It was a small group this week but we managed to have an
interesting discussion anyway.
Research and character
development seems to come up in many of our discussions. Each member of the
group is striving to write well and develop characters as believable
individuals.
Pieces we've read from various
sources, print, e-books, and online fell under our literary microscope. We agreed,
there are a lot of poorly written works out there and many of these are taking
away from the quality indie works published. Much of which could be made better
by proper editing and the use of a quality writer’s group.
As writers, we want to publish only quality work that meets the
test of our readers and lend credence to our name. Also, good writing and
popular works gives a boost to all authors whether traditionally or self-published.
Each of tonight’s readers gave
us something to think about and welcomed our comments.
Continuing the reading of his
memoir, Don regaled us with Chapter 14, F84-F. The Indiana Air National Guard received a shipment of
F84's, planes considered less than acceptable by the Air Force after the Korean
War, but our National Guard units managed to fly them for 20 or more years with
a distinguished record. When Don saw the list of planes available he
immediately picked out a plane with a tail number matching his address and
phone number; what a coincidence. In another incident about the same time, the
FAA hadn't approved a device designed to catch a plane at the end of the runway
if it couldn't stop. The catch net was installed and operational but the tower
was ordered not to use the device until approved. While awaiting approval, a
pilot blew a tire on takeoff. Calling for the safety barrier to be raised, his
wingman watched as the pilot crashed and burned at the end of the runway.
As a Toastmaster member, Ernie
was tasked with writing a speech about something in his life. He chose to speak
about his writing in a piece entitled "The Accidental
Writer." His speech included recognition of our group, singling
out several members. We much appreciated his shout out.
Tish read a portion of a
chapter from her memoir, still in its infancy. She is attacking some sensitive
issues and it take a lot of guts to write her story. She admits, it's
therapeutic and the group encourages her to get her story on paper, worry about
editing later. She's a good writer and has a lot to tell.
A mystery writer whose
detective, Yale Larsson, has come to life in previous pieces, Doug once again
delivered a nice piece. Yale is a Private Investigator who stands up for the
little guy. In this case, it’s a blind homeless veteran and Medal of Honor
winner. Local authorities make little headway in finding the thugs who beat the
disabled man and stole his things, including his Medal of Honor. Yale goes
undercover, trash bags in hand to find the perpetrators.
The second draft of the second
chapter in the latest Charlie Bascomb Adventure was offered for critique. When
Charlie confides in his wife and tells her about an incident involving his unit
in Baghdad, the group questioned whether this character would do such a thing.
Maybe a rewrite is in the works.
We have a good time but it will
seem a lot longer until our next meeting, this month has five Wednesdays. Our
next meeting is September 6th, at 6:30 PM in the Nokomis Fire Station training
room. We hope you can join us. The discussions are lively and we would like
your input, plus, we want to hear your stories, memoirs, poems, or anything
else you write. Please join us.
Keep on Writing,
Rod
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