April 2, 2015
Hello, writers,
We had a delightful writing
workshop on Tuesday, March 31. Members’ writing ranged from whimsical to
heartfelt.
Today’s post features upcoming
community events, new publication opportunities and fresh writing prompts,
among other things.
If you weren’t able to make
it on Tuesday, please come on out this week. We hope to see you on April 7 at
6:15 p.m.
Spoken Word Festival – Tuesday, April 28
On April 28 at 6:00 p.m., the
Callahan Branch Library will host its second annual Spoken Word Festival. Since
April is National Poetry Month, the library is hoping beat the poetic drum here
in the Callahan community.
If you’d like to participate
in the Festival by reading a piece (it doesn’t have to be poetry), please sign
up with Callahan Branch Librarian, Alison M., or call her at 904-879-3434.
This year, the Library is
planning to produce a booklet chock full of local writers’ pieces. Sales of the
booklet will benefit the Friends of the Callahan Library. If you’d like to help
put the booklet together, please let Michele, Lisa or Nancy know. J
Please consider submitting a
piece or two for the booklet. Please watch this space for more details on word
count, font size, formatting, etc.
The event is free and open to
the community.
Piece of the Week
Connie W. wrote a piece to “the
world where everything talks” prompt. Here it is:
The bed was humming softly when the alarm
started screaming, "Get up, get up, get up now!"
Greta slammed on the head to shut him up.
"Ouch, you could be a little nicer," the alarm said as the
snooze alarm took effect.
Five minutes later, "Get up, get up,
please don't hit me," the alarm said.
"Greta, come on. Let's get moving,"
her pajamas moaned.
"Bubble, bubble, glerg," the
coffee pot was talking to itself.
"Hey, get me out of this cabinet.
It is cold in here and dark," the coffee cup complained.
Greta got the coffee cup and filled it
with coffee. Several items yelled, "Turn off the damn light."
She got the creamer out of the refrigerator and then the sugar from the
canister. They conversed among themselves.
Creamer: "Two splashes of me and I
bet she has 4 teaspoons of you."
Sugar: "Yep, she had a late night.
She is going to need a bit of rush to get going this morning. She
looks awful."
Greta, "Hey, I can hear you.
Yes, I was working late. The computer at work kept saying it was
tired and needed to shut down for a while."
Milk: "Sure."
Greta downs her coffee and heads to the
shower.
Several bottles of shower gel chime in
together, "Choose me. I am cotton for that fresh smell."
"I am sandalwood for that bit of
mystery"
“Don’t forget me, Honeysuckle. You
will smell like spring."
She grabs the one that has remained
silent, the Wild Musk. "I knew you would pick me today. Just
not into all that spring happy stuff, are ya?"
"No, just be quiet for now, okay?"
The shower curtain always complains,
“Don’t get me wet. You know I hate mildew."
The towels now argue about which one is more
absorbent and which one is best for her hair.
Greta yells, “EVERYONE, SHUT UP!"
All falls quiet except the mirror.
"Looking kind of rough this morning old girl and you might want to
lay off those cookies".
There is a snicker( snort giggle)
from the scales in the corner.
"Shut up!" Greta screams again.
Standing in front of her closet, the
clothes start to argue over the weather, will it be hot, will she need a
sweater, blouse and skirt, a dress, or pants and jacket (for the smart look),
jeans feeling left out because it isn't the weekend.
Greta chooses a nice pair of pants and a
short sleeve sweater. Her watch yells from the nightstand, “Don't forget
me!"
Her shoes argue which pair will be best if
she has to park far away at the parking garage, or if she can get in the lot
close to the building. "You know you need a smart pair of low heeled
loafers. The comfort alone will make your day so much easier."
The keys say something mumbled from the
bottom of her purse, “Find me, find me, find me, find me."
"Good grief, I am so sick of all this
chatter and complaining. Why can't they be quiet"? Greta thinks to
herself.
"Good morning, Greta. I am
security door alarm # 2548. Please set your pass code now." Greta
punches in the numbers, and the door unlocks for two minutes before it locks
again.
Outside, her car greets her. It asks
her to use the fob to unlock the door and she obliges. "Okay, so
where are we off to today?" the Suri asks.
"The first call is at 4642 Broadway,"
Greta responds.
"Scanning" and the Bluetooth
begins to hum as Greta waves at her neighbor and backs out of the driveway.
She drives to the light and thinks, "This is odd. What is up
with the GPS?"
She looks, and it is still scanning. Five
minutes, and she hears from the speakers,
"Did you see what Jillian was wearing
today? Oh, my God, what is she thinking with that ugly dress?"
"Well, at least Greta looks smart,"
her car replies.
"OOOOH! Did you see who was at the
Larson's last night? Yes, it was that handsome UPS truck!"
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Greta
says.
"Sorry, just catching up on the
gossip. Now what was that address again? I don't remember what you
said, but then I rarely pay attention to what you say," giggles from all
the Suris.
~by Connie W.
Community Happenings
Easter Celebration – Sunday, April 5, at 10:15 am at First Baptist
Church, Callahan, located at 45090 Green Avenue. Several members of CCWW sing in
the choir or play in the orchestra. Please come and celebrate the meaning of
Easter with us.
Second Annual Spoken Word
Festival – Tuesday, April 28 from
6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Callahan Branch Library. Hopefully, you’ve signed
up to read a piece or two. We’ll send out more details on the booklets soon.
Critique overview from March 31 CCWW
We started with warm-ups.
I’ll list them here in case you want to do them at home:
1. I think I’m a clone now
2. Board of Education
3. Alien Rock
4. A freewrite about anything
Danielle T., Oliver M., Matt Y., Connie W., Richard N.
and Ashley T. shared warm-ups
with the group.
I, Nancy B., shared the title of a book I’m reading. It’s called, “Writing
Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer” by Roy Peter Clark. Each
strategy is followed by three or four writing exercises.
++++++++
Ines R. started
the session reading a revised third chapter of “Caught,” her WIP. The way in
which she connected Alyson and Mae worked well, according to members. Ashley T. then shared a continuation of
her story featuring Belle adjusting to her new school. Members complimented
Ashley’s descriptions of the dormitory rooms as well as the bluntness she gave
another character named Travis. I, Nancy
B., then shared a non-fiction piece about roaches. Members said my
descriptions of the bugs worked well.
Lori L. then
read a continuation of a prompt-based (“What do I do? He’s been there all day!”)
story she started last week featuring a character named Eddie. Members
complimented her descriptions as well as the powerful writing she included in
the first three paragraphs. Lisa C. then
read “Dear John,” a prompt-based (“the Dear John letter”) poem. Members
complimented every part of Lisa’s poem, especially the “egg-shell walking,”
because it applies to many relationships. Oliver
M. then read an informative piece sharing how he received official
correspondence from the government. He then asked members to interpret the
document’s legalese.
Matt Y. then
read a piece featuring William as he reflects on being stabbed by Miriam.
Members complimented Matt’s detective-novel style as well as his spot-on
descriptions (“blue black hair,” “bleached bones,” etc.). Richard N. then asked Nancy
B. to read a revision of chapter one of his first Dodge novel. Richard’s
dialogue, pacing and characterization worked well, according to members. Connie W. then read a prompt-based piece
(“a world where everything talks”) which is included above. Members appreciated
the gentle truths about modern life Connie’s piece shared.
Danielle T. ended
the session reading an extremely well-written piece on the significance of 3:00
pm on Good Friday. Members complimented her subject matter, the way she
formatted the piece and its thought-provoking nature.
Nice job, everyone!
Links of Interest
54 Web Sites that Pay Writers
If you’re looking to supplement
your income by writing, you may want to check out the markets seeking writers
on this site.
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Mash Stories
Looking for a writer-driven
place to submit your fiction? Try Mash Stories. (I posted a link to this site
on our Facebook page).
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Do you keep a journal?
Connie W. posted
a link to this article on our Facebook page. I just wanted to share it here, as
it lists many health benefits of keeping a journal.
Quote of the week:
“[A deadline is] a potent
force that, when wielded with respect, will level any obstacle in its path.”
~Chris
Baty
Prompts for Tuesday, April 7
The first prompt is…the open window. The second prompt is…the spelling bee. You’re free to write
in any genre you like (fiction, drama, non-fiction, poetry, etc.). If you’d
like to bring a WIP (work-in-progress), please do.
Please keep pieces to 1500
words or less and bring copies if you can.
Have a great week!
~Nancy B.
