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 .... '