September 19, 2018

This meeting was a lot of fun despite being about 30 minutes shorter than average.

We welcomed Jim Drendel, excuse me if I misspelled the name, to the meeting. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.

We opened the meeting with a discussion on Point of View and Character Development. Peter’s story, Rewired, served as a catalyst for the discussion. While writing about the effects of having two major strokes and having lost almost all mental function, Peter is tasked to develop characters and challenged as to which POV to take here. The tense of our stories is important. Is it in the present, past, or future? And, equally important, do we write in the first, second, or third person. What is right for your story?

Even in the case of non-fiction or memoir writing the author must use a POV and define the characters so the reader can identify and keep pace with the story.

The discussion was targeted toward helping each of us to think about how we write and see the story in our heads. Through whose eyes do we see, are our characters full and life-like, or are they flat and obviously fictional?

The reading portion of the meeting got off to a great start with Ernie reading his story entitled, The Rock. In the story, a wanted man meets with associates who believe in him and his actions. Is he a rebel, a terrorist, or simply a man seeking the truth? How far into the future is this story as a government pursues dissenting citizens?

Don brought a challenge to the group. A local paper sponsors a writing contest by printing a photograph and challenges writers to write a story of 1500 words or less about the photo. This edition is of a wooden door framed by stone. Don’s story, The Chapel Door, portrays a man contemplating suicide and what he experiences when confronted by a small child who asks, “What are you doing, Mister?”

Bruce shared a piece from a published book. The story is entitled The Brown Haired Girl. In a discussion, a couple wishes for things to be as they once were. 

When Tish opted to read from her memoir, unnamed at this writing, she related to having attended a class she called the Clairvoyant’s Class. With this class, she came to understand what she often thought of as a curse could be a blessing in disguise.

Reluctant to read but coaxed into doing so, Mary gave us a reading of a true conversation overheard on an airliner. A hairdresser, afraid of flying and rather talkative, struck up a conversation with a Nun with whom she was paired in the seating charts. Calling on the Nun to be her “Guardian Angel,” the hairdresser brought out an interesting conversation from her seatmate.

Rod read a portion of the second chapter of his latest Charlie Bascomb adventure. His description of a combat scene on an Iraqi rooftop led the listeners to offer many suggestions and requests for more of the same.