Oh! We have a new member! Julia Nguyen joined us last night and we're really
glad she did. Welcome aboard, Juilia.
Now, for other stuff...
Lucio brought chapter 3 of Lady Ansa. I love the way the chapter ended with a
mystery. What's below decks and why is it so important? Stay tuned. Cat brought
chapters 33 and 34 of The Legion. She was so excited that she started telling
us about her next blood-stained story. Keep it up, Cat. You'll convince us yet.
Don brought in chapter 1 of his work "untitled as of 10-4-12". I'm
sure he'll think of a title with the word "Il Duce" in it soon
enough. Otherwise? It's a good start to your work. And Nancy? How can the
publishing world keep overlooking Cass and her life? Her latest chapter was
quite brilliant. I love her work and hope she keeps writing.
And me? chapters 31 and 32 of Suffer The Children. An aside? You can now read
the ending tot he story in our Facebook group because I posted all 8 John
Overland novels there. Help yourself.
See you the AFTER THE ELECTION, on November 7th. Goodwin's as usual. This time?
Brings ideas for our group book. I'll bring some short stories.
I've
been in this writing group for just over a year now. I made an attempt
to check the date, and I believe the first meeting I attended was July
6, 2011. I had made a decision to get a little more serious with my
writing, and knew one of the first things I had to do was get some extra
eyes on my work.
I
poked around online, and found a few local groups. My thought was that
I'd attend a couple groups and feel out which one fit me and my needs
best. I got a little lucky; there happened to be one group
meeting in a few days, and their website had no indication of a membership
fee. They also met up at Borders, not 15 minutes from where I work, and
I'm not one to turn down an excuse for coffee, nor the chance to peruse
the book store.
I never checked on those other groups.
The
people in that group were pleasant and welcoming, and though members
have come and gone, the group remains this way at its core. I have to
admit that when I went home the first night, I had trepidation about
returning--I told my wife they were a little "too nice" to my work. I'd
like to say something pompous here, that maybe my work was just that
good, that it didn't need criticism--in person I probably would, but
only because in person you'd see my body language that tells you that I
don't really believe that. Maybe they were being nice to the new guy,
maybe it happened to be one of my better chapters, but I can tell you,
I've had some bad sessions since. I've taken in chapters that went over
flatly, received the opposite reaction I intended, and had one instance
where I completely questioned my understanding of basic grammar.
The
feedback I receive is well and good, but honestly I might receive
comparable feedback elsewhere. I think the main reason this group works
for me is that I trust these people. I trust that they're helping me,
and more importantly, I trust them with my work. I know that several of
these people have taken my work home to look at, because I gave it to
them. If they don't clean out their email, they probably have a full
45,000 word novella in a digital format, and I don't think for a second
that one of them would do something I wouldn't want them to. For me,
that is the most valuable thing I've found in this writing group.
We discussed a new bookstore opening in Riverside at
the Canyon Crest Towncentre. Its owner, Linda Nurick, is actively seeking
writer's groups for the store, so I'm going to try to talk to her about us. The
reaction to this move was generally favorable. I'd like to target the new year,
but we'll see how things develop. The place is called Cellar Door Books - and
it you have to ask where the title came from - you're like me, because I didn't
know either.
Don didn't bring anything with him due to a computer explosion in his home. He
contributed, though, and that's always a plus. Don? Thank you for being there
and helping us. You always do. Dave brought part 3 of "Why It's Hot This
Summer". He's keeping his cards close to the vest, but the end of part 3
maybe showed a little bit of where's he's going with this. I like it, it's
still very visual and I can't wait for part 4. Nancy? What can I say about your
work that I haven't already said? It's brilliant and the chapter you brought
last night was as brilliant as all the others. In it, she revealed a lot of
what makes Uncle Stan tick. She also showed that Cass is still as strong as
she's ever been. She offered a compromise to him about her place on his ranch
and he took it. Cat brought in two more chapters from The Legion. We traded
possible cover pictures for her story because it deserves publication
somewhere. It's a complex tale that she is keeping straight and true. Excellent
work, Cat.
And me? 11 chapters to go. But I proved that not all chapters are good ones.
Chapter 29 got panned - even by me - which means I have some work to do.
See you on the 17th...
Gene, buddy? Hang in there. We really miss your stability.
Okay, it's in the bank. We met last night and I
thought it was both productive and fun. We even picked up a new member from
that far-flung fictional land of Michigan. I keep telling them that it's not
real, but they insist...
Lucio especially caught my attention with the second chapter of "Lady
Ansa". Not only was it a good chapter, but he was very meticulous with
noting feedback from the group. He took - and takes - a lot of notes. As an
aside? I've noticed that everyone's writing is getting better. Even mine, I
hope. Anyway, I thought he had a good chapter. Cat brought in three chapters
from her story "The Legion" and the feedback was good. Nancy remarked
on how many characters there were and then complemented her on keeping them all
straight. Nicely done, Cat. And then there's Nancy. I
really need to emphasize this: she has a GREAT novel
on her hands. Last night? She has been painting Cassandra's character
throughout the entire story as being good, honest and straightforward. Then he
mother lands on her. Fair? No. But Cass is trying to overcome all the obstacles
put in front of her. Nancy? This is greatness. Dave brought the second offering
of "Why It's Hot This Summer". Visual? Very. Intriguing? Extremely. I
can't wait for an answer to the problem he's painted. Very interesting, Dave,
and very well written. Don brought the conclusion to "In The Line Of
Fire". I especially liked it because it leads to a much larger work in
that time frame? 1937 Italy. Don? I hope you do it because the subject matter
is so interesting - especially an editor for a publishing house. There are
literally a million different scenarios he could take and write about. Don? I
liked it. A lot.
Me? chapters 27 and 28 of Suffer The Children. I got a few congrats from the
crowd and I suffered through them. Gang? It was fun, informative and twice a
month isn't often enough for me.
Nancy is writing a killer novel and her last installment just proved it once
again. You can't help but root for Cass as she weaves her way through life.
Very good work here, Nancy. Cat brought in a deluxe installment from The
Legion. She got a lecture from Don about some grammatical issues, but Cat stood
her ground. The novel has three main characters and she is keeping them all
straight. Don brought in the end of his story, In The Line Of Fire. While a few
of us didn't like the ending where our hero simply falls asleep, it was a very
solid story nonetheless. Good job, Don. Lucio brought in the first chapter of
his new novel, Lady Ansa. I especially liked the way he limited his POV to one
in that chapter. It made the story so much easier to track. This is one I'm
going to want to read. Dave brought in a showstopper. Why It Is Hot This
Summer. Is it REALLY the doorway to Hell? Visually, it was superb. Wow. Great
writing, Dave.
And me? Chapters 25 and 26 of Suffer The Children. The worry is that the kids
will be killed. Would I really do that? Stay tuned.
So, until the 19th, that's it from this side of the desk!
*Post by Jim Rozhon
***
Grammar - is it important?
I'm not sure where to start this, so I'll share my opinion first: KNOW YOUR GRAMMAR! LEARN TO SPELL! WE HAVE THESE RULES FOR A REASON!
However...this is creative writing. How much do we need to adhere to the rules?
I grew up having phonics and spelling pounded into my head. Though I've never won a Spelling Bee (I never participated--it's a stage-fright thing), I consider myself a "good speller." Grammar was treated the same way, and though I don't always follow the rules when I speak (you should hear the way I slur some words together), in my writing I usually follow THE RULES. I know there are things I screw up regularly--I apparently have a problem with "dangling modifiers," and it took me hours to figure out what the heck that was. And then there's the whole prepositions thing--you know what I speak of.
See what I did there?
I'm a bit of a stickler for spelling and grammar, and while most computer-based word processors have a good spell-checker, the grammar check is wanting, to say the least. Since our computers won't do it for us, we obviously still need to learn proper grammar, but we also need to learn them for the reason explained in more than just my creative writing classes: You need to know the rules so you know when and how to break them.
Ultimately my opinion is that if you're going to mess around with grammar, you need to know what you're doing, but go ahead and do it--but don't do it just because "that other famous author" did it. My opinion, the spelling and grammar should be perfect, except between the quotations marks. Between those quotation marks, do whatever you want.
If your concern is its presentation to an agent or editor and their opinion on the "creative" part of your creative writing--you need to work with this person, and have a business relationship with that person. Opinions are going to vary, and a given agent/editor may or may not ask for changes, either way, regarding grammar, spelling, and how exactly you should write that person's speech pattern--it's one thing to want to work with you and make your work better. However if that editor or agent going to poop on your work and reject it just because you did that one weird thing that broke the rules, you probably don't want to work with that person anyway.
LR
Lastly, we'll leave you with a video of Andrew Stanton's TED talk, filmed in February 2012. Andrew Stanton is the writer behind many of Pixar's movies--you may have heard of this little film called "Toy Story."
A
bit late to be reporting on our last meeting, but I was in Atlanta
watching the Dodgers beat the Braves over this past weekend. And, yes,
it was the game where the Dodgers hit three consecutive home runs.
Lucio brought the last two chapters and epilogue of The Horizon Run. I
thought it was a good story, but that he needed to focus his writing to
fewer characters in any sequel. Still, it was a very good ending and he
said he's going to write that sequel. Cat was brimming with enthusiasm
since she has a new notebook. Actually, I'm not certain the universe is
safe with Cat having more energy. Anyway, her novel The Legion is
coming along very nicely. We discussed a bit of how she changed the
ending between versions 1 and 2. Don brought more of In The Line Of
Fire. Personally, I think it's
his best
work in a long while. Good stuff, Don. Nancy is really cooking with Cass
and her coming of age novel. I think it's super and she's said she's
going to write a sequel. Everyone wants to know more about Cass. Good
work, Nancy. Gene brought in Chapter 4 of The Pharmacist and sketched
out how things were different in the late 40s and early 50s. It was a
peek at a world that is gone now. But his character found a female
"friend" - and that stuff never ends well. we'll see. He's gotten a good
start to his novel.
Me? More of Suffer The Children. And, yes. I'm working on a sequel to it, too. What's it called? The Ladybug Murders.
Also, we might have a new member. Cat is working on a friend - one that
just happened to walk into the room as we were finishing for the night.
Cat let me know.
Cat was mourning the loss of her hard drive, but her story wasn't
lost. The Legion is still a good tale - at least that was our opinion. Don
brought another chapter from In The Line Of Fire. It's a good mystery, but one
of the best is whether or not Don will reveal the location of the story.
Personally, I don't think he needs to. Nancy REALLY cooked with her latest chapter
of Cassie's coming-of-age tale. I think this chapter was riveting in the best
use of that word. She hit a home run with that chapter. Or put another way: do
you have the chops to go against societal conventions the way Cassie is being
asked to? Also, she's planning a sequel! Gene brought A Day In Barcelona. While
I didn't like that it was a dream, it was still a very good short story and I
hope he takes Don's advice and tries to get it published. Me? The latest from
Suffer The Children. Life is getting heavy for the kids and everyone seemed
worried about them. Cat has read the entire story and tried to calm their
fears.
MIA's this week: Greg, Dave and Dawn.
On vacation: Lucio. Lucio, dude? Those
three chapters weren't crud. Can't wait to see you and tell you why.
