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.
