Headwaters Writers' Guild

Why Should a Writer Blog?

2012-01-23T14:27:00.002-06:00

Following is a copy and paste of the 2 pages of hand-outs from our new member and blogger expert Julie Height. She did a presentation at our meeting this past Sunday. Her website is Sober Julie Doing Life and can be found at www.soberjulie.com.

Unfortunately this is from a paper document so the hyperlinks on page 2 are not clickable. You will have to look up the sites.

Why Should a WriterBlog?

If you are a writer, youshould have a blog. Your blog will become much like an online resume,documenting your knowledge, skills and experiences.

Following are 13 more reasonswhy writers should blog:

· Have yourwork read. We write for people toread our work. Blogs have no limits, readership is universal and promotion issimple once you gain an audience…it spreads. Blog readers become fans of books.

· Getfeedback. If you choose to createcircles within other writers you can share critiques and improve you skill,develop your works. Having a fresh set of eyes can assist with perspective. Onemust have a thick skin.

· Visibilityand credibility. The more often peoplesee you, the more they will trust and follow you. This consistency lends to yourcredibility. People will get to knowyou, your style of writing, and your dedication to your craft.

· Connections.By engaging online you’ll be led to relationships you couldn’t achieveotherwise.

· Trying anew style. Blogs are online journals, so this is the perfect place toexpress your thoughts. You can try new writing styles out and gain feedback.

· Freedom. You have the freedom to say what you want,how you want and when you want on your site. There are limitations when youwork for others as employees or freelancers.

· Become anexpert and resource. As long as you provide original content on your topicand add value to your readers, they will return. They may even bring otherswith them.

· Blogsserve as a website. Writers who are not involved in social media are oftenconsidered invisible. Blogs are acost-effective and easy way to develop and maintain a presence.

· Keep youprominent. Keep others abreast ofwhat’s going on with your projects. If you are writing a book, document yourjourney to completion, including the challenges and successes.

· Develop aconsistent writing schedule. Although blogging is very time consuming, youshould come up with a consistent weekly schedule that you can realisticallystick with. This consistency will helpbuild your credibility because your visitors are checking you out to see howwell you do and how often you do it.

· Publishunpublished works. Not all of your written successes will be accepted bypublishers and magazines. Instead of letting disappointment set in, put yourworks on your blog. They will at least be read by your audience. The feedback provided will help you turn yourwork into something greater. Just because it wasn’t accepted initially doesn’tmean it won’t be accepted at all.

· Writeyour book. Many of us are working on writing a book, a blog allows us todevelop this in public and use feedback given. As we write blogs we may find certain topics recurring which can affordus insight into our book.

To Start a Free Blog there are 2 Common Choices forbuilding your site on:

www.blogger.com

www.wordpress.com

Book Reviews:

TyndaleBlogger Network

Booksneeze

FREELANCE JOBSITES:

Freelance Job Openings
Kijiji
Problogger – a great list of blogging and telecommute gigs
Blogger Jobs – this one doesn’t have jobs very often listed, but every once in a while they have something good
Whisper Jobs
Performancing
Simply Hired – this is a search engine that will help you narrow down the job search
Mashable – lists freelance jobs every once in a blue moon
Digital Media Jobs – occasionally lists writer jobs
Career Builder
Sun Oasis – great list and you can also get updates via Twitter
Dice - lists mostly technical writer jobs
USA Jobs
Twitter - don’t forget Twitter when looking for freelance jobs! Use the #jobs or #amwriting to narrow your search
Poynter Online – allows you to search by job name and location
Telecommuter Jobs
Monster - lists a lot of technical writer and temporary jobs, but also has the occasional gem in terms of freelance writing
Journalism Jobs – reporter and journalist work
Media Bistro
All Freelance Writing – jobs and also great tips on how to be a freelancer
Work at Home Mom (WAHM) – lists writer and other types of telecommuting work
Writers Weekly – job board and great list of writing tips
Craigslist - don’t forget Craigslist! It offers great jobs – just be sure to weed through the clunkers
About.com – Has several contributing and guide positions
Writer Find
Seed - lists jobs to claim which pay anywhere from $15-75
Indeed - wonderful search engine to find job opportunities
Morning Coffee
Write Jobs
Suite101 – telecommute freelance writing
Freelance Careers
Poe War – lists job by category or look to the right for most recent
Essay Writers
Prospect Solution
Creative Hot List – many creative jobs, including writing
Canadian Freelance Writing Jobs – jobs in Canada along with tips on freelancing
Break Studios
Elance

Meeting Minutes - January 22, 2012

2012-01-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

Darn it. Diane was off today and I didn't bring my laptop. Diane, it just isn't the same without you. And now they'll have to read my condensed version of the meeting.

Big thank you to Dorothy who baked us delicious cookies. Dorothy definitely is a keeper. And she is always welcome to join us. Clare told us that they met at a pork roast. Boy, are we every lucky Clare met Dorothy.

Julie http://www.soberjulie.com/
was gracious and gave us an informative talk on blogging. Here are a few of the many points that Julie shared with us.

Blog about something that interests you or what you converse about over coffee
Use your blog as an online personal journal
Best to post two or three times a week
You're invisible if you're not online - a writer needs to be visible
Email Julie if you have any questions - soberjulie@gmail.com

Sonja volunteered to post on our blog. A few people said they were unable to sign on to our blog.
I will email info regarding this.

Judy read a piece called Ask Mathew. He suggested that she start a Blog Conversations with Mathew or Ask Mathew. We can't wait to read it.

Sonja received constructive help re her short story.

Clare read Father Roderick and the Bikers. We can't wait to read it in his column.

We spent most of our meeting time discussing blogs, making constructive comments and discussing writing in general so we have homework should you choose to accept it and we're hoping that you say Yes!

Pick one of Judy's prompts, write for 15 minutes, edit if you wish, and post it on our blog.

Stephen King says in his book On Writing, that he has created for himself a "far seeking place" where he goes to receive 'telepathic messages." His is in his basement. Where is yours? Describe it. If it's a state of mind rather than a place, how do you get into it?
Describe your most terrifying experience in a car.
In his book On Writing, Stephen King writes (in response to an incident where a teacher called a story he wrote trash): "I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction and poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (paint, dance, sculpt, or sing) I suppose someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all."

Can you remember a time as a child or young adult when someone rained on your parade?
She grabbed the screw driver, which lay on the kitchen counter, and lunged at . . .
She could feel her face flushing and her heart rate accelerating, every time he placed his "hungry man"
frozen dinners on the conveyor belt in her check-out line.
It happened the summer Margaret moved into the attic.
The ring of keys hanging from his belt jangled with each step he took.
The door had neither key hole, or door knob.
That morning we had a mother but by suppertime we didn't.
An old rusty key fell from the shelf.
Or make up your own line or whatever you want to write about . . .

Can't wait to read your writing!

More photos from Christmas 2011

2012-01-16T08:50:00.002-06:00

Clearing The Clutter

2012-01-15T23:14:00.000-06:00

Writing Prompt from Sunday, January 8th:

To clear the clutter from my life the first thing to go would be my family. Life would be so much simpler without them.

Seriously though, on my journey through The Artist's Way I realized that one of the things that is keeping me blocked is the lack of a proper writing space. An office, if you will. I carry books, notebooks and laptop around the house as I find a place to settle. I am constantly being displaced. This breaks up time and momentum. My brain cannot focus.

Since I don't have the office that I have always longed for, I decided it was time to find my space. It wasn't that difficult really. It is my old space where the desk top computer sits. I moved away from there when I got my laptop because being in the basement all the time became depressing - and it's cold down there. Also, I was sharing that space with my kids who now have their own laptops and rarely use the desktop anymore.

There is room for me to use my laptop next to the PC, it's just a matter of de-cluttering. This is not an easy task at Clutter House Central. Last night I looked at the massive mess on the coffee table in the family room and sighed. My daughter laughed and said, "Welcome to our home." Unable to sleep after my husband came home from work this morning, I was up early and cleared off the coffee table, and the floor, and another table in the family room. Content with a job well done I settled down with my cold cup of tea to write my morning pages.

As for my writing space, the de-cluttering has begun but it's going to take much longer to decide what needs to stay, what can go, and what can be moved elsewhere. I only hope that what I move elsewhere doesn't cause clutter in another area of my home - like the family room or, God forbid, my newly renovated kitchen.

End of the World

2012-01-12T06:55:00.003-06:00

(From our meeting January 8, 2012)

Does anybody remember the concrete bomb shelters that people built in the 60’s when everybody was afraid of a nuclear attack? Or what about the TV show, The Twilight Zone, where a family built a bomb shelter with enough food, water and emergency supplies for a few years. A bomb exploded and they locked themselves in. We could hear their neighbours banging on the door begging and sobbing, “Please let us in.”

They remained steadfast. They were afraid if they opened the door they’d perish. At the end of the show, they discovered they’d forgotten a can opener.

When will the world end? Remember at the turn of the next century, the year 2000? I still know people who have six months of emergency supplies in their basement. And what if we survived and actually still lived then the computers wouldn’t be able to rollover to the year 2000. Corporations spent billions of dollars to protect their data.

When my then programmer son-in-law told me that I needed his help or I’d lose all my data, I said, “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard. It’s bull. If you can programme a computer to do everything else, don’t tell me it won’t roll over to 2000. If it isn’t the Emperor’s New Clothes . . .”

When my niece asked me, “What are you doing about the Y2K problem?”

I said, “Absolutely nothing.”

“But you’ll lose everything.”

“It’s bull.”

“You’re crazy. I’m telling you.”

“Listen I’m not giving any energy to this right now.”

“But . . .”

“Two minutes after midnight I’ll give it exactly two seconds.”

Now, December 21, 2012 according to the 5000 year-old Mayan calendar the world is coming to an end. How appro on my mother’s birthday.

Years ago, when I attended Mass on Friday morning with the school children, the priest asked them, “When is the world going to end?”

After numerous opinions from the children, he finally said, “The world will come to an end when you die.” How profound.

Johanna, who had Cancer for twelve years, told me when she was first diagnosed, her neighbour visited her. “She actually sobbed. I felt so sad. And two weeks later she died in a car crash and I’m still here.”

End of the world? I don’t think so. My books haven’t been published yet.

soberjulie.com

2012-01-11T11:27:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to clarify the web address for Julie's site. It is www.soberjulie.com. It was posted incorrectly in the minutes.

Welcome to HWG, Julie!

Finally Christmas Photos - HWG December 11, 2011

2012-01-08T17:09:00.001-06:00

Minutes of Meeting January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T06:30:00.000-06:00

Darn it. The blog has changed and I'm having trouble with it. Did I ever mention that I hate change. I know life is all about change but it doesn't mean that I have to like it does it? Diane led today to it's my turn to post the minutes.

Aren't I the lucky one. I'll have to hurry and type it before I can't decipher what I wrote.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBER Julie. She's an experienced blogger with lots of info that we hope she'll share with us. She blogs at

www.soberjulie.com

Ron wanted to know if his piece in our anthology would be considered published. Marilyn said, "They can google you and find out everything about you." Ron agreed. "The Internet knows more about me than I do."

Someone said, "I can't believe the children's photo that everybody posts to Facebook." I said, "Truman Capote's book, In Cold Blood changed my life. It's based on two men who kill a whole family. They had a photo of the thirteen year ago and they fantasized about having sex with her. At that time the murder was unusual. After reading that book, I never carried photos of my children."

Marilyn said, "I solved that problem, I carry pictures of other people's children."

Danielle brought in a beautiful book Untamed Garden for us to look at.

We talked about editing. I suggested that my biggest problem is not listening to myself. That I am learning to go with my instincts. I think that it's a lack of confidence in my writing. I suggested to go with the Aha moments when you're editing.

Also, I've learned the old saying is correct, too many cooks spoil the broth. So I've decided to use only one editor, one that understands the way I write. Thanks Laura.

Clare wanted to brainstorm re his article for Sideroads. Marilyn took a course on articles, and they said you should change your style to match the editor's style. She did this,submitted articles and the editors just loved them and they didn't change one word.

Diane's Prompts

The world will end December 21, 2012.
To clear the clutter from my life, the first thing to go would be . . .
Why do you write?
Having another drink.
Painting the ceiling.
And she added this in pen . . . you'd have to be there . . . What if Ron was pregnant?

Ron read his piece first . . . If Ron was pregnant . . . we laughed.

Patricia chose to clear the clutter form my life, the first thing would be her family. We discovered that she really wants an office of her own. She realized this while working through The Artist Way.

Julia chose have another drink. It's part of a novel that's she working on. Good job Julia. It was her first time reading her work. Do you remember your first time?

Sonja read what if I were pregnant . . . it might fulfill a prophecy . . . and other gems that made us laugh.

Jayne's clutter consisted of letting go of expectations. Very profound. She said, "Every ten years or so I can be profound." I disagree. I heard profoundness from her before.

I chose the end of the world and Sonja said, "The world's been ending since time began." My goodness we were profound today.

I'll edit my raw writing and post my piece. Everyone is welcome to post what they wrote today on our blog or anything else.

Diane chose the end of the world. And she just kept eating those donuts 'cause if the world is ending . . .

Danielle chose to clear the clutter from her life. It involves taming her front closet and some shoes that are committing infidelity .

Joe chose why do I write and he's been writing since he was very young. We learned a lot about Joe's love of writing.

Marilyn, our resident comic, said, "Now for something completely different." She painted the ceiling. David is a very lucky man.

Clare had a nightmare when he painted his ceiling. We laughed.

We had lots of fun and we really MISSED YOU!

Bucket Lists

2011-12-27T07:57:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

My house this year has been much more stressful than usual, but still good. Having company for the holidays makes it much more difficult to do any writing or even plotting, but I have every intention of getting something done so I'm on the blogs. Mine and the HWG one.

A conversation with a friend yesterday made me think about Bucket Lists. Some of us have one, some of us don't. In working through The Artist's Way book for the past few weeks, I've had to make a version of one. Always on my Bucket List is to write and publish books. Actually, that's been on my list since I was 8 years old. Another thing that's been on my list is Letting Things Go.

Letting Things Go doesn't mean that I'm no longer vacuuming or cleaning (although....) it means that I'm letting all the inane comments my father has made over the past two weeks fade into history without giving him the credit for ruining my holidays.

Letting Things Go means that I'll no longer let rejections measure my self-worth and that making one mistake at work won't set me back a week.

Letting Things Go means that I will deal with the important things and brush off the things that are insignificant rather than focusing on them.

Letting Things Go means that I will take care of myself and not worry about "what ifs". "What if" the kids call home while I'm working out? Or out for a walk? Or....

Letting Things Go could be the most important Bucket List/New Year's Resolution I ever make.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON

2011-12-11T09:08:00.005-06:00

OUR CANADA CONTEST

2011-12-11T08:53:00.004-06:00

https://secure.readersdigest.ca/eng/2011/201109_fiction/draw.php

You may have to cut and paste it.

HURRY ... it closes on December 16, 2011.

Good Luck!

At the Brian Henry workshop he showed us but when I google it I couldn;t find it until last week.

The Art of Writing

2011-11-28T20:06:00.003-06:00

Writing is an art! It is an expression of life as the writer sees it, and as such is similar to other arts.

If you think about writing in terms similar to artists who produce works with paints and a variety of other media, it can change your attitude toward your own writing.

Good art? Bad art? When you really think about it there is no such thing. All art is simple different.

Take expressionist painting and recollect everything you have heard said about it. Some artists are hailed as geniuses, some dismissed as wanting, and some are said to be delightfully able to produce such colourful “primitive art”.

And then you hear someone say: “I don’t know anything about art, I just know what I like.” Whether you believe it or not, that is probably the most honest and nonjudgmental statement made.

When I was very young, I loved certain books and artwork and music. As I grew into adulthood I found I preferred other artistic endeavours. My tastes have continued to change and I now find many of those initial expressions of art no longer have the ability to please me. That, I believe, is really the key. Art IS in the eye/ear/mind of the beholder.

This is what makes our world so delicious. We have so many choices of art to choose from, of art to delight in, and even of art to dismiss as not to our liking. None of this art is really any better or worse than any other. We have each developed in a certain social culture that encourages not only our behaviour, but also our tastes.

So be not discouraged if your writing does not win you awards or get published by huge well-known publishers. Does your writing please you? Your mother? Your spouse? Even if it only pleases you, it is good writing.

Do not be discouraged by anyone else if you find writing a joy. It is your expression of who you are, and that is never a bad thing.

Meeting Minutes November 27, 2011

2011-11-27T16:03:00.002-06:00

This was our last meeting for the year since the church (and all of us) will be busy with Christmas for the next month.
Our leader today was Nancy.
We also celebrated Ron's upcoming 80th birthday on Dec 10. We sang Happy Birthday and ate chocolate cake for such a momentous occasion!!! Happy Birthday, Ron!

Business:

A reminder about the Christmas luncheon on Dec 11 at Noon at Kelsey's Restaurant.
Members will be responsible for paying for their own meals and we hope for a great turn out! Please contact Patricia if you haven't responded yet.

Marilyn asked about the Artist's Way group that had been discussed on Oct 16 & 30th. While the group did respond about where and when we meet, we have met each Friday since Nov 11 and will be closed to new members due to the nature of the discussions. In case you haven't read the book, the discussions are very personal and follow the exercises laid out by Julia Cameron. A certain degree of trust and discretion have already been established in those three weeks that would be disrupted by newcomers. If there is demand, a new workshop may run in the spring.

Ron reminded us about the group he's been involved with Women Writing for a Change. He will send further information.

Diane announced an upcoming show put on by students at ODSS on Dec 15 and 16 at 7pm called "Deadline" about "budding writer, Alex Wilcox, as he struggles to meet an ultimatum set by his father to become published within three weeks." Tickets are available at the door at a cost of $8 per adult and $6 per senior/student.
Sounds like a great event to support an amazing school and fellow artists!

Readings:

Joe got a lot out of Marilyn's premise exercise from last meeting and wrote a premise for his book. He did a great job of it.

Marilyn wrote "The Art of Writing" which stated that "even if it only pleases you, it is good writing." She will post it to the blog for all of us.

Nancy read "Reflections from The Artist's Way" and asked "why do we compare our art with seasoned artists?" and "why can we always hear the negative, but put aside the positive."

Clare passed around pictures about an article he has coming out in the spring issue of Sideroads. The article is about Birds of Prey and he had some amazing photos of a bald eagle and falcon he had the opportunity to meet. There were also pictures of a tree in his yard that he had cut to a stump that was 5 feet tall. He plans to carve it and has already made a dent in it - so to speak.

Shirley is having hip surgery Nov 28th. We all wish her well and hope she has a speedy recovery.

Prompts:

Nancy's writing prompts for this week were plays on movie or book titles:

1) A Few Bad Men (A Few Good Men)
2) Alive Again (Dead Again)
3) The World According to _____________ (my mother, my sister, me, my husband, etc.)
4) It's a Crappy Life (It's a Wonderful Life)
5) Murder in the Writing Group (Murder in Hum Harbour by our own Jayne Self!)

OR let's start at the beginning when I took my first writing workshop with the late Ed Wildman (we base our format on his workshops that he learned from Natalie Goldberg):
1) What I don't remember is....
2) What I remember is....
or 3) The last thing I remember is....

Marilyn made up new titles and premises to books and movies.
Sonja wrote "Lord of the Fries", an interview with Ronald McDonald.
Danielle told us about "The World According to my Daughter."
Trina read the beginning of a good mystery called "The Potato Chip Girl."
Kelli used the prompts "What I remember is..."
Jayne wrote "It's hard to put into words what I don't remember because I can't remember." To which Patricia told us that'd she'd posted a message "How do you know you're not seeing it if you're not seeing it?" Anyone confused yet?
Judy wrote "Murder in the Writing Group."
Patricia did some personal writing based on her learnings in The Artist's Way and used the prompt "It's a Crappy Life."
Nancy wrote "In another life, I'd be queen of the whole world." She also read a poem by the late Janet Bellinger called "In Another Life."
I read my piece called "The World According to Brady" which is part of another novel called "The Bakery Lady."
Ron wrote "It's a Wonderful Crappy Life" and thanked us all for the cake and well wishes. He was very touched by it all.
Clare made a play on "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and came up with "The Good, The Stupid and The Sexy." He also made us all laugh!
Joe didn't use any of the prompts, but made a commentary about the Internet.

As they say in showbiz, Th-th-th-that's all Folks! See you all in 2012!
We'll be back for our next meeting on January 8th, 2012.
Diane will be leading and will gladly hand over the reins to anyone else who would like to take meeting minutes for the next year!!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Diane

How Did You Do It?

2011-11-25T13:04:00.002-06:00

Question: How did you get published?

Short Answer: By persisting.

Longer Answer: It’s taken twelve years and five novels to reach this milestone. So much for quick money!

From the start, I began attending the annual Write! Canada conference. Through their intensive teaching sessions I learned writing basics, like Point of View, plot curves, and suspense. I met agents and publishers, learned what they expect, and learned appropriate ways to approach them. I gained hands-on skills with formatting, computers, and internet use—all transferable to writing.

I joined Writers Digest and amassed a library’s worth of books on writing (at a reduced cost). These are my textbooks, and I study them as I would college texts. When I joined Romance Writes of American, I quickly discovered I am not a romance writer. I joined Crime Writers of Canada and attended two Bloody Words conferences. Bloody Words was great for free books, and discovering people who plot murders for fun—like me. I joined The Word Guild and found a home.

Despite advice that I diversify my writing—I’ve written a couple of articles, short stories and devotions to plump my resume—I have focused on novels. These I’ve written and re-written, queried and submitted. I considered papering the bathroom with my rejections until I signed with an agent (we met at Write! Canada) and she began accumulating the reject notifications instead. My relationship with that agent lasted over three years, yet she was unable to sell my manuscript, Caught Dead. I submitted it to contests, and was twice short listed. In 2010 Caught Dead was published as an online serial—I still hope to see it in book form.

Murder In Hum Harbour, was written at my agent’s behest. The manuscript made it through two editorial evaluations, and looked promising for a series. Then the publisher closed, and once more, I had nothing.

I kept looking on my own, but I admit I was losing heart. Then a friend told me about Harbourlight, a new US imprint looking for mysteries, and I contacted them. It used to take months to hear back from a query. Harbourlight stunned me with their turn-over time. Less than a year from query to book in hand.

So what have I learned from all of this?

Persist. This business takes time!
Keep improving your craft, no mater how much it hurts.
Make connections. Writing may be a solo act, but achieving publication is not.
Publication is not the ultimate achievement. It’s just a step to whatever comes next.

Jayne E. Self

Murder In Hum Harbour

Meeting Minutes November 13, 2011

2011-11-16T12:29:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind this week. I've been working on some edits for both my agent and a publisher for Murder on Manitou as well as doing some renovations on the basement.

Marilyn led our meeting this week and led us in a round of introductions to new visitor Stafford, who professed to be a writer but only on a family blog. Welcome, Stafford, hope we didn't scare you off!
We did talk about the joy of being with other writers and how it forces us to write. Ron asked Stafford "Do you have any idea the depth of your writing?" None of us do. We write and dig deeper each time we do, creating art where we never knew any existed.

Business:
Gloria gave us all information for a booklaunch at Eramosa Eden on Nov 27 from 1-5pm. The book is called "Limericks from the Animal Kingdom" by I. Mary Hackney and features art work by Carly Hatton, a 19 year old autistic woman. Her website is www.CarlysArt.com. The book was published by Gloria's imprint Sprial Press. For more details, you can check www.eramosaeden.org or www.SpiralPress.ca.

Marilyn has a new release from Sundragon Press called "Keep IT Simple" by Sharon Bennett. http://sundragonpress.com/non-fiction/sharon-bennett/

Nancy asked if we would like to host a workshop by Nora Zylstra-Savage in the new year. The total cost for a three hour workshop would be $345.00 ($34.50 per person if we have 10!) and focus on creative writing and finding inspiration. Check her out at: http://www.story-lines.ca/index.php?wp=68

Nancy also reminded us that Dec 11 is our Christmas Luncheon. This year we are holding it at Kelsey's and will have a reservation time. Family is welcome to attend.

Reading:
Gloria read three limericks from I. Mary Hackney's book. Very clever! A great gift for all ages.

Nancy read a poem she called "Tapestry."

Danielle wrote a song for the Sunday school kids church concert based on the book "Little Bunny's Christmas." She wrote the words and the organist at her church came up with the music. She said it sounds fabulous and will see if she can get a recording. The performance will be Dec 4th at Knox Presbyterian Church in Grand Valley at 10:30am. All are welcome!

Joe is updating his previously published non-fiction work to included new information in an epilogue. More information at www.grafspee.com. He is looking for an American publisher once it is updated. It is currently published in German and Spanish.

Marilyn had a piece about how writers organizations and groups help to encourage and give help and support. She says judging the content of other people's writings becomes political and we are not there to discuss politics. She appreciated the safety of the group, everyone reads aloud with like-minded people.
Nancy told us later that we also discuss what people have said for discussions sake.

Stafford read an item off his blog from Nov 10 that he has also submitted to the Banner. It was a very thought provoking look at war in our global village. Thanks for sharing!!

Ron talked about a group he's gotten involved with called "Women Writing For (A) Change"

Prompts:
Marilyn focused on the premise for this session. She gave us a definition then a list of novels to write a premise for.
Definition of Premise: "A story premise introduces the protagonist (without naming him/her) and sets out a story's core dramatic issue, the movement of that issue toward resolution, and the fulfillment that resolution sets up for the story's audience. It should be brief (one or two sentences at most), provocative, and contain an idea that jumps out at you. It is expressed in the present tense, is easily understood by a 15 year old and should attempt to be the same but different from other similar stories."

The novels:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone - JK Rowling
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austin
Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Scarlett Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Pelican Brief - John Grisham

Marilyn suggested that we write a premise before working on any short story or novel.
It was a tough, but interesting exercise.

Our next meeting is Nov 27. Nancy will be leading.
Our last get together of 2011 takes place Dec 11 at Kelsey's. Bring your appetite!

2012 HWG Meeting Schedule

2011-11-03T12:49:00.002-05:00

2012 Meeting Schedule

All Meetings Begin at 1:30pm

Location: Tweedsmuir Church, 6 JohnStreet, Orangeville

Anyone who cannot make their allotted time as a leader should switch with another leader or arrange for coverage.

Sunday, January 8^th – Leader: Diane
Sunday, January 22^nd – Leader: Judy
Sunday, February 5^th – Leader: Danielle
Sunday February 12^th – Leader: Jayne
Saturday, February 25^th- Brian Henry Workshop(Time TBA)
Sunday, March 4th – Leader: Clare
Sunday, March 18^th – Leader: Marilyn
Sunday, April 1^st – Leader: Nancy
Sunday, April 15^th – Leader: Diane
Sunday, April 29^th – Leader: Judy
Sunday, May 6th – Leader: Danielle
Sunday, May 27th – Leader: Clare
Sunday, June 10^th – Leader: Marilyn
Sunday, June 24^th – Leader: Nancy
Sunday, July 15^th – Leader: Diane
Sunday, August 26^th – Leader: Judy
Sunday, September 9^th – Leader: Danielle
Sunday, September 23^rd – Leader: Jayne
Sunday, October 14^th – Leader: Clare
Sunday, October 28^th – Leader: Marilyn
Sunday, November 11th – Leader: Nancy
Sunday, November 25^th– Leader: Diane

Sunday, November 9^th – Christmas Luncheon

HWG sponsored Writing Workshop - February 25th

2011-11-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Headwaters Writers present …

"Secrets of Writing a Page-turner"

~ 18 secrets from the pros ~

Saturday, February 25
Tweedsmuir Presbyterian Church, 6 John Street, Orangeville

Time 10:00am to 3:30pm

Ever stayed up all night reading a book? In this workshop, you’ll learn you how to
build that kind of tension. And we'll help you put into practice the techniques professionals
use, on every page and in every kind of story, to create drama and tension.

Fee for members of the Headwaters Writers:

$35.40 plus hst = $40 paid in advance
or $42.48 + hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

Fee for the general public:

$38.94 + hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 + hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

To register, please make out a cheque to Brian Henry and mail it to:

Brian Henry, 110 Reiner Road, Toronto, ON M3H 2L6

To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Alberta Nye's New Documentary, "SO I'M DYING ... NOW WHAT? ~ MARGARET HACKMAN'S FINAL JOURNEY"

2011-11-02T15:58:00.001-05:00

Headwaters Writers' Guild member and Filmmaker, Alberta Nye's new documentary, "So I'm Dying ... Now What? - Margaret Hackman's Final Journey" is a film that expresses how one person deals with impending death with humour and a sense of adventure. To purchase a copy visit Alberta Nye's website @ www.spiritvalleypictures.com

The Monk in the Attic

2011-11-01T20:44:00.001-05:00

Following is the story written at writing group this past Sunday. The first paragraph was written by me. The rest was contributed by different members of the group as it was passed around the table. Please note that the instructions given were NOT to read all that had been written before (which is why this changed from 1st person to 3rd). Most of the stories were humourous. Mine was just weird.

The Monk in the Attic

After mother died, cleaning out her house was not a chore I looked forward to. I had no idea what surprises were in store for me. And surprises there were.

A box containing steaming letters. Pictures of a man standing in front of a monastary. Handsome he was, with a smile meant for who. My mother? These letters were not from my father for sure.

She picked up the first letter. The writing looked like a medieval scribe had penned it with a quill. The paper had a parchment look, but had been folded and unfolded many times. Parts were streaked with damp tears.

That was the problem with parchment. It conveyed the tears but none of the meat of what was happening with the writer. He/She was obviously very sad.

The scroll reached such proportions as to spill over the ancient table. It had belonged to one of the others and was of maple complete with compartments for treasured items.

The story the scroll conveyed was poignant and the monk wiped his own tears away as he read.

"Mirror, mirror ont he wall. I am the most beautiful monk of all."

The words moved him, but only because he could translate the clue buried inside them.

HWG's NEW Facebook Fan Page

2011-10-30T17:39:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone :-) Happy Hallowe'en :-)

Please check out HWG's NEW Facebook fan page. New STUFF like, pictures, articles and features added regularly.

Pass it along and tell everyone you know about our NEW fan page. DON'T forget to LIKE it. :-) Thank you

Click Here To Go To Our NEW Facebook Fan Page

PHOTO RECOVERED - October 30, 2011 meeting

2011-10-30T17:32:00.004-05:00

Only one photo - the camera didn't like Alberta. Good thing you took another photo Alberta. Thanks for your help.

Meeting Minutes October 30, 2011

2011-10-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

Due to a technical glitch, there are no photos from this year's Halloween meeting. Sorry folks. I can tell you that several of the members were dressed up, including Patricia's "Quarter Pounder" idea. Very cute!

Clare was our leader today and brought wonderful buttertarts from his wife Dorothy, whom we love and have made an honorary member of the group years ago! Kelli and Diane brought chocolate bars, too. Bring on the sugar!

Nancy reminded us of the upcoming Brian Henry workshop on Feb 25, 2012. The chosen topic is: "18 Ways to Write a Page Turner." Time and location TBA.

Nancy and Diane are organizing an Artist's Way workshop beginning in November. Participants can get in touch with either of us to register. There is no fees to join, simply find a copy of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and have a great notebook, you'll be doing lots of writing and soul searching. Nancy told us that she's done the workbook several times and has grown both as a writer and a person each time. Alberta took the course when she lived in Hawaii with Julia Cameron. She told us that it opens up your relationships as well as changing you creatively. Creativity is the focus, but it will enrich your entire life.

The new Anthologies are here, authors picked them up from Gloria after the meeting. If you still have a book or two to pick up, please contact Gloria. She also had copies of a book called "Limericks from the Animal Kingdom" written by I. Mary Hackney a friend of hers who died this summer. The cartoons were done by Carly Hatton, a 19 year old Autistic woman. The books sell for $12.95.

Ron has become a blogger for "Women Writing for A Change." After doing a couple of guest blogs, he is now a regular blogger with them and encouraged us to check them out. http://www.womenwriting.org/

We had a wonderful treat! Alberta brought the movie she's been working so hard on titled "So I'm Dying...Now What?" It featured a feisty woman named Margaret Hackman who died of metastic cancer in 2009. The video will be premiered in Guelph on Nov 5. It was a moving yet inspiring story and had us all teary eyed. To find out more, Alberta's website is http://www.spiritvalleypictures.com/

Readings:

Nancy read an article she'd written for her Brian Henry workshop.

Trina read about an adult getting a child-like view of the world, reminding us all to take time to play.

Ron read his blog article about Foodstock, the protest against the megaquarry. They had originally expected 20,000 people, but over 28,000 showed up. It featured 100 chefs from top local restaurants and looked like a giant cookout. There is another Foodstock planned for the spring if negotiations are not going well with the quarry.
When Ron was done, Marilyn asked if this was a political forum or a writers group.

Clare's next article for the Banner is called "Food for Thought." and will be about Foodstock as well as how we sustain ourselves with gardens. Instead of reading that, he read a page about his accident in 1979 when he was hit by a car and spent a lot of time in Sunnybrook Hospital. "Beware Nurse Boyle" is a very funny piece. My favourite line was: she gave me "a pill the size of a ten-pin bowling ball." He got a rousing round of applause.

The Prompt:

The prompt was a little labour intensive to explain, but once we all got into it, it made for some hilarious reading later!

Number 1: Clare gave us a list of twelve book titles to choose from. We were to choose one and write it along with our name at the top of the paper he'd given us. That part was easy. Sort of.
The titles:
1) Cat O'Nine Tales
2) Footprints in the Sand
3) Who Killed Old Man Horowitz?
4) Shakespeare's Secret
5) The Cappuccino Murders
6) The Archer's Revenge
7) The Scribbling Preacher Makes Her Mark
8) The Monk in the Attic
9) The Voyage of the Tipsy Virgin
10) A Hand-full of Hounds
11) The Time Ticker
12) Wood Chipper on the Loose

Number 2: The Rest of the Instructions

Write the first two killer hook lines to introduce the book title that you selected.
Pass the lined sheet to person on the right. On the sheet you receive, read the title and lines, leave a blank line then add two more lines of your own.
Pass the lined sheet to person on the right. Read ONLY the title and last two lines that were written. Leave a blank line then add two lines of your own. Pass the sheet to the person on your right.
Continue passing the sheets around the group, again reading ONLY the title and the last two lines written.
When the exercise is done, return the sheet to the person whose name is at the top.
Be prepared to read aloud what appears on your sheet.
For homework for the next meeting, write the first chapter of the book, incorporating as many of the suggestions from the sheet as possible.
Good Luck!!

So how did this all turn out? Well, here's mine. I've alternated colours to show when a different person wrote:

The Cappuccino Murders
Java Jo's had been the only coffee shop in Packham for ten years until Lori's Latte's opened directly across the street. Wednesday morning, Lori Archer failed to open her shop for a very good reason.
It's a true story and Joe Cappucano has written about his mafia family and it put his life in danger.
I thought it was old coffee on the floor as I walked into the cafe - but coffee isn't thick or red.
I slipped, leaving a gross streak of burnished blood across my backside.
And feeling ashamed, I didn't look up.
I could feel the eyes of dozens of people staring at me and the cafe grew silent, except for one gasp.
The spoon clattered on the floor and coffee - dripped - in a puddle on the floor. Call for help now, please.
What the hell do you think I am, Mabel, your servant? Well the least that you could do is clean up the mess!
"Why should I?" s/he yelled. "I do everything around here. It's your turn. S/he turned and left the room.
He ignored her and returned to the coffee machine. He still had time to brew her up a pot of poisoned brew. That would teach the bitch!
When she asked for tea, the plot fizzled out. What next?
Murder plots ran through her head each night. There were cunning ways of disposing of the corpses.

That's my story and I guess I have to stick to it! It was certainly lots of fun reading all the results. Kelli and I laughed so hard we were crying! Nancy found a lesson in the whole exercise: Don't let other people write your story.

Our next meeting is November 13th, 2011. Marilyn will be leading.
November 27th, Nancy will lead.
December 11 will be our Christmas Luncheon.

Foodstock in Melancthon

2011-10-21T20:37:00.002-05:00

December 7,1941

Was it a day of infamy as FDR said of Pearl Harbour? History has accepted it as such.

It was a day when his country was savagely and covertly attacked by aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy that early Sunday morning that forever changed the direction of WWII and the fate of two powerful nations.

October 16, 2011

Will this be another Sunday which will become a day of infamy for our farmers in Melancthon Township? Unlike Pearl harbor we certainly hope so. The price paid in 1941 was in blood, this time it will be in the loss of unique soil, thousands of acres of prime farmland, polluted drinking water for over one million people, an ugly blight on our landscape, the disruption of many rivers and streams, and a major loss of food production for millions of people in Southern Ontario.

This Mega Protest in support of our farmland, water and heritage was spawned by the farmers targeted by Highland Companies bid to mine millions of tons of limestone rock beneath their farmland which we rely on for food, thus destroying the soil forever all for speculators wanting to make money.

The expected turnout was for 20,000 people willing to donate at least $10.00 each to pay for the food cooked by over 100 chefs who came from across Canada. Not backyard barbecue chefs. Well trained people, many running their own successful businesses or working for high profile hotels and restaurants. They gave of their time and talents because of the seriousness of the issue at hand. The food was spectacular. The weather not so but the turnout was estimated at over 28,000.

As my family and I walked along the pathway through an almost leafless bush next to a productive field of peas, the aroma of different exotic dishes tickled the palate. There were stews, goulashes, chili, soups, breads of many types, special coffees, and foods I have never tasted until today.

The “kitchens” for each chef were set up in this bush under tent like structures next to the path so the entire scene looked like a giant cook-out, which it was in reality. Made me think how easy it was to be in a gourmet cook’s kitchen without a security guard wanting to kick me out.

If you were hungry that was good because the sample sizes of food were quick to be enjoyed, and the variety was as large as the number of chefs at work. It’s a fair guess that no one went home hungry this day.

Along the food pathways were different entertainers, vendors of various natural products, and an area with a stage for speakers and music to keep the crowd entertained as they ate.

Apparently by 3:30 pm the food was for the most part finished. This is not surprising with the larger than expected turnout so with the advent of light rain and cold winds people began dispersing for their vehicles, satiated and happy with their country experience and contribution to a good cause.

We met people we knew from as far away as Paris ON, Toronto, Barrie and very many local towns, which if drawn as a circle with Hwy 24 and 20 Sideroad Melanchthon being the axis and Barrie the outer line covers a very large area. This gives perspective on the scope of those affected directly by what this quarry will impact if it is allowed to be developed.

Some encouraging news on this initiative a day following the very successful protest was announced that another “Foodstock” in the Spring is a strong possibility depending on how negotiations are going with Highland Companies on stopping the proposed quarry.

I would suggest that if enough people stand up for the good of all concerned we can make a difference.

Ron Lehman

October 19, 2011

642 words

Meeting Minutes October 16, 2011

2011-10-17T18:18:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Jayne on the release of her novel "Murder in Hum Harbour." We had a wonderful time at BookLore Oct 15. It was a fabulous afternoon with her reading and answering questions. Missed out on winning the seaglass earrings, but I'm loving the book which had sold out by Sunday! Watch for the review in In The Hills this winter as well as a follow up in the Citizen.

Jayne was also our leader for the day. And gave Nancy a thank you note for the group: To the members of the Headwaters Writers Guild, Words can't express how much I appreciate your presence and support at yesterday's book launch. Thank you so much, Jayne Self.

Ashley was back for a visit with us and is planning to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year. NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writers Month held every year in November for more information, check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/. This is Ashley's forth or fifth year trying to meet the goal of 50,000 words. She also told us about a new version of NaNo called Script Frenzy. And that she is hoping to start a writing group of her own in Toronto geared for University students who are looking for a little moral support.

Pat told us all that our favourite bookstore lady, Nancy Frater of BookLore, received a lifetime achievement award at Authors & Armchairs a couple weeks ago. The group gave her a bottle of wine and handpainted wine glasses as an appreciation gift for all of her support of our writers.

Nancy has been in contact with Brian Henry regarding an upcoming workshop. The workshop will take place February 25, 2012. Our choices of courses are:
1) How to Make Yourself Write
2) Eighteen Secrets to Writing a page-turner
3) Writing with Style (which we needed more information on)
4) You Can Write Great Dialogue
We were deadlocked between #1 and #2 so Nancy will touchbase with other members who normally attend the workshops and we will decide.

Nancy is interested in doing a series of workshops based on the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. We have talked to someone who offers the course through Continuing Education, but feel we could do the same thing for free as our own small group. If anyone is interested, please let us know.

Marilyn told us she has checked out The Next Big Writer.com and is impressed with what she's seen. For $50 per year, you can post work, enter contests and get feedback from impartial people. Both the contest submissions and the work you can post are between 1000-2000 words. Check it out at http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/

Readings:
Marilyn announced that she is "getting all poetic or something ridiculous" and read a poem she'd written.
Diane read a short story written for a Wynterblue Publishing contest called "She Needs to Lose Weight" which caters to the if-only world of if cake and soda were diet foods.
Danielle read part of her fantasy novel that was written as a journal entry.
Ashley had a wonderful poem written in french that she translated for us. It was called "The Drama Queen" and was about her former drama teacher from Westside who passed away this past September. A lovely tribute to her mentor.
Trina (our newest member! Welcome!) read about Trinity Church, the one in New York City that was a central meeting place during the days after 9/11. We loved hearing how being their moved her and put things into perspective.
Nancy read a poem called "Uninvited." Very moving.

On Gaining Confidence....
Jayne thanked us all for helping her become more confident and able to speak in public thanks to reading aloud in the group.
Trina said she'd put off coming to join us on a regular basis, but after reading such a personal poem and getting so much support and feedback, she feels stronger.
Danielle loves how we are all supportive and encouraging to each other.
Marilyn said that "It is amazing how we credit people with the judgements we don't have."

Prompts
Jayne had a bag full of slips of paper on which were written the names of emotions. We chose two slips. The first time, we wrote about the emotion without naming the emotion. Some words that were used were: Sympathy, Excitement, Shame, Fondness, Suspicious, Contentment, Worry, Happiness, Grief.
The second session, we had to start with the sentence: "Sam opened the door..." and use the second emotion without naming it. More emotions to describe: Love, Despair, Desire, Curiosity, Revenge, Sadness, Jealousy, Hope, Passion, Longing.

Some noteworthy dates:
Next meeting is October 30th. Clare (who was notably absent this week) will be leading.
Our Christmas luncheon is Dec 11, details TBA.

Keep Writing!!!

Book Launch for Jayne E. Self

2011-10-16T20:51:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, October 15th, BookLore in Orangeville hosted a great turn-out for the launch of Jayne's new book "Murder in Hum Harbour". We were delighted for Jayne, and thrilled to see such a huge number of people in attendance. Included in the masses were members of the Headwaters Writers' Guild Shirley, Nancy, Diane and her two sons, Judy, Patricia, Megan, Caitlin, Clare, Ashley, David, and former member Laura with her daughter. Jayne's husband Harvey and 2 of their sons, Allan and Jamie, were also in attendance.

Look at the size of the crowd:

And that doesn't include everybody!

Jayne read from the first chapter of her novel and answered some questions from her guests. She also had a draw for a pair of Sea Glass earrings.

And of course we can't forget a photo of Jayne with the Headwaters Writers' Guild members, at least those who were still there when this picture was taken.

And while I was there, I spotted a couple of interesting books on the shelves. Check out these awesome reads:

A Walk in Fields of Gold - The Headwaters Writers' Guild Anthology,

The Hurleyville Taxi by HWG member Clare McCarthy.

At the HWG meeting the next day Jayne reported that her books sold out! What awesome support from our fellow writers and Orangevillians. And thanks to BookLore for your continued support of local writers (and for the cake and hot apple cider!).

Author Linwood Barclay

2011-10-14T11:36:00.001-05:00

Author LinwoodBarclay attended a Headwaters Arts Festival event on Friday, September 30,2011. He sat on a panel of four authors at the Armchairs, Authors &Art event.

Barclay,formerly a humour columnist for the Toronto Star, read from his ninth novel,“The Accident”. He is a winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction. OfBarclay’s novel “Never Look Away” Stephen King called it “the best thrillerI’ve read in five years. I literally couldn’t put it down”.

“The Accident”is a mesmerizing thriller packed with unexpected twists and superb characters.When Glen Garber’s wife Sheila does not return home from a night schoolbusiness course, Glen learns she and two others have been killed in a caraccident. The police claim Sheila was responsible. Believing this to beimpossible, Glen begins his own investigation into the accident where heuncovers layers of lawlessness beneath the placid surface of their suburb,secret after dangerous secret behind the closed doors.

Barclay readthe prologue from “The Accident” at the Orangeville author event which wastouched with mystery and humour. Then he responded to questions.

Author TrevorCole commented that Barclay’s story is a wonderful mixture of horror and comedyand that he could write for television. Barclay said humour comes naturally outof life’s situations. In writing the stories he does picture the scenes in hishead unfolding as if in a movie but prefers to write books because the authorloses control over a script during production.

When asked whyhe turned from writing humour to writing horror, Barclay’s response was, “Itwas a career strategy. Humour wasn’t selling.”

Barclay isunder contract until 2014 to write a book a year. He was asked how he is ableto put out a book a year. He admitted that he had 2 weeks to come up with theoutline for his next book and had no ideas yet. He does not know his story’smiddle or end. His writing style consists of starting with a hook and continuesfrom there. He can write a book in two months.

During adiscussion about writing bad books the authors agreed that you need to beexcited about the story you are writing, and to give yourself permission togive up on a book or story that isn’t working. You need to be driven to finish.Writing bad books is a learning experience.

One womancommented that he had women so well pegged that he almost pissed her off. Tothat Barclay said he is familiar with women from his wife and adult daughter.They have their vices. In “The Accident” the women in the story are on anadventure to find knock off purses. Guys are the same but about differentthings like cars or sports. “Knock off bags,” he said, “are like porn forwomen.”

When askedabout how much he relies on the input of his agent and editor, Barclay said heappreciates the value of the editor and agent. You get too close to your work;you can’t see what’s wrong; you can’t see what’s good. “I value my agent. Shetold me that 70% of readers are women so don’t piss them off or they won’t readyour books again.”

After thequestion and answer session the authors sat in the lobby signing books andspeaking with the guests. I enjoyed meeting and speaking with Linwood Barclaywhose column I had read for 15 years before he retired to write books full-time.He is very funny, charming, and tells great stories.

Barclay’sprevious novels are “Bad Move”, “Bad Guys”, “Lone Wolf”, “Stone Rain”, “No Timefor Goodbye”, “Too Close to Home”, “Fear the Worst” and “Never Look Away”. Healso wrote a memoir entitled “Last Resort”. I have read “No Time for Goodbye”and look forward to reading “The Accident” and “Never Look Away”, the two booksI purchased at the 7^th Annual Armchairs, Authors and Art event.

Though LinwoodBarclay is a Canadian author, he is renowned worldwide.

HWG HAS IS ALL COVERED!

2011-10-04T18:25:00.003-05:00

Check us out, not only do we have this AMAZING blog page, but we also have a BRAND NEW website @ HWG WEBSITE CLICK HERE, AND we are now on TWITTER @ CLICK HERE FOR TWITTER and we are also on FACEBOOK at HWG on FACEBOOK CLICK HERE. WOW! That's FANTABULOUS!!! See you all there :-)

RON'S FRIEND GIVES WRITING ADVICE

2011-10-04T11:17:00.001-05:00

Nancy:
Here's that eMail from Dr. Stephen Badsey I read out at todays meeting (September 24,11). All the best Ron.

This is a copy of an eMail to Ron Lehman from Dr. Stephen Badsey, Reader in Conflict Studies University of Wolverhampton in the UK on March 25, 2011. Dr Badsey is a personal friend of Ron and shares his writers learning experiences with all members of Headwaters Writers Guild. He is the author of over 80 books. Enjoy!
Ron.

Dear Ron,

I've been wrapped up writing a book of my own (I still am, and will be for several months), so my apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I'm glad you liked the 'suit of armour' comparison, because I stole it from a writer I admire, the English poet Ian MacMillan (who is still very much alive).

You asked me in your last paragraph about all the material you've got, and what to do with it all. My best piece of advice on what to put in a book or leave out is the same advice that was given to me at the start of my own writing career, and which I have found in many variants. Here are a few:

"If you feel you have written a phrase or passage of particular elegance - cross it out" (John Bourne, historian)

"When what you think is your best scene is lying on the cutting room floor, your movie is finished" (Hollywood maxim)

"Start with a plain block of marble, and then just chip away everything that doesn't look like the statue you have in your mind" (Michaelangelo, attributed)

"If you are almost in tears because of all the good material that you have had to leave out or can find no room for in this book, then you might just have written something worth publishing" (Martin Middlebrook, historian)

Never throw anything away, all material is valuable, if not this time then next time; but a book has a shape of its own. The story tells itself; the first duty of the storyteller (or, in a different way, of the translator) is to get yourself out of the way. My one exception to this in writing, I think, is good poetry because it is essentially personal (although bad poetry is just a way of learning how to write better). Poets draw their subject matter entirely from themselves and so depend on how much of themselves they can reveal. (And I have published a few poems too, over the years; although my poetry wasn't as good as my history because I don't have that big an ego; I may go back to it one day.)

All this sounds very Zen, and it should because it is a process common to many activities. Do you remember Bruce Lee in "Enter The Dragon" saying "when there is an opportunity I do not hit. It hits all by itself"? Just so it doesn't get to mystical, I should add that a lot of luck helps as well, often dressed up by words like "inspiration" or "my muse"; but even then, if you work hard and seize chances as they come, it's amazing how lucky you get. I hardly need to tell you that. But I hope that you have found this useful.
Steve.

Writing Prompts - Sept. 24/11 from Judy

2011-10-04T11:13:00.002-05:00

Writing Prompts Sept. 24/11

1. Muttering obscenities, Chad scooped up the _________, dumped the water out of it and tried to stuff it into his back-pack.

2. My mother used to tell me that she found me under a garbage can - a dirty little piece of trash - and I’m still trash she says . . .

3. A mysterious tablet with hieroglyphic figures had been dropped by the fleeing men.

4. Hiram offered to take the strange little orphan boy home with him until the authorities could figure out who he was, and where he lived.

5. After uncle Henry moved in, strange things began to happen in our house.

6. He was running ahead of me through the ________________. I had to keep up with him, or I’d lose him in the dark.

7. As fate would have it, we missed our usual train into the city that day, because David forgot to set the alarm.

OR WRITE ABOUT -

What would you say, if you could write to someone in your past

Describe a dream (maybe a recurring dream) which affected you deeply

What are you afraid of?

What childhood memory brings to the surface strong emotion in you? (laughter? sadness? anger? etc) .

LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY

2011-10-04T11:10:00.001-05:00

Is anybody interested in going possibly we could car pool?

But don't forget Jayne's book launch on the 15th at Booklore between 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

HWG's NEW Facebook Fan Page

2011-10-01T18:47:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone,

I would like to announce officially that the Headwaters Writers' Guild now has a fan page on Facebook. I'm super excited about it as it will help our group to gain more exposure. I'm still in the process on uploading more pictures and adding more info on it.

I invite you to "LIKE" our new fan page on Facebook and tell your friends and family about it. Stay posted for upcoming events, pictures and get interactive with HWG. I look forward to seeing you all there soon and supporting your local Headwaters Writers' Guild. :-)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Headwaters-Writers-Guild/292262897457797

LINWOOD BARCLY ON WRITING

2011-09-28T14:09:00.005-05:00

First posted on Thursday, November 26, 2009

Linwood Barclay On Writing
http://www.linwoodbarclay.com/

Linwood Barclay joined The Toronto Star in 1981 and in 1993 he became the paper’s humour columnist. I always read his column.

"He's hilarious in person," my daughter said "we couldn't stop laughing.

On Monday, November 23, my husband and my daughter (an avid reader of Barclay’s books) attended his talk in Toronto at the S. Walter Stewart Library.My husband woke me up to tell me that Barclay is the best author he’s ever heard. My daughter raved about him and I asked her to share any writing tips that Linwood might have mentioned.

ON WRITING

He starts work at 9:30 A.M., takes a lunch break, and works until 5:00 P.M. just like any other job. When people tell him that it took them seven years to finish a book, he wonders what were they doing?He’s always finished his book before his deadline. Once he wrote a book too fast, and his editor told him that he could write a book from scratch faster that you could edit that book.

His favourite novel that he wrote is Fear the Worst. He writes mostly thrillers.He won’t be writing another book in the Bad Move series (my daughter’s favourite books), as they weren’t selling. As a beginner writer he understood that this happens but he had to try something different.

No Time for Goodbye was the Number 1 Bestseller in Britain and they’re waiting to release the Bad Move series. When he writes he wants it to be popular worldwide. Lots of people get shot in his books but he never describes the shooting graphically. He’s not made for horror.

Linwood Barclay is at the Authors, Armchairs & Art at 7:00 p.m. SGI in Alton. Hope to see you there!

MINUTES OF MEETING - September 25, 2011

2011-09-28T08:56:00.016-05:00

Now I have to try and decipher my notes . . . sigh!

Thirteen members attended our meeting. Awesome!

Judy mentioned that Nancy (me) and her attended a workshop reading of a new play called Bemused. The actors were amazing. David Narin and Lisa Petrie read. Judy and I had read it in The Banner. It was a pay as you can event. We were able to speak to the playwright and the actors afterwards. And I mentioned at least three times that there was food and wine. Possibly next year we could go as a group.

NOTE: Post it on our Blog next year!

Authors and Armchairs and Art Event – happens on Friday, September 30, 2011 at SGI in Alton. Lots of members are attending. We hope to see you there!

RE: THE WEBSITE

Shirley would like the following:
- Photo
- Bio
- Quote by an author or a quote by you
- Some of your work – short stories or poems -attach it in a word document or a PDF file
- She would prefer to have your work with links to your website & Blog as it would
encourage people to look at other writers on our website

Shirley's email address: shirleywrite@rogers.com

Website address: www.headwaterswritersguild.com

EXCITING NEWS:

Hi Nancy,
Murder In Hum Harbour: A Seaglass Mystery will be officially launched on October 15, 2-3pm at Booklore as part of their Independents' Day celebration.

There will be a brief reading, snacks, a chance to "meet the author" and a draw for a piece of seaglass jewelry.

Thanks for including this on the blog.

:) Jayne

Thanks Jayne for forwarding this info to me. Jayne gave everybody a bookmark of her book. I love bookmarks.

MOVIES & READINGS:

Marilyn showed her movie Thicker than Water on her new Ipad. Marilyn learned when you shoot the movie if the scene it’s supposed to be night shoot it at night. Marilyn’s movie doesn’t have much dialogue otherwise it would be a radio play. What's a radio play? I know I should have asked her ‘cause on Monday night I was told that I’d written a radio play.

Joe wanted to know if Marilyn had taken a screenplay writer’s course? Nope, Marilyn just writes. Joe is taking a screenplay writing in Guelph in October.

Nancy (that would be me) read her Only For This Moment poem and Judy commented that it’s great for writers to help them remember to write in the moment no matter what’s happening in their life. I also read my Shattered Dreams poem – it’s a line I woke up with from a dream.

Joe kept up up-to-date on his letter to Hydro One. He was published in the Guelph Mercury, Wellington Advertiser, and the Erin Advocate. He had a letter from McGuinty and is waiting to hear back from the Energy Minister. Keep your fingers crossed Joe!

June wrote an emotional piece about a little boy loosing his grandmother. It brought tears to my eyes. Welcome back June. We’ve missed you!

Ron read Enough is Enough. Why not use this prompt for your writing. When is enough enough?

Judy gave out prompts and also brought The Mysteries of Harris Burdick – a book of photos that Judy thought would make good prompts.

I hate to admit it but after eating chocolate chip cookies some people were just way too happy. And now Jen isn’t speaking to me anymore ‘cause I used a prompt and brought it into Jen’s reality. I spilled water on Jen’s journal. I think I was a little high from the cookies. Patricia suggested it might be a good idea for me to give up chocolate. No way.

Judy had to use her teacher’s voice twice at this meeting. Actually, I’ve never heard it before from soft spoken Judy. The things we learn . . .

Kelli wrote about a dream with a hidden secret. The child was going to take over the Universe. Judy mentioned the dream was perfect to use a children’s story.

June used Prompt # 1 and wrote to a friend in her past and shared may memories. Life is good for June.

Judy chose Prompt # 4. I like Hiram and hope to hear more about him and the orphan child.

Clare chose Prompt # 5 … and honest Harry wasn’t really a dirty old man.

Ron chose # 8 and provoked lots of thought which I believe is part of the writer’s job.

Marilyn’s Uncle Henry created unusual happenings after he moved in with lots of impending births. Marilyn, of course, made us all laugh! You should have been there!

Danielle chose # 11 and wrote about her first memory she had as a one year old. She wrote as a baby. Very interesting.

Patricia continued to make fun of me. I must be important or something.

Jayne’s Uncle Henry is a mystery. Imagine that a mystery writer wrote a mystery! Way to go Jayne.

Patricia chose what are you afraid of? Heartfelt essay – the thing she fears is want she wants the most.

Jen was creative she used the last four prompts. It was very touching.

Kelli asked me why I hadn’t posted the photos from the last meeting. I promised her I would.

We all laughed and Marilyn said, “I can’t wait to get out of the Twilight Zone.

Joe went back in time to 1935 when he was seven years old and went to a funeral for a two -year -old boy. It was his first encounter with death. An emotional piece touched everybody.

Ron said, “NEVER GIVE UP!” He received an answer to his email that he sent out in
April 2008. I’m going to post the email separately on the blog.

Judy said, “That’s a RAP!”

WE MISSED YOU! I especially missed Diane ‘cause I had to take notes at the meeting.

I think I got carried away.

NEXT MEETING: October 16, 2011 – Jayne is leading

PHOTOS OF SEPT. 11-11 MEETING

2011-09-28T08:29:00.013-05:00

Armchairs, Authors & Art Part Deux

2011-09-15T23:51:00.000-05:00

It seems a fourth author has been added to the Armchairs, Authors & Art event scheduled for Friday, September 30th at the SGI Centre (Caledon) as part of the Headwaters Arts Festival.

James Fitzgerald's memoir "What Disturbs Our Blood" is about growing up in an affluent respected family, but a family with great secrets. Fitzgerald's father and grandfather were both doctors, both accomplished leaders, both shadowed by mental illness and suicide. "What Disturbs Our Blood" is the recent winner of the 2011 Writer's Trust Prize.

This event gets bigger and better every year.

Doors open at 6:30. Tickets can be purchased in advance at BookLore in Orangeville.

Have you bought your ticket?

Meeting Minutes September 11, 2011

2011-09-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

Although we are marking the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, the mood at our meeting today was jovial and we used it as an occasion to celebrate.
First of all, Harry had returned to the fold! We've missed his wonderful, witty prose and poetry.
Secondly, Kelli rejoined us as well. She's been away with health issues and is now weaned off her medications to control seizures. She is experiencing minor side-effects and hopes to have her driver's license back soon. We are all so excited for her!
Thirdly, Clare brought wonderful treats made by his wife Dorothy. We all told him that she's a keeper. Marilyn said that she was going to have to go to confession, Harry corrected that the proper term was "confection."
Fourth, Nancy brought cake to celebrate Diane (me) having an agent! Of course, I had to bring the plates, napkins and forks, but...the cake was delicious.

Now onto the News:

Marilyn and Danielle are both submitting short stories to the Writer's Digest contest.

Marilyn also reminded us of the Eden Mills Writer's Festival on Sept 18. For more details, go to the website:
http://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/EMWF/

Nancy told us that Mike Bellinger, husband of the late Janet Bellinger from the HWG, had emailed her regarding the bursary that we co-sponsor with the Bellinger family for a graduating student from ODSS (Orangeville District Secondary School.) Convocation is November 4, 2011 at 7pm. He wanted to know if we were adding more money to the bursary again this year and which members of our group were going to present the award to a deserving student planning to pursue writing in continuing studies. In the end, Nancy and Diane (me, again) volunteered. We'll let you know how it goes!

Shirley was not present, but had e-mailed me regarding our new website. We have a website at a cost of $7.99 per year and our new website address will be http://www.headwaterswritersguild.com She will be working hard to set it up and make it a site we can all be proud of.

Readings:

Judy read three poems. One was "Fluctuate" that was inspired by Clare's question "What kind of water are you like?" When she was done reading it, Clare pointed out that she'd forgotten that water wears down rock and finds the smallest space to fill. It is flexible. Her second poem was called "Alexander Pope" because reading his works had her thinking in Iambic Pentameter. Her third poem, "Faith," will appear in the front of her memoir.

Marilyn had been inspired by contest information I had sent for the "Watching Paint Dry" contest. Riveting story with a great twist ending! Looking forward to hearing the finished product.

Clare had brought a copy of the Banner from Sept 6 which featured his article "Proposals from a Political Pundit." Marilyn told us that if we liked politics, we'd love books by Terry Fallis.

Harry read to us from his circus book. He has been querying agents and actually got some helpful feedback to streamline his work. He is working on a new draft, very inspired and excited. The chapter he read was about "a son trying to touch his father's ghost." Nancy told us about a book called "What Disturbs the Blood" which has a similar premise. Harry had a powerful chapter and we were all mesmerized! Looking forward to the book one day soon!

Judy also had a script for a 10 minute movie that she wants to make and needed some critiques on. It is a sci-fi/paranormal/spiritual story. The story involves re-incarnation and the "life between lives." She received lots of feedback and is looking forward to doing a re-write and making it more vivid for her audience. Can't wait to see the video.

The Prompts:
All of the prompts I used were borrowed from "Writing Past Dark" by Bonnie Friedman.
1) I spent this morning smashing flies.
2) I wanted to get everything in that room just right before my writing began.
3) You fall the way you do in dreams.
4) The things that disgust also fascinate.
5) We have an aversion to loss of control, as much as we love it.
6) We are afraid of writing, even those of us who love it.
7) I knew a man who believed a bee had been sent to earth to give him a message.
8) My dreams came true one day. It was just as I had always imagined it would be.

Our next meeting is Sept. 25, 2011, Judy will be leading.
Future meetings and leaders:
            Oct 16 - Clare
            Oct 30 - Jayne
            Nov 13 - Marilyn
            Nov 27 - Nancy
             Dec 11 - Christmas luncheon, place and time to be determined.

What else is new?

Sept 13 - Nancy's birthday
Sept 18 - Ruth's birthday
Sept 19 - David's birthday
Sept 20 - Sonja's birthday
Happy Birthday to all until we meet again!

I will not be at the next meeting. See you all in October!

2011-08-29T11:10:00.002-05:00

This is my first attempt ever to post to a blog and I hope it works! To satisfy Diane's curiosity: I decided to call my short story "Revelation" after the meeting yesterday....Danielle

Meeting Minutes August 28, 2011

2011-08-28T17:02:00.000-05:00

Fall is around the corner, which means I'm back! Miss me?

We had a small meeting today, but lots of interesting things to discuss and see.

Marilyn led today's meeting and we had a new member. Derek is Danielle's husband who, like all of us, writes little bits here and there and wants to put them all together.

The News:

Pat reminded us that the proof of the anthology needs final edits before being sent back to Gloria. The book was passed around the room and everyone made notes.

Shirley informed us that our website has been taken down and, in her efforts to reinstate it, she discovered that the domain name has been purchased by a US business who kindly refused to resell it. Since she already uses Net Firms for her own website, she says she will be willing to host our new site and maintain it so it will cost less. In turn, we will give her an honorarium to cover some of the cost.

She will create a new domain name for us and buy it (approximately $10 per year) so it will be easier in the future for us to make changes in who takes care of the site. Marilyn recommended going through namecheaper.com to register it so it will cost less. Shirley will let us know what name she gets for us. It will be a variation on Headwaters Writers' Guild.

Once our new website is under construction, we will add whichever authors want to be on it, provide bios for each and post the meeting schedule. We will also post links to associated webpages, facebook pages, twitter accounts, Linked In accounts, etc.

Nancy handed out information for two upcoming courses.

1) a memoir writing course on October 25, 2011 by Nora Savage at the Orangeville Public Library downtown. The cost is $25 for the full day, 10:30am - 4:30pm. To register, call Frances MacFarlane at 519-925-1456. There is a maximum of 40 people and lunch will be provided.

2) Creative Writing course offered every Wednesday from Oct 5-Nov 16 at 7-10pm. The course is based on the book "The Artist's Way." It is led by Kelly Surtees and the cost is $90. To register, call The Learning Enterprise at 519-941-2661.

3) Life Story Writing by instructor Susan Walley Monday nights from Sept 26-April 30. The cost is $65 and classes are from 7-8:30pm. Several members of the HWG have already taken this course and enjoyed it immensely! To register, call The Learning Enterprise at 519-941-2661.

Readings:

Pat shared her video and pictures from when she and her daughter did the Edge Walk at the CN Tower. We all decided she's braver than the rest of us! The cost of the Edge Walk is $175 which gives access to all the Tower has to offer. It also includes: pictures and a DVD.

Clare: "Why did you do it?"

Pat: "Why not? One day I want to jump out of a plane, this seemed like a good step in the right direction."

Nancy: "Writers need courage. She exhibited courage."

No disagreeing with that! She left us early to attend soccer.

Marilyn also had a video to show us. The challenge was to create a movie using shadows, it was called "Shadow Challenge." Hers was about "The Shadow of Her Smile." Well done, Marilyn and friends!

Danielle read a short story she wrote for a short story contest I'd sent to the group. It was 1495 words, just under the wordcount. She normally writes Fantasy and this certainly qualified! Great job on the story, but she needed a title. Some suggestions: "The Writer", "A Thought", "Creation" We can't wait to see what she chooses.

The Prompts:

There's a lot of them and they're all CURSES!

1) May you live in interesting times.

2) May the bluebird of happiness fly up your nose.

3) May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits.

4) May you be trapped in an elevator for four hours with a man who has just consumed four pickled eggs and four pints of beer.

5) May dogs laugh at your funeral.

6) May you find underpants in your lover's glove compartment that do not belong to you.

7) May your mother bite you when you return home to your kennel.

8) May all your drinking cups be riddled with holes.

9) May four thousand elephants caress you with their toes.

10) May your thumb be a nail for your hammer.

11) May your e-mail consist of chain letters.

12) May the birds of the air make deposits on your head.

13) May the dust bunnies under your bed be gremlins.

14) May you live next door to a guano factory.

15) May your attic be a home for vampire bats.

16) May the number on your house be 667.

17) May the lover of your dreams morph into a blow-up doll.

18) May your fairy godmother turn your car into an Edsel.

19) May you be loved by seven dwarves and be forced to eat apples the rest of your life.

20) May fat little cherubs pelt you with spent arrows and broken hearts.

Shirley had to leave before reading hers.

Clare had chosen #4 about pickled eggs and beer and an elevator clawing it's way back up the cable. Well done!

Diane (me) wrote more of a novel-in-progress.

Nancy scowled and asked, "I have to go after that?" She used #1 and as many cliches as she could cram in!

Derek chose to pass.

Danielle used #6 about a veteranarian, a dog and a thong...

Marilyn used #13 and had some creepy little gremlin dust bunnies! A taste of horror!

Ashley made up her own curse and did some work on her novel-in-progress as well.

Next Meeting:

Sunday, Sept 11 Leader: Diane

Sunday, Sept 25 Leader: Judy

Sunday, Oct 16 Leader: ?

Sunday, Oct 30 Leader: Jayne

Sunday, Nov 13 Leader: ?

Sunday, Nov 27 Leader: Nancy

Sunday, December 11 is our Christmas Luncheon. Details to be announced.

Keep on Writing!!!

Armchairs & Authors 2011

2011-08-22T14:17:00.003-05:00

Guess who's coming to town. Linwood Barclay!

Friday, September 30th, 7-10pm, Armchairs, Authors & Art will take place at SGI Canada, 20490 Porterfield Road, Alton. Tickets are $25 available at BookLore.

This year's authors are as follows:

Linwood Barclay, author of his newest novel "The Accident", a mesmerizing thriller packed with unexpected twists and superb characters. Barclay used to be a columnist for the Toronto Star. I have read one of his books and am anxious to read more.

Trevor Cole, author of "Practical Jean" and winner of the 2011 Leacock Award for humour, a dark comedy that throws light on the power of middle age friendship. Also sounds like a good read.

Camilla Gibb, author of "The Beauty of Humanity Movement", also the Trillium Award Winner "Sweetness in the Belly." "The Beauty of Humanity" is a novel set in contemporary Vietnam - a country undergoing momentous change.

Moderator is Nicola Ross. Refreshments provided by Silver Thyme, The Wine Coaches and Mill St. Brewery. The authors' books will be on sale tax free.

To learn more about this event and other happenings during the Headwaters Arts Festival check the website at www.HeadwatersArtsFestival.com.

Prompt From HWG Meet Led By Clare - July 24/11

2011-07-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

Headwaters Writers’ Guild

Lead by: Clare

Writing Prompt

July 24, 2011

I chose option #8:

“Why was it so great? Write about a gift you received (concrete or abstract) that you still consider one of the best gifts ever.”

I received a wonderful gift or maybe even several gifts almost everyday that although only took place for approximately one year, that gift OR gifts have stayed with me since, and have changed the way I feel about and see life. It was the gift of APPRECIATION for everything, for everyone, and for all that is life. For me at least, that was what driving for the Canadian Cancer Society did, and I am ever so GREATFUL.

Check out my blog @ http://www.kelli-curtis.blogspot.com

Leonard Cohen prompt

2011-07-25T14:48:00.002-05:00

I have posted on Triond my response to the Leonard Cohen prompt. There I was able to imbed the video into the post. Check it out here:

http://musicouch.com/music-making/anthem-by-leonard-cohen/

Meeting Minutes, July 24, 2011

2011-07-24T20:57:00.003-05:00

Business:

Pat reported that Gloria advised she is waiting on a new proof of the anthology from the publisher.

Ashley passed around a copy of the completed anthology she edited while at Westside Secondary School. The book is entitled "Abstract Ramblings of a tuesday Lunch Vol. 2". Also, she is going to U of T this fall so we will probably not see her until next spring. We wish Ashley well with her studies in languages.

Marilyn has been mentoring a 12 year old girl in writing. The young girl received an honorable mention at the Elora Writers' Festival and won a writer's award at school.

Clare submitted an article suggestion about birds of prey to Sideroads Magazine. This is expected to be printed in the Spring 2012 issue as he is still doing some research.

Reading:

After a month between meetings, several members had writing to share. Marilyn expressed how much she missed the writing group. Several echoed that sentiment.

Prompts:

Clare provided an audio prompt as well as written prompts. Below is the video of the song Clare played, "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/_e39UmEnqY8"

The written prompts are:

2. Where do you store it? Write about something you own that someone gave you, but you're to embarrassed to wear or display.

3. Who gave you a bad piece of advice? Write about it.

4. Write about finding a rusty lock or rusty locket.

5. Write about one time you did something so well that you doubt you'll ever be able to repeat the feat.

6. Compare some part of your life to water in one of its many forms: Fresh, stagnant, steam, ice...

7. Who told you it was haunted? Write about a scary experience.

8. Why was it so great? Write about a gift you received (concrete or abstract) that you still consider one of the best gifts ever.

9. What's the best/worst thing about being the age you are now? Write about it.

10. So why did you laugh? Write about a time you laughed when you shouldn't have.

Danielle chose prompt #2; Kelli chose prompt #8; Joe chose prompt #9; the rest of the group wrote from the music.

Summary:

I cannot being to describe what people wrote from the audio prompt. I can only compel people to post their writings on this blog.

Clare pointed out that sometimes we are answering our own personal questions.

Judy said sometimes she gets tired of her own words and likes it when prompts come from passing around someone else's words.

In reading my writing from the audio prompt (which I will post here later), when I said "I am cracked," everyone laughed. I stopped and said, "That wasn't supposed to be funny." With that I lead you to prompt #10.

Our next meeting is Sunday, August 28th. Marilyn will be leading.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY

2011-07-21T12:25:00.001-05:00

May it be the best year of your life. Romance, publication are all in the cards.

Have a wonderful birthday.

Links GALORE

2011-07-20T13:25:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone,

This is Ashley, finally in the mood for summer. I haven't been around the Writer's guild lately but I have been writing(a little bit).

Apparently, I have reached a state of nirvana in all subjects concerning writing. At last, I have finished the registration process for university which means all that's really left is finding money(bursaries and scholarships, where are you? ;) ) and starting my year in September. Oh, and cleaning my room.
Next on the list, I decided to start doing some random research on fantasy publishing and the result was surprising. Admittedly, I didn't find a specific publishing house or the like but a kind fellow answering someone's question on Yahoo! Answers actually gave a few pretty good websites to look at. Yes, there were the usual: agent listings, Writer's Digest, etc. but then there was one that really stood out. A forum for writer's!

This is the first link you'll want to visit. It's a site called Absolute Write: http://absolutewrite.com/ (pretty easy, right?)
Well, the site can be a little difficult. I'm still navigating my way around slowly but surely and there is one huge thing that can be very confusing. On many of its pages, it appears as if it's a very short page with three books advertised at the top, one of their mottoes and a couple of links. In reality, there's a whole other section underneath(just have to scroll down) depending on what page your on. So what's first?
Sign up! This is definitely a site you'll want in your repertoire and if you want to discuss, you do have be a member(like any forum really). The great part is that it is free. The better part is the information you'll be able to join in on. The even better part is that you can have signatures including sites that you participate in (especially like this one(Publicity!)) and the best part is that their forums are for serious discussions. No internet flaming, trolling or general negativity. It is best to check out http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66315 first since it gives you the lay down on basic 'netiquette' plus the link to sign up(which I haven't been able to find anywhere else on the site). just remember to scroll down after clicking the sign up link and you will find the sign up stuff.

Alright, so what WILL you find in the forums? Well, so far, I have been in the Writing for Kids, Novels, AW Library(PUBLICITY!!! =) ) sections and I have yet to look at the Young Adult, Short Fiction, Nonfiction, Script, Stage, and Screen, Poetry, or the Comic Books and Graphic Novels sections. As you can see "we serve all kinds here." When I was looking around I couldn't help but notice that any question asked on the threads were answered. That's more proof of what a large community it is and if you want to say something, it won't go unnoticed. I know we have a few writers on this blog that could really help in answering questions for new writers and all of us could greatly benefit from this plethora of resources. Which is funny, because by this point you haven't even clicked on the actual resources portion of the website. This area is more for outgoing links, such as literary agent blogs, workshop information and writer's organizations.
Wow, and that was only the first link. Of course the first also led to this goldmine. I now have two links I'm definitely keeping around for future use.

1) http://www.buzzymag.com/submissions/
Buzzy Mag is currently accepting Science Fiction, Fantasy and/or Horror short stories. Read the whole page for understanding.

2)http://www.shortstorycompetition.com/Guidelines.php
I am taking you straight to the guidelines for this contest since it is generally the first part a person wants to see. There's money in this competition and you have quite a while to perfect your short story(under 3500 words, any theme).

I have mentioned these three sites before, but never on the blog(well, one was, I think). Two are perfect for feedback, especially if you know how to use the sites to their greatest potential.

The first site is called Writing.Com. Guess how you get there... exactly! Their name is also their URL. This is a site where the most popular phrase is Write On! Once again, you do have to sign up but it is free AND you won't receive pesky emails from them. Instead, you have an in-site email which I find is the best part of the whole thing. Your initial account, because it is free, will only allow you to create 10 items(10 poems, 10 short stories, mix and match and whatnot). So unless you do start paying for a subscription, feedback can only go so far here. What you really want from this site is its newsletters. These are people taking time out of every week or so to create an information resource for you. I am currently signed up for practically all of them. Now I have information at the ready on how to design characters, edit, review, outline and so much more at the ready. I know I read out one of the newsletters at a meeting about the different ways to kill people. Of course, upon signing up for that newsletter, you won't receive older ones. instead just check out the newsletter archives and you can check out what you've missed.
Now, if you do decide to be a paying member, you're golden. Access to more items, the ability to enter official contests, and over all more publicity... this is the serious writer's website. But if there is anything else that I really loved about WC(its short form) it was being able to read others works. It is a great helping community. But I'd also like to drive home the idea that they are very, very serious. I remember when I signed up, a rather naive teenager looking for information and wow, did my heart ever beat faster when I read that I was giving them permission to contact the government or I for identification verification and just how quickly I could end up in trouble with the law if I wasn't honest. But then I relaxed. Because, just after I put up my first item, I understood why it was necessary to go to such extremes. Underneath your item is the most glorious symbol ever. A copyright. Proof that the work belongs to you and only you. Your work is under your control and you are simply allowing it to be viewed in a public domain. Hence, they really want to make sure they know who you are.

The second site that I absolutely adore is DeviantArt. Just add .com on the end and you have their website. This site is more art-oriented but if you can find the right people you can get to be pretty popular. It's a really great way to send out previews of what you are working on and get feedback. Just as warning though, "thar be trolls." Yes trolls. A race of people that exist solely to torment other internet users. the best defense against these creatures is simply to leave them be and abide by Murphy's Law. In any conversation with them you will always come out worst.
Jokes aside, DA(its short form) is very useful for finding tutorials and other writers to chat with.

The final site is NaNoWriMo. Just add .org onto the end of the name. I have mentioned this site on the blog before(I am 99.9% sure of that). It's largest use is in November where you are challenged to write 50,000 coherent words in a month. By coherent I mean don't write the same thing over and over again. Otherwise, you can be as cliché and insane as you want. Plot holes await and by the end you may feel like you only accomplished making a 50,000 word outline. But that's not true. You have likely killed off more characters than you can count, probably killed or beaten up the main character one or two times and set something on fire.Especially on the 5th of November if I remember. ;) But most importantly you at least have gotten a few things right. After 50,000 words, the likelihood is that you now have an IDEA of where you are going. Plus you now know that you can write 50,000 words which is the minimum consideration for a novel. Awesome.

Indeed, that was links GALORE. I hope that you find interest in at least one of these sites and the motivation to write just one more word(and another, and another, and perhaps... another).

Ashley Haworth
http://www.writing.com/main/portfolio/view/mizu_doragon
http://alexia-shriver.deviantart.com/
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/258163
ahshriver@gmail.com

The Summer Challenge - Fake Synopsis of a Real Book Cover

2011-07-19T19:58:00.008-05:00

Melanie Baker owns the very trendy Footstop Cafe, which serves exotic lattes to wealthy women who have standing weekly reflexology appointments. Their need is great, because they continually wear 5 inch stilettos and thus have extreme foot problems.

One day Melanie is found dead in her office at the back of the Cafe, with a Jimmy Choo heel firmly imbedded in her cranium.

The challenge is that there are so many suspects. Every client at the Footstop is in a continual state of rage, brought on by backaches, incredible painful feet, and weak knees, all due to their outrageous footwear. Any of these women in a fit of PMS could be driven to murder.

But who dun-nit?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE

2011-07-18T09:37:00.001-05:00

May this be the best year of your writing life and I'm positive it will be!

All the best.

Blessings

Wordstock Collingwood Literary Festival

2011-07-15T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Make your plans now to attend the 2nd annual Wordstock Lit Fest. I'll be hosting the poetry section on Sat. Sept. 10 at 163 Hurontario Street, Collingwood (The Arts Centre of the BMFA), from 11-5. Poets include: Bonnie Gardiner, Antony Christie, Judy Lowry, Brendan McLeod (world class poetry slam artist), John Robert Colombo (the most published author in Canada with over 200 books to his credit!), and David Silverberg with the newly minted Toronto Poetry Slam Team hosting a poetry slam event.

Authors doing readings include: Randy Boyagoda (Beggar's Feast), Wayne Johnston (A World Elsewhere), Camilla Gibb (The Beauty of Humanity Movement), Giles Blunt (Crime Machine), and this year's Stephen Leacock medal award winner Trevor Cole (Practical Jean).

Also, there will be presentations from CBC hosts Terry O'Reilly (Age of Persuasion) and Dr. Brian Goldman (White Coat Black Art).

Children's and teens events, as well as workshops round out the Saturday line-up.

Friday evening (Sept. 9) sees the ever fun Off The Page event, a cabaret style show where the power of words is brought to life through song, dance, theatre, art and other special performances. And there is always a very special surprise guest (I don't even know who it is, it's that special!).

Other than Off The Page, which is a ticketed event, all other activities, readings, etc. are absolutely FREE, making this festival truly community oriented. Check out all details at www.wordstock.ca. So, make plans now for then. Hope to see you there. And I do very much miss attending the Sunday group. Cheers.

Made up Synopsis of Cuban Heels

2011-07-14T09:13:00.000-05:00

Bored with your life? Steal someone else's . . .

Bank teller Maggie Delaney was tired of watching the rich get richer and her own paycheque dwindle. When one of her wealthiest clients, Jessica Mayford, drops her wallet late one afternoon, Maggie decides to see exactly how the other half lives. She goes on a shopping spree of epic proportions. Before long, she is outrunning not only Jessica and her prestigious family, but a Cuban hitman who thinks Maggie has seen something that will incriminate him.

Another Assignment for Those with Nothing Better to do . . .

2011-07-13T19:33:00.000-05:00

I was reading Nathan Bransford's site earlier and he posted a question to his readers.
Which book do you with you had written?

For me, that's an easy answer: Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, which is the book we use in the HWG as our blueprint for writing. Not to say that we follow it to the letter, but we recommend it to EVERYONE! I've actually had my copy since 1993. It was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and his then wife. I cherish it, dog-ears and all.

In years since, I've read most of Ms. Goldberg's books. I've also been fascinated by New Mexico, where she teaches, and in true Goldberg fashion have been known to walk in the rain just to record all the sensations of raindrops falling down my face and soaking my clothes.

So, fellow writers, I throw down the gauntlet. Which book do you wish you had written?

Writing Challenge - My Submission

2011-07-12T19:47:00.003-05:00

The First Time by Joy Fielding

Rachel spent the last fifteen years being a loving and caring housewife. She had never experienced a weekend alone.

When her husband takes their four sons on a camping trip, Rachel has the whole house to herself for the first time.

On Friday night she curls up on the living room couch to read a mystery novel. her solitude is disrupted when the events in teh book begin to occur for her in her very own home, causing her to abandon her book and fight for her life.

Writing Challenge

2011-07-12T10:34:00.006-05:00

Is everybody really busy this summer with family and summer activities? Does anyone wish they could just sit down and write something totally mindless? Since we don't have another meeting until the end of the month, I have a challenge for you that should only take a few minutes and can be totally mindless, whimsical, fun.

Take a book that you have yet to read. Just from looking at the cover of the book write a synopsis of the story. It need not have anything to do with the real story behind the cover. Post the cover of the book and your synopsis on this blog. You can also share it with us at one of our meetings.

I must give credit where credit is due. I read this idea in a blog, The Bookish Type, as part of a contest. I thought it would be fun to do something a little different for our members. It's not the sort of idea we can use as a prompt because we don't have books readily available, and I'm not about to lug a bunch of books to a meeting. And if you're like me, I miss not having regular meetings. So consider this a meeting online.

Take a look at your "to be read" pile. Or, if you're like me, you may have a collection of books you have read but couldn't begin to remember what the story was about.

So take a little time and write something silly. Hopefully we'll get to read it here on the blog, and hear about it at our next meeting on July 24th.

Keep cool.

Meeting Minutes, June 26, 2011

2011-06-26T22:36:00.002-05:00

We welcomed Danielle who joined our group for the first time.

Kelli asked whether and when she should re-submit to a publisher after making revisions. She said they had responded that it required editing and that she made revisions and wants to re-submit. Marilyn suggesting writing them and telling them in the query letter that she had made the revisions as they suggested. Everyone agreed.

Sonja joined us after a lengthy absence (indoor soccer season is over for her son). She read the first chapter of the fantasy novel she has been working on and received lots of positive feedback. Sonja said she is thinking of writing a prologue. Everyone gave comments on the pros and cons of prologues. Most fantasy/Sci-Fi writers do start their novels with prologues. Others said readers want to be intrigued at the beginning and back story can be weaved into the story. Another suggested writing the prologue for herself, perhaps to look back on and insert the pieces of information where they fit in the story.

Nancy suggested checking Robert J. Sawyer's website, a Canadian Sci-Fi writer who has lots of info on his website.

Marilyn read a short story called "Professionalism".

The prompts were provided by Nancy. Most were song lyrics and Nancy posed the question if anyone knew from what songs. One she had hand-written in, "Do you know..." which brought up quite a few responses. "Do you know the muffin man?" "Do you know the way to San Jose?" I came up with another at home: "Do you know where you're going to? Do you know what life is showing you?" Then my daughters sang yet another song beginning with that phrase. Me thinks there may be many songs starting with "Do you know..." How many do YOU know?

Prompts:

1. Why I have writer's block. (not song lyrics)
2. It's written in the scriptures and it's written in blood.
3. She/he walked into an empty church...
4. I will speak no more...
5. If there is a choice...
6. From the broken hill...
7. The sun poured down like honey...
8. I forget to pray...
9. Do you know...

We never attempted to guess what songs the other prompts were from and I've drawn a complete blank. My father (The Music Man) is probably rolling over in his grave.

Kelli wrote "The sun poured like honey...". A sound affect made by another member caused Kelli to stop reading and laugh as the next line described that particular sound affect to a T. How convenient, Clare.

Sonja wrote from "She walked into an empty church...", a piece geared towards her novel.

Judy wrote from "I forget to pray", a dialogue between two friends about when to pray and what prayer is.

Marilyn wrote about "If there is a choice..."

Clare wrote, "Brother Basil walked into an empty church..."

Ron chose, If there is a choice between life and death... a thoughtful question which turned into a humorous story about a cat who caught a chipmunk.

Pat also wrote "I forget to pray" gearing it towards her novel.

Nancy and Danielle passed. Joe had to leave early but took the prompts with him. Hopefully we will hear a wee story from one of the prompts at a later date.

Anyone willing to do so, please post your prompt results here and share with others because frankly, I can't stay focused enough to write down everything. (Diane, where are you?)

Next meeting is July 24th. Clare will be leading.

Diane's Latest Update

2011-06-24T18:42:00.000-05:00

I've just updated my blog with the latest news.
I now have an agent!
I'll keep you all up to date!

WHAT INSPIRES ME TO WRITE

2011-06-23T21:35:00.003-05:00

Currently, I have 1 book published; a fictional, fun, and adventurous children’s picture book called, “AMBER AND THE FALLEN BRIDGE”. I have written my 2nd book, for which I’m currently seeking an agent/publisher, and I’m now writing my 3^rd book.

I don’t remember too much of what I wrote in English classes during elementary school, but I do remember my high school English classes and most of the time, my writing style was rather diverse from children’s stories to stories that were older and much darker. I’ve always enjoyed everything about English from spelling to grammar to punctuation, when to start a new paragraph, and even antonyms and synonyms. I loved learning knew words and kept a dictionary and thesaurus in my backpack for most of high school and college. I’ve taken several college programmes and I was always super excited when the teachers set essays.

As I mentioned in a previous entry entitled, LEARNING DISABILITY IS NOT A BAD WORD (please click on the link to read more about my experiences of having a learning disability as a child) I had a high school English teacher who continually encouraged me to keep up my writing skills and told me to never let go of my gift. His words stayed with me for many years after college; however, I put writing off to the side until I came across an ad in the newspaper in 2008 in my early 30’s advertising a course that taught how to write children’s books.

This is where my love for all that is English was re-awoken and without hesitation, I sent away for the course; it was a home study programme. Within a matter of 6 months, I completed the course, not because the programme was easy, but because I thoroughly enjoyed it; I ate, slept and breathed it.

In my same above mentioned entry, where I talked about my experiences with a LEARNING DISABILITY IS NOT A BAD WORD as a child, it wasn’t until I was in Grade 5 when I was suddenly able to read and spell. Before then, I could only spell if someone told me how to spell any given word, other than my name. I had several tutors at school as well as home, and my parents continually sat with me trying to help me learn to read, but nothing was sticking. Before Grade 5, my favourite books were Beatrix Potter’s complete series, and since I couldn’t yet read, I enjoyed looking at her beautiful illustrations of the adorable animals wearing clothes, and acting like people. I had never seen anything like that before, and I become completely captivated. I made up stories by looking at the pictures.

All of a sudden, one day in Grade 5, it was like a light had been switched on. I remember as if it were yesterday; all the kids were seated on the floor in groups ranging from beginner to advanced spelling, with a teacher sitting with each group. I was automatically put in the beginner spelling group. The rule for all groups was that each student had to score a perfect 10 out of 10 before graduating to a higher level spelling group. There were 5 spelling groups altogether. At first try in the beginner group, I scored 10 out of 10 and continued to do so with the other groups, while all the teachers were baffled. When I graduated up to the fifth group, I remember the teacher with that group looked at me shocked that I had made it all the way to the most advanced spelling group from the beginner group. Well guess what? Again on my first try in the most advanced spelling group, which was called, “The Stars”, I scored 10 out of 10. I was spelling words I hadn’t learned yet and I was the only one scoring 10 out of 10 consecutively. As a matter of fact, I quickly became bored and even asked for harder words. She didn’t oblige me.

Another inspiration that made a big impact on me was C. S. Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” series. I began reading the books toward the end of elementary school and here again, I was captivated by the imagination and creativity of the storyline, and I couldn’t put the books down. The very thought of stepping into a wardrobe and entering into a whole new world full of adventure fascinated me. The imagination and creativity of such an idea blew me away and I hung on every word.

Other things that inspire me are everyday little things and occurrences I see or do, and some of them could be something simple to help me finish a story, or inspire a completely new idea for another story.

Imagination and creativity is all around you, you just need to be open to it and never forget that there are no boundaries, because you’re the one giving life to your story. No one can take that away from you.

Visit my blog page :-) http://kelli-curtis.blogspot.com

Annual Writing Retreat June 12

2011-06-21T14:39:00.002-05:00

I am sorry I am taking so long to do a write-up on this but things are a little crazy. I did manage to post some writing so I will just post the links in this blog.

In attendance at our annual Writing Retreat at Eramosa Eden this year were: Alberta, Gloria, Marilyn, Clare, Ron, Ashley, Judy and Patricia. The weather was overcast and a bit chilly. Clare wrote outside while the rest of us found different corners inside the cottage. It was an enjoyable and productive day. Take a look at what I've written:

http://writinghood.com/writing/writing-retreats/

and from my prompt:

http://authspot.com/poetry/the-dance-23/

Due to scheduling conflicts at the church, our August writing session will take place on Sunday, August 28th. Marilyn will be leading.

Our next meeting is this Sunday, June 26th, at 1:30pm. Judy is scheduled to lead.

Judy Zarowny's Writing Prompts for May 29, 2001

2011-05-29T18:33:00.018-05:00

Kelli Curtis, Published Childrens Author - AMBER AND THE FALLEN BRIDGE

Thanks for the wonderful prompts, Judy Zarowny.

I chose #4: A broken heart was the worst of the injuries she suffered when the device placed under the hood of her car, miss-fired.

"Oh shucks, I don't think that's good!" she said allowed to herself. She was parked at a red light and traffic was congested both ways. She quickly looked around her and thought to herself, 'does anyone think that was from my car? Nah, just do a quick make-up check in the mirror, keeping looking ahead and smile. They'll all think it's someone else's car'. All the while, black smoke continued to billow up from the engine. She wasn't exactly the sharpest tack; the lights were on, but no one was home - ya know what I mean?!?!

Please check out my blog :-) http://www.kelli-curtis.blogspot.com

What's The Difference Between a Writer and an Author?

2011-05-29T17:46:00.002-05:00

In my opinion, a writer can apply interesting, informative words to a known subject, thought or situation. Besides the skill for transmission of information, the words and formation of the work can be enjoyed for itself. A sound example of this writing in my memory would be McKenzie Porter who wrote a column in a Toronto newspaper for many years.

On the other hand an author is compelled to write about something that interests or inspires his/her creative juices. An author "thinks outside the box" and creates feelings in the work. Often times an author will introduce new ideas, new facets to old ideas and change trends in social norms. Dickens, Shakespeare, J.K. Rowlings, etc. form a tiny example.

Written by Joe Gilbey

Meeting Minutes May 29, 2011

2011-05-29T15:36:00.001-05:00

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."

Hecticity 101

2011-05-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know, hecticity isn't really a word. I made it up.
Sometimes our lives seem to spin around us at such a rate that we don't bother to reflect on things that happen on a daily basis. I'm certainly guilty of this. There are many days I crawl in bed at night and wonder what exactly happened from the time I got up until then. Today, my pace has slowed slightly.

My van got stuck this morning.
In the usual rush to leave the lake after a very wet morning of rowing, my tires spun and clung onto nothing but mud. No traction, a ticking clock and a line of cars behind me. Lucky for me, there was no time to panic. Instantly, two voices asked, "Do you need help?" Before I knew it, two rowers, high school boys my son's age, and my oldest son, were behind my van pushing. They had it out in a blink. I yelled, "Thank you" and went on my way.

Don't think I'm callous. I know who they were and I'll see them tomorrow. All the way home, I plotted ways to thank them. My favourite, a Tim Horton's gift card. What teenager doesn't love Timmies? That's what I will give them tomorrow.

But the story doesn't end there.

I went home, caught up a few chores then went to run a few errands. I grabbed a shopping cart in Walmart - which ended up being the only dry cart in easy access - and turned to see a young mom with a toddler. She was the one who remarked about the carts being wet. I gave her mine. Okay, not a life shattering choice, but it made her shopping trip easier than having a grumpy, wet toddler.
And it made us both smile.

Sometimes taking notice of life around you, means making someone else's day brighter.
It can also make for some great story ideas and make you feel a little better about yourself.

I Apologize & I Thank You

2011-05-17T15:42:00.000-05:00

Below are 2 emails; after attending this past weekend's HWG meet where we discussed the guidelines and cleared a lot of confusion from it, I emailed Nancy with an apology b/c I felt very bad for not acknowledging everything she has done for the group since founding it. I also mentioned other members who work hard behind the scenes to keep things going whom I want to apologize to and thank as well. I never stopped to think about everything that everyone does to make this group possible and FUN .... for myself ... I guess I've been taking it all for granted.

Please read the 2 emails from myself (Kelli) to Nancy:

--- On Mon, 5/16/11, Kelli Curtis <kelli.curtis@ymail.com> wrote:

From: Kelli Curtis <kelli.curtis@ymail.com>
Subject: Nancy, I apologize and I Thank You
To: njd411@yahoo.com
Received: Monday, May 16, 2011, 10:20 PM

Hi Nancy,

I feel really stupid for responding the way I did to your apology email after sitting in on the HWG meet this past weekend. I'm so sorry. I had no idea of all the things you do behind the scene to keep the group running as well as the tireless efforts of Pat, Diane and Clare ... and anyone else I haven't mentioned (I am still suffering from a loss of short term memory as part of one of many side effects of a medication I've been on for too long and have to be taken off of slowly ... so I apologize for my ignorance).

I love this group and thoroughly enjoy myself every time. For some crazy reason, it never occurred to me to stop and think about all the people who make the group what it is. I feel guilty for that. Until this weekend, I only knew that you founded the group, I had no idea you did a lot more.

Thank you, Nancy for everything you do and all the hours you and everyone else puts into making the HWG the fun, amazing group it is. Thank you.

Kelli Curtis Published Children's Author

AMBER AND THE FALLEN BRIDGE

AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR ONLINE BOOK STORES

My Facebook Author Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelli-Curtis/193850850641145

My Blog: http://www.kelli-curtis.blogspot.com

Follow Me On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KelliCurtis1

***NANCY'S RESPONSE***:

Hi Kelli,

Please don't feel stupid ... nobody else in the group realized what I did either. Maybe only the other members that help run the group understand. Please, don't feel bad.

Thank you for your kind words. I treasure them. You don't know how much they mean to me.

Blessings always

Nancy

Meeting Minutes, May 15, 2011

2011-05-15T17:55:00.002-05:00

We were joined by a new member, Brenda Wainman. Welcome Brenda!

Most of the meeting was taken up with discussion of the group guidelines. Many changes were suggested and agreed upon. A revised copy will be sent to all members. Please print out your own copy upon receipt.

In the future, once finalized, the group guidelines will be attached to the welcome letter Pat gives to new members, along with the meeting schedule.

We had some time left over for a couple of people to read and to do prompts. The prompts provided by Clare were:

1. How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb?

2. You won't believe what came in the mail today.

3. It was a bright, starry night that the traveling circus rolled into town.

The next meeting is May 29th. Judy will be leading.

$60,000 Canadian Non-Fiction Prize Announced

2011-05-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/11/writers-trust-award.html

My How Time Flies!

2011-05-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

This spring marks my fourth year with the HWG. What a remarkable journey so far!
During my membership with the group, I have written several novels and short stories, been published in magazines and two anthologies and won a writing contest that will see my novella published this winter. (Stay tuned for more info!)

As tends to happen in spring, things grow. Along with the flowers and weeds, my family responsibilities are taking me away from both writing and the group for a while - at least until late summer or fall. One of the remarkable things dragging me off this spring is watching my oldest son compete in several regattas. He is a rower and today I had the pleasure of watching (from VERY close up in a coach boat) his strength and determination while he and his teammates, who are juniors, race a boat load of seniors. True, the younger team had a 20 second head start, but they gritted their teeth and actually tied the older team. A first for them this season.

What amazed me the most about being on the lake was that time stood still. It seemed like we were out there for hours when it was only one hour. It seemed like we had circumnavigated the globe at top speed, yet it was only a few kilometres. How deceiving.

Writing is a lot like that. How many days have I written dozens of pages only to discover it's only been an hour since I sat down? There are times when things go smoothly and the words flow like honey from our fingers. Of course, there are many other days when we push so hard that we hit the wall. I saw an example of that today as well. One of the rowers pushed himself so hard that he literally collapsed. Those are the days that we need to, as the rower did, sit back and take a deep breath.

It's when we stop pushing that the words and energy flows. We need to relax the hunched shoulders and focus on nothing which is usually easier said than done. Our mission as writers is not to push until we drop from exhaustion. It is to release the stories and ideas from our minds, not coaxing or coercing them into life, but letting them live. Like children.

Have a wonderful, wonderous spring!

Meeting Minutes, May 1, 2011

2011-05-02T16:53:00.002-05:00

We had a small group of 7 this week.

Clare shared some beautiful photos of birds of prey he took in Wales. He is writing an article to accompany some of these photos and will be submitting it to Sideroads Magazine. He pointed out the Orangeville connections.

Nancy read a small part from a short story she submitted to a short story contest.

Dorothy Papineau joined us for her second time and shared some poetry she had written.

Joe read a letter he wrote to the President of Hydro One complaining about a high bill he received, and responses he received from his original complaint.

Technical difficulties prevented us from viewing Marilyn's movie on Pat's laptop. We will view "Thicker Than Water" at a future meeting, or at the retreat. Instead Marilyn read an essay regarding email etiquette emphasizing that many people are still on dial-up and pictures and videos take forever to download. Marilyn's final words: "When all else fails, delete the suckers."

For prompts Marilyn brought her prompt jar and passed it around. We each took a prompt and were given 15-20 minutes to write. Everyone's writings were fun. The prompts picked were:

1. When you were little, you could swear there was a monster under your bed - but no one believed you. On the eve of your 30th birthday, you hear noises coming from under the bed once again. The monster is back and has an important message to deliver to you.

2. Write a story about two brothers who are competing for the affection of the same woman.

3. You head into the bathroom at work, walk into a stall and close the door. Moments later, as you leave the stall, you notice two people standing there and there's one major problem: They are of the opposite sex. On the spot, you make up an excuse as to why you are in the bathroom.

4. Your plane crashes on a deserted island. You and two other passengers survive. The only salvageable items from the plane are a pair of scissors, a stopwatch and an electric keyboard. Use these items creatively to get off the island.

5. You're late for work because you overslept, but your boss hates over-sleepers. He does love entertaining stories, so create the most outlandish excuse as to why you were late.

6. Your friend tells you he can pick up any girl at the bar, no matter what he says. You bet him $100 he can't. Create the world's worst pick-up line and send your friend off into the crowd. What happens?

7. The countdown clock for Christmas is ticking. Santa's elves begin working their magic on the assembly lines, but the line comes to a screeching halt when rumours leak that one elf is going to get let go that day.

Note: Some, if not all, prompts came from Writer's Digest.

The next meeting is Sunday, May 15th.

Meeting Minutes April 17, 2011

2011-04-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

Nancy opened the meeting by reminding us that the focus needs to be on writing and that sometimes we stray from that. Because of that an Executive has been formed consisting of current members who have active duties within the group: Nancy, Clare, Shirley, Pat and Diane. Nancy presented a document of guidelines prepared by the Executive. This will be emailed to those who were not in attendance. Anyone who has any suggestions, please email Nancy. A final copy will be posted on the website.

Jayne presented an anthology to which she contributed called A Second Cup of Apple Cider prepared by World Vision Canada. You may purchase a copy for $20, or $15 each for multiple copies. You can check the following links: www.hotapplecider.ca and www.thatslifecommunications.com.

Marilyn read a piece she wrote called "Embracing Change" - a very thought provoking essay about how we can't go back, only move forward.

Jayne read a bit from her story "What's Next?" from A Second Cup of Apple Cider. This story is also about change which prompted the discussion that as we approach middle-age, "What do I want to be when I grow up?"

Ashley announced that she finished the first chapter of her book entitling it "The War on Words". She read this to the group.

Ron read from his book with the working title "Courage in the Cauldron". In reading it aloud, Ron realized there were things he wanted to change. Nancy said, "That's why we read aloud." The group discussed the need to add emotion to historical facts. We need to find our own voice.

At this point Nancy advised that Wayne Townsend will be speaking about war at the Grand Valley Library this Tuesday, April 19.

April is National Poetry Month. Nancy was going to bring her bag of words she uses for our annual poetry workshops but she found this morning that the cat had peed on them. So, Nancy has no words. Imagine that!

So to create a new bag of words, Nancy asked us all to write down 10 or more words and she would create a new set of poetry prompt words for future use. In the meantime, we did pass the pages we made two people to the left and members were invited to use those, or Nancy also provided a separate page of prompts.

Judy, Clare, Marilyn, Pat, Jayne and Ashley all used the words to write poetry.

On the sheet Jayne received from Ron was the word pejorative. Jayne asked Ron what that meant. Here, as provided by Merriam-Webster is the definition I found: "to become worse, having negative connotations, tending to disparage or belittle. syn. DEPRECIATORY."

Ron wrote about back in time, an event when he was 5 or 6 years old. "Yesterday was...." a description of his aunt's house and a delicacy of blue cheese on bologna. I noticed a lot of pejorative faces around the room. (Yeah, I had to throw that in there).

Nancy wrote about having writer's block and creativity not being nurtured as a child. She stresses B.O.C. - Butt On Chair.

Prompts were provided courtesy of A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves and The Write Brain Workbook by Bonnie Neubauer.

1. Moving into the new house...

2. Darkness comes at three in the afternoon (after Robert Bly)

3. Write about an important, big-time event in your childhood. Write in first person as if you are, once again, that age and it just happened. Use child-appropriate language. Don't worry if it turns out to be more fiction than fact. Start with "Yesterday was..."

4. Or write about the same event, but as an adult looking back. Don't worry if the story changes this time as you go with the flow. Start with "If I could go back in time to the day when..."

5. It's only a teeny-weeny little lie...

The next meeting is May 1st. Gloria or Marilyn will be leading.

P.S. Diane, I really suck at this so please come back!

Written by: Mary Patricia Bird

Elora Writers' Festival Writing Competition

2011-04-15T16:09:00.001-05:00

Elora Writers' Festival invites entries for their 8th annual writing competition.

Submit your poetry or prose (short story/personal essay) on any theme. Prizes: $100, $75, $50. Age categories: adult (19+) and young writers. Submission length: prose maximum 2000 words, poetry no more than 75 lines. Entry fee for the adult category only, $15. Deadline is Postmarked by Friday April 29, 2011. The winners will be announced at the 17th annual Elora Writers' Festival on Sunday May 29. For details and contest entry form: www.artscouncil.elora.on.ca (Writing Competition link). Thank you, Julia Browne Chair, Elora Writers' Festival Writing Competition http://www.artscouncil.elora.on.ca/(519)497-0933

Writing Characters Workshop, Orangeville

2011-04-10T21:28:00.005-05:00

The Headwaters Writers Guild presents …
“How to find and create great characters”
Saturday, June 4~ Space still available ~10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Tweedsmuir Presbyterian Church, 6 John Street, Orangeville

Whatever you're writing - fiction or nonfiction - readers will care about your story only if they care about your people. In this workshop, you'll learn techniques for creating fictional characters and depicting real people.
You’ll learn how to breathe life into the page so that your characters start telling you how the story should go. Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years.

He teaches at Ryerson University and has led creative writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee for members of the Headwaters Writers’ Guild: $35.40 plus hst = $40 paid in advanceor $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

Fee for members of the general public: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advanceor $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

To register, please make out a cheque to Brian Henry and mail it to: Brian Henry, 110 Reiner Road, Toronto, ON M3H 2L6

A New Article in the Orangeville Banner

2011-04-05T18:58:00.000-05:00

Feel free to visit my blog to check out my latest item in the Orangeville Banner!
http://www.dbator.blogspot.com/

I Was Bullied As A Child

2011-04-05T18:29:00.004-05:00

Hello,

I'm a member of the HWG and I recently finished writing a new blog entry about my experiences of being bullied as a child, and sadly, bullying is now on the rise with today's presence of the internet, YOUTUBE and cell phones. My hope in sharing this blog entry is to help bring more awareness to this serious problem and maybe it will inspire someone who is being bullied to know that they have self-confidence if they look inside themselves.

The world would be an awfully boring place if we were all the same, so own it! :-)

CLICK HERE TO READ MY LATEST BLOG ENTRY ABOUT BULLYING

Please come on over to by blog page and read my new entry entitled, CLICK HERE TO READ MY LATEST BLOG ENTRY ABOUT BULLYING

Meeting Minutes April 3, 2011

2011-04-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

Clare led today's meeting, armed with chocolate treats from Dorothy to rev our blood sugar! Thank you Dorothy!!!

Jayne announced that on April 17 the church will be hosting a Pancake Breakfast/Lunch including pancakes and much more. Everyone is invited to attend, donations will be accepted. Breakfast will be served at 11:30am after Palm Sunday Mass. Come out and support our generous hosts if you can.

We have sent a tentative retreat day for Saturday, June 11 at Eramosa Eden. Nancy will confirm this with the ladies at Eramosa and an email will go out to all members.

Marilyn brought a box of books to share with everyone and ended up taking home about half of what she came with. Nancy asked her what kind of books she brought. Marilyn replied "I have very Catholic tastes and there are all kinds." The leftover novels will go with her to the Elora Festival.

Joe announced that he has rented a table at the Erin Home Show at Centre 2000 on April 30th to sell his books. He will be provided with 2 chairs, a table and electricity. His website, for all interested in checking out his books is http://www.grafspee.com/. He will be adding new articles to his webpage this year and answering questions his readers may have.

Marilyn's movie will be screened on Friday April 22 at the Regency Theatre in Kitchener. There will be screenings for 6 films in all and the evening starts at 7pm.

Readings:
Nancy hated to admit it, but she has become a bit obsessive. She has been researching her family tree and finds the mystery addictive. She read a great piece about her latest obsession.

Marilyn wrote about the boxes we put ourselves in. How we set boundaries and limit beliefs for ourselves. Virtual boundaries.

Kelli read two query letters for Amber and the Bully. One was her original query letter, the other was a revised version. The group advised her to make it shorter, add the genre and age range for the book, and google query letters for children's books. Jayne advised her that the query letter has to have the same tone as the book and that writing query letters are even harder than writing the actual book. Marilyn said that the hook is everything.

Diane read from a short story written for Wynterblue's 24 contest on March 26, 2011.

Jayne's husband popped in to announced that Caitlyn's mom is out of surgery and doing well. Caitlyn says hi to all!

Prompts:
Clare did an exercise on similes and metaphors.
Similes are comparisons using like or as. Example: "Muscles like a Clydesdale on steroids."
Metaphors are comparisons that don't. Example: "He had the build of a pregnant fire hydrant."

He did a reading from An Irish History of Civilization by Don Akenson. The line he chose to describe himself was "He died as he had lived, a dung heap covered in flies." We received three pieces of papers for the prompt.

1) Images
This sheet contained several examples of similes and metaphors. A few examples are:
         1) Fat fingers like a cluster of grapes
         2) Paper thin personality
         3) Brisk as a walk in the snow
         4) Soaring on the wings of time

2) Something to Write Home About
This sheet gave a list of 10 words that we needed to write similes or metaphors for.
a) cold
b) limp
c) happy
d) ugly
e) sad
f) busy
g) harmless
h) intoxicated
i) lonely
j) skinny

3) Prompts
And, finally, the prompts!!!
Write based on one of the images of the following:
a) My earliest childhood memories stirring marvellous shadows on the wall
b) There is no enemy to fight but silence as he sits motionless in blue veils and sculptured folds
c) After plunging back into the deep waters of sleep, he awakened feeling like a lump of wet clay.
d) Waves of laughter rippled through the crowd
e) Today the wind is blowing hard enough to knock the hair off a dog.
f) He possessed the sincerity of a salesman's smile
g) He raised his hands for silence and, in a moment, you could hear a fairy whisper.
h) "Now there was a brawl!" Conor said ....Tore the fucking place apart. It was a donnybrook of      monumental scope. Bodies flying, furniture smashing, the girls screaming. One of the most beautiful evenings I ever spent in my life. Anyhow...I was fortunate to make a successful exit just as the police arrived.
i) Aw, look at the size of him, would ye. With them feet of his, he'd keep right on standing a long time after they shot him.

A few samples from our writers:
Marilyn - "Her face resembled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
Marilyn (who was on a roll!) - "As trustworthy as a dieting crocodile."
Jayne - "Uglier than a bald rooster."
Diane - "The cold lashed through him like a horseman's whip."

Everyone picked through Marilyn's books and Nancy showed us a book written by one of her ancestors that contains letters written by her great-grandfather!

For those of you who are not aware: April is Poetry Month.

Our next meeting is April 17, 2011. Reminder that there is a pancake breakfast taking place right before the meeting. Everyone is welcome!

Personal and Global revolution—who started this war anyway?!

2011-03-29T19:40:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone.

I recently wrote a comment on a blog about the role of women in Egypt’s current political revolution. (See, http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/the-women-of-egypt-a-strong-defiant-force/).

I’m interested in these issues because I have a friend in Egypt, and more than usual lately, our discussions have been stretching my thinking about the possible practical implications of Self-to-self learning. The current Middle East situations represent a clear example of the traceable pathways of creating reality from the inside out of individual concept, into the sociopolitical global arenas of collective action.

In any country, political revolution is actually only a first step to the kind of “real” revolution, which strives to re-design, realistically, the social fabric of real people’s lives. Everywhere, people are recognizing that for any new political structure to be accepted, it will have to grow up from the “a priori” common-law of human rights, as the ideological-social mandate of the people who spark revolution. Ultimately, the life-force of any government’s legitimacy, the ability of any regime’s political power to bind together the comprehensive diversities of every country’s sociopolitical fabric, depends on its mutualistic socioeconomic heartbeat!

There are many who see the aftermath of any sort of revolution with starry-eyed hope, believing that they can invent legitimate authority as political legality, out of the smoldering ashes that are actually social uprising, forgetting that it is inevitably the “cri de coeur” (heart’s cry) for social and economic justice that lights the fuse of all revolution. The corrupt political-power regimes that grotesquely continue to struggle to derail mutual democratic reform for their citizens are under siege across all nations of this world. There are those involved in many struggles against political, social, economic, scientific, medical, educational, cultural, religious/psychological domination-power ploys, who fully understand reality’s human rights as a life-necessity.

If you’ve been reading the material on this site, either on this forum here, or at (http://selftoself.com/messages/amesshome_sum.htm (click the article headings), you will surely be able to connect these dots of creative power. The Self-to-self understandings that underlie our personal, individual responsibility for the intimate reality we each privately create are the same understandings that uphold our social responsibility for our shared world reality that we collectively create.

To grasp the beginnings of our global equity-issues we need look no further than our own lives in our own countries. (The rallying call of feminism, that “the personal is political”, is still true). The world over, each country still struggles to fully implement women’s socioeconomic equality, not just as a political matter, but as part of common-law human rights issues that all countries still squabble with. (Simply look at the current, readily available list ranking countries that consistently undervalue and underpay women’s labour regardless of political endorsement.)

To my mind, the legitimacy of any popular revolution (social or political) arises from the grass-roots grasp of the unifying principle of equalitarian human rights for ALL citizens. Any understanding of human rights and freedom begins with the recognition of the global realities of patriarchy's primary injustice (in varying degrees) that denies women equal social-economic rights. This irrational domination is a power-identity problem that over-rides fact and intelligence at every turn. This false, illogical conceptual view of human identity is the origin of religious sexism clothed in cultural and political ideology and steeped in centuries of historic fictionalization, that too often, still rules people’s lives. Patriarchy’s Self-to-self dishonesty to fact and motive (masquerading under many names), is the original corruption of the universal human truth about human power, and thereby a debasement of human identity. Fundamental Human Rights are by nature, equal rights.

Only such a revolutionary understanding of the roots that currently continue to grow (manifest) this unjust reality, can break the operational hold of sanity-slaughtering political regimes designed specifically to keep humankind blindly perpetuating these sorts of experienced, dominative, petrified power-paradigms.

Clarity of thought need not take generations to electrify into mass revolt against barbarity; truth has no timetable in the current culture of the World Wide Web’s open communication. The generational evolvement of human mind (and spirit) has been naturally progressing, with or without the corrupt, inherited, power-players consent. Time alone can no longer sustain the manufactured, mass ignorance that once held the old guard of degenerate power patterns in place. This is the real hope for a new reality for all people.

As women in every country define their equal rights by joining in humanity's struggles for sane and equitable world development, humanity will redefine itself both ideologically and operationally, from every layer of its learning, as its own growing Self-to-self knowledge. We each need to do our own learning in order to support rational revolution as both personal inward knowledge, and social global enlightenment. We each need to recognize that our own struggles, be they the individual revolutions that overthrow private tyrannical belief systems or the social-political revolutions of whole counties that strive to do the same, are rooted in the very same misidentification of human nature into domination-subordination power.

Regardless of any overarching characteristics that might seem to divide and separate us as the human family, the injustice of denying fundamental human rights to any people, spans every heart, to join us in the common struggle for freedom and dignity for all people. That effort begins within our individuated heart and mind, as each of us frees ourselves from the tyranny of our own irrational power-identity.

Pleading ignorance is fast becoming an illegitimate claim, as our world lurches toward increasingly dire circumstances in every direction; yet humanity’s collective hope is in our collective wisdom to change our own path—if we choose to. Rationality is a choice. Using one’s own intelligence is a choice. Learning is a choice. No one can make me, and no one can stop me. So in the Middle East, in China, in Africa, in our own back yards, in our homes, schools, churches, parliaments, who started this war anyway?

Best Regards,
Spinfo

Chicken Soup for the Soul Update

2011-03-27T14:31:00.002-05:00

The editors of the Chicken Soup series of books are preparing a whole new set of books. They will only publish if they get enough good stories. Keep up to date on what they are working on. http://www.chickensoup.com/form.asp?cid=possible_books

Tried the prompts!

2011-03-25T11:15:00.000-05:00

While I couldn't make the last meeting, I did try my hand at Pat's interesting prompts. Here's what I came up with:

The glamorous being, besieged by tears, stood in a huddle with a ponderous roman and gave her eroded account of events. Her heavy heart wounded by the cubic zirconia her lover had presented. In a red liquid phobia, she’d descended on him like an Indian on cotton, her fitness no flicker. The release of tears and wails continued while he scrolled steep lists of emails, tidy in his iPhone. There would be an ovation, the dead man’s fame already made him immortal against all the odds. It would be a cinch that after this, the woman would junk the jug of wine.

FITNESS

2011-03-21T18:26:00.004-05:00

I chose the word, "fitness" from out list of prompts at our last writing meet, March 20th. One word jumped out at me and reminded me of a few conversations I've had with doctors. The actual conversations didn't go as described below, but that's what imagination and embellishment are for: :-)

Fitness, fitness, fitness! I feel like a bloody machine! I workout every day, well .... I give myself one day off at least. God, I hate exercising! I keep hearing that it eventually becomes easy and fun ... 'eventually' is nowhere in site to be found.

"Lose weight, eat healthier, and exercise more or I'll put you on cholesterol medication" instructed the doctor.

"Oh God, NO! Anything but that! I'll do it .... I'll eat better, I'll exercise more. I don't want go on the medication; you take it to fix a problem, but then you need different medication for the side effects of the first medication!" I said.

"Well, that's true" said the doctor with a slight smile on his face.

Check out my blog page @ http://www.kelli-curtis.blogspot.com

Glamorous And Other Prompt Words

2011-03-21T17:50:00.003-05:00

Dictionary Dip Words: glamorous, being, huddle, erode, roman, ponderous, beseige, account, heavy, heart, cubic, release, scroll, steep, tidy, ovation, fame, cinch, junk, cotton, liquid, immortal, odds, red, descend, jug, fitness, phobia, indian, flicker.

I never felt more glamorous than when I stood on the stage receiving a standing ovation for my performance of a Roman Emperor. I originally turned down the role of the heavy set male character. I am female and I feared I couldn't do the role justice. What were the odds that I would be convincing? But the beseige of requests eroded away at my phobia and I rose to the challenge.

Like a jug of liquid, I poured my heart into the role. I took into account his entire being. My soul decended into the steep hallows of this immortal man.

And now, as I stand on the 60 cubic foot stage dressed in a red cotton robe, a scroll in my hand, I release a happy sigh. No one cared about the indians huddled in the corner. They were junk to my tidy performance.

Flashes of cameras and flickers of light reflecting from diamond jewelry assaulted me. The applause, the cheering - this was fame, if only for 15 minutes.

(Though this exercise seemed like a cinch, I was ponderous as to how I could use all the words to boost my creative fitness.)

Meeting Minutes, March 20, 2011

2011-03-21T17:18:00.002-05:00

We had a small group due to the March Break and other stuff. Thank you to those who attended.

Kelli read her rejection letters from Harper Collins Canada and Scholastic Canada. They both told her they don't accept unsolicited manuscripts but one read her story regardless. Pat said she believed Kelli's query letter indicating the story was based on her own experience played a role in that. Members gave Kelli advice about checking publisher websites for their guidelines and recommended websites writersdigest.com and writing.com for information.

A question arose that no one had an answer for. If anyone knows, please feel free to share. Kelli submitted to Harper Collins Canada. Would it be okay to submit separately to Harper Collins U.S.? In any case, can you submit to a company AND their sister company in the U.S.?

Joe read an article he wrote 15 years ago about his visit to an Istanbul marketplace which was published in Roots Magazine. Though the marketplace was well described, Clare said he felt the smells and sounds were missing. Joe said he was writing to a specific market.

Judy read a poem, "Mother", she plans to present at an event at Alton Mills the first weekend of May. (I checked Alton Mills website but couldn't find an event fitting this category). When asked about "Fat and Other F Words" Judy said she is considering self-publishing.

Pat has been busy with various deaths in the family but promised to writing something about her aunt's last days.

For prompts Pat, a fill-in leader for a fill-in leader for a fill-in leader, chose to do Dictionary Dip. Since there was no time to advise people to bring a dictionary for this purpose, she did her own dipping and came up with the following words:

glamorous
being
huddle
erode
roman
ponderous
beseige
account
heavy
heart
cubic
release
scroll
steep
tidy
ovation
fame
cinch
junk
cotton
liquid
immortal
odds
red
descend
jug
fitness
phobia
indian
flicker

The idea is to take one word and write about it - prose, poem or whatever.

Of course Judy circled the words beginning with "f" and chose to write about fame and, of course, was able to include many other "f" words.

Clare used the words heavy, release and flicker about an experience with "heavy" luggage in an airport.

Ron used all but one word - fitness.

Ashley used the words fame and ovation.

Kelli wrote about the word fitness, inspired by a conversation she had with her doctor.

Pat used all but 3 words - fitness, cinch and ponderous.

Pat urged members to post their exercise on the blog. I also recommend that this be done more often, where appropriate.

The next meeting is Sunday, April 3rd. Clare will be leading. Hopefully Diane will be back to take notes. She does a much better job.

Next Headwaters Writers' Guild Meeting

2011-03-16T14:52:00.003-05:00

I know some people are away due to March Break. Please advise whether you will be attending, as opposed to NOT attending. (Obviously, if people are away they may not get this notice and cannot respond).

We meet this Sunday, March 20th, 1:30pm, at Tweedsmuir Church in Orangeville. Leader Swap: Marilyn will be leading.

Murder In Hum Harbour

2011-03-08T13:34:00.002-06:00

There's a sleuth on the loose.

I am pleased to announce that Murder In Hum Harbour: A Seaglass Mystery will be available in paperback and e-book in October 2011.

It is part of Harbourlight Books' new mystery imprint.

Jayne E. Self

CREATIVITY

2011-03-08T12:40:00.003-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49x6V_xLGFs&feature=related

A great video re creativity. The Change Artist Book - a novel.

It might answer the question why you're blocked or why you can't finish your novel, painting, or whatever creative work you may be working on.

I suggest you check it out.

Meeting Minutes March 6, 2011

2011-03-07T07:25:00.000-06:00

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." - Sir Francis Bacon

It was a much smaller group this week than in weeks past, but it was no less entertaining!
Jayne was leading this week and did a wonderful job.

Pat announced that we've decided on a June 4 date for our next Brian Henry workshop which will be about developing characters. He is leading a "Writing with Style" workshop in Guelph March 12.

Judy read a revised story called "Words from Beyond" that she sent to the Toronto Star Short Story contest. It was very well done and she got a well-deserved round of applause!

Marilyn was "channelling Isaac Asimov today" and read from her new blog! She has a great story about meeting Mr. Asimov.

Pat told us that "Diane inspired me to write about anything." She read us her story called "Stalker Mom" which was very funny and well done. We look forward to hearing where this story ends up!

Nancy was interviewed on CBC Radio this past Tuesday regarding her article about why she loves the f-bomb that was published in Facts & Arguements in the Globe and Mail in 2009. It got a lot of attention then and, with someone using the word at the Academy Awards last week, they called her up for her reaction.

Kelli was going to bring her rejection letters she's gotten since starting to submit her children's book to publishers. She forgot them at home, but will bring them next time.

Caitlyn read a piece from the POV of being a ghost walking through the world. Eerie and fascinating all at once.

Joe had a technical problem. He has saved most of his writing onto floppy disks and has bought a new computer that doesn't accept them. Pat said she has a reader that will allow him to transfer the info from his disks to the new computer. The general consensus was for him to email the info from his old computer to his new one. And to get an external harddrive.

And we come to The Prompts!
Jayne had a book she'd read called Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood and gave us an interesting assignment: we picked slips of paper with an emotion written on it from a plastic bag. We had to write about the emotion without using the word or any like it. We actually did this one twice since we ended up with lots of time to spare. The second time, she told us to close our eyes and feel the emotion before we wrote about it.

Some of the emotions we wrote about were:
sympathy, contentment, tenderness, hostility, hope, confusion, loneliness, love - parent/child, curiosity, forgiveness, despair, jealousy, revenge, suspicion, gratitude, restlessness, happiness, fear, surprise, anger, excitement, passion.

We all agreed that it was nice to not have the usual "prompts" and that our leaders are getting creative with the things to motivate us to write. It's nice to have some ideas that promote building our skills as writers.

Nancy told me to make a special note to Laura that Pat was especially funny this meeting.

Our next meeting is March 20. Nancy will be leading.
Come on out and write!

Nancy's Radio Interview

2011-03-06T20:21:00.001-06:00

Following is the link to Nancy's interview on CBC Radio regarding her article and opinions on the F-Bomb.

check the archives at http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/archives/

Kelli Curtis' New Blog Entry

2011-03-06T19:52:00.005-06:00

Hello, I'm a member of the Headwaters Writers' Guild aand I would like to share with you a piece I wrote from a prompt I was given at our most recent meet.

Please click on the link below to read my recent blog entry and while you're visiting my blog page, click on "LIKE" for my new Facebook Author Fan Page.

http://kelli-curtis.blogspot.com/2011/03/congestion.html

Writing Characters Workshop, Orangeville

2011-03-06T19:03:00.003-06:00

"Writing Characters," a full-day workshop, Sat, June 4, Orangeville, Ontario

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - now there's a character!
How to find and create great characters
Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Tweedsmuir Presbyterian Church, 6 John Street, Orangeville
Presented by the Headwaters Writers' Guild

Whatever you're writing – fiction or nonfiction – readers will care about your story only if they care about your people. In this workshop, you'll learn techniques for creating fictional characters and depicting real people. You’ll learn how to breathe life into the page so that your characters start telling you how the story should go.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led creative writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $40 paid in advance for HWG members only.
$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

Nancy's Debut on CBC Radio

2011-03-05T07:41:00.000-06:00

I'd just like to congratulate Nancy for her debut interview on CBC Radio during the lunch hour on Tuesday, March 1 regarding her article about the F-bomb. She did a fabulous job and sounded like she'd done this a hundred times or more!

Why I Write

2011-03-01T12:53:00.003-06:00

I never choose to write. My hand is drawn to a pen, and the pen to paper, like opposite poles on a magnet. When the pen hits the paper, the effect is like ink on a paper towel. The ink is drawn out, sometimes in the form of coherent thoughts, often not.

It's probably good that I also have an impossible to fight need to edit as well, because I can then turn that mess into English.

I see editing as being like sculpting. Trim a little here, a little there, and you are left with the beauty of the artist's original vision. I'm not so sure other people see editing in quite the same light.

When I'm not writing on paper, I'm writing in my head. I dream about my characters. While I sleep, I write scenes for them, create their lives beyond my story.

I worry that one day I'll wake my husband up by talking in my sleep to one of the male characters in my work-in-progress. This is likely why none of my characters are named after people I know.

I write because it's who I am. It's who I've always been. If somehow I managed to stop, I'd turn into one of the characters in my stories. And then I'd really have problems.

We're in Good Hands

2011-02-25T06:40:00.002-06:00

We can relax because the future is in good hands

Recently I attended a College of Management & Economics Student Association networking meeting.

This was their second networking event, whose intent was to bring the students and the community together to exchange ideas. This type of event gives students the opportunity to discover what opportunities lie in their community after they graduate, and gives busines people the opportunity to meet with their future employees and business associates.

It was a fascinating evening. These wonderful youg people are so full of hope and anticipation. They are filled with ideas and dreams and the successes they will achieve. It seems with every dream for themselves they have linked in a desire to give back. They are delightful, eager and, juicy and bursting with life. These young people are our future, and I can tell you we are all in good hands.

Yes, they will make mistakes, but not the ones we made. Their’s will simply be learning experiences, because they absorb things faster and are completely cable-ready for our burgeoning technilogical society. They are not daunted by change, but challenged by it.

There are no doubt times when we seem wise and exciting to them, and other times when we seem slow and plodding.

We do have something that may help them. It is called experience. I am sure they will eagerly make use of it. I only caution all of us with older heads to give of our wisdom willingly, but refrain from expecting them to follow the same paths on which we trod. They have their own and they must follow where it leads them. We cannot possibly tread in their shoes, so must resist the urge to lay down laws and rules and insist that ‘our way is best’. Because it is not. It is merely another way, a different way.

If you sometimes suspect that time is rushing you by and you feel as if you are getting older far too quickly, spend some time with a U of G student. You’ll be young again before you know it.

Marilyn

Why do I write?

2011-02-21T14:35:00.002-06:00

What’s in a story? Why does one read? And how does that eventually transmute itself into wanting to move beyond reading someone else’s stories and telling your own?

Keeping his head down, John crept slowly beside the house toward the open window. It wouldn’t do to be seen right now. If Ma saw him there’d be hell to pay and he’d be the one paying it. His ears still hurt from the boxing she’d given him earlier this morning. And that had just been for not moving fast enough. For deliberately disobeying her, he’d get a much harder whipping.

How does one come to feel for the people who infiltrate their way into one’s imagination? Who is “John”? Why did I think of him? How did I think of him? Do I care about him? Does his story matter?

“Mrs. Earl, you cannot home school John. You must have a valid graduation certificate of at least grade 12. You must submit a monthly report to the school board showing your curriculum and the results of John’s testing. We’ve told you this multiple times but you have yet to submit anything showing your qualifications or your adherence to the rules and regulations. This cannot continue!”

The man from the school board sure sounded angry, John thought. Bet Ma was gonna give it to him good. She hated being told what to do.

Sure enough, a steady stream of profanities erupted from John’s mother. Grinning, John hunched down on his haunches outside the window and listened. He could have told the people from the school board that today was not a good day to come by vexing Ma.

Da had been right smashed when he got home late last night and the fighting had begun almost as soon as he had staggered through the front door.

Ma had got in a few good yells and punches before Da had overcome her. The fighting and screaming had gone on for a good couple of hours. Finally, Da had lurched down the hall to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed.

What a story! Why write something like this? Do I care any more about this John than I did a few paragraphs ago? Is this a story anyone would want to read? Why am I even thinking about something like this? It’s not in my sphere of experiences (Thank God).

So, why is it in my head? And why do I want to see where it goes?

A few minutes later John watched the man and woman from the school board storm out of the house and across the lawn. As they made their way past the piles of broken and rusted car and tractor parts toward their nice, shiny car, now covered in dust from the unpaved Macon county road, the man muttered about rules, jurisdiction and - worst of all - the “law” who would be called immediately.

Yep, trouble was brewing.

Why write? Why create John?

The truth is, I'm not sure why I write. But John lives now and I must know his story.

Meeting Minutes February 20, 2011

2011-02-20T16:18:00.000-06:00

Wow, big group today. That and with other activities going on in the church, we ran out of chairs! First time ever! Oh, that and Gloria forgot her name(tag).

Kudos to Caitlyn for stepping in to fill Harry's shoes and take over his role as leader today and for the rest of the year. She did a great job keeping us all in line and the meeting humming along.

Ashley mentioned a group she has checked out and is becoming a part of called Me to We. It is an international group started in Canada, which sends aid to other countries. She thought it would be a great group for Richard and his daughter Eryn to check out to get an oxygen machine to the hospital she helped out in over in Africa. Me to We has a Facebook page which earns them $1 for every person who clicks "Like."

Anthology Update. Gloria is working on corrections and will have one more proof made up before the next printing. She will let us know via email when it is ready.

We had two new members today: Joe, a friend of Ruth's who writes about the Navy, and Dorothy, who lives at the Ecology Retreat and is a poet. We also welcomed back Judy M. who can only make it occasionally when her horses and the weather don't hamper her visits to the HWG!

Ruth announced that if anyone wanted to buy a copy of her book Mystical Verses directly from her, that she would give members of the guild a discount. You can also find her book at Artisan Store in Guelph and BookLore in Orangeville for $14.

Ashley treated us to a song she'd written after attending the Me to We meeting. The song was called Caged Bird and she also played guitar. One of the best lines commented on was "the cage was open, but you stayed." Pat was reminded of her dad, Mr. Bird, who passed away 5 years ago.

Jenn said Ashley's performance was a hard act to follow, but read from a journal entry about "experiencing life's eccentric journeys" and how it has brought her to us. Please check out Jenn's blog to read the entire article. Jenn, the warm fuzzy feelings are mutual. We are blessed to have you in our lives as well.

Ruth, as a membership co-ordinator for a group that dealt with the rules and regulations of self-publishing in Canada, got letters from all over the world and struck up a friendship with a man from Egypt. He works in downtown Cairo who sent a petition to her to support the uprising. When she told him she had lots of people sign it, he commented on how "courageous" Canadians are for signing it. She did some research and discovered there are only 4 publishers in all of Egypt. As a consequence of knowing this man and reading his emails and letters, she wrote an article about choices and how "life is a game of truth and consequences."

Ruth's article led to a discussion of freedom in the Middle East. Joe wondered "what is happening in the villages as opposed to the major cities?" We don't hear about the whole of Egypt, mostly Cairo. Dorothy gave her views as a tourist who visited Egypt in the 1980s. Nancy talked about women in Egypt, how they are fighting back against the sexual attacks and protesting side by side with the men.

Marilyn, on her turn to read, announced, "And now for something completely different." She read us her script that won Second Prize (!!!) in the Screen Writing Challenge. The theme was "Everything but Love" and involved a breakdown in communications. She and her partner had 4 days to prepare a 6 minute script they titled "The Heart of the Matter." One of my favourite lines from her scripte was: "Not only are we not on the same page, we're not even in the same library."
She has also had a movie accepted for show in "Local Focus" in Kitchener and was proud to announce that she finally posted her "Why I Write" prompt on the blog! Way to go, Marilyn!

Diane (that would be me) read a short piece from her story that won Wynterblue Publishing's Murder in Ink contest this month.

Prompts: Caitlyn had an interesting prompt for this meeting. We chose two pieces of paper, one from each of two bags. One was a question, one was a word we had to use in the piece we wrote.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept, is to take one of the questions I'll wrote below and one of the words below them and write for 10 minutes. Or 15 minutes. Or until your pen runs dry or explodes from the force.

Questions:
1) Are those your muffins?
2) What do you do when you're caught between a rock and a hard place?
3) Where's the corn on the cob?
4) Are we there yet?
5) Did you walk the dog?
6) How could he say that?
7) What did you do with the good plates?
8) What did the rancher say?
9) How come cat's butts go up when you pet them?
10) Why do I keep making the same mistakes?
11) Do dentists go to other dentists or do they just do it themselves?
12) What am I doing here?
13) Who is in charge?
14) Can a short person talk down to a taller person?
15) Is there an exception to the rule?
16) Who is in charge?
17) At a movie theatre, which armrest is yours?
18) Do butterflies remember life as a caterpiller?
19) How far can you fly east before you're heading west?

Words:
1) pudding (that one was for Richard, Caitlyn said.)
2) computer
3) moustache
4) disaster
5) egg
6) clock
7) lather
8) essential
9) razor
10) behind
11) repulsive
12) diamond
13) Navy
14) corner
15) radio
16) pavement
17) mist
18) tomato
19) manipulative

Our next meeting is March 6 and Jayne will be leading.
Happy Writing!

Why Do I Write

2011-02-20T08:45:00.002-06:00

I write because I breathe. Writing is such a part of this incarnation of me, that I would sooner stop breathing than put down my pen or turn off my computer’s word processor.

How I love that my muse never forsakes me. No matter where or when I am, ideas flood in, full with colour, complete with dialogue and characters who demand their own lives.

I often find myself thinking of writing topics when I am driving, and when recently I was mulling over my roots in South Africa, the visions of a story burst in on my thoughts. Thank goodness for voice record on my iPhone.

Perhaps to show you why I have such a passion for writing, I can share just a few sentences that exploded into my consciousness like verbal fireworks that day.

The scent of my Africa is a hot, metallic and musky taste upon my tongue, energetic, vigorous and bursting with life.

Africa is the dry and dusty edge of an ancient world filled with mystery and heralding the birth of man upon planet earth.

It is a land of flamboyant colours, all of which are mimicked in the exotic flora and fauna of this magnificent continent.

Sleek lionesses blend in with the tall yellow grassland, permitting them to stealthily approach their dinner. Their movements are so slight, that the slight sway of grass simply suggests a gentle but welcome African breeze, not the lithe approach of one who is seeking nourishment.

Spring time brings the fuzzy yellow blooms of acacia trees as if hundreds of soft downy newborn chicks were nestled in their branches. Sometimes beauty comes with unexpected claws. Acacias have long, strong and vicious thorns, ready to sting the hand that takes liberties.

Late summer reduces life-giving water holes to grey, cracked mud, where elephants can wallow in perfect camoflage. The cooling mud has the added benefit of reducing the annoying itch of parasitic insects on the hides of these magnificent creatures, who are in reality, the true king of beasts.

The vibrant red of the aloe is also a flash of brilliantly coloured wings of some of Africa’s many birds.

As I dictated this last sentence into my obedient iPhone, I arrived at my destination, still reflecting my enjoyment of my few moments immersed in the veldt of Africa replete with the smells, the sounds and the breezes of my childhood.

This passion for words and visions, that I commit to print, is the reason I know without reservation that when I write, I am enjoying the necessary breath of life.

Marilyn

Why I write

2011-02-15T10:24:00.009-06:00

As a child I was always day dreaming. I would expect most kids do this for different reasons, but I am wont to explore them all here. At times the day dreams would become pure fantasy with dreams of exotic places, and people, and they could get pretty wild, like the characters in those dreams. Sometimes it got scary, and many times it was just plain fun.

Examination of events in the '30's might give one pause to conclude that daydreaming was more intense during these tough times than today, because we had so little, having more 'goodies' seemed like an impossibility, so we dreamt about them . However, until the academic level rises high enough along with passing years precise conclusions are difficult. I always thought it was just fantasy, and meant nothing more, time has proven a different conclusion.

As a young boy, the fantasy thing was having stories run around in my head not really realizing that they were the seeds of authorship. A lot must be realized to begin putting these things down on paper then being noticed as an accomplished novice. Some are lucky enough to have an audience early in life, for me it has come very late, but I'm eternally grateful to those who have given me their acknowledgement.

Academics were a hard grind for me as a youth, but over the years as life experiences mellowed the urgings of youth, I found that writing was an important medium for expression, not to become famous or wealthy, but 'to get it out of me' and have that satisfied feeling writers get when even a small piece is published, or at least, put on paper for anyone to read regardless of how many do (or don't) read it. Like any life endeavour that fulfills we humans, writing can be addictive as well as rewarding. For this old guy it is still fun, and hopefully the rewards will come before the call comes to 'come home', and when it does, hopefully I will have left something for my survivors to enjoy, to feel proud to have known that something good was accomplished by someone they love. For "the best is yet to come".

Ron Lehman

PS Dear Diane: I have subscribed to a blog for a while now, but really didn't do anything with it until today. I found your 2009 birthday message and got to read it today. Many thanks for

the wishes. Ron.

Writing Characters Workshop, Orangeville

2011-02-13T13:28:00.002-06:00

"Writing Characters," a full-day workshop, Sat, June 4, Orangeville, Ontario

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - now there's a character!
How to find and create great characters
Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Tweedsmuir Presbyterian Church, 6 John Street, Orangeville.
Pesented by the Headwaters Writers Guild

Whatever you're writing – fiction or nonfiction – readers will care about your story only if they care about your people. In this workshop, you'll learn techniques for creating fictional characters and depicting real people. You’ll learn how to breathe life into the page so that your characters start telling you how the story should go.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led creative writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $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

Into the Unknown

2011-02-10T07:23:00.000-06:00

I was watching my kids do karate last night and an interesting thing happened.
One boy became overwhelmed at not being able to do the same kata, a set of movements that simulate a fight, that the others were doing. He'd only had his new belt for a few weeks and this was his first time doing that particular kata. This boy, E, was so frustrated that he cried through the entire exercise and had to sit aside to collect himself. While he was sitting, Sensei explained how this was something he still had to learn and not to worry, to take it a step at a time. What happened next made his point wonderfully.

Level by belt level, each group got up and were told to perform katas that they hadn't learned yet. This went on through Red, Green, Purple, Blue, Brown and, finally, the lone black belt in the class aside from Sensei. In each instance, there was at least one student who had no idea what they were doing and would run into other students or even have a foot stepped on. The class would burst into laughter. Most of them were under 10 and amused by the fact they weren't the only people stumbling and unsure. Even our new black belt was lost.

I drove home and commented to my own boys about what an interesting exercise it was.
It proved the point that we are always learning - even when we've achieve the pinnacle of our chosen activity or career. If you've stopped learning, it means that you've stopped listening or paying attention to the world around you.

As writers, we are constantly learning. The "rules" are frequently changing, the market fluctuates and we have to learn to adapt. Not to mention the world is our palette from which we can choose what to write about and colour the pages we fill with prose.

Don't stop listening. Don't stop paying attention. And, whatever you do, don't give up.
You will learn.

Diane Bator

Meeting Minutes February 6, 2011

2011-02-06T16:14:00.002-06:00

I have to admit that I nearly didn't attend this meeting. I waffled until 1:10pm. The meeting was at 1:30. It had been a very long weekend with a sick child then finding out last night that a friend had died Saturday morning. There's more about that on my blog, but it was (for me) very sudden and a really big shock. I decided that I would be better off being out of the house and not thinking.

We had a group of 14 plus Sammy (Caitlyn's dog and honourary member). Clare treated us with a batch of his wife Dorothy's blondies which were fantastic. We love Dorothy. I think her treats alone make her an honourary member as well!

Richard (yes, he's back!) handed down the Where's Waldo name to Ashley who wore stripped leggings and gloves. All she needed was the striped hat. He asked her how her NaNoWriMo story was going. She said she was able to use it, but decided that the last chapter was going to become the first chapter. Richard asked if she was dyslexic.

Richard told us that he now has a third agent interested in promoting his work.

We talked about the second edition of the anthology. Gloria wasn't able to be at this meeting, but is working on the edits and we will be able to buy copies for $7 once it is printed.

Pat brought up a book we talked about at the last meeting called "Don't Murder Your Mystery" by Chris Roerdan. It was highly recommended by a few members. The discussion turned to, as Marilyn said, "Art is subjective and you need to take those books with a grain of salt. Rules are meant to be broken." (Which, by the way, is a True Marilyn-ism as opposed to a Clare-ism.)

Richard told us that we shouldn't start massacring our novels based on one book. There are lots of perspectives and they are OUR books. Things we read in writing books are "only suggestions."

Ashley had nothing to read, but she did show us her "Sacred Cow" project. Her class was asked to draw the Mona Lisa in their own style. Hers is "Writer Lisa." She placed 1000 words within the picture - a picture is worth 1000 words - and drew Mona Lisa inside a box. Outside of the box, she wrote, "It is the duty of a writer to think outside of the box."
David reminded us that most writing books teach us to think INSIDE the box.

Our readings were started off by David, who told us about his RAF friends in England who are doing a writing competition. He is sending a revised version of a story called "The Meeting." Very rivetting story about a pilot flying at high altitude. David told us how he's flown over 99000 feet in a Hawker Hunter and saw the curve of the earth below as well as England, Ireland, Scotland and Norway. Great imagery in this story!

Marilyn followed him with a portion of a short story and prefaced it by saying, "If I've broken all the rules, I did it intentionally." My favourite line was "sexy voices are almost as good as chocolate." Her story was followed by a discussion of shevelled hair vs dishevelled hair. For the record, wordnik has no definition for this word, but has two examples from literature.
Richard announced that dictionaries have no place in a writing group.
David said that was part of the "shevellry" of writing.
Richard considered that a Clare-ism.

Jenn read two wonderfully romantic, moving poems. When Richard commented, she said her inspiration came from Twilight.

Pat read a touching letter she wrote to her father nearly 5 years after his death, thanking him for all he had done. Richard commented on how we are all our worst critics. His advice to her was to read it to her father, burn it and let go of the doubt.

Richard read from "The Book of Eryn," his daughter who has been working at a hospital in Uganda for the past few months. Last year she was in Ghana. He talks to her 3-4 nights per week about the things she has seen there and talks her through it. The worst of the things she's seen haven't made it to the blog. She will come back to Canada on Feb 10 and has an interview for medical school. After med school, she plans to join Doctors Without Borders. For the curious few who haven't read Eryn's blog (I'm a big fan!) you can find her at http://worldtravels.blogspot.com/. PS. Read with tissues at hand.

One of the discussions we had related to Eryn's experience, was the need for an Air Concentrator and how to get Proctor & Gamble, makers of Pampers, to help provide one rather than hand out disposabe diapers to people who could never afford them. An Air Concentrator filters oxygen from the air for babies who need to extra help to breathe for the first few days of life. Child birth is the biggest cause of death in Africa for both moms and newborns.

Pat talked about Dr. Ross Pennie, a doctor we'd met at a Brian Henry workshop about writing memoirs. His book, The Unforgiving Tides, was about his experiences as a young doctor initiated into medicine in Papua New Guinea. My copy has moved to the top of my reading list.

Judy read a poem called "Fleeting" from "Fat and Other F Words".

Ron read us a letter from his friend Dr. Stephen Badsey in England. Ron had sent him a copy of our anthology and was promised a critique in return. Some of the things he had to say (not verbatim, sorry, even I don't write that fast!) were: it's a wonderful book, you should be proud of your accomplishment, steal everything in terms of style and make it your own. One of the best pieces of advice, one that we always live by to begin with, is "read what you have written out loud. Something that looks good on the page, may sound like a suit of armour falling down the stairs." My favourite line was "what is good English may not be good Canadian."

Dr. Badsey also brought up the may vs might controversy. For example, "The seatbelt may have saved his life." In this example, we don't know if he is dead or not. "The seatbelt might have saved his life." The reader knows he is dead.

We all agreed the letter gave Ron a good critique and support. Richard suggested, after Dr. Badsey told Ron he was free to critique the letter, that we give it to Laura to hack to pieces and sent it back.

When is a prompt not a prompt? When Richard is leading. This week's prompt was to start our own blogs. Well, at least write an intro and a first post as if we were starting a blog. He suggested for those serious about being published and getting their work out to agents etc, it was a good way for those said agents to learn more about us before thinking twice about our writing. It is good to establish a following via Facebook, a blog and a website.

What you should post? A bio. Samples of your writing. Personal appearances. Book launches.
How often should you update your blog? At least once or twice a week.
How do you set one up? Visit our own blog on our website or blogspot.

Prompt: Finally! Think of a place you've been to. Write a brief into about your (your bio) and blog about that place for your first post. We'll be watching for new blogs to pop up!

Our next meeting is February 20th. Caitlyn will be leading.
Keep warm and keep writing.

Why I Write

2011-01-30T07:36:00.001-06:00

I write because of the state of being I experience when I write. The exquisite blend of right and left L brain functioning—creative inspiration and searching the Thesaurus for the perfect word is a rich and fulfilling combination. My heart sings, I laugh out loud, I groan, I beat my breast (figuratively) come up for air and thank my muses as I again fall into the depths of allowing, searching, finding and expressing.

When I am writing, I accomplished more in other areas of my life. Chores and other mundane activities don’t seem quite so boring or meaningless after spending four or five hours with my characters and their lives. They have such exciting ones and I am privileged that they invite me in. It is fun to wake up and wonder what adventures we will share that morning. Even when a word or phrase eludes me, the chase, the search and the delight when it pops up is all worth it. I am thankful to have the time, my fantastic computer, all my faculties and the unending desire to write. We writers are blessed.

Why I Write

2011-01-28T15:56:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of January, we did an excercise using the prompt: "Why Do I Write?" This was my response:

I write because I hear voices and have scenes constantly running through my head. I have characters I've lived with since I was a child and continue to enable them to exist. My shelves are heavy with stories that I've evicted from my brain. I haven't written one book. I've written over a dozen. A line I once heard to describe someone was "a hummingbird on espresso" which sums up the way I write. Quickly, not always fluidly, but I have a need to get the stories out since my head is like a glass jar and I fear it will explode if I don't make space inside, the glass will shatter.

I'm not perfect. I don't profess to be. I'm just a person who loves the feeling of a pen in my hand and the smell of paper. Bookstores and stationery shops make me giddy. Buying printer ink is a thrill. Where some people have stashes of chocolate and cookies, I hoard scribblers, notebooks and pens. Don't worry about me though, if I need help, I'll simply create a character to walk me through my paper addiction.
Diane

My New Facebook Author Fanpage

2011-01-26T17:51:00.004-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelli-Curtis/193850850641145

Hello, my name is Kelli Curtis, I am a member of the Headwaters Writers' Guild and a professionally published children's book. I recently started and author fanpage for myself on Facebook. I invite you to join and please feel free to invite your friends as well. Thank you so much for your kind support.