Record of meeting 10 April 2013

Present

Melissa, Cath, Amanda, Terry, Leonie, Helene, David R, Garry, Geoff

 

New Format

David R produced the new meeting format which we followed and it worked well giving us time for an exercise. Spare copies of the new format are in our storage box for everyone. Thanks to David for producing the new meeting format for us.

 

News

Cath has been to the beach enjoying the warm water and beautiful weather. Amanda has been doing motherly things and will take her children to the beach. Terry has been an active dreamer - he acts out his active dreams. Helene saw the movie Amour. David R walked from Vincentia to Huskisson this morning. Garry attended a seminar on the Futures Market and has made money in the first week but nothing the second week. Geoff met up with his old writing group which has been going 25 years. Leonie went for a BBQ brunch this morning. Melissa is a finalist in a writing contest.

 

Word of the day

Merit – verb and noun – value or worth

Propensity – inclination, tendency to behave in a particular way

Ebullient – adj – cheerful, full of energy

Riposte – reply, retort, comeback

Inured – accustomed or to take effect

Indolence – laziness

Archaic – old in language

Abhorrent – detest

Panache – flamboyant

We created a range of wonderful stories from words of the day.

 

Reading of homework

The reincarnation of Elvis – a great poem from Terry; I’ve missed you too – an excellent story from Amanda; Is that you? - a sad story from Cath;  Dementia and mushrooms – a great story from Melissa;  We must do it again - very familiar from Geoff;  A woman scorned – fiction from Garry; Long staying visitors - true story from David; Elvis often looses his way - a dream from Helene; Work and life experience - good lessons for writers from Leonie.

 

Books and ideas for writing

Helene spoke about Private Papers by Margaret Forster a family memoir with comments from a daughter.

Melissa spoke about Ray Bradbury – who advised “write every day”. Melissa will bring in his book “Zen and art of writing”.

Leonie has been having horrific dreams, she started writing each night and she hasn’t had a bad dream since.

Helene talked about writing a grateful diary every day. Melissa recommended using “The Artists way” by Julia Cameron as a stimulus to start writing everyday.

Helene spoke about using track changes for editing documents and Terry spoke about a program of identifying passive words.

David R talked about his daily program of creativity, he writes first, goes for a swim or walk, then writes 500 words longhand in a diary and has been doing so for many years.

Most of us agreed about the enjoyment of being alone and having quiet time.

Geoff talked about using the ellipsis to register a pause, suggests we read Wikipedia about ellipsis.

 

Exercise

We picked 5 people and wrote a one sentence description of what made that person note worthy. Lots of great characters emerged.

 

Homework due 17 April 2013

The bookstore

 

 

 

 

Record of meeting 3 April 2013

Present

David R, Geoff, Garry, Leonie, Lynne, Robyn, Jo, Cath, Helene and welcome to Amanda

New format

We discussed the proposed changes to the format for the meetings and decided the following standard format

• News session limit to 3 minutes, no timer to be used
• Word of the day and writing from word of the day to continue unchanged
• No change in hours for the meeting ie 1 pm to 4 pm
• Homework reading around 500 words
• No roster for facilitator - to be decided at each meeting
• Facilitator to manage the meeting, exercises etc
• Reading of personal projects around 1,000 words
• David R will prepare a handout on format and time and size requirements to be available to current and new members

The group agreed on the desire for spontaneity and fun while following a few guidelines to keep time under control.

 

News

Helene told the group about Piksters tiny toothbrushes to clean between teeth. Cath has a birdbath but the birds are vetoing it. Amanda lives in Basin View and has an interest in writing. Jo has been writing and finishing old projects.  Robyn has a bad back and Joe has been in hospital. Lyn has been walking with Joe. Leonie has planted the last tree for her garden and has 30 stepping stones left to position. Garry went to his mother’s celebration of life in Melbourne and sold his car for what he paid for it. Geoff will allude to his news on his homework. David looked at Energy Watch on line to find the cheapest electricity

 

Words of the day

Bespoke - made to individual order, custom made

Malevolent – wishing ill to others or malicious, evil

Bilbo – rapier or sword

Worrisome – worried

Melancholy – sadness, low mood

Recalcitrant – resisting authority or control

Awash – level on the surface of the water, flooded

Dudgeon – resentment, anger, huff

Apprise – to tell, inform

Drupe – a fleshy fruit with seed eg plum or olive

 

Writing from words of the day

The dress designer, Eat more druplets, A sad pirate, The sister queen, Awake on the wave, The trespasser, Relief in the Antique shop, Do not go near, Not a replica of her mother, Sleeping in the Dungeon – a brilliant poem by David R.

 

Reading of homework

Inspiration, Add spice and stir, The valentine rose, It came to be so, Did you get that, Memories grow sharper with time like a ripple on water – a powerful story from Leonie, Entertainment appropriate for us – a funny story from Garry, A special procedure then a hearty breakfast – a true story from Geoff, She knows the names – a photo taken – a memory.

Reading, writing etc

Shoalhaven Literary award short story contest closes 31 May see www.fawnswshoalhaven.org.au

Jo spoke about Cyril Maude she has sketches and books on him and suggested we look him up on the net

Geoff spoke about a review on Radio National of a book about Madeline St John’s life

David R read a poem called Soon that he wrote overlooking a lake and volcano in Chile

 

Exercise

Helene shared a bag of words, pictures and objects and we wrote about

Leonie – the paint brush reminds me of the love of painting at home sweet home. Robyn – Boot hill drawn to the graveyard. Jo – how not to appreciate a gift.  Amanda – The false Tommy.  Cath – a visit to the beach. Helene – the peach orchard. David R – Mothers girl. Geoff – guns under the bed. Garry – Monastery Island – heaven on earth.

 

Homework

The visitor

 

 

 

Record of meeting 27 March 2013

In attendance

Helene, Jessica, Jo, Leonie, Trish, Geoff, David R., Melissa, Wendy, Cath, Terry, and a big welcome to Elizabeth!

 

News

Leonie: Coffee in Husky, gardening, booked a trip to Melbourne

Jo: Writing over 8,000 words about murder, New Guinea in the 60s

Jessica: Working at SGB Club, golfing with the Hackers

Helene: Has been asked to help a friend write her life story, takes place in Poland

Terry: Finished reading the Diary of Anne Frank, was impressed with video of Elvis impersonator, Ben Portsmouth http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=G8fjHJbF9Es

 Cath: Enjoying the weather, swimming, gardening

Wendy: Went to see the Hallelujah Girls in Nowra, going to Canberra for 5 days

Melissa: Spending time enjoying Jervis Bay!

David R.: Stayed in  his cabin in the bush, visited Wombian Caves, never drive on Wombian Caves Road (it’s dangerous!)

Geoff: Good news: watched show on ABC about ukuleles and youth orchestras, “The Mighty Uke”; Bad news: Kidney function is down to 20%

Trish: Went to an afternoon tea, saw a movie, “Safe Haven”, and fell asleep

Elizabeth: Received a phone call from her grand daughter in Paris, where daffodils are breaking through the snow, only to be picked by her great-grandson!

 

Words of the day

Melissa: Antipodes – Direct opposite of something; those who reside on opposite sides of the globe

David: Hyperbole – Exaggerated statements or claims not mean to be taken literally

Geoff: Obloquoy – Abuse or insult

Trish: Indignation – anger at something unfair or wrong

Leonie: Resplendent – shining with brilliant lustre or intensely bright

Jo: Epoch – A point of time from which succeeding years are reckoned, a period of notable events

Jessica:  Doff – removing a hat

Helene: Panopticon – round the clock surveillance of prisoners in their cell

Terry: Effulgence – brightness and radiance

Cath: Transfiguration – to change outward appearance or alter

Wendy: Doldrums – state of depression, or a region of the Atlantic Ocean with calm seas that changes suddenly

A quick write using the words of the day produced some interesting stories


Reading of homework from last week, topic ‘Lie/Lies’

Jessica: A section of her book about lying about the identity of her child

Jo: A story about a red car, a phone conversation, and a woman who lies for fun

Leonie: A commentary about different scenarios where lies are told, politicians, how we become liars at a young age, and the origin of the saying “Liar liar, pants on fire!”

Trish: A story set in Sydney, with elements of thieving and scavenging, that is partly true, and partly false!

David R.: A poem, Liar Bird

Melissa: A true story about a life lesson

Terry: A poem about football, and lies

Helene: A poem about lies, featuring Fi-Fi!

Other readings

Terry read a new chapter from his novel describing the characters.

Homework

Grab the 7^th book from your bookshelf. Open it to page 7. Select the 7^th sentence on the page. Create a poem/story that begins with that sentence.

 

 

Record of meeting 20 March 2013

Present

Wendy, Terry, Leonie, Melissa, Trish, David R, Helene, David C, Lyn and welcome back to Jessica

News 

Trish sang with Sing Australia on Sunday, Jessica set up a beauty business in the Philippines and is now happy to be back, Melissa has been busy unpacking and enjoying the view, David C has reduced his steroids and is feeling better, Leonie planning a plane trip to Melbourne next month, Terry has written to Media Watch about a pixilated sketch, Wendy is going to Nowra Players to see “The Hallelujah girls”, Helene has new orthotics, David R’s trip to Chilli was a great success and wrote 50 poems on his travels, Lyn’s grandson had his appendix out.

 

Words of the day

Sacrosanct – most sacred or holy

Genteel – polite

Conflict – disagreement, clash

Lambaste – criticise harshly

Moot – debatable, doubtful, controversial

Fugacious – fleeting or fading quickly

Invertebrate – lacking a backbone

Curmudgeon - angry person, cantankerous

Maunder - someone who is poor

Juxtaposition – side by side

 

Writing from words of the day

We wrote great stories about football, over the fence, dreaming of the Pope, the jury, any juxtaposition, Jellyfish café, very genteel, a council meeting, at another meeting, a Manly supporter.

 

Reading of homework

Knit one purl one, Pearl’s secret, Pearls of wisdom, Fascination - a lovely story by Leonie, The centre of attention, What a Pearl – why Pearl receives free lunch, Purl not plain, Pearl divers in 1861

 

Reading

David C read more of Charlie the Detective

Trish brought “New selected poems” by Seamus Heaney and discussed the poem Blackberries

Jessica read from her autobiography

David R read poems “Waiting for a miracle” and “Lost in thought”

 

Homework

Liar, liar pants on fire

 

 

 

 

Record of meeting 13 March 2013

Present

Lynn, Terry, Cath, Trish, Helene, Wendy, Geoff and warm welcome back Melissa who has returned to live in JB
 

 

News

Melissa is living back in JB. Cath told us the water is beautiful, the cat is better and she was given a ukulele. Lynn had a crap week at work. Trish sung at a church in Kiama last Sunday with groups of people from Sing Australia. Helene went to Eden for 10 days and has new orthotics. Wendy is going to Canberra by bus at a bargain fare. Terry has been playing around with his 1976 Triumph and drove it today.

 

Words of the day

Cacophony – a sound, a din, a noise

Harmony – agreement, accord, synchronisation

Pernickety – fussy about detail

Gormless – brainless or inept

Afficionato – an expert

Lackadaisical – without interest, lethargic, lazy

 

Quick write

The choir master – a great poem from Terry. Lazy old sod. Pearl’s lunch. The organ. The band lackadaisical at the International Women’s Day event. Music like dogs.

 

Reading of homework

Me and my shadow – a great poem by Wendy. The childhood memories of Mick McCord. Walking in the dark. People are annoying. The word annoying is annoying and arrogant.

 

Reading  

Terry now has the Diary of Ann Frank to read and an Isabelle Allende book. Trish read out more of her story from her life in London.

 

Exercise

We enjoyed a progression write on the topics budgie smugglers, toilets, the shovel, sex toys, dolphins, alcohol and pole dancing.

 

Homework

Pearl – use it any way you wish

Record of meeting 6 March 2013

Attendees: Wendy, Terry, Cath, Jo, Leonie, Geoff, David C, Garry

News of the Day

Geoff: attended a good concert by Sydney Male Choir – full house.

Garry: had an MRI and going to Wollongong Friday for results

Wendy: getting ‘stretching’ at physio to assist her sciatica.

Terry: having seriously annoying problems with his internet provider.

Cath: 3 great-grand nieces born this last week.

Jo: no car for a while so was home.

Leonie: had watched a TV series, LIFE, so bought the DVD’s

David C: disturbing story of ‘green-slip’ and insurance because of a typo on his records at NRMA.

Words of the Day

Intrinsic, humour (humorous), implication, acerbic, paltry, spectacularly, appertaining, contrite

Quick Write

A lot of fun in the poetry and ‘writes’

 

Homework readings

Poetry and writings were entertaining on the topic of annoy and annoying

Readings

David C read some poetry from his ‘treasure trobe’

Bride of the City – hand written over 100 years ago by John Kendrick Bangs

Jo read some poetry

Geoff read a letter he has written to the Editor about, ‘John Howard may be nominated a G G if Libs get into government’

 

Discussion

We had a good discussion covering interesting topics about writing.

Jo shared a web site for homework ideas.

www.creative-writing-now.com/short-story-ideas.html

 

Homework

Think of something you are afraid of and weave it into a character in a short story.

 

Record of meeting 27 February 2013

Present

Lyn, Leonie, David C, Garry, Trish, Helene, Wendy, Cath, Terry, Maria

 

News

Trish is having a quiet week. Helene saw the movie the Intouchables on the weekend. Wendy’s husband is doing everything after carpel tunnel surgery. Cath said she saw the About magazine at the Bendigo Bank and her cat is sick. Terry had friends visiting who had been staying in Kiama before the storm. Lyn spent time with her mother has been to a few weddings. Leonie feels great as she has been in touch with her children. David C has a birthday on Saturday and is still scratching. Garry was happy to read that the Australian Government has determined that Aboriginal children should go to Boarding school to improve their education to overcome poverty in the long term.

 

Words of the day

Impasse - a blockage

Guesstimation - not sufficient evidence, conjecture, working by hazard

Askance - looking sideways, look with suspicion

Circumvent – to go around

Argot – a slang or jargon to conceal the meaning

Acquiesce – to agree

Acumen – quickness of intellect or sc

A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools, and academic institutions.

 

Abhor – dislike, detest

Writing from words of the day

On the bus, That’s fine – a great poem, Buying the table, The clock keeps ticking – a fun poem, The architect, No learning, Using the refectory table, Take out the hearing aids and Clean up Australia.

Homework

We heard good stories on the topics

Leonard, Shirley and the missing genes. Charlie’s back. You’ll be sorry – a funny poem. Like a deflated balloon. A camel ride in Egypt. A scary group of people – received a round of applause for Maria. The missing arm – a great chapter from Terry.  Perfumed memories – lovely story from Lyn.


Harmony day 21 March 2013

Writing competition – Many stories One Australia - create a video, take a photo or share your written journey. For more information visit www.sbs.com.au/harmonystories

 
Exercise

We completed a continuous write creating some interesting stories.


Homework

Annoyed with …………