Ron announced at the beginning of the meeting that his wife has taken ill in the Dominican Republic. I forwarded an update which looks promising. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
At the meeting 7 of the 9 people in attendance brought something to read which was great to see! I was thrilled to share a short story I had written and have submitted to the Toronto Star Short Story Contest. The Artist's Way has certainly affected my creativity and how I use my time. Jayne read a story about her garden that she is submitting to Sideroads Magazine. Keep your eyes open for that.
Please remember the Brian Henry Workshop is coming up on Saturday, February 25th from 10am-3:30pm. It's called "Secrets of Writing a Page-Turner". This is an HWG sponsored workshop. We should get a good turn-out so if you haven't registered yet, do so soon.
Danielle led the meeting for the first time. She shared with us a tidbit from the book she is reading. Her first set of prompts are based on this reading but I'm sure you can do the exercise without having heard the scene she read.
In the example we read today, the author took an ordinary, mundane situation and turned it into an exciting event that kept the story moving. The event in the example was not only action-packed but also served as a hint for an unexpected plot twist later in the story. Mundane situations need not always be turned into action sequences but could be hiding humour, a character's personal revelation, a new piece of knowledge, something utterly ridiculous or a "big reveal" in a story. The point is to keep the story moving along without any "dead" spots. Today we're going to practice turning the ordinary into the extraordinary!
Choose one of the following boring beginnings/situations and turn it into a page-turner:
1. Sam bent down to put on his socks.
2. I'll take a large coffee, double-double," Jill told the woman behind the counter.
3. Hank flipped idly through the myriad of satellite channels on the Roger's network. He'd have thought with all that variety, there would have been something good to watch on TV.
4. The bus pulled up to the curb.
5. Sheila fumbled for her keys in her purse.
6. Jeff flicked on the light in the hall.
If you don't care to try that exercise, the following prompts were also provided:
1. Write about your favourite toy as a child.
2. Describe your favourite place and tell us why it's your favourite.
3. What's the best thing that ever happened to you?
4. Come up with a limerick, or 2, or 3.
5. What's the best excuse you ever came up with and where or when did you use it?
I am compelled to add that there appears to be a sock fetish among many of our members. LOL!
Great job, Danielle!
The next meeting is next week (Sunday, February 12th) due to the Family Day holiday the following weekend, and the Brian Henry workshop the weekend after that. Jayne will be leading.
Showing posts with label Sideroads Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sideroads Magazine. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Meeting Minutes November 27, 2011
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
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
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