Welcome to the Sarasota FWA Blog!
Last night, we had a rather wild, but productive meeting. I think. :) To sum up, this is what was agreed upon by all as to a plan of action.
1: We will have two meetings a month on the first and third Wednesdays. Same time. The first Wednesday will be more geared to the subgroups of reading and critique and sharing experiences. Attendence is optional and subgroups will remain permanent and won't rotate.
2: The regular third Wednesday will be more general. The agenda will begin promptly at 6:30. Fifteen minutes will be allotted for announcements and getting to the group we rotate to. Rotation was suggested as a way to learn and share in all types of writing. You'll sign a small piece of paper and drop it in the suggestion box and names will be drawn at random for each group to achieve a healthy mix. Once we do this a couple of times, it should go fast.
3: At 6:45 we will devote one hour to the subgroups. How each group is run will be determined by that group. I would suggest some kind of leader being appointed to maintain fairness and order at both types of meetings.
4: At 7:45 we'll take a short five minute break (also suggested to me) and then reconvene into one group. At 7:50 we'll have two or three "Star" readers who will have five minutes to read and five to receive comments. Star readers are asked to bring five copies of what they'll read for those with any hearing difficulties. It was unanimously agreed that time will be clocked and at the 'bell' the reader can only finish the sentence they were reading. Several have agreed to bring timers. Or Sharon can be the time keeper to avoid confusing bells. Not all time keepers are precise. A 'team' will be counted as two people. We'll lead off with Bart Stamper and Joanne Phillips demonstrating how a prose excerpt can inspire a poem or vice versa. Sharon and I did that last night. It's interesting, and possibly inspiring, to see how two different genres can blend. Next, will be the Gardiner Girls. :) Karen Gardiner is an expert on holding to time limits as low as thirty seconds. She does it in her work. And has promised to keep Chellie and Margaret under control. :)
5: At 8:30 we will close the meeting with a discussion period based on questions or ideas drawn from the suggestion box as time allows.
6: This morning I received a suggestion from Peter that everyone write a 20 words or less sentence on just EXACTLY what they came to FWA hoping to find. This can be placed in the suggestion box (I'm thinking of getting two) to help me do my job in making sure all get what they came for. Any found interesting and not mentioned before could be used in discussion.
7. It was also unanimously agreed that all would make an attempt to start checking the blog for updates and announcements. The link is on your email sheet as well as in the auto-signatures of both Russ and my emails. Anyone is encouraged to add it to theirs. Many writers don't take advantage of the auto-signature feature on their email service. It, too, is a great networking and promotional tool.
I'd like to report that we have collected an additional $65 toward a microphone. Russ, with guidance from Linda, is shopping for a good mic at a reasobable price. This, too, will be a donation to the Fire Department and left for their use as well as our own. If we ever change locations, it will be left for the FD. And still some have not paid. I'd like to thank Terry and Carol for additional donations over and above their five dollars. We really have gotten a great deal on this facility. Sharon suggested that if we want to have a holiday party, we can all contribute to that separately. I'd like to thank Ed Lyman for the treats he brought last night. I'm going to check on the cost of a 20-cup percolator as well. So far, the FD has been given a check for $100.
An aside - Russ, Tuck, Terry, and I all use the same website builder. She's good and she is personal, AND she's one of the most reasonably priced techs I've ever come across in ten years in this writing business. She can do a simple three page site or she can do one like mine that is massive with music, trailers, and color photos abounding. We all pay the same hosting fee of $4.99 a month to Go Daddy! And you still have full design control as to visual, audio, frequency of updates, and features. I'll be happy to share her contact information if anyone is interested.
Email me or Russ with any news, articles of interest, or announcements for the blog.
Thanks for all of your cooperation. Things have gotten chaotic on occasion as we grow and evolve. :)
Susan
