Recap of November 3 CCWW

November 10, 2015

Hello, writers,

What a warm start to November! I wonder if the higher temperatures have affected anyone’s writing.

Here’s a recap of our November 3 session, which included words, words and more words!

It’s hard to believe there’s only one more session after tonight, but alas, it is true.

Recap of November November 3 CCWW

After Ines R., Richard N. and Ruth A. shared their warm-ups, we began our critique session.

Ruth A. started the session with “The Gift Not Taken,” a short story about an old woman and her dog, Tiny. Members adored her descriptions (i.e. “a pothole-ridden road called dementia”) and the O. Henry-esque irony in her piece. Elaine H. then shared another chapter of her WIP. Members complimented her descriptions of White Dove receiving her name from the Name Giver as well as the mythic quality of her work. Connie W. then read a continuation of a hemp rope piece she read a few weeks ago. Members complimented Connie’s physical descriptions of an older Aiden as well as letting her reader in on the developing plot against him. An interesting discussion about gypsies in Augusta, Georgia ensued.

Lisa C. then had her poem, “The Review,” read by Ashley T. Members connected to her rhymes and the subject matter of her piece. I, Nancy B., then shared another chapter of my WIP. Member complimented my characterization of the droid. Irina R. then read another chapter in her WIP featuring Rita and Ryan. Members enjoyed learning more about Ryan’s injured ankle. 

Lori L. then read a continuation of a piece she started last week featuring four ladies going on four journeys. Members complimented the movement of her piece as well as powerful phrases, such as “the symphony of her daughters’ voices.” Ashley T. then shared more of her fan fiction based on “The Mortal Instruments” by Clare. Members complimented the balance between narration and dialogue in Ashley’s piece. Ines R. then read chapter six of one of her WIPs. Members complimented the revelation of Alyson’s childhood as well as her inner conflict. Richard N. then asked Elaine H. to read another segment of his WIP. Members complimented the flow and the use of sound in his piece.

Superb work, everyone!

Upcoming Prompts

    November 17 – the Taj Mahal

Links of Interest (since these are still current, I’ll keep them here another week)

*Times-Union’s Holiday Short Story Contest is going on now. The deadline is Nov. 23. Stories must be fiction, 1000 words or less and include a ghost, a department store Santa and a woman with amnesia. 

More here: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2015-11-05/story/enter-our-annual-holiday-short-story-contest

*Narrative Magazine’s fall story contest is seeking fiction and non-fiction submissions. First prize is $2500. Word limit is 1500. Deadline is November 30.

More here:  http://www.narrativemagazine.com/

*Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts is seeking submissions.

More here: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v14n1/submissions.shtml

Quote of the Week

“Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.”
                                                                                                – Jessamyn West

Until next week, happy writing!

~Nancy B.

Recap of Oct. 27 Session

November 9, 2015

Hello, writers,

Though we only have two workshops left this session, we will start again with two six-week sessions in January.

Below, you’ll see the recap from our October 27 session. I’ll add the recap on the November 3 session in the next day or two. 

There are several wonderful writing contests going on in November. I’ve listed some links below.   

Recap of November October 27 CCWW

After Richard N. and Ines R. read their warm-ups, Ruth A. mentioned the annual Christmas writing contest hosted by “The Florida Times-Union.” 

I, Nancy B., began the session reading a chapter of my WIP featuring Bruno. Members said my humorous characterization worked. Danielle T. then shared a true piece about her grandchildren. Members appreciated the honesty and pathos in her piece. Ruth A. then read about a ship captain and his dog. Her excellent descriptions won rave reviews from members (i.e. the aroma of wood shavings”). 

Lisa C. then shared “The Abyss,” a prompt-based poem. Members complimented her well-created rhymes and her poem’s subject matter.  Ines R. then shared chapter five of “New Girl in Town,” one of her WIPs. Members complimented the meteor shower she included as well as her well-placed descriptions (i.e. “silence required for beauty”). Richard N. then shared a continuation of his second WIP. Members complimented the names of his characters (i.e. “Pike” and “Noxia”) as well has his powerful figurative language (“If her eyes could shoot flames, he’d be a pillar of cinders”). 

Irina R. then read a continuation of her WIP. Members complimented her use of sounds (i.e. buzzing) and the setting she created around Rita and Ryan with the crates. Ashley T. then read more of her fan fiction based on “The Mortal Instruments.” Members complimented her narrative line as well as her characterization. Moriah R. then shared an instruction on what makes people want to read more. Her piece led to a wonderful discussion later in the session. 

Lori L. then read a piece with excellent foreshadowing. Members said her piece was very touching. Ruth A. ended the session reading a second piece she wrote on figures of speech. Her wonderfully written piece led into a solid discussion about language and literacy.

Excellent work, everyone!

Upcoming Prompts

  November 10 – Dandelions

  November 17 – the Taj Mahal

Links of Interest

*Times-Union’s Holiday Short Story Contest is going on now. The deadline is Nov. 23. Stories must be fiction, 1000 words or less and include a ghost, a department store Santa and a woman with amnesia. 

More here: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2015-11-05/story/enter-our-annual-holiday-short-story-contest

*Narrative Magazine’s fall story contest is seeking fiction and non-fiction submissions. First prize is $2500. Word limit is 1500. Deadline is November 30.

More here:  http://www.narrativemagazine.com/

*Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts is seeking submissions.

More here: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v14n1/submissions.shtml

Quote of the Week

“You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money’s in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.”

                                                                                                                ~Larry Niven
Until tomorrow night, happy writing!

~Nancy B.

Recap of Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 Sessions

 November 9, 2015

Hello, writers,

It’s hard to believe we’re already into the month of November!  

Beginning on October 13 and running through November 17, our second session is shaping up to be full of delightful words and witticisms from our participants. 

Below, you’ll see recaps from October 13 and October 20 respectively. I’ll post recaps of the October 27 and November 3 sessions soon.  

Recap of October 13 CCWW

After Richard N., Matt Y., Connie W. and Danielle T. read their war-ups, we started our critique session.

Matt Y. began by reading a prompt-based piece (sibling rivalry) featuring a father and a son talking about pride. Members said his piece had excellent dialogue and characterization. Richard N. then shared “At the Noble Lodge Altar,” which is part of his second Dodge novel.  His characterization of Malphas and Pike worked well, according to members. Ines R. then shared chapter 6 of “Waves,” her mermaid piece. Her descriptions of the hospital and her characters worked well, members said.

Connie W. then read another “Hemp Rope” piece in which Aiden, now 16, has gained Leary’s favor. Members said her conflict worked well as did her descriptions. Cameron S. then read a visceral first-person piece about sinking into darkness.  Members said the emotions in her piece worked well. Danielle T. then shared a piece about teaching a Sunday school class of older ladies. Members complimented her syntax and the realism of her piece. 

I, Nancy B., then shared another installment of my dictionary story. Members said the human attributes of the droid worked well.  Irina R. finished the session sharing more of her WIP. Members said Irina created excellent action sequences.

Great work, everyone!

Recap of October 20 CCWW

I, Nancy B., began the session reading another chapter of my WIP. Members complimented my use of figurative language (i.e. “angry chorus of chainsaws” ). Ruth A. then read “The Halloween Cowgirls,” a piece featuring the Halloween adventures of two sisters. Members complimented Ruth’s descriptions and the quality of her story. Richard N. then shared a continuation of his second book. Members complimented the scene where Monty decides to respond to God’s call. 

Elaine H. then read a continuation of her WIP. Members were delighted by the budding romance between Young Wolf and White Dove, and they complimented Elaine’s vivid descriptions (i.e. “flames raking the sky”). Cameron S. then read “Plans, Plans, Plans,” a humorous piece about a teen named Dylan. Members complimented her conversations and subject matter. Irina R. then read a continuation of her WIP. Members loved her descriptions (i.e. “windows became shaded yellow”) and the flow of her story.

Ines R. then shared a piece featuring Stella and Richard. Members were delighted and shocked when Stella shot Richard! Ashley T. then read more of her fan fiction based on “The Mortal Instruments.” Members complimented her dialogue and the balance of narration and description.  Lisa C. then shared “The Not So Wicked Step-Mother,” a humorous poem. 

Members loved the subject of her piece as well as her clever rhymes (i.e. “slime/time”). Lori L. then read a piece featuring a person who hit a rabbit with her car. Members complimented the flow of her piece as well as the use of the rabbit as a symbol of hope.

Excellent job, everyone!

Upcoming Prompts

  November 10 – Dandelions

  November 17 – the Taj Mahal

Links of Interest

I’ll send several links in an e-mail soon. 

Quote of the Week

“I can’t write five words but that I change seven.”

                                                                ~Dorothy Parker

Until Tuesday night, happy writing!

~Nancy B.

Recaps of Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 CCWW Sessions

October 5, 2015

Hello, writers,

We had wonderful CCWW sessions on Tuesday, Sept. 15 and Tuesday, Sept. 22. Below, you’ll see recaps of these two sessions respectively.

Last week, I posted a recap of what I thought was the Sept. 8 session. In reality, I posted the recap of the Sept. 15 session but mislabeled it the Sept. 8 session. Please forgive my mistake. I have corrected the blog post with the Sept. 8 recap.

Without further ado, here are the recaps of our last two workshops during our first fall session.

Recap of September 15 CCWW

Ines R. started the session with the third chapter of her mermaid piece. Members complimented her descriptions (“her voice strangled by sorrow” and “the wisdom of the ocean”) as well as the balance she achieved between narration and dialogue. Elaine H. then read a continuation of her young adult novel. Members really enjoyed her descriptions (“skin the color of rich cream”) as well as the historical context of the piece. Irina R. then shared a continuation of her sci-fi speculative fiction piece. Members complimented Irina’s pacing because it kept readers/listeners engaged.

Connie W. then read another segment of her “Hemp Rope” piece. Members complimented her characterization of Joshua and Mr. Rice as well as her use of the peach metaphor. Danielle T. then shared a prompt-based poem (“engaged”). Members enjoyed her tips on how to have a successful marriage! I, Nancy B., then shared a continuation of my dictionary story. Members said my descriptions and characterization worked well. 

Ashley T. then shared chapter 4 of her ongoing story featuring Julie and Mason. Members complimented her plot and her settings. Lisa C. then read a prompt-based poem (lemons). As usual, members loved her poem and complimented the whole piece!

Excellent work, everyone!

Recap of September 22 CCWW

Danielle T. and Irina R. read their warm-ups. Elaine H. brought information from a workshop on how to craft compelling scenes.

Richard N. began the session by reading a piece from his freewrite. Members enjoyed hearing about his protagonist who was in jail. Michele N. then read a short piece from her ongoing story featuring Scotty and Courtney. Members praised her “motorcycle” as a “metaphor for change” as well as her characterization of Courtney. Elaine H. then shared the beginning of chapter five in her WIP. Members complimented her descriptions and her personification (“the river smiled”) used throughout the piece. 

Connie W. then read another installment of her “Hemp Rope” work. Members complimented her descriptions of roads, bricks and houses as well as her excellent pacing. Ines R. then shared a continuation of her mermaid piece. Members praised her descriptions (“bottle green eyes”) and her excellent dialogue. Butch K. then read a piece about motorcycles. Members loved his story-telling ability as swell as the authenticity of his piece. 

Danielle C. then read a clever prompt-based (“study hall”) piece. Her use of stream-of-consciousness looping from study hall to pencil to heart to sorrow to mind and then back to study hall worked well, according to members. Irina R. then read a continuation of her sci-fi/fantasy piece. Her fight scene including lots of good suspense worked, members said. Lori L. then shared a continuation of her Eddie story. Members complimented Lori’s introduction of Annie, Eddie’s sister, and agreed it was an excellent story.

Ashely T. then shared a continuation of her WIP. Members enjoyed the characterization of Abby, another girl who attends Julie’s class for unwed mothers. I, Nancy B., then read a continuation of my WIP. Members said it worked to give the droid a mind of its own. Cameron S. then read a poem. Her piece was very believable with its rag-doll image, members said. Lisa C. ended the session by reading a prompt-based (“study hall”) poem. Members complimented her wonderful rhymes and her clever use of words. 

Superb writing, y’all!

Fall Session Two Begins Tuesday, October 13

We are all looking forward to the beginning of our next session on October 13. I will e-mail you the list of those who have made a reservation to attend the session.

Meanwhile, here is a list of the prompts for next session:

  October 13 – Sibling rivalry

  October 20 – Origami

  October 27 – “Out of the frying pan into the fire”

  November 3 – Opera

  November 10 – Dandelions

  November 17 – the Taj Mahal

Links of Interest

I’ve been saving wonderful links for you. I’ll share some in a blog post soon and share others next week when we start Session Two.

Quote of the Week

“People do not deserve to have good writing; they are so pleased with bad.”

                                                                                                                ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until next week, keep writing! 

~Nancy B.