Sunday, September 7, 2014

Fool's Gold and Nosy Neighbors


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Though our numbers were down, CCWW writers brought excellent pieces to the Callahan Branch Library Tuesday night, September 2.  

Warm-ups

The warm-up prompts are listed here, in case you’d like to write to them at home: 
                1.                 Yearbook
                2.                 You can’t beat that with a stick
                3.                 Cancer
                4.                 A free-write on anything

After Matt Y. read his warm-up using “yearbook,” “You can’t beat that with a stick” and “cancer,” Connie W. read two poems. The first was “1969, But First a Poem,” and the second was “The Crash,” written by her son. We then introduced ourselves and shared good news.  

Critiques

Matt Y. started the session singing “Wurnos,” a humorous piece he wrote to kill time at work. His clever lyrics were sung to the tune of “Come on, Eileen.” Oliver M. then read a crime report. Members said his piece read like a first-person police report. Lori L. then read a continuing piece featuring Sienna and Grace. Members complimented her word choice (“spilled out her treasure”) and the skillful way she let the reader figure out what was going on.

Robert O. continued the session by reading “Wedding Bells,” part of a warm-up from last week. Members complimented his imagination and description of Gabriel the wolftaur. Connie W. then read a continuation of her hemp rope story in which Leary teaches Aiden about the retting process. Members said her research of rope-making and Irish history showed throughout the well-written piece. Thomas E. asked Oliver M. to read a continuation of his Calvin story. Members complimented Thomas’s balance of narration and dialogue.

Danielle T. then read “Fool’s Gold,” a piece featuring a married couple who must deal with infidelity. Members complimented Danielle’s imagery (“first ring turned my finger green) and the message of forgiveness her piece skillfully showed. Lisa C. then read “Deal or No Deal,” a poem about what we value in life. Members complimented her rhymes and her cadence as well as the moral of her piece. I, Nancy B., then shared “Camp Connect” a short story I wrote for a contest. Members said the piece reminded them of a “Goosebumps” book.

Ashley T. then read an intriguing piece featuring Penelope and Felix (from a long ago prompt). Members loved her characterization of Penelope and her imagery (“silver dagger under each of her boots”). James B. visited the group and finished the session reading a free verse poem about a girl with auburn hair and green eyes. His piece featured powerful imagery, members said, and strong emotion.

Excellent work, everyone!
               
Links of Interest

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

For those of you interested in writing a novel during the month of November, please check out this site. You can sign up, choose the amount of words you write each day and receive support from an online writing community.

Read more here:


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Iowa Short Fiction Award

Here’s a contest for a collection of short stories. There’s no entry fee. Deadline is Sept. 30.

Read more here:


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Dialogue Only Fiction Contest

Here’s a challenge. It’s a dialogue only fiction contest with a Sept. 14 deadline.


Prompts for September 9

Prompts for September 9 are fine print and in the cave. Feel free to bring in a WIP (work-in-progress) if you’d rather not write to one of the prompts. Also, please keep pieces 1,500 words or less.

Quote of the week:
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
                                                                   
                                                                                                                     ~Benjamin Frankllin  
Until Tuesday, happy writing!

~Nancy B.

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