way that deviates from the guidelines we initially set for this collaborative project.

Moving forward, I intend to offer an option that respects the original guidelines and spirit of the project, without unilateral decisions or a tone that discourages participation. To ensure this, I am currently seeking a new partner who shares our values of collaboration and inclusion and can bring a steady hand to our creative process.

Thank you all for your dedication and contributions.

My response is here:     SL Writers OFFICIAL response to allegations, with apology 

SL Writers Update Nov24

SL Writers Short Story collaborative publication project 

2024 Autumnal Review

WORKSHOPS 

Saturday Writers Workshop sessions  1pm slt 

will continue every week in the office on Book Island. 

􀀀

In addition to this, due to suggestion and request, 

forthcoming workshops in specialist topics, developmental writing skills 

and directly related to the SL Writers project, 

will be held both at the office and at Milk Wood in affiliation with Moxie Writers.

These will extend beyond November. 

WE HAVE A PROBLEM 

Despite months of scouting, training, editing and workshops, 

we currently have insufficient number of short stories to fill a worthy book. 

SOLUTION 

This Project Update is a big request to everybody involved,

to advertise our need for more short stories from SL writers. 

This is your chance, do not miss out on a golden opportunity! 

Please if you can put the poster up wherever you can: 

􀀃

Also please distribute the notecard you are reading to everyone you can think of!  

􀀁

􀀂

How To Get Involved: 

-Share this notecard with your friends

-Display the poster 

-Send a Notecard containing your short story to:    

snakeappletree (resident) 

Please name the notecard:  

'Your Story Title - by Your Name'  

so I can find it easily in my inventory. 

DEADLINE EXTENSION

For the above reasons the Project Deadline has been extended 

until such time we have sufficient work to fill a book.  

BIOGRAPHIES

So far, nobody has provided one. 

Please get these to us ASAP! 

A writers biography is a place to write about yourself as a writer. 

It should ideally be between 200-500 words.

Include links to your websites and bookstores if you have them. 

OTHER BUSINESS

Poetry: 

This collection is specifically for short stories. 

A lot of people have asked if we are publishing poetry. 

The situation has been given consideration for expansion in future 

to publish a collaborative SL Poets poetry book. 

This will be in 2025.

Grotesque: 

The SL Writers project intends to publish content which is 

1 publishable 2 non-sexual 

to get it through Amazon Kindle's requirements for the target market. 

Some of the stories sent in contain "potentially offensive content" 

more suitable for a different project. 

Rather than to reject anyone's work on this basis, 

the situation has been given consideration for expansion in future 

into more appropriate alternative market outside of SL related projects. 

This will be in 2025. 

Adult, Horror, Alternate Culture, No Children, No Animals

The stipulation is it is well written. 

Sad Farewell: 

Sly ak s.woodham has been wonderful in her organizing the project launch. 

Unfortunately due to rl pressures on her time she will no longer be as supportive of the project. 

The position of 'project management team' is and always has been open 

to anyone willing to work to the same ethos as the project requirement. 

Queries: snakeappletree (resident) 

GothPunk

 

With Autumn rapidly approaching Wales it is time for a new visual art exhibition at SnakeAppleTree gallery. It is situated on Floor Three of the gallery at Crystal Waters. 

GothPunk 

‘Gothic-Punk milieu’ was coined by Mark Rein-Hagen for the original pentacle White Wolf collaborative game books. They broke the mould because in the World of Darkness the players play the monsters. 

“A beast I am lest a beast I become.” 

The consequence was a flood of fresh blood including 60% females attending gaming conventions for the first time in roleplaying game history, which previously was a nerd boy thing and not because misogyny. Vampire: the Masquerade made roleplaying hobby Cooler Than Sex for the first time ever. 

They were billed as ‘Storytelling games of personal horror’. This is how they were intended to be played. 

Later, unfortunately, a watered-down experience where the characters did high-school power-game and romance stuff while just so happening to be ‘cool’ monsters, inflicting horror upon fictional others without necessarily experiencing it for themselves. 

The characters in World of Darkness are generically outlined as GothPunk. Later, after the early 1990s, the term was retrospectively pinned on what had previously been called variously and incorrectly DeathRock, or more traditionally, a very early off-shoot of the mid 1970s London Punk movement, Goths. 

This series of art is inspired by the illustrations created especially for those World of Darkness books by a number of artists. 

From that core it extends outward. Towards the sources of those sorts of gothic horror stories, including the Hellraiser movie franchise inspired by Clive Barkers modern classic novel The Hellbound Heart, through the glorification-of-suicidal-depression cult which was Emo and decades later toward the manga Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei. 

These images were created almost entirely in an iPhone using apps, including an original source image, designer text prompts, Wonder AI, PaintCan and the iPhoto editor. The process for these images is repeatable. 

Some of the images did not get as far as PaintCan and iPhoto editor because of comparative purposes for education and because noble though that sounds I am of limited patience and attention-span. Life is too damn short to fully process them all. 

There is also the source image in its natural form, a photograph of some graffiti. I did not make the graffiti myself. To my artists mind it looks like a cartoon of a goth girl with her fringe over her eyes in a classic emo look, or perhaps her face is half-shadowed like a moon, hiding her inner darkness. 

Along with the text prompt which presented to you in the form of a poem is now copyrighted material technically illegal for anybody else to use as a text prompt. I retain all rights to my original anchored terset poem to exquisitely highlight a double-edged problem-and-poetry that AI prompts are an art form in their own right. 

Not that I am intentionally making a mockery of the legal systems but, y’know, that oldschool ‘punk not dead’ ethos is a factor even where undead punks is the supernatural order of the night.

Gothpunk, Cartoon Portrait

Source image. Wales.
Photograph ©2024.
Original graffiti is public domain. 

“Godd in an Alcove”

more to follow ... 

NET STEN

NET  STEN 

[NO WALLS] 

SnakeAppleTree Gallery  @ Chelsea Arts 

A hundred years ago the Russian and European artists were making friends and working together, even when their governments hate and fear each other. It is not different now. Right-brained, creative people are united regardless of a delusion which occurs to left-brained, dogmatic people when the practicality regional management is replaced by xenophobic nationalism. 

This art is about that. The style is a combination of graffiti style with the principles of an art movement called Suprematism, which evolved as a response to Cubism in the political environment of the early 20th century, a time of change when the foundations of a Modernist world were established and entrenched based on specific ideologies. We have witnessed for a century how the right wing and the left wing meet in the same place, in effect to become the same thing. 

An influence for the title of this Exhibition, Net Sten, No Walls, was my living in the European city of Berlin a short time after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The history associating Communism, Fascism and 'Western' Democracy is the background thesis relating to the entrenchment of creeds and constructions of segregation and its impact on cultural harmony and wellbeing of We, The People. 

"Suprematism. Not to be confused with supremacism. Suprematism is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colours. The term suprematism refers to an abstract art based upon ‘the supremacy of pure artistic feeling’ rather than on visual depiction of objects." 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprematism

Limited colour palette for striking imagery, red, black white and cement-textures, aiming for 'the perfect harmonic' colour balance of 60% 30% 10% results in internationally identifiable symbolism inherent  both in colour psychology and as a political tool. 

We have seen historically Communism associating with colour red, a term historically used to describe communists. It is seen for example in national flags for the USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republics, and in Chinese Peoples Republic. *  Soviet literally translates into English language as 'union' referring to Workers Unions, something which was dismantled in Britain along with corporate privatisation of national infrastructural assets providing water, electricity and public transport, under the national management by Margaret Thatchers right-wing Conservative party (the Blue party). 

The architecture showed in the pictures is influenced by a combination of low-cost concrete Russian flats, the Khrushchevka's and high-rise version, the Brezhnevka **  and Chinese hi-rise apartments. Association of the theory and practise of Communism with 20th century communist architecture is inevitable. 

In this exploration we are consciously making connections between the physical infrastructure, the social infrastructure of supply of necessary resources, and relating it to Maslow's hierarchy of needs provision of which form the foundation of any civilisation. Architecture becomes a physical symbol for the mechanics of community. 

"For each their need; From each their ability." 

Karl Marx, Marxism Social philosophy in eight words. 

It is about the People

* 

"The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party

"The concept of Two Chinas refers to the political divide between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). The PRC was established in 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party, while the ROC was founded in 1912 and retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Chinas

** 

"Soviet architecture usually refers to one of three architecture styles emblematic of the Soviet Union: Constructivist architecture, prominent in the 1920s and early 1930s. Stalinist architecture, prominent in the 1930s through 1950s. Brutalist architecture, prominent style in the 1950s through 1980s."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_architecture

[Unfortunately I am having problem uploading pictures to blogger at this time. Pictures will follow.]