From our guest moderator...

Callahan Creative Writers Workshop

Tuesday, Sept 23, 2014

After acknowledging that yours truly was Guest Moderator, I opened with "Welcome to the alternate reality Callahan Creative Writers Workshop."

Since there were only six of us—well known to each other—I dispensed with the introductions. This may have caused some consternation. Whoops, my bad.

Surprise! Michelle N arrived. She filled us in on her health progress. She will not be with us next Tuesday, as she will be having back surgery. Everyone welcomed her in and Ollie and Matt started their usual hounding of her—which she handled with aplomb. (I'm afraid the children ran somewhat wild during my tenure. Ah, well.)

We then chose from the suggested prompts (sorry, I don't have them with me to list). In no particular order, here are the results. Connie W. read two pieces: First, was a story (based on facts) of a driver for the elderly. The routes took the bus through the very good, medium good, and the poor sections of town. What worked for many were her depictions of the elderly's attitudes—both good and bad. Second, was a piece depicting a real town matriarch who so incensed the populace with her opinions, that the townspeople turned their backs on her when she finally received her college degree.

Robert O. continued his story of Lord Volpare (sp?), Gabriel, and Tempest (young son of the Lord). What worked for many were the "flick of an ear," dialogue, and the concept of a rich kid wanting everyone to not treat him like a rich kid, but all the while, secretly wanting the rich kid treatment. Danielle T. read a story of an attempted breaking and entering. What worked for many was the response of the man asleep in the house.

Ollie M. then read his opinion piece. Many agreed that what worked were his depictions that a man's word and handshake meaning something, all on its own. In contrast, the more common "fist bump" of today means nothing. Michelle read the next piece of Richard N.'s Dodge 2 story. Everyone agreed it was short, but it flowed well.

Matt Y. finished off with his lively read. What worked for many were his "soft whispers on the wind," "the quietness before the tornado's touchdown," and "decapitating squirrels." His work was very vivid and showed an excellent grasp of situations.

~Richard N.

Note to readers: Due to a scheduling conflict with two of your moderators who work at Sonshine Christian Academy, Richard N. moderated the writing group on Sept. 23. Thanks, Richard, for your willingness to fill in for us. Thanks also to Ollie M. who agreed to moderate the group!

                                                                                   ~NB

P.S. Prompts for Tuesday, Sept. 30 are your life as a sitcom or deadbeat dad. Choose one, choose both, bring a WIP (work-in-progress) or bring something else, but please bring something you wrote. Please keep it to 1500 words or less.