Sunday, May 29, 2011

Meeting Minutes May 29, 2011

I'm baaaacccckkkk! Well, for this meeting anyway.
Unfortunately, our leader for this week, Judy, was at home nursing a badly sprained ankle and a broken finger. She did send us some wonderful prompts via Nancy, keeping the "broken" theme in mind. Hugs to you, Judy, get well soon!!!

Ashley (sporting a new haircut!) announced that Westside Secondary School will be publishing their own anthology before the end of the school year. She will let us know when the book launch will be and where the book will be available.

Just a reminder that the Brian Henry workshop is next Saturday, June 4th from 10am - 3:30pm. The fee for members is: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance or $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door. To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca. So far, we have 8 people registered.

Our annual retreat, in lieu of a meeting, is June 12 at Eramosa Eden, near Rockwood. Directions are on their website: (http://www.eramosaeden.org/index.htm) or contact Pat for more info. Please remember to bring your own lunch, sunscreen and writing tools. Coffee will be provided.

There have been a few more tweaks to our guidelines. Members voted on the changes and, once they are complete, Pat will post them to the webpage. The guidelines will be handed out along with a welcome letter and schedule to new writers.

Several members brought things to read today.
Kelli read her query letter for approval by the group. She's joined QueryTracker to help her out. Jayne reminded her that she was trying to sell "Amber and the Bully" not "Amber and the Fallen Bridge". She should also use shorter sentences in her query letter to match the tone of the book, and include an approximate word count.

Jenn read a fabulous poem called "Strength" which was a lovely tribute to her mom and aunt. Thank you for sharing such an emotional piece!

Joe had an article he had written to post on his webpage at http://www.grafspee.com/. He is using his responses to emails he has received to create a blog. His target audience is mostly people interested in naval history. He has written three articles that he plans to post soon. His self-professed lack of computer savvy, led to a discussion of how some of us are "technologically challenged" (Pat's words). Nancy reminded us that we were all beginners. Ron said that itn's not the people, but the computers that create the biggest hurdle.

Ron read an article about his new computer. He has converted to MacIntosh. He commented on how "everybody speaks fast these days. Words in sentences have no spaces or punctuation." He wonders if it will only get faster as more things are run by computers. Kelli commented on how, as writers, we need to speak and write slowly and clearly, especially to kids. We want to be understood. Nervous people talk fast, Nancy told us, especially when reading in front of a group.

Clare showed us his article "A columnist takes a look at quarry plan" that appeared in the Banner. About 90% of his original article appeared, including a line from T.S. Eliot: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." http://www.orangeville.com/opinion/columns/article/1015087--columnist-takes-a-closer-look-at-quarry-plan  He also informed us that Tracey Duguay has left the Banner and has been replaced by Richard Vivien.

Diane read a short piece called "Blue Suede Shoes," a tribute to Elvis that drew a lot of laughs. Nancy pointed out that Dean Koontz used Elvis as a character in "Odd Thomas". Pat thought the whole idea of Elvis testing his Number One Fan, was a metaphor for testing faith.

THE PROMPTS
Aside from the prompts Judy sent, Nancy added one of her own and challenged whoever used it to post their responses to the blog: "What is the difference between an author and a writer?"

1) The fracture in security was responsible for the bizarre behavior of senior executives who initiated orders to destroy the _______________.

2) In spite of a broken finger, she was able to scale the forbidden cliffs. Now, all she had to do was retrieve the _________________.

3) The strained seams on the teddy bear, object of a tug-of-war between Geoffrey and Lionel, ripped apart exposing a ____________, which fell to the floor and began to ________________.

4) A broken heart was the worst of the injuries she suffered when the device placed under the hood of her car misfired.

5) Sprained. That was how she described their relationship. Not broken, just temporarily disabled.

6) He revved the motorcycle and took off after _____________ which suddenly veered off into the tangle of broken trees, destroyed when the ______________ fell from the sky.

7) Away from the commotion which broke out after the _____________, a fleeting reflection of _____________ flickered across the surface of twisted metal and broken glass and caught the eye of ____________.

Just a reminder that our next meeting, June 12, has been replaced by our retreat. I hope most of you will take advantage of the wonders of nature to write, take pictures and relax!

In Judy's words: "Have fun and stay connected."

 

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