September 7th, 2022

To open the meeting, we called on Bruce Haedrich to bring an opportunity to our attention. A local group in Sarasota, Calling All Writers, is asking for writers to join an event at the Venice Public Library on Saturday, November 12^th, 2022, to sign and sell their books at the library. You must apply by September 16^th, 2022, to kdow@scgov.net.

                                                                

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

I have been experimenting with contacting Literary Agents requesting representation. I’ve sent queries to several agents over the past few weeks. Although I’ve only received one rejection, I’ve not heard back from the others. I’m not surprised. In their query directions, most agencies state that six to eight weeks is the average response time. I will persist in my efforts and report any progress at future meetings.

We had twelve attendees at this meeting, and seven wished to share their work with us.

First up was Bruce Haedrich. Bruce had not read at the previous meeting as we ran short on time. He has written and published a dystopian trilogy entitled The Outlands Trilogy. Bruce’s fertile imagination brought forth many predictions as to the future of the United States of America. Tonight he compared his predictions in his work to things happening in the present. National ID cards? Secret Police? Unlawful arrests? Undocumented Prisons? Are these things happening? Bruce keeps an eye on national events and claims proof of happenings across the U.S. that parallel his predictions. Remember, we are writers, not politicians; some people often confuse fiction with politics. Bruce is a fiction writer. His writings are based on actual events, but the projected outcomes are strictly a product of the writer’s mind. Our function as a writer’s group is to evaluate the quality of the writing and not assess the integrity of the idea. Maybe dystopian fiction is not your bag. But we must consider the job the writer did in presenting it. That is our task.

When Peter Frickel took the floor, we knew whatever he read would be thought-provoking. He did not disappoint. A Legionnaire, during a battle, sees an enemy approaching. Is he a threat? Must he be killed? Is it Him or Me? Yes, he cannot carry the guilt of survival. A bar, an attractive woman, a fantasy all too common. Does he, does she, did he, did she, was it real? This is a puzzle for a titled man in England.

Poetry is a powerful medium, and few express themselves better than Don Westerfield. Don read two poems this evening. Living addressed the diversity in how people view life. Some have constant strife, while others see only the good side. The rest of us take it as it comes, neither all good nor all bad. In his work, I Am Here, the poet wonders, was it choices or fate that put us where we are in life?

Sometimes writers surprise us with the pace or direction of their story. Ernie Ovitz is no exception. In Chapter 25 of his chronicle about the life and times of Emperor Constantine, Ernie writes of the Emperor’s second in command in the Empire. An unexpected visit from his mistress brings out the worst in him. She informs her lover that her husband is returning. Expecting sadness, she is greeted with a lackadaisical attitude.

Do I Want to Write This Book? That is a question Tish McAuley asks herself. She started writing to help other women caught up in the vicious world of drugs and abuse, but she soon found writing became therapy for herself. It doesn’t matter if the story is a memoir or a work of fiction based on actual events in her life; it must be written.

Have you read The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Victor Hugo’s famous gothic novel was initially titled Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482. In Richard Cope’s story Le Cent(the Saint in French) 1916, Richard hopes to paraphrase and modernize the story. We’ll see how he fares in the next few weeks.

Some years ago, Susan Haley wrote a poem titled I Have a Dream. As she read, we could hear the passion in her voice because, as she so aptly put it, a dream is a passion.

Reading took less time than we expected tonight, so we had a couple of encores.

Peter Frickel read us his poem Waves of Foam. As the waves break upon the shore, they wash away the foam, only to come again with replenishment. After conferring with Tish, he read his version of how he felt uplifted after chewing on a plant stem and found himself in Mexico. He called this work, Drugs.

Bruce Haedrich also returned to read his latest letter from Gaia, A Planet in Peril. Gaia tells us of the damage man has done to the planet. She tells of early hunters killing off 178 species of megafauna, driving them to extinction. Today, hunters continue to kill animals and target the largest and best of the species as trophies. Not only are mammals targeted, but it’s also amphibians, fish, and fowl. We spread pesticides to kill insects and, in turn, poison our pollinators. Gaia warns us that we will drive ourselves to extinction if we do not change.

 

Well, on that note, we closed the meeting. We’ll be back in a fortnight, September 21^st, at 6:30 PM. Stop by the Nokomis firehouse if you can. We’ll be looking for you, but in the meantime – KEEP ON WRITING!