Meeting Minutes April 25, 2010

We had a great day for writing. Since it was gloomy outside, no one minded being inside.



I had a great conversation with Clare and Ron before the meeting. We talked about Vertical vs. Horizontal thinking. If you want something interesting to Google, this would be it!



A cheque was paid to the Tweedsmuir Church for use of their room for the first 6 months of the year. Although they do not charge us rent, we took it upon ourselves to make a donation of $100 to the church twice a year. We are grateful for the time and space to write. Nancy was talking to new members about how we used to write at the library for free on taxpayers' money, but now we write for free at the church using God's money. Clare laughed and said, "So you're okay if we use taxpayer money, but not God's money?" Judy clarified the situation by reminding us that "When you boil it down, it's all God's money. The government just thinks it's theirs."



Jayne's novel is still the most "feedbacked" item in the Presbyterian Record. Yes, she made up a new word. We liked it so it's on the blog. You can read her novel on http://www.presbyterianrecord.ca/.



Nancy, Gaetan, Clare and Judy all made it out to Grey Roots Museum April 24 for the Poetry reading that Harry was involved in. They gave kudos to Harry for such an impressive job. They told us that all of the works were heartfelt and impressive. Each piece made them think and touched them deeply as the performances spoke to their souls. Nancy recorded some of the show and will burn it onto a DVD to show us all. She thinks it's wonderful that poets love to watch other poets.



Ron showed us a book written by former ODSS teacher Gary T. Gravelle (GTG) called Paths Through Heartache. It is a touching book about his wife who died from Huntington's Disease in 2001. Pat will extend a formal invitation to join our group and talk to us about his book writing experience.



Reminder: Monday April 26 at 7pm is the book launch for Stories of Prayers and Faith. A few of our members have been published in this anthology. Come on out and show them your support!



We welcomed back Kelli Curtis, who joined us once before then got busy with publishing her children's book called Amber and the Fallen Bridge. She had a book launch at As We Grow and will be doing a reading at St. Benedict School here in Orangeville on May 4th. Her book is available at: BookLore, As We Grow, and The Vinyl Cut. She read it to us for practice even though we were all far bigger kids than she is used to reading to. We loved it. Way to go Kelli!

Kelli brought up a great question about how much to charge schools for us to go in to read/talk to students. Some suggestions were to check other author websites and to start low and raise your fees as you get more books published. The base price suggested was $50 per hour and go up from there.

Hope to see you at more meetings.



June 19 is the deadline for submissions for the anthology! There is a 2000 word limit on prose. The group had several questions which I will forward to Gloria later today so she can have an answer for our next meeting. Bring in ideas for artwork for the book cover! There is no theme so anything goes.



June 19 is also the Eramosa Eden Retreat. We will be there from 10am - 4pm to write, use prompts, take pictures, nap...Nancy wants your money asap if you are able to plan ahead. The cost for the day is $10, bring your own bag lunch. Coffee will be provided. If people would like to bring treats, we won't discourage it!



Readings.

Clare read about a chance meeting at a Tim Hortons with Jayne and her father. He should get a sponsorship from them for all the stories he has written in their restaurants. Or at least a bottomless Tim Card.



Pat read a section of her novel-in-progress. Can't wait to see what happens next.



Kelli read her book to us. We all love the nervous giggle. Glad we could be your first real audience for it.



Ron told us he had great news. He has plans to meet his historian friend next month in Lexington, NC. We'll look forward to hearing all the stories he has to share about that meeting.



Diane read the revised Chapter 1 of her Young Adult novel The Mural.



Judy read her piece about "I can't write today."



We talked about being vulnerable when reading to the group and to others.



Sandy surprised us all by singing her song that she wrote when her son was little. She recorded it with her brothers and sisters who performed in a band called The Free Design out of Delevan, New York. Her song, "Love You" appeared on the band's 6th album and was used in worldwide Toyota commercials as well as others. It also appeared in the closeing credits of the movie Stranger Than Fiction starring Emma Thompson and Will Farrell. Go ahead and Google her and her former group. I dare you not to be impressed!



We wrote our prompts and Clare read his about a Silver Angel and included the song On The Road Again. We'd love to hear more.



Sonja read about a woman waiting for the right time to kill a man. Intriguing.



Pat read about an obstacle someone hadn't anticipated.



Kelli wrote about breaking up with a friend in Grade 9 and trying to reconnect now that she's older. She plans to write a story about it.



Nancy started off reading about her younger sister then talked about the men in her family. She wished we lived in a world that did not punish the truth sayers.



When it was Sandy's turn to read, Kelli asked, "Are you going to sing it?"

She didn't but it was a nice story about two people reconnecting. We're waiting for more on that one too!



Jayne and Ron tackled the prompt about the difference between men and women.



Caitlyn told a story with great suspense. We want more.



Diane wrote a bit more of The Mural.



Judy wrote poetry about "If I Could Say I'm Sorry."



The Prompts

1. "So what are the main differences between the genders, between you and me," he asked her.

2. His mirror image stared back at him. He leaned into it, examining his receding hairline, the greasy spot on his tie, and his frayed shirt cuff.

3. "If my mother knew what I do for a living, it would make her crazy."

4. Thirty years had elapsed since they had seen each other.

5. He pushed the coin into the slot and waited for the silver angel to answer his question.

6. The children hid behind the crumbling stone wall when the machine began to quiver and belch smoke.

7. This was one obstacle she hadn't anticipated.

8. If you could say you're sorry to one person from your past, who would it be?



That wraps it up for this week. I need to get a new notebook and sharpen my pencil for the next meeting.



Our next meeting is May 2 at 1:30pm. Richard will be leading.

See you all then.