Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Twelve writers attended Tuesday’s workshop at the Callahan
Branch Library. Along with plenty of jokes and laughter, writers shared
wonderful pieces and offered valuable critiques.
Here’s a recap.
Warm-ups
The warm-up prompts are listed here, in case you’d like to write
to them at home:
1. In the Wild
2. The Dream
3. Just one look took my breath away…
4. A free-write on anything
Thomas E., Cameron S., Oliver M., Matt Y.,
Danielle T., and Connie W. shared
warm-ups.
We then introduced
ourselves and shared good news. Cameron
S. shared her gong is currently broken. Robert
O. said he’s getting a promotion at work. We hope your gong is repaired
soon, Cameron! Way to go, Robert!
Moderator Lisa C. then began the critique session.
Critiques
To begin, Danielle T. shared a continuation of a
piece she started last week. Members said her narrative about a robbery offered
potent descriptions (ex. white Audi) and presented good time flow. Connie W. then shared a prompt-based
(sitcom for her life) piece. Members said her humor worked as well as her “corny
pone” one-liner. Lori L. then read a
piece featuring a female narrator. Her piece sounded realistic, members said,
and her descriptions of weather worked.
Richard N. continued by reading a
romantic date scene from his second Dodge novel. Members said his verbs (such
as skirting, dripped, encased, forked, etc.) worked as did his descriptions
(such as “cobalt blue top with undulating ruffle”). Matt Y. then read his piece written from a high school student’s
perspective. Members said his sarcastic
tone and his relatable topic (bored kids in classrooms) worked. Thomas E. then asked Cameron S. to read a piece he wrote a
while ago. Members complimented his powerful writing (such as “dreams
disappearing like a seasonal flu”) and his realistic dialogue between the two
teenagers.
I, Nancy B., then asked Matt Y., Cameron S., Ollie M. and Lisa C. to read parts in, “A Little
Culture,” a prompt-based (sitcom for my life) piece. Members said the humor in
my piece worked. Robert O. then asked
Thomas E. to read a continuation of
his story about the furry writing group. Members said his dialogue flowed
because it was smooth and flowing. Cameron
S. then shared a piece about a trumpet-playing street performer dropped off
at the Jacksonville Landing. Members wanted more of her piece and complimented
her powerful writing.
Lisa C. then shared “Epic Fail,” a
prompt-based (deadbeat dad) poem. Members complimented her rhymes (such as
child/wild) and suggested she turn it into an award-winning country music song.
Ollie M. ended the session with a
strong opinion piece comparing modern America to Rome. Members said his piece
was thought-provoking, chilling and martial.
Good work,
everyone!
Links of Interest
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
If you’re interested in writing with us, please go ahead and sign up
for NaNoWriMo. We’ll be meeting at the Library on Tuesday evenings in November
to write, write, write! Hope you’ll join us!
Read more and sign up here:
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Hidden Prize for Prose
Here’s a contest with no entry fee. Deadline is at the end of
December.
Read more here:
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Sitcom writing contest
This one looks fun and there’s no entry fee. Deadline is in early 2015.
Interested? Read more here:
Prompts for October 7
Prompts for October 7 are the
accidental conference call and the
ruins. Feel free to bring in a WIP (work-in-progress) or another piece of
your choice if you’d rather not write to the prompts. Also, please keep pieces
1,500 words or less.
Quote of the week:
“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s
about, but the music the words make.”
~Truman Capote
Until Tuesday, happy writing!
~Nancy B.
P.S. We have only two more sessions this fall-October 7 and October
14. Next set of sessions will begin in early 2015.
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