Meeting Notes from January 19, 2020

We discussed possible dates for this year's Open Mic Night. Thursday, April 30th was settled upon. Due to the change in the library's hours, the event will take place from 6pm to 8pm.

There is a giant book sale in Elora on May 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Members of the group are going to go together on Saturday, May 2nd, to fill up their book bags.

We discussed more ideas for events in 2020. An informal event surrounding NaNoWriMo in November will be proposed to the library. It was also suggested we do a Beta Reader Day at one of our meetings inviting authors of the community to participate.

Continue to work on your writing prompts and submit them to Virginia for the anthology. We are hoping to publish this fall.

Writing Prompts

1. Even a kick in the butt is a step forward.

2. You go for a walk in fresh snow. Suddenly you realize you're not leaving any footprints.

3. He stared at the lottery ticket and read the numbers eleven times before he was sure.

4. Tell a story about a celebrity meeting you.

5. Her job interview did not go so well.

6. Write a story about someone cleaning out their attic. They find an old piece of clothing, and inside of the pocket is an old keepsake.

7. Write about a character's secret area of expertise, something most of their acquaintances would be surprised to learn they know tons about.

8. "You're early," he finally says.

Next Meeting:

Sunday, February 9th, 1:30pm

Leader: Sonja

January 5, 2020, Meeting Notes

Happy New Year!

Virginia announced that we will be proceeding with the anthology. We don't have enough submissions so we are extending the deadline to September 1, 2020. Please submit any of your writings created from writing prompts. Expand on them if you feel it is necessary.

We discussed the 4th Annual Open Mic this coming April. It should be the week of April 20th. Patricia will consult with Harry, and then the Library, as to what date would be suitable.

Brian announced that he participated at his first Open Mic with positive feedback. He is a new member of our group and are proud of how quickly he is progressing.

Brian also announced that the gentleman who played Big Bird passed away. MuppetsMindset.com is accepting submissions of tribute. Brian submitted a poem which was accepted.


Writing Prompts

January is the month of beginnings. According to the Romans it was ruled by the two-faced god Janus. One face looked backward to the past, one forward to the future. Write a story or an essay inspired by one of  the following:

1. A character, looking back, makes a decision about the future.
2. An inauspicious beginning.
3. Something that started out well but ended badly.
4. Something that started out badly but ended well.
5. The beginning of a relationship.
6. People laughed when I told them my New Year's resolution.
7. At least this year started out better than last year.
8. Janusz is the Polish form of "John", meaning "God is gracious" or at least that's what the book of baby names says. The Janusz I went to school with didn't reflect God's graciousness. He was more like Janus - two-faced.
9. There's an old saying "In my beginning is my end". I sure hope that isn't true.

Next Meeting: Sunday, January 19th, 1:30pm

Diane will be leading.

Escape With a Writer Sunday Author Call Out

Happy New Year!

One of the fun things I've been doing this past year is a Sunday blog post called Escape with a Writer Sunday. I've had a very busy few months with some great authors, but I'm always looking for new people to appear on my blog!

Who can join the fun? 
Anyone! I've had authors from all over the world send me their bios and book information to help promote their great new novels.

How do you find the site? 
Easy, peasey! Check out http://dbator.blogspot.com to see what I do and read about new-to-you authors and their books.

Do you have a book you'd love to promote?
Please find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dianebatorauthor/ or message me via my website http://penspaintsandpaper.com/index.html

All the best in 2020! 

Diane