New Words, Congrats & Recap

Two reminders: (1)our next meeting, our General Meeting, will be Wednesday evening the 16th, same time, same place, and (2) the Magic Words, contributed by Peter Frickel, are POOR and POUR. Use both words in one sentence, or each word in a separate sentence, or whatever other combination you can come up with. Your choice. And use your imagination. Let's see if we can create some unique sentences.

The congratulations go out to Kerri Dieffenwierth. The poignant and very original story she read at the last meeting about Chupa Chup, the old man who was trapped and died in an amusement park ride, placed 4th in a contest that had 400 entries. Way-to-go, Kerri! Let us know the details about the contest at the next meeting.

The meeting recap will include just about everyone who came to the meeting because nearly everyone brought something to read.

Joe Porter read a very moving piece about his experiences in Hiroshima shortly after The Bomb destroyed the whole city. Ed Lyman brought another one of his humorous short pieces. This one was about pickles and olives. Kris Palmer read a piece about Courage and demonstrated once again that she definitely has more courage than most of us. Our resident actor Tom Smith read, presented, and acted out his version of the Snow White fable. Jean Porter shared a couple poems about swimming and the current oil spill disaster going on in the Gulf of Mexico. One of our new visitors, Micki Knowles read her story about the Demonic Delights of the Cabbage Patch dolls. Phil Dobrin took us all into the operating room again and gave us a glimpse of what goes on during a heart operation. Andrew Parker read another one of his powerful and this time heart-rending story segments, about a young man who is trying to adjust to the results of a life-changing accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. And Peter Frickel brought the evening to a close with another poignant and powerfully presented dying scene from his novel.

During the meeting we also had a very lively and informative discussion about some of the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus author initiated publishing, usually referred to with the very broad and comprehensive terms "self publishing" and/or "POD publishing"

Don't forget to use our two Magic Words poor and pour in a sentence or two. CU all on the 16th.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Meeting Wednesday Night

Hi All,
Just a quick note to remind everyone that our "reading meeting" is tomorrow night, same time, same place. So bring your latest creation and share it with the rest of us. As Sue said, however, keep in mind that we have to keep our readings fairly brief, no more than three pages, so everyone can have a turn. Everyone who WANTS a turn, that is. Reading is not required. Just encouraged. And comments and critiques are always welcome. The primary purpose of the readings of course is to get feedback so you can improve what you've written.

And remember the two magic words for tomorrow night are MASK and AUTHENTIC. You can use both in the same sentence or a different sentence for each word. Or some combination thereof.

See you then!

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

How Could We Forget?

Oh, yes, there was another reader at Wednesday night's meeting: Ed Ellis. Ed usually reads a nonfiction piece but this time he had something different. Something very different. His story was about a man stuck in the enviable position of being in bed between two nubile, affectionate, and accommodating women. How could we have possibly forgotten a story like that?!?

Did I miss any other readers? Let me know if I did.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Chilly Night, Warm Gathering

Despite the chilly weather this past Wednesday night, we had a great turnout for our "reading meeting" and the atmosphere (and camaraderie) inside the firehouse was definitely warmer than outside.

We had three visitors--Steve, Brenda and Judith--who shared with us a bit of their background as well as their writing goals. Steve also shared with us the opening chapter of his work-in-progress mystery novel which definitely generated a good jolt of opening suspense. We do hope all three of them will continue to join us at future meetings.

We also had a lot of regulars among the 20+ attendees and nearly all of them brought something to read. A few folks showed up whom we haven't seen for awhile. Bart Stamper and Linda Malloy have been out of town doing other things.

Bart gave us a special treat this time. In addition to another one of his sensitive and powerful pieces related to the Vietnam War, he also shared with us a very funny piece about his current employment at a nuclear power plant. Doesn't sound like a funny topic but his treatment definitely was.

Weslynn McCallister read the opening chapters of her latest novel, which is definitely off to an intriguing start. Joe Porter gave us a few more of his powerful poems about the people of Appalachia. Joanne read a heart rending story from her new book, SHORT TAKES ON LIFE. Peter read some new poetry and a few short "experimental" pieces; all done with his usual delicate touch and vivid imagery. Sharon read another one of her hilarious poems, this time about a city girl who moves to the hillbilly mountains. Dewey read another boating-related story, plus an account of the Normandy landing during WWII.

I know I've forgotten some others who also read so we'll try to give you folks a double recognition next time.

Overall, it was a very productive meeting, one that everyone seemed to enjoy. Thanks again to all of you, for braving the frigid weather and for enduring the not-as-warm-as-it-should-have-been meeting room.

Our next meeting will be on the 20th; same time, same place. Keep in mind, too, that we'll be taking a collection at that time. We are suggesting a $5.00 contribution from everyone. This money will go directly to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department for generously allowing us to use their room for another year.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Don't Forget -- There's A Meeting Tomorrow Night

Despite the frigid weather and despite an imaginary forecast of blizzard conditions throughout "sunny" Sarasota County, the "reading meeting" WILL go on tomorrow night (Wednesday, the 6th). Same time, same locale. And bring something to read. After all the stories are read we'll toss them into a pile and start a bonfire. I'll be bringing marshmallows and some willow branches if you all will bring the cocoa. And don't forget the snowtires and chains.

Does any of this bring back memories of why we came here in the first place? To get away from the cold? Where's Global Warming when we need it?

Posted by
Russ Heitz