2019 Meeting Schedule

Below is the 2019 Meeting Schedule for the Headwaters Writers' Guild. New members are always welcome. All genres welcome. Ambitious and experienced also welcome.

2019 Meeting Schedule

Orangeville Public Library

1:30pm – 3:30pm

Sunday, January 6

Sunday, January 20

Sunday, February 10

Sunday, February 24

Sunday, March 10

Sunday, March 24

Sunday, April 14

Sunday, April 28

Sunday May 5

Sunday, May 26

Sunday, June 9

Sunday, June 23

Sunday, July 14

Sunday, August 18

Sunday, September 8

Sunday, September 22

Sunday, October 6

Sunday, October 20

Sunday, November 3

Sunday, November 17

Saturday, November 23 – Christmas Social

Meeting October 28, 2018

Be sure to attend this year's WOW event beginning at 1:30pm on Saturday, November 10th, at the Orangeville Public Library (as shown above). Bring your published books to sell at our table. (click on the above pictures to see a larger version).

A reminder that our Christmas gathering will take place on Saturday, November 24th, following the writing workshop. HWG members should bring snacks for this social. If you are not attending the workshop, arrive at 3pm for some good cheer.


Writing Prompts:

1. Rowena was different from the rest of the family.

2. She watched in horror as the man threw ________________ into the river (dumpster, trunk of his car, pot of stew, alley, ravine, etc.)...

3. Being the oldest in the family, Rita was expected to...

4. This must be my 15 minutes of fame, he/she/I thought....

5. Looking back, James could see that it was a major turning point. How might his life have been if....

6. He hated the scrubbed sterile corridors, and the smell of the hospital. It reminded him of....

7. The clock struck 13, she was sure of it. She tip-toed down the stairs. The very air seemed different, and when she opened the back door she saw...

8. Emma's illness had changed her.

9. Everyone has a great fear in life. It could be loneliness, rejection, snakes, saying "I'm sorry", etc. Write about how a fear can pop up in times and places, and set up unexpected obstacles for you, or for a character you are writing about.

10. Write about what makes you angry, or a particular time or event that made you angry. Did you express your anger? Hold it in? How did that make you feel in different parts of your body?

Next Meeting Sunday, November 4th, 1:30pm

Patricia is leading.

Sunday, October 14th Meeting

Patricia announced that she did not post notes from the last meeting as it was the Biblioboard presentation by library staff. It is hard to explain. You really had to be there. All I can say it is a wonderful opportunity to start you on the road to e-publishing and hopefully, eventually, book publishing. To check out the Biblioboard you must be registered with the Orangeville Public Library (Caledon Library also has this program), go to the library website and click on library services.

We apologize for not providing more information. The presentation was announced months in advance and informational hand-outs had been provided. If you would like to know more about this program, library staff (particularly Kim) are willing to help you out. Just make an appointment. Major point: It's all free!

Virginia announced that her poem and a short story have been accepted for publication by Polar Expess. Congratulations Virginia!

And now for something completely different.... the prompts!

39 Really Awful Writing Prompts

These prompts were taken from the blog Listing Beyond Forty by Kim Z. Dale November 13, 2013. Originally, there were 40 but I removed number 18 as I thought it might be a bit vulgar and/or offensive to use at the writing group. You can visit http://www.chicagonow.com/listing-beyond-forty/2013/11/40-really-awful-writing-prompts/ if you really want to see it.

If you dare, pick a prompt and try to write a story from it.

Or

Transform an “awful” prompt into a “good” prompt and write a story from that.

Write a story set on another planet exactly like our own. Call that planet "Earth.

Tell the story of a man who must decide whether he wants fries with that. 

I am thinking of a number between one and ten. What is it?

Describe purple from the first person viewpoint of purple.

Tell the story of an aardvark that is possessed by the devil.

Tell the story of a six-inch ruler that is possessed by the devil.

Tell the story of a single raspberry that is possessed by the devil.

A man awakes to find that all his socks are gone.

Think about the play Hamlet. Write something good like that.

Describe your most recent bowel movement. Use all your senses.

Grab the nearest book. Open it to a random page. Close your eyes and point to a word. Write a story using only that word.

Write a grocery list in iambic pentameter.

Image that the object closest to your left hand contains JFK's soul.

What if showers were what made you dirty?

A man makes a sandwich. Describe what happens next.

Write about your earliest memory but describe it as though it is happening right now with you at your current age.

Write a story consisting only of adjectives and exclamation points.

Pretend you are a writer with a really great idea. Write that idea.

Write the story of a writer whose characters come to life and interact with her.

Write a love letter to your favorite toenail.

Begin with the line: Let me start at the beginning.

End with the line: And that was all.

Incorporate the line: You had me at Jell-O.

Write a story that includes this line: Inevitably the incongruity exacerbated Her Excellency.

The musical Cats but with electric eels.

Write a story set in a world where windows are opaque and walls are transparent.

What if a mime were actually trapped in an invisible box, it was shrinking, and no one would help him?

Write a story about Kurt Cobain rising from the dead to attend a Josh Groban concert and eat a cronut.

Rearrange the words in Green Eggs and Ham to tell a story that doesn't rhyme.

A woman watches a lot of television. It is her only interest.

A couple has a misunderstanding. Hilarity ensues.

Two people with the same name are constantly getting each others' mail. Hilarity ensues.

Due to a technical mishap a talking pickle is elected president. Hilarity ensues.

Something happens. Hilarity ensues.

What if spiders only had seven legs?

What if all Target stores were underwater like Atlantis?

Write what you know.

Write about how other mothers are inadequate.

Write a list of really awful writing prompts.


As always we would like to see what you come up with for the prompt you chose. Please share it here.

Next Meeting is Sunday, October 28th, 1:30pm. Sonja is leading.

Meeting Sunday, September 9 2018

Patricia, hurry up and get well!!

We had a small but fun group and a lively discussion today about aging after Clare read from his "document" called "Growing Old is Not for Wimps."

Our items of business were the long list of upcoming events:

Coffee, Conversations & Books Author Event – Diane Bator

September 19, 2018, 7pm-8pm   Jelly Café, Shelburne 

Local self-published author Diane Bator rekindled her passion for writing in 2007 when she joined Dufferin County’s foremost writing group, the Headwaters Writers’ Guild. She has written assorted short stories, murder mysteries, and YA novellas. Her first murder mystery, Murder on Manitou, was published after winning a writing contest in 2010. In 2016, Diane was nominated to be an Established Artist of the Year at Orangeville’s Celebration of the Arts. 

To register for Coffee, Conversation and Books email Jade Noble: jnoble@shelburnelibrary.ca This month's venue is the Jelly Craft Bakery in Shelburne. Refreshments provided.

Writer’s Craft with Marilyn Kleiber: Creating Great Characters

September 22, 2018, 10:00am - 3:00pm | Orangeville Public Library

Join creative writing instructor Marilyn Kleiber for a full day workshop where you will learn how to research for and build characters in your writing, using dialogue to make them come alive. Does your character deserve first person or third person presentation? Will you present your character in the present, or the past tense? Answer these questions and more.

Pre-registration required. Please email infolibrary@orangeville.ca or call 519-941-0610 ext. 5230 to reserve your spot today. A 30-minute lunch break will be provided.

Fall Workshop dates:

Saturday, Sept 22 - there is a waiting list!!
Saturday, October 27 - Self Editing like a Professional - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. only a few spots left!
Saturday, November 24 - Self-Publishing - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  only a few spots left!

Eramosa Eden Writers’ Retreat

September 23, 2018, 9:00am - 4:00pm    Eramosa Eden
Bring your own lunch.
Cost: $20 donation is appreciated to cover costs.
Check in is at 9am then writing until noon. After a lunch break, we will continue with private writing or you can meet with a small group for feedback on a short piece, that you either bring with you or have written that morning. The day usually winds up around 4pm.

To register:  Email Gloria Nye at glorianye@gmail.com

Brampton Artists Festival

Saturday, October 13, from 10am - 4pm
30 Peel Centre Drive (Next to Bramalea City Centre, Bramalea Retirement Residence)
Join us for The ARTISTS Festival - a cultural intersection where the residents and the general public can meet artists from the local and GTA arts and culture scene.  Celebrate the creative arts, enjoy performances, and discover artistic treasures in over 30 displays; a select marketplace showcased within an elegant atrium venue. ​Stay for the day, enjoy performances and displays, book a tour of the Bramalea Retirement Residence at the festival for five free raffle tickets towards the Prize Packages.    **Marilyn offered to cover the cost of the table and asked if other group members with published work would like to share. Patricia sent around the email with the forms to be submitted if you do. Please let Marilyn know as well.     

Don had some great items for us to use as writing prompts:  a kit for assembling violins, a coin collection, a statue of a water carrier, a very cool telescopic camera from days gone by, and a jug from Hudson's Bay.

We came up with some very intriguing stories!

                  

Upcoming Writing Meetings

September 23, October 14 and 28 @ 1:3opm 

New members are welcome to join.

       

Hey literary friends. Two events to put on your literary calendar. Sunday Sept 9th, I'll be at the Eden Mills Writers festival selling advance copies of my new book MALWARE (an audio bonus to anyone who purchases a copy at the festival). It's a great fest, and now in (I think) it's 30th year. And not far away (close to Guelph). Maybe some of you will be there, anyways, selling your books? Hope to see you there, in any case. Drag other people with you to the festival. That's how it grows!

Then, as shown in the poster, I'll be reprising a double book launch with my poetic friend Richard Yves-Sitoski. We'll be reading from our books, answering questions, offering up some food and bevvies and a chance to hobnob with the gliterati! Mark on your calendar Tuesday, September 25th, 7 pm at Maggiolly's Arts Supplies. It will be a fun-filled evening, guaranteed. And it's free! Yeehaw!

Finally, I tried something I've never done before, which is to create a book trailer. So here is a trailer I created for my new novella, MALWARE. Just to wet your whistle:

Meeting Minutes August 12, 2018

Clare opened the meeting with a Treasurer’s Report noting that the Guild account is low and that more funds are needed in order to meet the cost of our website.

Clare mentioned the Authors in the Hills of Mulmur event taking place Sunday August 19^th, 2018 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for anyone interested in attending. Tickets can be obtained at BookLore or the Shelburne Library for $35 which includes refreshments.

Reminder that Marilyn Kleiber’s workshops at the Orangeville Library will be on September 22^nd, October 27^th and November 24^th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and that all members should try to attend at least one of the workshops as this is part of our agreement with the Orangeville Library.

It was reiterated that, after the workshop on November 24^th there will be a seasonal potluck social to mark the end of the meeting year and that any attendees of the workshop, as well as the members of the writing group, would be welcomed to attend. Coffee, tea and water will be provided by the library and members are encouraged to bring fruit trays, baked goods, and assorted finger foods.

Please refer to the July 15^th meeting minutes for previous discussion.

Clare brought a number of limerick books to the meeting and handed out copies of six various limericks. 

A worksheet with partially written limericks was also included and the group worked on completing the limericks together.

The prompts included:

Don Boles liked to write and fish

But telling a tail was his one great wish …..

Okay here’s the poop

Nancy founded the Headwaters Writers’ Group

Members scribbled and swore…

Judy was a poet

But you’d never know it

Cause none of her verses would rhyme…

Sonja once wrote a short story

That some writers thought was too gory…

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly

But I don’t know why…

Virgina gave her own beginning for a limerick which the group helped to complete

A critic once said of my art

I don’t get the hang of this part…

A couple of the completed limericks are as follows:

Don Boles liked to fish and write

His stories gave kids such a fright

Telling a tale

Of a monstrous whale

No one could sleep through the night

If someone should ask you the scoop

Nancy founded a writing group

Members scribbled and swore

Dropping pens on the floor

To get in the publishing loop

There were many variations on the same beginnings as shown in the example below.

If someone should ask you the scoop

Nancy founded the Headwaters group

Members scribbled and swore

Scratched it out and wrote more

Because no one was content with poop

Our next meeting will be on Sunday September 9^th with Don scheduled to lead.

Summertime Adventures

I keep falling off the grid as far as my blog is concerned.
Life, you know! Vacation, family visiting, and sunshine, oh my!

I finally took a week off work to take my  youngest on a vacation with my brother and his wife. Fun week full of wineries and sight-seeing. I learned a lot about wine tasting. I even rode a bike for the first time in years, which prompted me to get a friend to help me pull mine out of the weeds and get it ready to ride. More adventures for the summer.

That same friend also brought me a small barbecue. I've missed having one but just never found the time or inclination to get one. I've had it two days and have already put it to good use. With the long weekend coming...that little barbecue will see a lot of action. Less take-out and more cooking!

I've also become motivated to work on The Painted Lady (Book 4 of my Wild Blue Mysteries) and dust off my original novella Murder on Manitou in order to republish it one day soon. Working on both of those have become my mission for the summer.

With summer half over, I have a lot of work to do!
My first Gilda Wright novel (originally Can't Keep a Brunette Down) has been republished by Books We Love Ltd as DEAD WITHOUT HONOR and is available on Amazon as well as other sites.
Hardheaded Brunette will be published later this summer as DEAD WITHOUT GLORY.
Life is Better Brunette will come out this fall as DEAD WITHOUT PRIDE.

Stay tuned for upcoming events and news!

                      

July 15, 2018, Headwaters Writers' Guild Meeting

As part of our commitment to our partnership with the Orangeville Public Library, Marilyn Kleiber will be holding three full day creative writing workshops free to the public. These workshops take place from 10am-3pm on 3 Saturdays. They are September 22nd - Creating Great Characters; October 27th - Save $ By Editing Like a Pro; and November 24th - How to Self Publish. We hope and expect group members will attend one or more of these workshops.

Upon reviewing the workshop dates Patricia realized that the third workshop is scheduled on the date we were to have our Christmas Luncheon. Alternative ideas were brought up at the last meeting. Patricia followed up with Nancy and the library. A decision has been made that as a finale to the workshop series, a Christmas Social will be held following the November 24th workshop. Members of the Headwaters Writers' Guild will bring refreshments (cookies, cupcakes, fruit tray, etc.). Attendees of the workshop are invited to join the social. As members of the Headwaters Writers' Guild are expected to attend these workshops, if they are UNABLE to attend but can attend the after-social, they can do so. Any member of HWG must bring some sort of food or non-alcoholic beverage item to share. Coffee and tea will be available throughout the course of the day during the workshops. The workshops end at 3pm, the library closes at 5pm. This Christmas Social will be included in the library's advertising of the workshops. Please note that this is replacing our previous Christmas Luncheon format.

Writing Prompts

1. We are all strangers, somewhere...

2. The tavern was a place she would never have gone into, but she needed to use the washroom...

3. She awakened to the sound of a child crying, and remembering the day she lost Tommy, she hastily dressed, grabbed a flashlight and headed into the woods...

4. She tried to subdue the panic she was feeling as she stepped on to the ___________

5. The world of the cancer patient was going to be a new journey for her.

6. Her dreams of teaching hadn't included Bobby Fairchild and his brat pack.

7. When the doorbell rang at 2am that morning she was confronted by two officers who wanted to know the whereabouts of her son....

8. The package that had been stuffed in her mailbox contained an antique locket, and a note saying "If you are Ellen Jamison, meet me in the tea room at the Shelton Arms hotel at three this afternoon".

9. They just wanted to scare the kid a bit, they hadn't meant to hurt him.

10. "Mr. Cranford", said the social worker, "this young woman claims to be your daughter."

11. Diving into the psychological life and motivations of the characters in the play proved to be just the challenge she dreamed of.

12. At the age of three, their son Carter began to speak of another life he had lived in the country of __________ during a time of some war, and he said his name was ___________.

13. She fainted during the heat wave and when she awoke she was in a strange building...

14. Write of a time in your life when you found yourself in a very unfamiliar situation or place, and how it shaped your life at the time.

Next Meeting:

Sunday, August 12th, 1:30pm

Clare is scheduled to lead.

My First Writing Prompt Post

This is a response to a prompt from the meeting on July 16, 2017, though I have not been able to type it up until now. I have been asked to share it, so I hope readers find this enjoyable.

The prompt was: What do you think goes through a dog’s mind when he goes along peeing on every telephone poll and hedge he can find.

Doggy Domain

I can smell them. Their acrid odour fills my nostrils. Those haggard, flea-bitten, yowling racks of fur have invaded my yard again. There in the flower bed they have left their work. Burying it does squat. I got whiffs of their business from the other side of my doggy door. But the lily bush! Oh, the poor lily bush. It’s been sprayed top to bottom, and the vandal could not stop. He scratched up the fencepost before marking it as well!

No! I won’t let that stand! This is my space, and I am going to make sure every creature on the street knows it! First to the edge of the porch, right by the stairs. I’ll drench it good there. Then to the lilies. I’ll freshen them up myself. Now to the tree. So many passing by have left their calling card, but they need to know the tree is mine. The fencepost? Mine. The rusty fire hydrant? Also, mine, and no one else’s.

I have covered my own domain, but I need to expand. I circle the fence and up the neighboring driveway. There I see shoes. Now my shoes. A skateboard. My skateboard. The giant truck on the pavement sits there as well. I can’t use it, but it’s mine now anyway. Ah wait, I see you now, you mangy, poor excuse for a feline. Get over here! That large white coat of yours, I say its mine! So, stay still already! You want to hide in the tree, eh? Well, that girl is not running away. I’ll just come over to her and, yep, she’s mine too.

Oh, now there is a lady coming this way. She is not standing still at all. I’ll run into my zone. Hey, wait, she can’t go near that truck. That’s my truck! And those shoes! Also mine! Now you don’t want them. Fine. Put them back! Good, now, hey! Stay in your yard! This is my yard! That fence is mine! The tree is mine!  The lily bush is mine! The porch is mine! Get off it! What are you knocking on the door for? The inside of the house is mine too!

Oh Billy! Billy! Tell this strange lady to go away. This is my yard. What is she pointing at? I can’t mark anything that high. I mean look at me. Wait. I have to go inside? But I only just got started! I’m not done yet! Those cats will cover all my hard work the moment they come out of hiding. No. Not yet. I know. I’ll take the fight to them! Yes, there it is. Their fountain right in front of the window. I’ll saddle up here and mission accomplished! The dog rules the day! And now, wait, put me down! Billy! Stop it! I’m being puppy-handled! Stop! Billy!

Sunday, June 10, 2018, Meeting Notes

We had 3 new writers join us. It is great to see our family growing.

Katie is preparing to self-publish her fantasy novella and is in search of someone to design her cover. A couple of ideas were offered to her.

Patricia reported that the library has now added the HWG meetings to their digital display screen in the lobby. Patricia stayed after the meeting to see the Headwaters Writers' Guild logo along with the date of the "next meeting".

As part of our commitment to our partnership with the Orangeville Public Library, Marilyn Kleiber will be holding three full day creative writing workshops free to the public. These workshops take place from 10am-3pm on 3 Saturdays. They are September 22nd - Creating Great Characters; October 27th - Save $ By Editing Like a Pro; and November 24th - How to Self Publish. We hope and expect group members will attend one or more of these workshops.

Last fall the Library provided the group with information regarding their new Biblioboard online tools for writers. They would like to meet with our group. As there was a switch in leaders this week, we are proposing this meeting take place at our regularly scheduled group meeting on Sunday, September 23rd. As we are unclear as to what this new program entails, everyone is encouraged to attend if possible.


Prompts as provided by Virginia.

Select one or two from each [category]. I have tried to keep most categories as open as possible. Feel free to create a non-human character such as an elf, angel, demon, etc., and to substitute anything in any category.


Situation
Divorce
Marriage
Inheritance
Loss
Argument/Fight
Need to make a decision
Search
Change of Plans
Dilemma
Escape
Hiding
Accident

Goal/Object of Desire
Animal
Win
Recognition
Material Object
Another person
"Toy"
Place
Knowledge
Adventure

Opposed By
Internal Flaw
Illness
Another person
Personal Emotion
Size
Addiction
Infirmity (mental or physical)
A group
Secret
Situation

Setting
Game venue
Place of business
Home
School
Forest
Mountain
Farm
Hospital
Park
Court
Outer space
Foreign Country
Prison
Sea/beach
Battleground

Assisted By
Special ability
High intelligence
A person
An animal
A book
Personality
Looks
Location
Special knowledge


Please feel free to share your writing here.

Next Meeting: Sunday, June 24th.

June is scheduled to Lead

May 27, 2018 HWG Meeting

Harry emailed the group regarding the following event:

Prompts for the day:

Horoscope Hullabalooza

Pick two signs from the choices below.

One of your characters will manifest only the positive characteristics of their sign and the other will only manifest the negative characteristics of their sign.

Pick a place/situation card and write a scene where the characters interact showing their given traits. 

OR

Pick one sign and have your characters be twins.

One will embody the positive traits and the other the negative.

Pick a place/situation card and write a scene where the characters interact showing their given traits. 

OR

Pick your own sign and write about whether you think the traits shown are valid or not to you personally. 

OR

Pick one or two signs and have your character “argue with the voices” in his/her head based on the traits of the sign(s). Choose an action card to decide what they are considering.

Click on the picture below to see it in its entirety. 

Place/Situation Cards

Baking Competition

Plane in a storm

Protest Rally

Charity auction

A meeting with the teacher

Robbing a bank

Attending a wedding

Family holiday gathering

A beauty contest

Baby Shower

Company Christmas Party

Cell mates in jail

Action Cards

Going on a romantic date

Going to another country

Going to school

Making a speech

Commiting a crime

Quitting a job

Members of the group are encouraged to share their writing prompt results here on this blog.

Next Meeting Sunday, June 10, 2018, 1:30pm

Nancy is Leading

Meeting Sunday, April 22nd

We discussed the success of this past Thursday's Open Mic Night and the talented writers we heard read that evening.

A member of the audience from the Open Mic Night visited our group with some questions about how she was going to fill a 45 minute presentation on poetry. It was suggested that she read a couple of poems and then provide the members of the group with a couple of prompts to write their own.

Prompts

Virginia provided the prompts this week, admitting that she got carried away into the stories as she came up with the prompts. All or part of a prompt may be used.

1. Joey thought it was the best April Fool's joke ever, but I was not amused.

2. T.S. Elliott said "April is the cruelest month". Cruel doesn't even begin to describe it.

3. He was running as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. With a slurping sound, the thick mud swallowed his right shoe. He didn't even try to retrieve it. He struggled on.

4. I woke to the sound of ice grinding as it tried to push its way downriver. Huge chunks would shriek as they pushed against the granite cliffs and shout with voices of thunder as they hammered against their neighbours'. Even louder was the roar of the river, an over-bearing father hurrying his progeny along, pushing and pulling on them to get them to their destination.

5/ My grandfather has been gone for decades, but I can still hear his homilies, as though he were whispering in my ear. There's no time like the present. A stitch in time saves nine. Time waits for no man. I could go on all day, but you get the idea. They all seem to apply in my present situation.

6/ People said Nellie was crazy. A crazy witch. That's right, witch. Because Nellie could run her hands over an animal that everyone had given up for dead and whisper into its ear, and it would open its eyes and somehow stagger to its feet and start to recover. No one knew what she whispered because she never would work on people. She didn't like people much. But she loved animals, so she healed them. And after a while, people started to think she was the one who had made them sick in the first place. Cursed them, most likely.

7. If you ask people if they believe in magic, they will most likely tell you "no". They will lie. Because deep down inside, we all know magic exists. It is all around us.

8. If you could have a fabled creature as a pet, which one would you pick?

9. I was going down Yonge Street, carried by the river of people rushing back from their lunch breaks. The flow pushed against people surging in the opposite direction, their eyes distant and unseeing, as though they were already working on that spreadsheet or making that sales call. The street people were fallen branches impeding the current that eddied impatiently around them, their eyes dead and hopeless. Except for one.

10. When I was a child, I wanted to be....

Next Meeting, Sunday, May 6th, 1:30pm

Patricia will be leading.

Meeting Sunday, April 8, 2018

There was some discussion about the Headwaters Writers' Guild publishing another anthology. More research needs to be done. This issue has been tabled for the time being.

Writing Prompts

1. The thoughts and actions of a large domestic cat as he approaches a small dog on a leash tied to a telephone pole.

2. The thoughts and actions of a dog when she discovers a cat sneaking through her backyard.

3. You drop your 12 year old child off at school one morning, only to find her later that afternoon at your local mall.

4. You find a note on your young teenage daughter's pillow telling you that she has left home and will be in touch with you the next day.

5. Write a short story about the most eccentric person from your past.

6. Finding a bag in the basement of an old abandoned church with the logo RBC stamped on it.

2nd Annual Open Mic Night

On Thursday, April 19th, we had another great turn-out this year at our 2nd Annual Open Night Mic in cooperation with the Orangeville Public Library. Many thanks to the library for staying open when we ran overtime.

Dufferin County Poet Laureate Harry Posner hosted again this year. He opened with some poetry consisting of "Every Year", written as prompted by the recent spring storms; and "I want" about poetry. He also announced the upcoming Day of Poets taking place all around downtown Orangeville on Saturday, May 5th, from 11am to 4pm.

First up was Clare McCarthy, columnist for The Orangeville Banner newspaper and Headwaters Writers' Guild member, who read a short story he wrote from a writing prompt at group entitled "It's in the Bag".

Darlane Rogers-Wardle read a poem about turning 49, and another poem prompted by a fellow teacher who had passed away but wrote as if it were she who died. She then read a humourous children's short story called "I'm In The Play".

Newest Headwaters Writers' Guild member Ron Langevin read a set of triptych (3 separate panels related by theme) short stories. The theme of Traffic consisted of the humourous stories "Stop Already", "Psychics" and "Guardian Angels". We are fortunate to have Ron join the Headwaters Writers' Guild.

Headwaters Writers Guild founder Nancy Rorke read the story "Broken Promises" which won the Click, Create, Celebrate contest through the Caledon Library, and was published in In The Hills Magazine.

We welcomed Matt Griffin back again this year. Always entertaining, he showed his wide range of talent through a comedic essay wherein he regaled us with the voices of Jimmy Stewart, Pee Wee Herman, Bruce Lee, Neil Young, Stompin' Tom Connors, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, and Andy Kaufman.

Headwaters Writers' Guild member Marilyn Kleiber read from her new book "The Arrival". Writing under the name L.M. Tibbott, she took a page from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling wherein she didn't want readers of this fantasy novel to know the gender of the author. "The Arrival" is now available at Amazon and at the independent book store The Bookshelf in Guelph.

Well known Orangeville author Diane Bator read an excerpt from her very first publication, a novella entitled "Murder on Manitou". She has since published 7 mystery novels.

At intermission this crowd were given the opportunity to speak with the authors and purchase some of their publications. Thank you to those who supported our local authors.

After intermission Patricia Gallant spoke briefly about her 14 years of experience with the Headwaters Writers' Guild (photo not available). Harry Posner read a poem he wrote about Leonard Cohen.

We welcomed back local author M.J. Moores a hybrid author of new adult speculative fiction and romantic suspense. She is an active member of Writer's Ink, Caledon, the Bradford Writers' Circle, and is Chairperson for the Writers' Community of York Region. She read an excerpt from "Proprietary Measures" to be published in November 2018.

Winston Uytenboogaart returned this year to share some poems he had published as a result of reading at last year's Open Mic Night.

Natalie Merritt-Broderick, writer of novels and poetry, read some poetry on her interpretation of life. "The Dot", "A Christmas Memory", "Flower Power", "Understanding", "Standing Tall", and "Freedom" were among the poems she read.

Jonathan Neville was very animated with his random thoughts about life. He teaches Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Blues, Gymnastic, Square and Circle dances, as well as Creative Workout fitness classes, helping people grow imagination while they grow fit. Harry Posner described his presentation as a metaphysical swing dance.

Headwaters Writers' Guild member June Duncan read from her upcoming fourth novel "From The Junk".

David McGuinn is an aspiring writer & poet who recited from memory an assortment of entertaining poems.

Thank you to everyone who chose our 2nd Annual Open Mic Night over the Toronto  Maple Leafs playoff game. We look forward to another successful event next year!

Please remember the Day of Poets on Saturday, May 5th throughout downtown Orangeville from 11am to 4pm.