Bay and Basin Blog

14.12.10

Attending. Robyn Kellner. Vala Hanns. Eva Brown.

Cathy Rose. Jo Ball. David Rudder. Mandy Byrne. Wendy Williams. Arriving  late. Terry and Helene.

Brag of the Day.

Eva went to her first concert since she was 17  it was very noisy.

Cathy sung at the Christmas Carol Service at Milton and she also showed us the original boat ticket her father bought when he came to Australia. Dated 1926.

David. Wrote a poem using all the Australian words and slag. It was so good.

Mandy has the bones of another story brewing. Hopes to get E book to publish two stories when she gets around to applying.

Vala Hanns going to see Altiyan Childs at Shoalhaven.

Word of the Day.

Wendy. Mendacious. To lie or be untruthful.

Vala.     August. Befitting a lord or revered.

Cathy.    Lucid. Which is clear or readily understood.

Eva.       Synced. To coincide or go along with co exsist.

David.    Compunction. A noun a feeling of guilt or moral scrupulous after a miss deed.

Circumspect. Adj. Wary

 and unwilling to take risks.

Terry. Genealogy is always pronounced incorrectly.

Perfumes. What you get when you set fire to a cat. (play on words)

Homework.

At that moment I should have left. Was the sentence we had to make a short write from.

Mandy Wrote Easily Forgot. What not to do when you go to a party.

David. Poem. Left was Right. A complicated way of explaining your left from the right.

Cathy Short story called Safety. Reaching safety during a bush fire.

Jo. I should have left before that moment. Short story. About a Brain. And murder.

Wendy. Poem The Demon Drink. How to get four children.

Eva. The Bite A Poem about a werewolf.

Vala. Did a Christmas Poem about the past year, very good we all enjoyed it.

Terry. Read a short story by our guest last week Geraldine. About riding her motor scooter through Sydney.  Very descriptive and amusing well done.

Terry read his poem. Innocence really good and it flowed so well.

Helene.  I just got back Mate. A Poem.

The Exercise Neuro Linguistic Programme. It sounds hard but it just means how you relate to words.

Homework. Some might say it is a weakness.

The Group will be closed till the 12 January 2011.

Writers Group Meeting 8-12-10

Attending:

Terry McLaffery

JO Ball

Geraldine Barton

Cathy Rose

Mandy Byrne

Wendy Williams

David Cargill

Brags.

Jo was given the all clear on her health much to our delight.

David C managed despite the floods to get to Dubbo and back.

Geraldine got a gold medal in a triathlon for her age group.

Rose mowed her grass despite it being very long and all the rain.

Mandy finished her short novel The Peace Makers 33,150 words it is a fantacy and I wanted to do it in one month and managed it. I hope to put it on E books.

Wendy going to the Nowra Players tonight.

Terry. Brag for the group. On the Blog we have been viewed by over 6oo people in different countries. So if you view our blog and would like to come along and join our mad group you are very welcome.

Word of the Day.

David. Lachrymose means crying feeling weepy.

Geraldine.Misericord. Shelving projection under a seat that is in a choir stall serving to help support the person when they stand up to support them.

Cath. Harbinger. Annoucing the coming of someone or something good or bad news usually bad.

Mandy .Tartuffe is a person who hypercritically pretends to be deeply pious.

Wendy. Bamboozle  to hoodwink to blind fold someone so they didn't know what was going on and the word came from that.

Terry. Fliers are pilots or something that flies. Flyer is an adventure or trial an experiment. So different words which sound the same A synonym.

Homework.

Mandy. A Book by any other Cover.. A short story  of 780 word.

Cath. Unbelievable. Short story.

David. Bullshit. Short write.About being a security guard at Andrew and Kate's  engagement. Very good funny.

Terry. A Poem Yer. Funny poem. A man who spread his seed but didn't wait to reap the rewards.

Wendy. A  Good Nights Work. A poem about Santa Claus doing the rounds.and a burglar following him and stealing it all.

Geraldine loves writing about anything and everything things she observed around her. A new member we hope will enjoy our mad ways and want to join us.

Terry read  some poems he wrote on the train really interesting and funny.

Terry did a brilliant one on Walking to read on the Blog.

WALKING. By Terry.

Humans walk while standing up, two legs instead of four

You'd think that'd be it, but no there's plenty more

Despite the commonality of humans far and wide

It's not the act of walking but the way we take each stride

Some people take gienormous steps, while others take them short

Then there's Olympic walking, a funny gaited sport

Hercules Poirot that "D" of fame, shuffles all around

While Mr Dillon's Chester had a walk that did astound

Little children's first time out can be pretty topsy turvy

While alcohol can cause a walk with path is very curvy

Skiers walk along like ducks, soldiers do it proudly

Pregnant women lay right back, rioters do it loudly

And so it seems just walking is more than what you see

Your step will very greatly, it's the gait that is the key

But despite the different ways we walk when we go to buy the paper

Be thankful that you've got the legs to do this walking caper

Jo gave us an exercise on rhyming words it was very difficult we were given words and had to find words that rhymed with them. For us that don't do poetry it was very hard. Find four words I challenge you to rhyme with Sunrise!!!

.

Exercise we did the scrabble word game. Jo won with a score of 24.

Homework

'At that moment I should have left'

Record of meeting 1 December 2010

Present; Jo, David C, Eva, Kath, David R, Helene, Mandy, Vala, Terry, Wendy

Brags


Jo bought a whales rib and other things to show and share.
David C now has a new side fence.
Eva has almost finished a short horror story.
David R has completed another 30 verses on his grandfather poem.
Mandy has done another 5 to 6,000 words on her alien story. Mandy went with a friend to buy a new second hand car.
Terry has a new car a Skoda superb - looks good too.
Wendy went to Canberra last week on the Neriga Road it took 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Words of the day

David C – 1 Recreant – cowardly: 2 Miscreant – depraved villainous, wretch
Eva –1 Fuliginous – cloudy. 2 Evanescent – vanishing, fading away.
Cath – Chicanery – trickery or deception
David R –1 Miasma – invasive odour: 2 Pelf – money obtained in a dishonest way
Helene – ebullition – the state or process of boiling and a sudden violent outpouring of emotions
Mandy – 1 Verisimilitude – appearing to be true or real, resemblance to truth. 2 Ruthless – show no compassion or pity
Terry - Pique – to stir up and ill feelings between parties
Jo – evaginate - to turn inside out
Wendy 1 Cachinnation – a loud exclamation or garawf 2 Flummoxed – confused

Homework - The last time


David R -a very astute poem about members of the group
Cath – about her mother
David C – love and death
Eva – Teddy bears picnic and lost remote control
Jo – people meeting in strange places
Wendy – I’m not fat
Terry – a nonsense poem
Mandy – Santa Clause
Helene – galoshes

Exercises

We discussed English based and Australian words eg digger, remittance man, bonza, yobbo, jackeroo, sanger, snags. Terry suggested that for clarity fiction writers should use Anglo Saxon words which are simpler than Latinate based words.

We used each letter of the alphabet to list emotions.

Homework

I just got back mate

Christmas lunch – 12:30 pm Thursday 2 December 2010 Black and White Restaurant

Meeting record 24 November 2010

Present Jo, David C, Cath, Vala, Helene, Wendy, Mandy, David R, Terry, Eva.

Brags: Jo handed out info about a writing competition prize $10,000. David C is getting a new fence. Cath brought pictures of clothes made for children in Uganda from donations from Jo and other people. Helene had two new casts last week and 20 days to go. Wendy celebrated her 48 th wedding anniversary yesterday. Mandy is very proud of her grand daughter Charlotte who sang beautifully in front of 200 people. Mandy has written 23,450 words in two weeks. David R has videoed the whip bird in his garden and written 75 poems over 16 months. Terry has re-started his business - how to set up a small business.

Word of the day
Jo - Scintilla – emits sparks. A spoiled child and spoilt child are the same.
David C – Jobe’s comforter a person who provides false comfort as they believe the person brought the problem on themselves
Cath - Cremocarps – fruit of umbelliferous (look that one up) fruit eg fennel, carrot, parsnip
Wendy – quintessence – the essence of something
Mandy – shriven – to cleanse
David R – ascetic – severe self discipline life of prayer and aesthetic – concerned with beauty
Terry – non-pareil – peerless. Sunnite – muslin of the majority sect observe the Sunna not the quoran

Homework- Teacher there is something you ought to know
Jo - the teacher fainted
David C – the teacher’s daughter
Cath – sewing and the beach – two poems
Eva – the purple dragon a children’s story
Vala – toilet break
Helene – a young man
Wendy – I’m educated
Mandy – the alien
David R – the mantra
Terry – teacher’s daughter again

Exercise - Santa’s elves on strike newspaper article included
Job share for Santa and the elves
The Lapland express
The elves revolt
Sports report – Santa’s son
Santa shoots Blitzen
Santa abuses Christmas fairy

The last meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday 15 December2010 and first meeting for 2011 on Wednesday 5 January 2011.

Homework – the last time I saw ……..
                        I'M EDUCATED.
               By Wendy Williams.
There's something you need to know,
I won't be at school anymore,
I've learnt how to read and write now,
And you've taught me a whole lot more.
I've found that Egypt is inhibited by mummies,
And Joan of Arc was Noahs' wife,
The Jews and the Genitals were enemies,
Hitler was called Heil for most of his life.
I can name 5 animals that live in the Arctic,
4 Polar Bears, and a Seal,
An octopus has 8 testicles,
He uses them to feel.
Malayan people come from Malaria,
The Vacant Tin is where the Popes pray,
Having one wife's called Monotony,
And lambs gamble in fields every day.
See, I told you I'm now educated,
I think you've seen what I've got,
I'm going to circumcise the world now,
In my little 12ft pink yacht.

Meeting held on 17th November 2010

A smaller group than usual, some were unable to attend due to illness or other appointments however those who came enjoyed an afternoon of discussion and mind-stretching as we put pen to paper.
As usual our first item was news of the previous week's activites.  Eva is learning about her new job, Wendy has recovered from a bout of sickness, David Cargill had a very enjoyable visit with his 2 brothers from Scotland, his brothers were "blown away" by the variety of birds they saw, Cath was pleased she had made an incident- free trip to Canberra & return despite apalling driving conditions. Terry's week was uneventful.
Word of the week:  Wendy : Dyspathy:- The opposite of sympathy.  Pejorist:- Person who thinks the world   is going bad.   David : Lycanthropy:-  Insanity of belief that someone is a werewolf.   Cath :  Dartle - To shoot out repeatedly - dart.  Terry :  Plebiscite - Direct vote by voters.
Last week's homework was to enlarge on  :  I always knew :  Terry's poem covered many aspects of life, David had written a manic nonesense poem, Wendy's poem was about relationship & Cath wrote on misunderstanding. Jo's poem caused hilarity - it will be printed at the end of this blog.
Terry gave each of us a subject to write about:  Describe how you would manage if you were blind & were at an Airport, Library, Shopping Centre, Railway or Ferry Terminus. An interesting discussion followed the readings. 
The Quick Write subject was:- On the other side of that door........ David had a Perfect Match contestant, Wendy saw a grey mouse, Eva entered a fantasy world, Cath tried to find a missing person  and Terry managed to get rid of a salesman.
Next week's homework is to expand on:-   Teacher, there is something you need to know...........
Jo's poem:-
THE EX-HUSBAND'S NEW WIFE

I always knew her eyes of blue
Were coloured contact lenses
I always knew her boobies too
Were surgery pretences
Her face, her tum, her thighs, her bum
All smoothed, pulled tight as plastic
I always knew her teeth were false -
I'm really not sarcastic -
But her hair is like a pigeon's nest
I find that nothing is the best
She's second-hand and used so well  -

I hope she gives my husband hell

Below is a poem and is an example of some of the creative work
we do within our group. Hope you enjoy it.

Darkness
by Terry McLafferty

Bonfires and witches and black leather britches
Brooms made of branches and straw
Harsh manics cackle in black coloured tackle
While dervishes dart out the door

The moon is now gone, and the sun long since shone
It’s the hour of goblins and ghosts
And green slimy creatures with dark scary features
And heads hung to dry on sharp posts

Vampire bats sucking blood from black rats
The ground now all sticky and red
With caws and with screeches, and millions of leeches
This night be the night of the dead

Alone by a grave sits a petrified knave
Scared his life would now come to an end
For November 5 may not see him alive
In this garden, of the dead, that he tends

But then just as fast the darkness can’t last
As light of the dawn in the East
Strikes a body that walks on the night of Guy Fawkes
One more year it must wait for its feast

In the darkness lies hidden all that which is forbidden
Only waking one night of the year
And All Hallowes Eve, for those who believe
Is the night that they tremble with fear

10th Nov 10
Present with eager anticipation.
Mandy B Terry M. Wendy Helene Cath David R, Jo B.

News Items
Terry has tentatively booked us for our Christmas Lunch at the Black and White on Island Point Road for 12.30pm on the 2nd Dec which is a Thursday.
Jo was back with us she is still not too well but it was lovely to see her again.
Helene complete with arm in plaster joined us today.
Illness is no excuse not to come but if you have a doctors note we accept it.

Brags of the Day
Mandy had an epiphany and is eight chapters into her new novel. Really enjoying writing this much more than a romance.

David did a poem about Terry and his birthday it was so funny and we all enjoyed it.

Terry went to Canberra and saw the De Vinci exhibition and he says it was absolutely fantastic and well worth seeing. It was in the Commonwealth Park in a marque.

Jo has not got a brag except she was here. She has information on some competition for when you fail and what they sent her. A lot of info about the area the competition was held in. She didn't think the comments by the judges were relevant to her story so was under the impression they had not read the story.

Cath brought a book of poems from Adam Lindsey Gorden. The book was over a hundred years old. She also had several old books belonging to her father all very interesting.

Helene told us about the Ebook that she got for her birthday it is so small and really good we all want one they are so good.

Wendy knows how to download cds and puts them on to I pods. OOH you are clever Wendy…




Word of the Day.

David R. Ephemeral means lasting for a very short time. Transient short lived temporary
Heterogeneous. Diverse in character or content. Or Varied.
Terry. Peccadillo a small sin or fault.
Jo. Mawkish. Sickly sentimental.
Taw. Is a marble game or a large marble. to make into white leather for gloves.
Plebeian. Commonplace. Something vulgar or a member of the lower classes.
Cathy. Chiasmus A contrast by parallelism we have no idea what this means any one know???
Wendy. Demotic Pertaining to common people popular.
Brumal. Of Winter.

Homework.
Mandy flew around with Tiches and Witches a story for children.
Dave wrote about Bonfires and Witches. A poem with some gory details.
Terry. Darkness. A poem about witches and Halloween. Terry will put it on the blog as we all enjoyed it.
Cathy. Halloween. A short story. Brought memories back of our childhood at Halloween.
Helene. Guy Forks. A Poem.
Wendt. The Witches Lament. A poem about Halloween. Funny and great.
The Exercise was words.
Homework. I always knew....
Everyone enjoy doing your homework.

October 27th

Writers Group Meeting
26th Oct 10
Present at todays meeting. Terry M. David R. Robyn K. Wendy W. Mandy B.
Eva B.Vala H Cathy R.
Apologies Jo B. David C.

Brag of the day.
Robyn showed a really good photo of her great grandmother and her great aunt. The quality of the photo was exceptional. Nearly 100yrs old. Robyn is compiling a photographic family history.

Cathy: Found another Jo Ball on Face Book it was not our Jo tho.

David R. Talked about Adam Lindsay Gordon poems he lived in the eighteenth century. He has a book of his poems and his life and found it fascinating.

Vala told us about problems with her passport because of her name. She must never let her passport lapse or she would have problems.

Wendy has bought a Wii to use for games and sports. Beware of playing with numchuckers as it can be dangerous.

Mandy has started water aerobics and is fighting fit. Also sent a submission into Reader's Digest . Also have finished the romance story and needs to be checked for tenses and POV Robyn will do first .

Eva Finished her book after a month.

Terry. Has adopted a little blind Lorrikeet. Called Stevie after Stevie Wonder. It has lots of personality. And has adapted to life without sight. Terry is a member of NANA
This brought on a noisy discussion about birds, the feathered sort.

Word of the Day
Cath. Footle to behave in a foolish or incompetent way. Something we all do often!!
Robyn Gyro Strategic Term used by sportsman used by instructors of different sports.
David. Pragmatic. Dealing with things realistically in a practical way.
. Anecdotal. To give an account on something but it might not be true it can be just a statement.
Vala. Nothing today.
Wendy Tendentious To be biased not impartial.
Eva. Acrimonious To be angry or bitter. Vala commented that was her this week.
Terry. Surreal. A dream like distortion of reality, (Vala Again she said) Strikingly odd.

Homework. The Silence of Snow and the music of Sunshine.
Jo wrote As cold as ice.
A Poignant Story we all enjoyed. Much acclaimed Jo well done.
Terry did a poem called Morning. It explained the subject really well. Beautifully written.
Cath. Life. A play on the words in a short story. Cleverly done.
Robyn. The Question a poem. Really good lovely use of words.
David. Snow Silence and The Melody of Music. A poem. Really well written very poetical.
Wendy. It's Snowing. And Sunshine. Written in a usual fashion giving us a good laugh.
Mandy Between Two Worlds. Short Story about love lost .
Eva. The Silence of Snow a Poem. Then the music of sunshine. Two beautiful little poems.
Today's homework brought out the poets and expressing life in different ways.

Exercise using all the words of the day. Write a short piece. Using the following words
Exercise.
Footle
Gyro strategic
Pragmatic
Acrimonious
Tendentious
Surreal
Some very good poetry and short stories emerged from this exercise. Gosh we are a clever lot.

We did a writing exercise on The things my Father/Mother would tell me.


Homework. "If I could become invisible."



.

meetings

this group really knows how to enjoy stretching their minds, there is always someone's point of view to discuss regarding many of life's aspects. Laughter is often very close to the surface, it is a very relaxed atmosphere with helpful ideas for those with the dreaded writers block

Writers Group Minutes.
20th Oct 10
Brags.
Terry bragging about understanding some scientific points and he liked that he understood it easier.
Dave C. he had a win with Center link. This doesn't happen very often but he was allowed to keep what he earned on a small job.
Eva Brown. Bought an alarm clock.
Cath Rose. Went to the dentist and is fine. Whoopee.
Robyn Learning all about bowls but doesn't play she is a martyr to help Joe.
Mandy. Writing well and up to the last chapter on the romance story and has done several childrens stories.
David Rudder. Dave has a skin cancer for several months and has had lots of treatment on it. Had a second opinion and now has had an operation to have a large area excised and now has several cancers so is having further treatment.

Word of the day.
Terry' Minacious: Menacing or threatening.
David C.: Congruous and Incongruous. One means in agreement and get along with people. Incongruous sort means the opposite.
Eva: Discountenance. Refuse to approve of or to disturb the composure of something.
Cathy: Titivate. To make smart or adorn.
Mandy: Seraphically. An angelic being associated with light and purity.
David Rudder.: Anachronism. A noun a thing belonging to a period of time. Something being old fashioned.
Eclectic. Adj. deriving ideas from a wide and diverse source.
Cycle of life. Homework.
Eva called hers the Cycle of life.
David C wrote. Food for Thought.
Terry Cycle of life homework.
David Rudder. Jarvis Bay
Mandy Byrne. Cottonwool and Television
Roby: Cycle of life.
Group Exercise. Words to make up. David won with a score of 21.
Quick Write.
Using the words defeat, gears, nosey, handy, bestows, shindig, and starting with the words. You'll never guess what the psychic said to me….

MEETING 13-10-10

Attendance: David C; David R; Mandy; Wendy; Helene; Terry; Jo; Eva; Vala; Cath; Robyn.

Welcome to new member Eva.

Brags:
Helene: 2 hours 2 minutes driving on New Nerriga Road from Canberra to Vincentia.
Cath: has completed her Christmas shopping.
David R: had been driving an unregistered car since August – is this the onset of Alzheimer’s?
Terry: amazed at expertise of grandchildren in playing numbers game.
Jo: Has found someone who will conduct a mental forum in Nowra.
Eva: Has arrived!
David C: has been cured from his Alzheimer’s found a long lost CD narrated story in a very long winded fashion – we all think it was more a lucky find.
Vala: Now has Word 7.

Word of the Day:
Undulate: to cause to move in a smooth wavelike fashion.
Jactation: extreme tossing and turning and twitching.
Mort: the note sounded on a hunting horn to announce death of a deer.
Parody: a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature.
Philander: to carry on a sexual affair.
Consonant: harmonious in agreement.
Apropos: being at once opportune and to the point.
Floccinaucinihilipilification: Latin little or no value – Perhaps little or no value would be simpler (he he).
Deuteronomy: a second law.
Detritus: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up.
Charybdis: Greek mythology, two monsters that guarded the narrow passage through which Odysseus had to sail in his wanderings. On one shore was Scylla, a monster with six snaky heads, on the opposite shore was Charybdis, the personification of a whirlpool.
Hypothalamus: part of the brain.

Homework – Children’s Story:
Helene: The Princess Castle;
Mandy: Miggly;
Cath: Timid Tim;
David R: Nana - 6th Anniversary Poem and Joey;
Terry: Poem;
Jo: Musical Appreciation;
Eva: Alphabet Walk and Countdown with Colour;
David C: Sibling Rivalry – Hook and Twist;
Robyn: Birthday Party.

Exercise – Game Word Power and Short Write – Evil Intentions – no homework??

Meeting held on Wed. 6th October 2010
Attending: Mandy, Wendy, Helene, Cath,Robyn, Jo, Terry
Brags:
Jo...made a special effort in assessing TV ads...many annoy her...we agreed...
Cath...rece'd a new water meter for free??? lucky duck
Helene...came back from Canberra via the new road 92
Wendy...had a rear ender accident in Ulladulla...all okay
Mandy...sent off her entry for Finch Memoirs competition...259 pages, 69760 words...a task and a half but she did it. Well done.

Words:
Mandy...denominate...to give a name to something, to call or describe
Wendy...mussicate...to (silently) move the lips as if speaking out loud, to mime
Helene...brio...to be vigorous, lively
Cath...amorphous...without definition or shape
Robyn...skirmish...a minor battle
Jo...till...much discussion os use and spelling,
milquetoast...an extremely timid person
cleave...to split with a cutting blow
bascinet...a pointed full face helmet..bassinet...a hooded baby's basket
Terry...retronym...a new name for an object to differentiate it from a more recent
version...eg. guitar...now acoustic guitar and electric guitar

Homework...anything arising out of last week's exercise on unusual facts
Helene...you use more calories to eat celery than it contains????
Wendy..."One of those days"...a poem...funny as always
Mandy...read a synopsis of her memoir entry.
Terry..."The Cockroach"...interesting analysis of humanities future issues with this
well-to-be-feared insect.
Jo..."Worms"...a poem and a good one too.
Robyn...re cockroaches and the ends her mum went to to exclude the buggers from her
house...very funny.
Cath..."JB"...a story about Jeremy Benthem's skeleton

General...
1) Discussion about our weekly agenda and things we could do
2) Re new Anthology...Terry to talk to Sanc. Point Printing about printing it
Stapled back okay...cover to be a photo of contributors???
3) Re blog...look at putting a piece in the "About" re our group
4)...add the blog address to our entry in the "About"
5)...Price still shown as $5 per week in the "About"...fix
6)...review the recipe book w/- story/poem
7)...modify the blog general description if possible

Quick Write..."spending purgatory with..."...an interesting range of stories/poems

Homework...Write a children's story...age to 12...open to any ideas

Wednesday, 29.9.10

Present: Melissa, Mandy, Terry, David C, Cathy, Jo, Robyn

Brag:
Terry read the prologue and first chapter of a story by one of us (Jo actually), the beginning of a book she has been looking at for some time. (It was so good that I felt I had to read it out). All agreed it is a terrific standard. We encourage Jo to focus on getting this story finished. Make us proud Jo.
Jo expressed opinions on community aid.
Cathy's grandson Rudd's band is in another grand final. Good, good luck.
David C discovered that garlic bread slices are better if they are put in the sandwich maker.
Melissa talked about her teaching efforts and frustrations with poor response to her efforts.Also spoke of her lyric works and recent competitions she has entered. We were awfully glad to see her and wish her luck.
Mandy is editing her memoir competition entry of many, many thousands of words.
Robyn said goodbye to her son's house. Before she came back she tried the bidet for the first time, well, said goodbye to it. This excited her as she had never used one before. It had 'Hyundai' on the back of it. ?? For fast women?
Well, that started up a feast of for instances, what about ... Terry drinking from a finger bowl in a restaurant when he was l6 and didn't know better, Mandy washing her feet in the bidet of a side-by-side suite when she thought that's what everyone did. (Oh, to be young - I don't think!).

Words

Mandy: eunuch, castrated male usually caring for a harem.
Terry: conundrum: no origin of this word is known...a conundrum in itself
contumacious: stubbornly rebellious
Jo: insolation: exposed to sunlight, sunstroke
jardiniere: a stand/pot,
crestfallen: disappointed at failure, dejected.
tryst: suspicious meeting
Cathy: mactation: killing of a sacrificial victim
David: mercurial: quick, electric
wraith: a ghostly figure

Homework

'The Sign of Virgo': Robyn. Nanna's house, including animals and Joey the cockatoo. Her house smelled as old houses do. Nanna told her about her dressing table things, old things - she wishes she could travel back to Nanna's time.
David C: 'Sibling Rivalry':At his grandma's funeral on a rainy day. He expected tension as from old. His twin brother and he are different. David goes in, has the key to his grandma's house. Fond memories, yet sadness. In the drawer is a parchment. 'I leave the cottage to the boys ....' to be continued.
Cathy: 'Memories': Lisa had to act upon Nanna's death. Money left to charity. Lisa opened a drawer. Nothing special - but wait - an envelope drops out, addressed to Lisa. A card from Nanna, thinking of Lisa even now.
Jo: 'Inside My Grandmother's Drawer': a real life drama, one which would never have been written if this subject had not been set for homework, and it is gratifying that it is written: it should have been.
Mandy: 'The Drawer': Found a diaphragm, other items in the drawer, her grandma told her why everything was there. Very earthy old lady. She is old and near the end. Everything comes out, so the heroine thinks that she will go the way of her grandma and she makes a good living and inherits money also.
Terry: 'A Life Unknown': His grandma, when he was a child - genealogy was the drawer opener and disclosed a strong woman who never bent under her considerable load. She raised great children.

It was obvious from what was written, whether real or fictional, just how hard life was for women once, and what women did to earn money to feed their families - no judgement can be made, they did what they had to do.

Exercise: Slang words.

Good fun, especially for Melissa so we could tell her the .. mmm...more lively slang words...she's learning fast(Melissa is from USA). She is such a good sport too.

Next: Exercise: 50 Things Everyone Should Know. Now that was interesting.

One of them is incorrect. Discussion followed upon the scanning of the pages, and the papers were taken home to provide ideas for next week's homework. This is going to be interesting. Also sharpen yourselves because we are going to give Mandy's General Knowledge acquisition a good investigation.
See you all next week
Jo

September 22, 2010

Present: David R, David C, Wendy, Cath, Mandy, Robyn,Vala, Jo.

Brag:
Robyn showed beautiful photos of grandkids.
David C's brand new car goes too fast - got booked.
Vala went to gym-plank position, couldn't be a spider.
I wasn't there so that is the image I got.
Wendy got a new MP3 player for her birthday.
Mandy is no longer a scrabble addict. Is talking about the recipe book we never finished before .. provided information re writing contest, children's books writing. Bernadette is pregnant.
David R has finished moving from his old house.
Mandy has solved the problem of the club's printer.
Jo had a fainting fit - doctor asked her if she heard voices - no one laughed. She told them about the first 78 rpm records, that they were made from paper. I think they all waited for Jo to answer 'yes' to the doctor's question. Mmmm ... just wait ....
David R's battery went bung.

Word of the Day/W/Y

Cath fatuity - feeblemindedness, obstinate.
David C suffuse - to thaw out, facial blushing, eyes watering
Wendy quaggy, adj. - swampy
Mandy journey - from 'journeyman' (source), hired workman.
David R taxonomy - branch of science concerning something, a scheme of classification

Homework: 'The prickles on his neck told him ........'

Cathy: A man went through a field and was covered with thistles (the Scots kind) trying to get through his clothing.
David C: 'Six Hours to Live': A dirty bomb was exploded in the Warragamba Dam. Contaminated water. Disease. Waiting for 2M people to die. Looting occurred. Sydney's multicultural population were dying. But it had all been a joke.
Wendy: 'My Excuse': Poem about trying to write about a subject she can't cope with. She did cope very well with no idea of what it was she was doing well at.
Mandy: 'Brown Sugar' A part of a romance she is writing whereby one of the characters got prickles at the back of her neck when she really contemplated marriage.
David R; Poem 'Hair-raising moments'. An animal wants to eat a man - the gunslinger kills the beast - the bounty hunter was then under threat from the victim, who was still alive.
His second poem: 'The Briar Patch'. A former priest fights the outer world. Falls into a briar patch then St. Peter called him up. That didn't work either, he ended up in the prickly briars for good.
Jo: 'Can't You Understand That!' About men and their hairiness.

Then on to the Exercise. 'A Child in a Crib'.

This was so good and each person's so different that we should put them into a book. David R, Wendy, Vala and Robyn did it in poetic form.

On to another exercise, 'The Journey of a $5 Note'.

Vala was born then became redundant. David C went from the Mint, went with a lady whose purse was taken. Robyn was given back and forth. Cathy came from an ATM, wanted to be out and about. David R, a poem about passing around a note, risky business. Mandy, new note, springy, so experienced everything in the world. Jo ended up in a drug dealer's home and carried on financial dealings there.

Homework: 'You open a drawer in your dead grandmother's house. What do you find there? What emotions do you feel?'

Record of meeting 15 September 2010

Present – Terry, Jo, Cath, Vala, Helene, Wendy, Mandy

Brags – Helene cooked fennel with onion, sultanas, pine nuts, macaroni and cheese - very yummy but no samples to prove it
Wendy – went to the worst play in Nowra last week
Mandy - currently reading on The Turning by Tim Winton
Terry – made comment to a group about alcohol consumed by politicians in the workplace - a worthy initiative
Cath – has tulips up deep pink, red, yellow etc

Word of the day

Cath – maelstrom – great whirlpool or confused state
Jo – spoor – footprints, trail of the wild animal
Terry – abominate – extreme hate loathing. Sotto voce – soft voice
Mandy – brio – vigour - origin Italian
Wendy –obnubilate – to cloud over
Helene – forensic – having to do with courts of law or legal proceedings

Jo bought a cast of a paw print collected by her nephew in the bush. Mandy told an "ah" story about one of her dogs saving the other.

Homework readings

Jo – A universal garden – death on a new planet
Cath – A look into the future – music and robots
Vala – Headlines from the future
Helene – Science fiction it is no laugh
Wendy – Space aged family
Mandy – Is kicking her scrabble addiction so didn’t do her homework
Terry – Tiger – the tiger worm pit next door

Exercise

We played a game of Trivial pursuit in a maelstrom. Wendy, Helene and Vala were the winners by one throw of the dice. Mandy and team played with brio but felt obnubilated and requested a forensic investigation of the spoors.

Homework - The prickles on his neck told him he was …………..

8.9.10 meeting began l.l5 pm.
Present: Helene, Cathy, Wendy, David R., Jo, Vala, Mandy.

Brag.
David told us of a neighbour who was blown over by the wind in her ugg boots, trying to retrieve bunting. It isn't every day you can see this.
Mandy will get a wished-for shed as hers lost its roof in the wind. Her caravan went for a walk.
Wendy is going to Nowra Players to see a play.
Helene going on a cruise, not yet.
Cathy is wearing a very stylish boot because she would climb ladders to clean windows. She has broken a bone near her ankle, very yukky when you think of it.

Word of the week, or day, or year:
David: loquacious - talkative.
lascivious- feeling an overt sexual desire, lecherous, ribald, lewd.
Mandy: parsimony - mean-spirited about spending money.
Wendy: spinster - a woman who remains single beyond the usual age of marriage, or
a spinner.
distaff - a staff for holding wool.
Helene: feminism: advocacy of equal rights for women, esp. in politics, or presumed 'man's' domain.
Cathy: slake - satisfy an appetite, thirst, pertaining to lime.

Homework: 'Six hours to live'

David: a meteor is coming - a poem - colourful and mysterious - oh dear, he was drunk and didn't die.
Mandy: a story of the effects of the bombs as they advance across the country. Prime Minister Gillard seems to be there already.
Helene: Justin hears the news about a change in the law through a monitor. He packs up to go to Swanhaven. He finds he has 6 hours left. The world keeps turning as if nothing is happening.
Vala: A poem, what will she do in the six hours she has left? Decides that no one will remember her doings so why do anything. She ends up writing at the last minute about the last minute.
Cathy: An atomic bomb has been exploded. Everyone rushing around to find shelter and water and food. They pray. They embrace but the radio is on and the news is all bad. There is no escaping.
Jo: A reporter who reports the end in advance of it, describing what is ahead of him and all mankind - the last tree will be the last earth-like thing to go. Oh, oh, Prime Minister Gillard was there too. I should've said 'womankind' ... personkind ... phooey.

Cup of tea time ended up in picking out a man with a titty on the cover of a romance book, can't remember who has the kind of sight as to notice such things ... mmm

Then there were quik-rites. 'But that's not my real name'. All efforts as usual, very differently presented.

Then there was the exercise: 'Write a story in one line'. Everyone had a good idea of what had to be done. Interesting.

The homework was presented by Jo, and it was in the form of an excerpt, what is science fiction, that is, that science fiction is present each moment of your life. It was explained in the excerpt how that comes about. However, the writing parties have decided to do work of their own or do the s.f. which is not s.f. really, that is the point, everything at some time in history and future is s.f.- think of the wheel - once it was also.
Well, we will see what else comes about next week, but we are going to treat ourselves to a game of trivial pursuit which is apt, as we are all interested in keeping the brain active and games are excellent practices. We are going to divide into teams, wow, that'll be interesting. Hope we survive the afternoon!

Meeting 1 September 2010

Present: Terry, David R, Jo, Mandy, Wendy, Robyn, Helene, David C, Cath

Brags: David C could not master the blog, he won’t be here for the next couple of weeks, has laid storm water pipes in his front and back gardens. Robyn is no longer crazy. Terry had a wart not skin cancer. David R met Jo in the doctor’s surgery at Basin View and is seeing a skin specialist in Nowra about a skin cancer on his back. Wendy has a $3 note and her dog died. Helene had the poem “A view so pretty” printed in About.

Word of the day:

Cath – vituperative – scolding, berating, objective, vice
David C – iniquity – not equal
Jo – focused – now spelt with two s’s, advisable and wrath – angry about something you have been holding in. The name of the Australian rat is bogul
Terry – hush puppy – a small ball of corn meal to keep a puppy quiet
David R – penchant - a strong or habitual habit, liking, inclination
Eschew – abstain from Old English and German
Mandy – metathesis – transposition of letters in a word
Wendy – enervate – to weaken or destroy the strength

Reading from homework:

Cath – was slothful so didn’t do her homework
Robyn – Chocolate licorice stick
David C – Brian - The gormandizer
Jo – The sensible way to end anger
Terry – Anger at everything
David R – The Trail blazer - poem from his great, great grandfather’s life
Mandy – Sins in paradise
Wendy – I’m a sinner
Helene – Seven deadly sins

Two exercises: Annoying words and phrases and word exercise.

Homework: The radio has reported that you have six hours left before a catastrophe is about to happen in Australia. What will you do?

Meeting 25 August 2010

Present: Vala, Wendy, Helene, Mandy, Terry, Cath, Jo, Robyn, David C

Brags:
Mandy cruising the pacific and experienced an earthquake.
Terry found a site that linked his wife to her siblings
Cath broke a bone in her foot
Jo has posh broken glasses and a different car and has finally arranged insurance and rego
Robyn has a healthy heart and a cat scan and diagnosed with a migraine without pain
Helene has driven the Neriga Road to Canberra, the road is not yet all sealed
Wendy her dog was bitten a paralysis tick

Word of the day
In depth discussions about everything from fluvial to osculate

Homework
Reading of lots of short stories from our childhood very interesting, cross section of upbringing

Exercise
Lots of short writes taking the subject matter from the names of race horses – Redfern waltz, Apollo Drive, Mister Anthony

Homework – The seven deadly sins.

Record of meeting 17 August 2010

Present: Terry, Robyn, Helene, David C, David R, Vala, Jo, Cath

Brags: Jo brought two brushed aluminum knives they are very light. Jo also showed a book with illustrations. Jo also told us she had been to the specialist had an x-ray and two scans and a broncoscophy and does not have cancer but still needs further investigations on her lungs.
Terry – has written a nonsense poem.
Robyn – had success with the council and now has no stopping signs outside her house.
Vala – lasted her first one hour Pump class.
David C – was digging and found he could kneel on his new knees and explained his surgery.
David R – sold all his house in the Blue Mountains and all his furniture ( a lot he had made) - he now feels liberated.
Cath – has cleaned all her windows.


Word of the day

Helene – Triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13
David C – metaphor is a figure of speech in which transfers a meaning to something
David R – countermand – to revoke an order, origin middle English, old French and Latin.
Vassal – a holder of land by feudal tenure, a person in a subordinate position to another- origin Celtic.
Cath – passive being the object rather than the subject.
Terry – Gaberdine – mans long loose outer garment or cloak.
Robyn – furphy – unfounded rumour.

Homework

Robyn – Second hand Rose
Helene – Second hand valve - poem
David C – Any second now
David R – Me life is made up of seconds – poem of a Scotsman
Cath – A mathematical story - Don’t waste another second
Terry – Just seconds - A poem
Jo – Second cousin etc

Exercise Nonsense poem

David R – E-sex
Cath – Curtains in the trees
Jo – Lady on a knee
Terry – Racked with Ian
Robyn – No intelligent words there
Helene – The horny toad
Vala – The lady from Nantucket
David C – The crow

We were having so much fun we decided to really unwind and wrote a second nonsense poem with even more creative results.

Homework – Recall the first house you lived in when you were about five. Include your memories including the layout, furniture, colour, smell, people who lived there.

meeting 11/8/2010

present were Terry, Wendy,Dave, Jo, Robyn, Helene, Cath.
Brags.Terry offered J. Gash help with a strategy package.
Dave, Knees are great, walked up a mountain at Berry.
Cath, mastered the blog, easy peasy.
Word of the day.
Magni, Large, great, magnify.
Absquatulate, to flee.
Liripoop, Tasses found on a graduates cap.
Desultory, Passing, Erratic.
Cutler, Knife maker.
Fraught, Loaded, full.
Homework was about Jesus.
Helene, Jesus' new friend, very funny.
Wendy, cynical poem, I hate Jesus.
Terry, In the Bag, A tale about Jesus' new life.
Dave, Charmaigne, Gender problems?
Jo, The busy man. A tale of armadillos', Nazis, combi vans, zumba, hilarious.
Exercise, passing along sentences, some strange imaginations.
Quick write was; Everybody else was laughing.
Dave, comedian of the year, corny jokes, but funny.
Jo, the last laugh.
Royn, Romper Room, the sad little clown.
Helene, keeping warm, however silly you look.
Wendy, revenge at the school social.
Cath,
a boating mishap.
Terry, Funny animals, a nonsense poem.
Homework is; My life is made up of seconds.

meeting on 4.8.10

Members present were:- Vala with news of her daughter's appointment as Assistant to Secretary of Treasury. Congratulations & good wishes also to Vala for her 60th birthday: Jo had some news of a North West tree octopus???, Robyn recently celebrated her husband Joe's birthday. We welcomed Helene wearing a new Pandora bracelet which she obtained whilst visiting her family in Canberra. Wendy had nothing new to report & Mandy is excited about her forthcoming cruise of the Pacific. David returned from finalising his house move, he read a witty poem he composed for Vala's birthday. Terry has been assisting one of the speakers in a mental health forum prior to a Meet the Candidates election meeting.

As usual the Word of the Day caused some discussion:-
Wendy's were internet related - blamestorming - working out who to blame
ego-surfing - looking up your name on the internet
swiped out - credit card overuse
mouse potato - internet user
starter marriage - first marriage (practice?)
David puzzled us with nonet, explanation - uneaten
Jo's word could be used to describe some of our meetings - persiflage or joking chatter. Another word of Jo's was negatory - worthless: of no value
Terry:- Prognosticate: Predict or forecast
Helene:- Gravitas: substantial. serious demeanour
Cath:- Brabble: Quarrel noisily over trifles: discord: brawl
Vala:- Capacious: Roomy

There were interesting ideas on the subject from last week:- Three shades of white - in verse and prose.
Mandy wrote a moving tale of a poor family and a Peace rose.
Terry's poem covered many shades of white, from clouds to snow & surf
Robyn had researched white, how it is used as an example for purity, cowardice etc.
Helene used the subject to add another chapter to her novel
Wendy wrote an amusing poem of ladies obsessed with laundering sheets
Cath's piece involved wedding dresses worn by three generations of a family
David read a heartfelt poem relating to war experience, he then made fun of being on a diet with another poem, followed by a witty piece regarding laundry and three shades of white

Terry suggested an exercise which kept everyone occupied, silence reigned as the words, ivy, squat, mizzenmast, iguana, rivulet, muzzle, xerography, twosome, foyer, decibel, were woven into a sentence with top marks if they could be used consecutively. Hilarity was caused when the results of these efforts were read by the composers. It is amazing where a mizzenmast could be placed.

Next weeks's subject is A 60yr old transvestite man who loves Prada,favourite colour mauve,works at the Zoo, has an athletic build, speaks 3 languages with a lisp, has white, pointed teeth, teaches Zumba at a retirement home for old transvestites, drives an old Combi van, is South American, his name is Jesus and his hobby is writing poetry. We hope to hear some interesting stories about Jesus next week.

Wednesday 28th July

Mandy, Wendy, Melissa, Terry, Cathy, Jo, Robyn, present.

Brags:
Cathy: Rudd's band came second in the grand final. Well done!
Mandy: Did a good job giving the service in church. Provided a sugar scuttle for inspection.
Wendy; Had a 60's party for friend - went back in time in all ways.
Terry: Ran a Memoir course in Berry, was enthusiastic about his reception and the actual day. Is talking about doing the same in nursing homes.
Jo: Went to the doctor - again. Bronchiotomy next Wednesday...good luck Jo.
Melissa: Later, said she was working, teaching at TAFE, and is enjoying the work.
Robyn: Found a new convict ancestor.

Word of the Day

Cathy: Nebulous: hazy, perplexed.
Robyn: Terse: polished style, economy of expression, free of superfluity
Succinct: The exclusion of extraneous detail.
Wendy: Flout: mock, disregard rules.
Mandy: Tintinnabulation: ringing of bells.
Terry: Hubris: overestimating one's confidence, esp. for people in power.
Jo: Vituperative: to censure abrasively, to be severe
Focused: a word not spelled to her satisfaction in different dictionaries.
Dilettante: modern meaning: frivolous, old meaning: pretentious.

Homework - The Key

Robyn: Pam finds a note inside a teapot from a convict woman, who was sent to Australia. Pam finds a key in an old shed. The key was set with diamonds and made of silver, it was worth a lot of money.
Wendy: Poem about Karaoke at the RSL.
Mandy: 'Keys to Life'. Lyn met Tom. Tom makes their relationship seem difficult to continue. The key to the continuation was something she had to discover that was important about her.
Terry: 'Michael'. Poem about a homeless man who discovers the key to his new self.
Making a start on rejuvenating himself.
Jo: 'Moskeytoe Land' about a bush rover who encounters a locked door and with the key opens it to meet a giant chook, Colin, who spends a lot of his time swatting moskeytoes, viz. black crows.

Much talk about the art of songwriting, Melissa's playing field, with a paper presented by Jo re Dicken's illustrator, Phiz.
Quikwrite: We had to write a resume as a fairy tale character applying for a job. We chose different characters, which was interesting.

Homework: Write a short story about "Three shades of white."


Jo

Meeting on 21st July ‘10
Attending: Mandy, Jo, Cath, Robyn, Terry
Brags: Jo Her son Danny is now doing street art in Sydney, Another son Murray has
been approached by ABC re his wildlife photos
Cath… a performance at her church for Christmas in July
Robyn…further work on her ancestors, 2 convicts found
Mandy…had a fa…no she fell…okay though…nice that she still bounces
Terry… read out a terrific poem from his 11 y/o grandson…a proud Pa

Words… Cath…attenuate…to reduce, minimize, weaken, impair
Terry..beguile…to deceive, to cheat, (he beguiled me….)
“ visceral…touching deeply, affecting inner feelings (a visceral
experience)

Homework readings
Mandy…”What diet are you on?”
Jo………” Dodo requiem for an old bird”…a nonsense poem
Helene (read by Jo)…about a safety pin…terrific, very funny her best yet…keep it up
Robyn…”Diet – a story
Cath….also Diet…a poem
Terry…a story about old Sid and a computer

Exercise…Mandy…Gave the word…dermatology…we had to make as many words as we could from the letters…Jo streaked out in front with 64 words…you could almost hear those electrical impulses crackling around in her head…we all compared words afterwards and amazingly there were only about 50% common. What a great language we have.

QuickWrite…fifteen minutes to write a story using the words…alarm clock, match, and postcard.
As usual a wide interpretation and variation on the final stories.
Jo…” True to myself”
Cath…”Adelaide”
Robyn…”Uncle George’s house”
Terry…Jane’s adventure”
Mandy…” A romantic story”

A really good day...but missing Helene,Melissa, Wendy, Vala, Mary and the two Davids

Homework…”discovering a key…”

See you next week
Terry

14.7.10 Meeting

Present: Wendy, Mandy, Cathy, Joey, Davidy.

Word of the day:
Imprecation: spoken curse, wish evil to
Agog: in a state of eager curiosity.
Parsimony: extreme unwillingness to spend money, cheapskate, niggardly, close-fisted, cheese paring, penuriousness.
Carapace: the hard shell of a turtle, or crustacean. Underside of crustacean is called plastron.
Nudiustertian: the day before yesterday. (try and fit that into a story!)
Lickspittle: today, servile person.
Alterego: another self
Ipso facto: by the fact of itself
Prima facie: the first case
Status quo: as things were before
Erudite: learned
Tocsin: a bell, a call to arms

Brag:
Robyn had a card written to her and signed by Paul Keating years ago.
Wendy wanted food ideas for party.
David cleaned the house.
Cathy sorted through materials in order to make kids' dresses in Uganda.
Read out Helene's description of the scribblers' she is attending in Canberra.

Homework:
Wendy, The Biggest Lie Of All. A poem, 'Lies, all lies'. the funniest poem about what grown-ups tell you about what will happen to you if you do this or that. All gruesome.
Mandy, They Are All Gone. About the Army. New recruit lasted less than l2 hours.
David, Life On The Planet Kristina. A poem about Kristina Kenneally - who came from space - has supernatural powers.
Cathy, Get On With Your Life, Son. about Adam, a musician. How he found his family.
Jo, The Darkest Hour, about a mysterious book which appeared on an empty football field.

Exercise. Word Game by Robyn.
Trying to write many words that mean the same thing, eg. words that apply to organs or parts used in the production of the voice. Larynx, throat, windpipe etcetera.
This was a difficult exercise although it looked easy. It certainly showed how much notice we do take of alternative words when writing.

Ten minutes Quick Write. David.
About rats. Very different offerings on this. No one thought the same about rats.
Homework..."Diet"...whatever comes to mind...poetry or prose
Finis.
Jo...ey

meeting on 7/7/2010

Present were Terry, Jo, Robyn, Cath, Vala, David, Wendy, Mandy, and a visitor from South Australia.
Word of the day,
Wendy- bow, lots of meanings and pronunciations.
David-Droll, Dry amusement.
Cath, Umbrage-Resentment.
Frivolous-not serious, trifling.
Jo,-Popinjay-A fop, or a parrot or woodpecker.
Homework was This morning marks the anniversary;
Cath wrote about getting used to all the new technology happening, and how far we have come.
Terry told us about famous people who were born or had died on this day.
Mandy,- A racy tale, of innocence, greed, and lost virginity.
Wendy,- a poem about her hero.
David, -A poem tinged with sadness, about Greece, and a summer he spent there with his sister.
Jo,- Told us a true story about a murder in 1944, and how she was linked to it.
As it was a social day, we had lots of munchies, and some good discussions.
Homework is a Newspaper head-line we all chose from Robyns' bag of goodies.
Happy writing, see you next week.

Meeting30-6-2010

Mandy, Terry, Jo, Cath, Vala, Dave and Wendy braved the cold weather.
Brags
Jo helped another writer to join an American Society.
Caths' grandson and his band are in the grand final of a contest in Sydney. Good luck.
Dave Is selling his house at Katoomba, and concentrating on his eco-friendly place over the other side of Goulburn.
Mandy booked a cruise online, they sail off into the sunset on the 7th August.
Wendy, Terry and Vala were bragless.
Jo set us an interesting little exercise to see how logical we were.
Word of the day.
Mandy-Anathema-things come in 3's
Terry- Ossify- to harden or change to bone.
Jo- Bloc-Coalition or alliance.
Cath- Subservient-To yield to anothers' will.
Dave- fawn-A young deer, or to crawl to some-one.
Sycophant-A servile flatterer.
Wendy- Cuckold-A husband or wife of an unfaithful spouse.
Homework was-things come in 3's
Cath wrote a story about old wives tales with a happy ending with triplets on the way
Dave- A poem 3's, very funny.
Vala, a poem, Numbers. Offbeat.
Wendy 3's A funny poem.
Mandy An uplifting sermon, Life comes in 3's, got us all thinking.
Terry-3rd time lucky, a poem about funny old sayings.
Exercise was I Remember paragraphs. Some funny, some happy memories, and some sad ones.
Quick Write was- After the door shuts, and the footsteps die away.Jo and Cath wrote
eerie stories, Dave, Vala and Wendy wrotr funny pieces, Mandy had a tramp finding shelter for the night, Terry had a naughty little boy[him?]having a good old nosh up'
Homework is: This morning marks the anniversary of---
We are having a social day next Wednesday, so bring along a plate. Happy Writing.

Writer’s Group meeting 23rd June 2010

Attending: Mandy, Jo, Robyn, Cath, Vala, David R, Wendy, Terry
Melissa…we missed you…are you going okay?
Brags:
Mandy…Robyn liked Mandy’s romance story…thinks it good enough to publish
David: Read a poem about his trip to Cairns…very good
Cath…no brag but presented some old spelling and grammar books
Wendy: Her vintage car club took their cars to Culburra school…the kids loved it
Terry: Said he has just woken from a long sleep…more later on
Jo: Her war time stories to be put on display at the Lady Denman

Words of the Day
Robyn…euphoric…a feeling of happiness and bodily well being, ecstatic, joyous
David…manes…the souls of deceased loved ones, the god-like souls of ancestors
deify…worship something as a god
passé…no longer fashionable parody…ape, mock, mimic
Cath…..anfractuosity…quality of being winding and tortuous…as in a road?
Vala…..mendacity…to lie, given to falsehood
Wendy..clishmaclaver…casual chat or gossip aglet…plastic end on a shoelace
Terry…fulminate…to censure strongly, to denounce violently
Jo…….schism…a division, separation or split in a group or organization

Homework…we each picked out blindly a newspaper clipping and wrote about it.
Robyn…called ‘Life for Charlie’…a story about a dog
David R…called ‘Fear’…a knock on the door from someone with a religious pamphlet
Cath and Vala…writer’s block this week
Wendy…called “Mother has Alien baby”…poem…funny as ever…what a talent for humour
Terry…clipping called “the home truths we dare not confront”…Terry wrote about a lifelong battle with depression and his decision now to do something about it…community wide…much discussion and acknowledgement of the mental health issue generally and the ineffectiveness of governments to adequately address it.
Mandy…about “Making a Difference” the joy of giving and the thought of what the world would be like without us in it
Jo………called “Farmers Hairy Picnic” a poem…about the effect of the ‘ugly stick’ on a family

Exercise (Mandy)
Using the words “they all saw him walk to the end of the road and he was never seen again”
As per usual a wide interpretation and selection of thoughts made up some very interesting stories and poems.

Homework for next week…”these things always happen in threes”

Next week…Wendy will facilitate and Vala will set the exercise…

15.6.10

Present: Terry, Mandy, Melissa, Robyn, Cathy, Jo.

Brags:
Cathy: Did two laps of the pool. Superwoman!
Terry: Is preparing a programme for memoir writing. Is anxious to teach.
Robyn: Talked about a man found to be family, now a correspondent in family search.
Mandy: dDone first ten chapters of romance novel, arranged for it to be read by members.
Jo: Told about the conversation with Council re wood fires.

Word of the Day:
Cathy: poignant - harrowing, keen, racy, cutting
Melissa: piquante - tender, compassionate, pathetic, pitiful, impressive.
" tantamount - as good as, equivalent.
Terry: farinaceous - floury, starchy.
Mandy: propensity - a way of doing, or of choosing, something personally applicable.
Robyn: embellish - trim, flourish, decorator's tool, elaboration.
Jo: lambast - to reprimand or beat.
Terry: cupidity - eager desire, to gain, covetness,
" assiduous - working hard, diligent, careful and attentive.

Reading last week's Homework:

Terry read the homework, 'write a short story where the senses are not all used', His was a bitchy woman in a wheelchair named Sharon, went into a garden. She had been poisoned by her nurse. Off the wall.
Mandy, Story, "My most prized possession". - a lady's imagination is her prize. This can be shared, can be used to become rich, or to negate loneliness. It comes out that she thinks that life is her precious possession after all.
Robyn, Same prized possession from now on. Betty's place, a working bee has been arranged because of the hoarding. Sam went to see Betty after the stuff had been removed and found his aunt changed. She has a computer now and that is her prized possession.
Jo, Did not decide what possession could be said as prized as all possessions are short-lived.
Cathy, Embarked on the homework, got to where she is deciding what the possession is and will continue on a larger work.
Terry, A poem, prized was once a cricket bat when young, growing, it is cars, then it is his wife. Now it is his mind.

Afternoon exercise: Cathy suggested - "what happens when you open something or look at something that you should not have seen."

Terry went into a forbidden room, saw himself dead on a table, and was asked by a green man to come with him.
Mandy looked in her mother's dressing table and found something very, very, personal.
Jo saw something upsetting in the Tunnel of Love at Luna Park when she turned around to speak.
Robyn found a french letter in a wallet that she should not have been looking in. She was l6.
Cathy had been travelling for years and was happily investigating a room where there was a trunk with carvings on it. What was in it? To be continued.
Melissa snuck a look at a Xmas present in a cardboard box. She was 9, and in the box she was elated to find Rick Springfield memorabilia, but had no surprise then when it was Xmas morning. Lesson - don't sneak peeks.


Homework next week: we all took a headline from newspaper cuttings that Robyn had. Make a story from that one you chose. For those who weren't there pick a headline from a newspaper and write a story.

Meeting notes 9 June 2010

Present: Cath, Wendy, Helene, Robyn, Jo, Vala

Brags: Robyn bought a new computer programme, excellent tool, provides all needs for complete family searches.
Cathy: Her computer is working now.
Helene: Had a flu shot.
Mandy: The triplets are doing well.

Word of the Day
Cathy: Ephemeral: ghostly, short-lived
Helene: Opague: see through, unintelligent.
Wendy:: Scuttle: run awkardly, coal holders
Mandy: Uxorious: relating to devotion to one's wife, subservient to one's wife.
Uxoricide: to kill one's own wife
Robyn: Thwart: to repel or subdue an enemy

Homework:

Mandy began the homework - 'somehow, you get a CD, and what you do with it' - Mandy's was about a woman caught in a car accident in a deserted place - CD was in the glovebox, was about dogs, and she was rescued by the CD and her dog.
Wendy: Poem about a DVD found by a daughter who sees her mother at a party doing everything that her mother has told her not to do.
Helene: Went on a short trip and found a CD. There was cat poo, and she picked it up in a piece of newspaper, and didn't see the ad. offering a very large reward for the return of the CD.
Cathy: Finders Keepers. Leslie on a bus. Aged. Finds CD. Plays it and it contains a terrorist warning! Should she ring Police? They come. Is it true or is Leslie a fruit loop?
Robyn: Runs out of petrol, bad day, everythings going wrong. Finds a CD. Wedding music on the label. Gets petrol, resumes trip to family, who are gathered for wedding tomorrow, when bride discovers she has forgotten to bring music, and so Robyn's heroine provides it.
Jo: An old man on a train finds a CD. He is going to suicide. Finds a CD that saves his life. It is called ITS TIME and no one knows ever, what was on the CD, but it animates the old man.

Exercise:
Everyone was given a small paper which was instructions: to write on, your prayer, hope, vision, story, promise, message, song, regret, desire etc. Given by Cathy and was treated in various ways by all.

Much interesting talk about War in all its guises, our perception of the fact of war.

Mandy continued on with some of the Romance Writing Course. Discussion on Point of View, and as everyone became interested, we learned how to distinguish flaws in so-called Point of View and how to apply it to our own work, a valuable discussion.

Next week's homework is "My most prized possession is .... '

Record of meeting 2 June 2010

Present: Mandy, Robyn, Wendy, Jo, Cath and Helene - a very feminine meeting.

Brags:

Mandy is celebrating the arrival of triplets to a friend and twins to a cousin, all are doing well. Mandy also bragged about her grandson who is a stripper and also doing well.

Wendy’s son Scott and partner Lisa have opened a coffee lounge on the Gold coast.

Robyn had a bilateral injection around her spine for pain.

Cath has rediscovered her grandfather’s post cards and celebrated her grandson’s engagement.

Jo has attempted unsuccessfully to write a crap poem.

Helene has been told by her osteo she has thighs of steel.

Words of the day

Wendy – chicanery – deception by trickery

Helene – squelch – to press firmly together, to hug, embrace etc

Cath – convoluted – a rolled up or coiled condition, a turn of anything coiled, whorl, sinuosity

Mandy – flummoxed – colloquial to bewilder, confuse

Jo – tocsin – an alarm bell

Homework

Some attempts to meet Terry’s challenge to write without using visual senses and others just did their own thing. Topics covered solitude on the beach, loss of sight, out of sight, view from a pedestal, deprivation and my secret.

Exercise

Robyn provided star sign predictions as a basis for a story. Lots of full moons, healing hands, message in a bottle, value for money, calm and safety.

Homework from Helene – dominatrix of the meeting

While your character is travelling, he/she finds a CD. What does your character hear on the CD and how does the story unfold?

Next meeting 9 June 2010

Facilitator - Jo Homework – Wendy Exercise - Cath

Record of meeting 26 May 2010

Present: Terry, Wendy, Cath, Helene and welcome back to David C. We youthful people met in the children’s play room as the church was being used for a funeral. Seemed appropriate really.

Quite a few people away at the moment...Melissa...how are you? Coming back soon?

Brags: Terry has entered the Shoalhaven literary competition…not hopeful…seems like the ‘modern’ non rhyming style is preferred.

David C has a new Rav 4

Wendy will watch the State of ‘Oranges’ tonight

Cath’s grandson’s fiancé has been selected as a finalist in the Trainee of the year competition

Word of the day – short and sweet

Cath – irk…to annoy, irritate, irksome = tedious
Terry – blaggard (orig. black-guard) a villain, rogue, an evil or 'black-
hearted' person, a person of dubious morals
David C – umbrage…be offended, get the poops with someone
Wendy – popinjay…a vain or talkative person
Helene – comeuppance…get your just deserts

Homework – “I can’t believe I was afraid of…”

David shared his fear of using a telephone when he was younger Wendy and Mandy wrote about marriage. Jo provided a quirky extensive list of her fears as did Terry.

Exercise

Wendy asked us to write sentences using homophones, some used included pain & pane, fair & fare, herd & heard, hole & whole, mail & male, bail & bale, birth & berth, bare & bear, saw & sore, know & no, hair & hare, sale & sail, maid & made, bow & bough. David wrote a poem using homophones.

Quick write – Include the words “The whole thing was just too loud”. Stories included loud parties, loud clothing and loud behaviour.

Homework from Terry

Write a 200 word description of a place. You can use all sensory descriptions except sight. You can describe what it feels like, sounds like, smells like and tastes like. Try to write the description in such as way that people will not miss the visual details.

Next week

Facilitator – Terry Exercise – from the cupboard Homework - Helene

Meeting 19th May 2010

In attendance: Jo, Cath, Helene, Mary, Wendy, Mandy, Terry

This week: Facilitator –Terry, Exercise – Mandy, Homework – Terry

Brags:
Jo…War Memorial in Canberra not particularly helpful
Cath…Grandson’s band into semi-finals of band competition
Helene…happy to be relatively injury free after falling (or having a fall?)
Wendy…good to be back in the land of Oz after a visit to the old dart
Mandy…being crafty but not helping her back issues
Terry…grandson Bailey following in Pa’s footsteps with writing and poetry

Words of the Day
Jo…continues to be frustrated with US dictionary spelling (realize vs realise)
Cath…obstreperous…loud, noisy, unruly
Helene…bizarre…odd, queer, weird
Mary…nefarious…flagrantly wicked
Wendy…quotidian…daily, commonplace
Mandy…propinquity…nearness, kinship
Terry…iniquitous…bad, evil, unjust, wicked

Homework readings
Helene…a poem…The lottery
Wendy…a poem…England’s weather
Mandy…Family luck
Terry…Come-uppance
Jo…Making way
Cath…And the winner is…

Exercise 1…Mandy…A quickwrite starting with “I was sitting in bed sipping hot coffee when the nurse came into the room”…and ending with “and then we both heard the music”
As usual a wide range of different approaches including quirky.

Exercise 2…Terry…as per last week where we all contributed to a series of stories… a lot of fun and some actual functional stories.

Mandy continued with the Romance writing discussion.

Homework …a story including the words “I can’t believe I was afraid of…”

Next week’s meeting:
Facilitator is Helene…Exercise by Wendy…Homework by Terry

May 12, 2010.
Minutes of the Weekly meeting of the Bay & Basin Writing Group

Present: Vala, Helene, Kath, Jo, David R, Mandy Terry and Robyn

Another good meeting with several brag items

Vala and Helene enjoyed an open afternoon at a local Hairdressers new premises.
Kath braved the waters of the bay and took a swim at Plantation Point Beach.
Jo bought us up to date with her war against the smoke giants, and her ten fingered gloves.
David very close to completing his country cabin, and off to Cairns for a break. Hurry back.
Mandy is over her writers block,

Words of the day included
Frisson – a shiver of fear or excitement
Langorous- Indolent dreaminess, listless “An era of crises in which many retired to the langorous meditation of disengagements.”
Loquacious… talkative, using too many words, long-winded (also garrulous)
Fallacious…deceptive, misleading, logically unsound
Fiasco Used originally in Italian theatre for an utterly failed performance, also a flask or wine bottle, a breakdown
Enquire or inquire – both seeking for information or truth.

Last week the homework was set by Jo, several members successfully rose to the occasion.
Helene The Man in the Green Shirt
Jo The watcher
David Aloysius
Mandy The Chocolate Memory
Terry Micky
Kath Leaving

“A conglomeration of minds.” A joint exercise where a sentence was written, then passed to the left where the next sentence was written, passed left again, etc. Some interesting joint stories resulted that showed that not all great minds think alike.

Homework: You have won the Lottery and don’t want to tell your family. How would you enjoy your winnings without them knowing.

For next week the Facicilitor is Terry
Exercise Mandy
Homework Robyn.

Meeting notes 5 May 2010

Present: Robyn, Vala, David R, Jo, Cath, Mandy, Terry, Helene

Lots of discussion and laughter on a variety of topics.

Brags: Helene has been invited to the opening of Sandy’s place Hairdresser in Vincentia on Saturday 8 May 2010, 3 pm to 5 pm. Contact Helene if you want to attend.

Terry: Virginia’s medical tests were better than expected.

Robyn: Has negotiated a good deal with Telstra for her internet, mobile and home phone.

David: his teeth are finished he still has a problem which the dentist said to wait for it to settle down.

Jo: wrote to the South Coast Register about the fire place next door, the letter wasn’t published but a story was written about pollution. Jo also talked about attending the launch of the publication “I remember” children’s war stories.

Cath: gave material from Jo’s house to her sister in law who is making clothes for children in an orphanage in Uganda; Cath also mowed her back lawn.

Mandy: fell over and severely bruised her ribs. Get better soon Mandy.

Words of the day

Terry researched phobias eg arachibutyrophobia fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth

Robyn – Rabelaisian – high spirited zest characterized by course humour or bold caricature from the French writer Rabelais

David R – 1. Mellifluous – a voice or words sweet and smooth from mel for honey and filus to flow
2. Snood- ornamental hair covering also a term used in fishing

Cath – ulster – long loose coat made of frieze

Mandy – insouciant – free from concern

Jo – plagiaristic or plagiariastic is the second spelling correct?

Helene – salubrious – especially of climate, favourable to health, promoting health, attractive and prosperous locality

Homework – funny and witty selection of stories and poems

David – Roxanne a poem

Jo – Doris’s recipe for marriage revival 1972

Cath – a life

Mandy – The first time

Vala – Men are from Mars

Terry – the sting unstung

Exercise from Jo

List all things you can drink from, use as a bedcover, wear on your feet, put around your neck and on your hand. The purpose of this exercise was to use more descriptive words.

Homework from Jo

Create a character doing what you want and using some of the descriptive words from the exercise. For example use crystal goblet instead of glass, horse blanket instead of doona, stiletto instead of shoe, wearing a fox fur or tattoo on his/her neck.

Next week

Facilitator – Robyn Exercise – Terry Homework - Mandy

BAY AND BASIN WRITER’S GROUP
MEETING 28th APRIL 2010.

Attended: Mary, Terry, Robyn, Jo, Cath, Helene & David R. (Facilitator).

Brags:
Mary is off to Tumut next week for a getaway on their block of land.
Terry wet to NAB and received excellent service!
Robyn, re Family History has tracked down a family relation on Joe’s side fought in the Sedan around 1885.
Jo showed us more of her treasure trove retrieved from her ceiling, this time old silver plated forks & spoons!
Cath has graduated from her exercise class at the Aquatic Centre – Congrats!

Word of the day:
Mary: Catafalque, The decorated framework of a coffin of a distinguished person.
Terry: Armed with his latest “unique” book titled “Nick Names”
Singled out the word “Miss” that was used to describe a promiscuous women or Whore – Wow! No wonder it’s rarely used these days!
Also the adage “Today’s morality is yesterdays morality accepted.
Robyn: Vanquished, Defeat thoroughly.
Cath: Lachrymose, Tearful, melancholy.
Helene: Rendezvous: A meeting between two or more people.
David R: Fulminant, Severe and sudden onset. Analogy: Comparison between two things.

Homework:
Terry: Side-splitting cleverly written poem.
Jo: Amusing Poem, “The differences between us”
Cath: Short story “Memories” Reminisces of many entertaining, first times.
Helene: “Me First”, an amusing poem from early childhood on.
David R: A continuation of the Romantic Poem “Davinas Dilemma” and a short poem, “first time” meeting.
Vala: Robyn read a steamy story from Vala, that produced gasps - then an extremely clever conclusion.

Exercise: “Oh No”, produced many very funny short stories and poems – A good exposition into some of our “warped” minds!!!

Homework: “The Future”
Write about your life or the life of a fictitious character. Describe the person’s appearance, characteristics and lifestyle today and in 5 or 10 years time.

BAY AND BAY WRITER’S GROUP
MEETING 20 APRIL 2010

Attended: David R; Jo; Helene; Terry; Cath; Vala; Winifred

Welcome Winifred back after an absence of 18 months.

Brags:
Terry modified a mouse trap caught black rats yuk!!
Cath rock granny had her grandson’s band stay with her overnight.
Jo now officially is knows as a ‘Bataan Bastard’.

Word of the Day:
Terry: A Colleseum - any large sporting building used for games and contests
Jo: Jeopardise - pose a threat – put at risk
Popinjay - vain and talkative person
Cath: Evocative - tending to evoke a response especially an emotional one
Sambo - a racial term for a black person with mixed heritage
David: Ultimo - in the last month
Aver - to assert or prove the truth
Anecdote - a short or amusing story about a real person

Homework:
Terry A Boring Life
Jo Homeward Bound
David R Out of the Bag
Cath Leaving
Helene Other People’s Lives
Vala Peacock Blue

Competitions:
Website : Short Stories Australia 2010
Peter Cowan Writer’s Centre
Winifred: Would anyone know who Could do assessments on Children’s Books please contact Winifred through the B&B Writer’s.
Exercise: David R - “The End of the Road” in a positive note – it was a difficult exercise to keep on a positive note!!

Suggestion: Occasionally meetings could be taken to different venues eg outside.

Homework: Short Story – The First Time

Wednesday 14.4.10.

Meeting began with the knowledge that our numbers were to be down owing to a dearth of appointments by those absent. The members present were David R., Robyn, Jo, Terry, Cath, and Vala.
Jo was the facilitator.
First up were Brags:
Jo has been awarded life membership in a US arm of Battling Bastards of Bataan. This happened because of a mysterious book that Jo decided to send to US. No research details available on it yet. But it is theirs to keep. It is called Bataan.
David has fallen foul of dentistry snails and has had trouble trying to do without the necessary improvements not being made in a good time. We agree with you, David.
David said he made contact with relatives on the week-end and had a good time.
Cath didn't go anywhere, but she changed a fuse. Good girl.
Vala had her first grandchild's photos to show, only two of them, she doesn't waste words, does Vala, and we saw a lovely boy.
Robyn still doing family history.
Terry has been collating poetry for chapbook.

Word of the Day:

Well, 'chapbook' raised a few guesses, it is actually, a book sold by a vendor, eons ago, who was called a chap. Fairy stories, etc. was sold, he travelled around.
David: Detente: Easing of hostility or stranied relations.
Avast: Nautical, stop, cease, hold fast.
Cathy: Denigrate: Blacken, slander.
Vala: Discussion re great grand-parent. Why are Aunts called 'Great' and not 'Grand'.
Robyn:Banal: So commonplace it lacks freshness, lack of taste.
Jejune: Dull, barren
Fatuous: smugness, inane.
Terry: Melanistic, darkness of colour, schonel? Anyone out there know what this is?
David and all discussed 'spit' and 'split'. Apparently some people get these two mixed up.

The homework was 'I drove into the petrol station'. Connect with three smells you like and three smells you hate. These were the results:
Terry: a poem called "Olfactory".
David: Read out last week's 'Eagle' poem, and then a poem 'On The Nose' for this week.
Discussion continued about rotten breaths and the smell of the middle of a fresh-baked loaf. David read about keeping love alive by using distance as a factor so it never goes stale. We agreed.
Jo didn't do homework. No one was game to smack a Bastard, either.
Cathy read out 'Sniff, Sniff', a true-to-life picture of a visit to a garage. Buying food and etc.
Robyn - 'A Stinking Day'.
All entries were exceptional.

Our exercise was to guess which words meant what in history. We didn't do well. Terry kept playing up, and he was presenting it.
Robyn was riding a horse in her seat...never mind, Rob. Things'll get better.
All sporting words next, mostly not known, so we all failed (well, not all).
A good afternoon set aside by mutual consent for a little getting together as a group of like-minded friends. Which was good for the soul. That was always a prime function of community clubs, don't you think? We discussed our home efforts, some of us are entering competitions or writing or learning different stuff.

The homework for next week is: While travelling on a train you overhear this mobile phone conversation: 'Has he gone, will he be back soon?' ..........'Good, you will be able to get in and get the things.'
Who is/are the person/s involved? What could have happened, what may happen, write your interpretation of events leading up to or following this.

Writers group Meeting Wednesday 7th April

Goodies Present, Terry, Jo, Mary, Kath, Melissa, Robyn

Brags pretty lame, Mary “Done Stuff” – Jo – Well not really and Kath had a dead Easter NO Chocolate.

Word of the day
Inimical – Nefarious – Alacrity—Vacuous –
Followed by a discussion on Cigarettes and the sale of, from only dedicated checkouts.

Homework set by David was “Eagles over Jervis Bay.” – an excellent result. It was decided for members to email their poem or story to David.

During discussion on existing Romance homework Terry and Mary have decided to revert to a thriller, so, our next long project will be on Thriller writing conducted by Mary and Terry. Thankyou for volunteering.

Competition Newcastle poetry - $20 entry fee, $11,000 in prizes
www.newcastlepoetryprize.com

Excellent exercise on poetry writing from Melissa – A series of thought processing applications and then using what we have as a base for a poem.

Homework; Write three smells you love
Write three smells you hate

Use them all when you write a story that includes the sentence “I pulled into the petrol station”

Next Week facilitator Jo
Exercise
Homework Kath

Meeting notes 31 March 2010

Present: Mary, Mandy, Terry, Jo, David R, Kath, Melissa, Robyn, Helene

Enjoy your Easter break and thanks to Mary for the rock cakes, Virginia for the babana cake and the easter bunny for the chocolate eggs.

Brags

Jo had a poem published on line and a comment about UFOs in the Courier mail. She is now working on a radio play.

Mary went to Darwin and for the first time saw rivers running in the NT. While in the NT she had a ride in a huge mining truck driven by her daughter. Had a photo taken at Adelaide River with the crocodile filmed in Crocodile Dundee.

Mandy has been busy writing and enjoying the romance course.

Words of the day

David R – spelunker – one who explores caves for sport from Latin

Jo – digitabulist – collector of thimbles

Terry – profligacy – 1 great wickedness and vice 2 – reckless extravagance, reckless acts of generosity

Mandy – coruscating – give off flashing lights to sparkle

Mary – chevron – a figure pattern or object having the shape of a V or inverted V

Melissa – meretricious – superficially attractive or insincere

Kath – malevolence – malice, ill will, cruelty

Homework readings

Mandy – The more I resisted – part of her romance story

Kath – Sing to me

Helene – It was finished yet

David R – Romantic story as a poem

Jo – Don’t forget to call me dad – a poem

Terry – Sing to me – story of a dead bird

Exercise was a spelling test provided by Jo.

Competitions

Bush poetry association competitions – see http://www.abpa.org.au/Bush/entry.html

FAW Short story competition 2010 – closing date 1 June 2010 www.fawwa.org.au for details

Wet ink short story competition – First prize $3,000 closing 31 August 2010 http://www.wetink.com.au for details

Romance writing

Mandy shared more of her experience from the romance writing course.

Romance homework – prepare a list of obstacles for the heroine and make plots from them or write your first chapter where the two main characters meet which shows instant attraction between the hero and heroine. Due in three weeks.

Homework from David R – Imagine you are an eagle soaring over the waters of Jervis Bay. Write a poem or short story describing how you feel and what you see below.

Next meeting - 7 April 2010
Facilitator – Robyn
Exercise – Melissa
Homework – to be selected from quotes from Ex libris – a literary game provide by Jo

MEETING WEDNESDAY 24-3-10

BAY AND BAY WRITER’S MEETING
WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH 2010

Attended:

Robyn; Cath; Terry; David R; Vala; Mandy; Helene; Melissa

Brags:

Melissa her song has been selected in the top five of the lyrics section of the Great American Song Contest she received an honourable mention – well done!!

Terry’s grandson received the Coaches award for enthusiasm in cricket.

Word of the Day:

David R: Nuance - (noun) a shade of difference; a delicate gradation.
Cath: Euphoria - intense feeling of well-being elation.
Helene: Stultification – to cause to appear or to be stupid, foolish, or absurdly illogical.
Terry: Sophisticated – experienced in worldly ways – sophisticator one who adulterates cheats – to become less naïve.

Homework:

Helene: Obahama’s secret visit to the Shoalhaven.
Vala: Thwaites – Researched novelist.
Cath: Have you or anyone had a premonition that has come true.
Terry: Helena Roerich – Research – Russian philosopher.
David: Transcriptions from family archives – 2 poems:
“A Day on Board the Harrison Bound for California”
“The Californian Miner’s Sabbath”

A description was written of a female character depicted in a romance novel.






Next week:

Facilitator - Helene
Exercise - Jo
Homework - David R

Through commitments of people in the group at times it is impossible for Terry to co-ordinate and organize the roster it was suggested that each person could have homework and an exercise available and utilized if needed.


Homework:

There is always a ‘conflict’ at the beginning of a romantic story;

Create histories of your favourite characters;

Time – event for them to meet – as though intended;

10 obstacles to their union;