December 20th, 2023

 

 Welcome back. Yeah, I know, I’m late again. What the heck? It’s Christmas, and I have 10 Great-grand-kids to enjoy, so I’m a few days late? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The firehouse was filled with goodies, and we had a good time at the last meeting. Our annual donation to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department amounted to $225 this year. The Battalion Chief and on-duty firefighters accepted it along with a card signed by our writers. Thank you, NVFD, for allowing us to use your training room.

 

A first-time attendee joined us this week. Katie Lynch came to see what we do and shared an insightful piece after hearing several of our writers read. Her essay entitled Austin and Zelda, in rough draft form, tells us Katie is an accomplished writer and will do well with her endeavors. – We look forward to hearing more of her work.

 

Our reading session was abbreviated as we often paused to sample the goodies. Cookies, cupcakes, sandwiches, and candy adorned the table. More than we could eat as a group. The firefighters promised to give the leftovers a good home.

 

Don Westerfield started us off with two poems appropriate for the evening. Recalling events from years past, Don tells us of snowball fights, Threshold bells, Carols, Decorated trees, and the company of a faithful dog, all in “A Christmas Eve.”  Then, as he explores the time “Beyond Christmas,” we are introduced to a bewhiskered old man with soot-stained whiskers and a red suit, torn and dirty, trudging toward nowhere. Does anyone believe in love and goodwill anymore? “Is this where Christmas ends?”

 

Peter McNally stands out as a burgeoning storyteller among our group of writers. Peter tells of his life after suffering several debilitating strokes and Gran Maul seizures. The strokes destroyed his memory and wrecked his life. It’s taken years to rebuild a life, but as his efforts to tell his story continue, bits and pieces of the lost memory return. The heartbreak of losing a family he barely knew at the peak of his struggle is becoming more and more available in his mind. But our writer presses on. His skills are improving daily, as are his memories. Write Peter, Write!

 

Taking the season’s spirit in hand, Bruce Haedrich tells us of a plot to steal Santa’s secrets. His poem,  A Christmas Story, reveals a plot hatched at Murphy’s Pub by five guys from M.I.T. to kidnap Ol’ St. Nick and steal the technology that makes him able to travel so fast and enter places in magical ways. Efforts to warn Santa are met with an “oh, we know about that” attitude. Armed with five pills to be placed in the would-be… well, does the plan succeed?

 

James Kelly continues his story of Tremain Mackenzie as he joins the Calvary forming up and preparing to ship out to Cuba. The newspapers nickname the group The Rough Riders. Jim tells the story well. He received several ideas on how to approach the telling of how the women left behind by the men going off to war react and handle the stress. Kelly’s knowledge of military operations and life in service makes his story rise from the page and take shape in the reader’s mind. Good work, Jim.

 

We hope you've had a great Christmas, we did, and we wish you a Safe and Happy New Year. 

That pretty much sums up the last meeting of 2023. We begin a new year at the Firehouse on January 3^rd, 2024. We look forward to another bountiful year filled with new stories, poems, and projects. Make all your wishes come true, and KEEP ON WRITING!

Dec. 6th, 2023

Sorry to be so late in posting this blog. After all, it’s the Holiday Season, and I’m busy. Unfortunately, all that other stuff and not my writing demands my time. I’m looking for a way to let Artificial Intelligence take care of that ‘other stuff’ so I can get back to doing important things. I haven’t had a decent nap in over a week, and that’s got to stop. Oh well!

 

We started the meeting with another discussion about AI. I wonder, can anything artificial actually be intelligent? Our ever-curious Bruce Haedrich was fooling around with this tool and decided to find out how fast it could come up with a summary of his latest work, The Janus Moon. He plugged it in, and before he could blink twice, a complete overview was on his screen. And it was accurate. Okay, but did it make up the story? No, but a summary is helpful, especially when submitting your work to an agent or publisher.      

 (I still don’t trust it, but that’s my opinion.)

 

We moved on to a second topic, Profanity. Do we need to use it in our work? Maybe even just a little? I’ve read a lot of work in my lifetime that has zero profane words in the text. Sometimes, as I listen to people talk, I wonder if they would be tongue-tied if they couldn’t use the f-bomb or refer to someone as a b----, son-of-ab-----, or a--hole. Do they use the same thing as they write? Huh? I use profanity in my work, usually when writing dialogue. I strive to make my stories relatable to readers, and I seldom find my character perfect. They use swear words in times of emotional stress or when facing a daunting situation. Having spent some years in law enforcement, I can attest to having heard an abnormal of cussing, cursing, swearing, and just plain rude language in more than one dialect, I might add. Our good friend Peter Frickel used to say, “If you must use profane language, you’re writing it incorrectly.” But even Peter had to admit people talk that way when they can’t express themselves intelligently. In conclusion, YOU’RE THE WRITER, WRITE IT HOWEVER YOU WISH.

 

As we moved on to the reading portion of the meeting, Dennis Cathcart took the floor. Dennis is embarking on a new work. Having told us many tales of his adventures while hunting and capturing reptiles in exotic locations, he has turned his attention to the fabulous opportunities he and his wife Linda have had to explore this beautiful planet. The working title of his new work is up in the air. By that, I mean, “he ain’t got one yet.” Chapter One, entitled To The Edge of The World, takes place in Tasmania. There, a wilderness teeming with exotic plants and wildlife abuts an ocean with tides racing around the globe to crash unabated on the shores of an island. On a windswept cliff, Dennis and Linda gaze upon a sight few will ever see.

 

Working on a trilogy in which Ernie Ovitz tells of those perceived private moments in the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine can be exhausting. Hours, days, weeks, months, or even years of research can wear down even the most dedicated writer. Ernie needs to take a break occasionally. This week, he brings us a speech entitled The Devil Made Me Do It. Ernie used to be a might heavier than he is now, and he blames his penchant for eating well and often too much. This humorous soliloquy is most apt at this time of year. How many of us will overdo the intake of calories and possibly imbibe in high-calorie beverages over the holidays. Good Luck Ernie.

 

Bruce Haedrich has completed the first draft of his latest work, The Janus Moon. Tonight, Bruce read a summary of Chapters 32 through 54. Although you might think a sci-fi story about a group of people setting off into space and abandoning a dying planet is old hat, wait until you read Bruce’s take on that age-old scenario. After all, Bruce wrote the Battery story that upset the Australian Parliament.

 

Homeward Bound Again is what James Kelly read for us tonight. The young man, Tremain, returns to Jefferson Barracks after serving as a Deputy Marshal in the Oklahoma Territories. Accompanied by his wife and baby, he returns to leave her with his adoptive parents as he sets off to join a Calvary unit preparing for deployment to Cuba. He will once again come under the tutelage of Teddy Roosevelt.

 

When Don Westerfield steps to the podium, we grin because we never know what’s coming. This week, Don blessed us with two of his poems. In Walk Away, he tells of a chance viewing of a woman across the room. Could it be? Is she an old flame who’d once broken his heart? Does he dare approach, or should he simply walk away? His reading of Poetic Mediocrity leaves all writers with an insight. We all have harbored doubts about our skills. Is it good? Is it bad? Or is it GREAT?

 

Well, there you have it. I’ve run out of time as well as brain power. I hope you can join us Wednesday, December 20^th at the Nokomis Firehouse for our annual Christmas get-together. Until then…. KEEP ON WRITING!