Meeting 17 March 2010

Meeting notes for 17/3/10

Once again a very successful meeting with 8 in attendance; Terry Melissa, Jo, Robyn, Cath, Vala, Mary and Mandy. As always lots of laughter, debate and bon homme.

Words of the day were interesting.

Jo wanted to know why there is two n’s in beginning. This of course sparked quite a debate, which in turn brought other words to light. Well done Jo, as always you make us think.

Rob’s was erudite—learned. She also brought up, and we know how annoying it has become of late, T.V. grammar. This too had quite a decent discussion.

Cath’s was vapid—flat or dull, insipid

Mary’s was sub rosa—under the rose, secrecy, confidential, hence rose decorations in ceilings etc.

Terry’s was glebe—farmland which is used to generate income for churches. We decided that’s where Glebe in Sydney got it’s name.



Terry set an interesting homework assignment where similes or metaphors were to be used in place of given sentences. A wide variety were found, just confirming that we’re a clever lot.



Jo received a Highly Commended certificate for her ‘Sharks, Whales and Gropers’ piece entered in the Port Mac Quarrie-Hastings Region competition.



Rob’s Joe is in hospital for ??? how long. Enjoy the break Rob. Dave and Cath are well according to Terry who saw them in R.T.A.; some family issues. We’re all thinking of you.



Mandy did a great job of presenting our first part of the romance course. She pointed out that it’s a lot harder than we might think. Once again we discussed all aspects of what is entailed in writing romance. We decided that it will be good to be out of our comfort zones and that we should at least give it a try.

Authors to read in the genre recommended by the setter of the course, I don’t know his name. Nora Roberts, Nora Loft, Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, Danielle Steele, Catherine Cookson,, plus a few others I didn’t write down.

See you in two weeks, Maryx

Word of the Day.
Terry, Infernal, Hellish annoying.
Dave, Calliope, a set of steam whisles on a chuch organ, a beautiful voice.
Jo, Mordant, cruel, sarcastic.
Cath, Welt, a border, or edging, or a mark from a lash.
Helene, Machismo. Flamboyant virility.
Wendy, Felicity, Happiness, intense joy.
Mary, Collude, To conspire, or plot.
Robyn,Anathema, A solemn curse.
Terry discussed Tri- colon, 3 powerful words together, in speeches, etc,to really emphasise something.
We had a lively discussion with lots of different opinions about Victor Changs' killers'apology.
Quick write about romance, some steamy, some just plain funny.
Next week, Mary Facillitatir, Jo, Homework, Exercise, Robyn.

meeting 10th March

Present were, Mary, Robyn, Terry, Dave, Jo, Cath, Helene and Wendy.A small but perfectly formed group.
Mary bragged about her visit to Thirlmere steam train expo.
Robyn enjoyed a nice week with her 91 year old mum.
Terry spent some quality time at Thirlmere Train Expo with his youngest grandson. Jo has been busy writing letters to the newspapers. Good on you, Jo!
Caths' only grandson got engaged.
Helene blogged the minutes of the last meeting.
Wendys' 86 year old mum is getting her 1st computer.
Homework;
Terry, a brilliant poem about his Id.
Dave a poem about Freud and fantasies.
Jo, spoke about a girl who was on drugs.
Cath, A story, Id stands for Idiot. I like.
Helene,Very funny poem, Pleasure Psyche.
Wendy, A poem, I Love Winter.

Meeting notes 3 March 2010

Attending: Terry; Jo; Cath; Helene; Dale; Mary; Mandy; Vala; David R; Melissa
Brags: Jo is still volunteering at the hospital; Cath started ‘Beat It’ exercise program; Mary’s son was working with the SES regarding the Tusnami; Mandy has prepared the first section of the Romance Writing Course; Vala has compiled the anthology; David reconnected with an old friend.
WOD:
Terry: historic – result of an event; historical – the actual event or pertaining to the past
Jo – abattoir – slaughterhouse
Cath – ameliorate – to improve
David – luxate – dislocation of joint; Machiavellian – deceitful, cunning
Helene – steupsed – slang for sucking teeth
Dale – rusticate – to banish to the country, become rustic in style
Mary – magnanimous – lofty, courageous of spirit, generosity of mind
Mandy – manivering – slang for complaining

Competitions:
• Generosity of spirit: www. writeforlife@thenelunefoundation.org
• 500 word travel story w/picture: jo.odowd@ruralpress.com (Southcoast Reg)
• Henry Lawson Comp.
• Poetry comp: www.presspress.com.au
Last week’s homework was to describe cleaning up after a party from the cleaner’s POV. Descriptive and insightful stories and poems were produced.
Exercise: Dale
Part 1: Think of someone you’ve seen that you don’t know, describe him/her.
Part 2: Write in first person from that character’s POV.
Great exercise to describe and try to imagine being someone else. Thanks Dale!
Homework: Helene
Write a story/poem where a person/s behave in accordance with Freud’s theories of the Id, ego, or super-ego. You can use any number of people and either one, two or three of their behaviours. You may want to research these topics or just write what comes to mind.
Also, Mandy brought in a stack of romance books for us to read as research to prepare us for our romance writing course. Thanks Mandy!
Next week:
Facilitator: David C
Exercise: Cath
Homework: Terry


Thanks for an enjoyable afternoon!

Meeting 10th Feb. 2010

In attendance: David C, Jo, Melissa, Cath, Mary, Wendy, Mandy, Terry and a first time visitor Cathy…a science fiction writer…welcome Cathy
Brags.
David…not quite ready to toss the caber but doing well. Jo… informed us of a competition being run by the Cancer Council…stories, poems, films, about your cancer experience. Some good prizes.
Melissa..about to start teaching a course on Cultural Communications at Tafe Nowra…needs speakers from other cultures to talk. Cath……has renewed her passport…perhaps readying herself for that elusive first book award? Wendy…a question…why is Susan Boyle referred to as a spinster yet Kylie Minogue, just four years younger is not? Mandy…happy to be still alive…
Terry…...Reverse brag…car broken into, window smashed…expensive…bugger

Words
David…Plenipotentiary…an envoy or agent with full power to act on your behalf
Pleonasm….using more words than necessary…redundant words
Jo… uproariously…laughing really loud, tumultuous
Melissa...inchoate…not fully developed, incomplete, …policy on the run?
Cath……odiferous…strong scented, pungent
Mary….galvanised…stimulate with an electric current ( galvanise into action)
Wendy...perigrinate…wandering, traveling from place to place (on foot?)
Cathy….mute…one who is silent, an oriental slave who is unable to speak
Terry…degustation…the act of tasting (a 7 course degustation dinner)

Homework
About the old sugar and spice phrase referred to when talking about girls… Mary…about schoolgirl bucking the system…right or wrong? Cath…about a tomboy/ rebel young girl Melissa…poem about a couple unable to have children…tried a witch…ended up with puppies Jo…poem about Rainbows…to find rainbow’s end…just clutching at straws David…Poem/music lyrics…Melissa’s song for Pink…very good Terry…an essay on the reverse discrimination towards the male of our society today Mandy…’tongue in cheek’ or maybe not…the inverse of Terry’s essay Wendy…a poem…about the pain of waxing…funny as always

Exercises by Melissa…who always gives a lot of thought to this aspect
1) an exercise on ‘kindred relationships’ …associative powers with word groups…
e.g. what is the link between the following words…bug, rest, fellow, cover…answer is ‘bed’
2) the second part of the exercise was to use all of these linked words in a sentence.
A lot of fun and some sentences which actually made sense.

QuickWrite
Using Melissa’s ‘writer’s block’ we had to write about…fertility
Typically a wide range of poetry and prose with varying approaches to the subject.

Homework for next week…
Describe the worst date you ever experienced…make it as humourous as you can…it doesn’t have to be true…just funny

Next week…Facilitator is Helene Exercise is Mary…Homework is Cath
See you there ….Terry

Meeting on 3.2.10.

Present: Jo Ball, Helene Gaul, David Rudder, Melissa Ehlers, Vala Hanns, Mary Sinnamon, Wendy Williams, Robyn Kellner, Terry McLafferty, Cath Davidson

Brags: Terry's grandson & son won first place in Hobie 16 summer competition at
Vincentia Sailing Club
Jo informed us of the proposed ammalgamation of the Aboriginal Health &
Regional Health Departments, also her son Murray has a vicious Quoll
roaming nearby
Mary will be going to Jenolan Caves with her husband to hear an opera
performed in the Caves
Vala Reported David Cargill looked well, he may be at the meeting next
week. She has also commenced French lessons
Helene Has had a poem published in the About magazine Congratulations
Helene
David expressed his thanks to Terry for the interesting tutorial presented
last week, seconded by the group
Robyn's research for her family tree continues. She has found references of
her family in NZ from a newspaper report of 1880

Word of the day: David - Pericope, a short passage or paragraph. Peri (surround) Cope (cut off)
Helene - Liberty. freedom
Melissa - Halcyon. peaceful, gentle, calm
Mary - Pundit. Learned person.
Wendy - Clandestine. secret
Robyn - Notwithstanding. nevertheless, despite
Terry - Has bought a copy of 1811 Dictionary of the
Vulgar Tongue. We will be sure to hear some of his
discoveries in future writings ie:- kirtles, doxy,
fartleberries, particios. He also described the Gypsy
Oath with gusto
Jo- Sumptuary. laws to limit expenditure.
Cath - Anathema. dislike intensely

Homework: Last week each person was given a fortune cookie, then asked to write a piece relating to the "fortune" contained.
There were many & varied thoughts regarding this.

Exercise: Wendy had everyone thinking deeply as they tried to write a meaningful sentence containing words which contained one letter more than the previous word. Terry outdid us all, his longest word had 16 letters.


Next Week: Facilitator - Terry Homework - Mandy Exercise - Melissa

Minutes from meeting on 27 th JAN 2010

Present: Cathy, Mary, Wendy, David, Terry, Helene, Mandy, Jo, Melissa, Vala, Robyn.

Brags:
Thin on the ground. Cathy's grandson offered a place at Wgong Uni. Good on 'im. Helene says there was an email from David C. He had his knees operated on. No one envies him.

Word of the Day:
Melissa offered 'succulent', cacti or similar.
Helene - 'abacus', counting frame. Also 'rusticate', to go to the country, or to live in such.
David R: Read out a poem called 'The Ether' re David G's knees. Hoping David will do amazing things with his new knees. Mmm? The mind boggles. Mine does, anyway. David R's word - 'dichotomy', a sharply defined division into two parts.
Mandy: 'heirophant'- one who shows or reveals sacred things - usually a minister.
Wendy: 'frangible' - capable of being broken or brittle.
Robyn: 'debauchery' - seduction from duty etc, habitual intemperence.
Terry: 'deleterious' - harmful to the mind or body.
Mary: 'beatific' - possessing or imparting a blissful state.
Jo: offered information on clubs, or contests, no word today.

Homework read out Work to do with numbers:

Melissa: 'How Three Becomes One' - a treatise on the desirability of having more than one sexual experience. Most enlightening. Looking for the perfect sexual partner. Mmm. Left this writer wondering what I've missed, or did I? I was intrigued about the glowing blond man we others have never met. (Melissa did so say that!)
Helene: 'No. 7' poem. Obsession with the number. Life ends with obsession. i.e. it never goes away.
Cathy: 'Numbers': a poem. A lot of 'things' having to do with numbers. How we can't do without them. Cathy has been very busy in her life all because of numbers. For some reason at this juncture, Robyn said that 'zero' has a place in rhyming poetry. ROBYN!
According to my notes on to:
David: Had a bit of decision-making in his entry, of course a poem. He's 'as clean as a virgin' he writes. Good poem, how could it be anything else. Wishful thinking about the virgin bit, David. Or, 'in your dreams'.
Vala: Poem 'Numbers of our Soul'. From childhood to ? Education, work, marriage, etc. connected with numbers, how you don't necessarily remember your own important numbers, i.e.mobile, home phone etc. good.
Mandy: 'Numbers that Rule Us' - poem. Counting small things, sees the activity as confronting but does suggest she is a bit peculiar (she does, not me). Mmm
Robyn: Again. Told about the cost of an upcoming book printing - ROBYN! - then read 'Numbers'. Robyn looked at numbers as if they were really alive and were members of an army. Read genealogy - importance of that pesky number 9. When Robyn's right, she's right, and believe me, it reads like she was all wrong today but her poem was unusual and clever. How she fit that in with 'zero' I don't know.
Terry: 'Numbers' - Do numbers rule your life? Poem. Mmm. He makes up his mind - they might, but he isn't going to worry about it anyway. Thanks Terry, what about the rest of us staring at you waiting for reality to kick in?
Mary: 'Blowing My Own Trumpet' - A sea full of boats. Watchers - she had a cruise of views of million-dollar houses. How rude people spoil a lovely day. Just ignore them Mary, they're everwhere.
Jo: Read '2B or not 2B'Surprised that the rest got it. Performance poem only. Reads otherwise like fooey.

Exercise: Terry took it, Poetry study - deep and meaningfuls. Metre and all those tactics that are employed in figuring poetic works. Accent was a key word. We discussed at much length if we could discern differences within the same poem, one we had never thought of seeing differences in. We were given a list of words where we had to rhyme as many as we could, paying attention to accent. An ably-presented and well-studied work by Terry, not a surprise at that. Thank you.

Melissa set next week's homework by passing around a box of fortune cookies and now we have to write about the message on our cookie and it's got something to do with 'between the sheets'. More sex from Melissa. Since she came back from America. What's there Melissa? Let us into the secret.
Until next Wednesday, see you all between the sheets (of paper, rudies)
Jo

Next week's roster. Facilitator is Cath, Exercise by Wendy Homework by Vala