08 March 2017

Record of meeting 8 March 2017

The writers

Elizabeth, Pauline, Cath, Trevor, Terry, Helene, Lynn, Amanda, Diane

The words of the day

Hype – stimulate, excite

Scrimmage – tussle, scrum

Pluviophile – lover of rain      

Morsel – mouthful, fragment

Compunction – a slight regret or scruple

Solitary – alone, lonesome, unattended

Sabotage – deliberate injury by enemy agent

Ubiquitous – seemingly everywhere, everywhere

Vail – to go low, to doff ones hat, to be of use, tip and veil

Writing from words of the day

The writers were hyped to create a range of stories and poems:

Trevor – wet conditions, Amanda – Watching the rain, Pauline – Pondering questions, Terry – The cowboy, Helene – Fetta and Spinach, Elizabeth – Devoted, Cath – Living a solitary life, Diane – To no avail and Lynn – The vigil.

Reading of homework

Eight writers created an array of homework: Elizabeth reading for Juan – My future wife, Cath – So many visitors, Diane – OCD & OCPC comparison, Lynn – Half lie, Amanda – A strange sensation, Pauline – As time goes by, Terry – A toadstool and Helene – Coffee beans.

Exercise - five things we dislike touching and five adjectives

The writers disliked touching the following items - Slugs, snakes, spider web, peach fuzz, mud, vomit, velvet, dog poo, beetles, unknown gooey substances, insects, fish, eel, mangy dog, loose wires, glass, sharp knives, birds, some food, thorns, liquid detergent, golden syrup, flies, ice, seaweed, metal, wet dishcloths, chalk and some fabrics.  Lots of “s” and other words were used to describe the feelings like slimy, scaly, sour, stale and rough.

Exercise - Take three nouns disappointment, fishing boat and brooch

The writers produced an amazing range of stories from the three nouns.
Helene – The opal broach, Terry – prawning, Pauline – One was real, Amanda – We hired a boat, Trevor – The bottle top, Lynn – The water was dark and eerie, Diane – The mermaid brooch, Cath – All we could find and Elizabeth – Fish hate you.





Homework

If I were invisible I would ……………… or

Write the point of view of a household item and dialogue between yourself and the item


02 March 2017

Meeting 1st March 2017



Amanda, Juan, David, Terry, Di, Lyn, Pauline, Cath & Elizabeth were the eager writers ready to offer their word to be used in a story or poem, these words were:-

Gestation  -  germination of ideas  - pregnancy
Cornucopia -  a symbol of abundance
Myriad  -  a horde
Anarchy  -  lawlessness
Epicene  -  unisex
Quasar  -  celestial objects
Lunatic  -  insane

The myriad of ideas using these words were:   Amanda: A dream     Terry:  A lunatic poem          Di:  Space journey    Lyn: Brain overload   Pauline: The effects of the moon Cath:  Asylum inmates    Elizabeth:  Ants

Homework was read by:  Elizabeth  -  a good looking thief
                              Amanda  -  problem solver  - a poem
                              Terry  -   the pseudo tramp
                              Di  -  hidden character
                              Lyn  -  unpopular or popular
                              Pauline  -  a humble man

Suggestions for future meetings were discussed to help achieve further expertise as writers, some being to minimise "what's been going on" chatter at the beginning of each group day, to revert back to spreading the post 3pm exercises amongst all members, to again arrange for writing seminars/training say 4 times a year.

Homework:  "It was only a half-truth, but........."

22 February 2017

Record of meeting 22 February 2017  

 The writers

Cath, Juan, Helene, Pauline, Elizabeth, Margaret, Terry, Lynn, Amanda, Jenny, Diane and welcome back Muriel our visitor from SA.

The words of the day

Slink – to creep or steal

Bamboozled - confused

Unpopular – not popular

Gourmand – lover of delicacy

Vacillate – waiver, hesitate

Homework – work completed at home

Preferment – advancement or promotion

Minimax – strategy to strategy to minimise maximum loses

Paramnesia – inability to recall the correct meaning of a word

Shoal –1 Group of fish crowded together or 2 Sand bank

Defragging – rearrangement of files on a hard disk for faster data access

Writing from words of the day

Helene – her own unique way, Gina – a new relationship, Elizabeth – The long version, Lynn – she wanted to be spared, Muriel – A long winded fax, Margaret – Keep up with technology, Jenny – Collecting her thoughts, Pauline – The cannon, Amanda – Fish or crab, Terry  - Politician speak and Cath – Decisions.

Homework readings (Subject…Unpopular)

An interesting mix of stories as usual

Juan…a soldiers experience, Elizabeth…rabbitting experience as a young girl, Muriel…Steve and Rose…a love story

Margaret…Tissues in the washing, Jenny…in the name of religion, Pauline…Candy at school (2nd hand rose) 

Amanda…strange happenings and the weird singing doll, Terry...Unpopular is not so bad in the end


Exercise

We then completed an exercise with the subject…bananas


Homework subject for next week

”He was a really nice guy…"




15 February 2017

Record of meeting 15 February 2017

The writers

Juan, Wendy, Cath, Helene, Jenny, Elizabeth, Terry, Lynn, Diane welcome back to Amanda  & welcome to Margaret


Words of the day


Opportune – well timed

Pedagogue –a teacher

Hoyden – a boisterous girl

Immolate – to kill as a sacrifice

Flatter – praise insincerely, show to advantage

Narrative – spoken or written tale of connected events

Sycophant – a person who flatters someone in a servile way

Hypocrite – claiming to have higher standards than is the case, false pretender

Clairvoyant – power of seeing things beyond the natural range of senses


Writing from words of the day

The writers took the opportunity to grab the words and wrote the following:  Cath – Interaction,   Lynn – The volatile class, Helene – So many boring stories, Wendy – Now is the time, Juan – How your mother died, Elizabeth – What are you doing here, Amanda – The right hand, Margaret – The news of the day, Jenny – A crime prevented and Terry – He sits on the throne – a great narrative.

Reading of homework

Three writers who had no obsessions read out their homework:  Jenny – Quirks,  Terry – A cable tie or two – a great funny poem and Juan – The cries and tears – very moving.

Exercise – Take a leap of faith

The writers created a range of serious and not so serious stories: Lynn – Play it safe, Cath – Learning new skills, Terry – Overawed,  Jenny – Moving house and life, Margaret – Needing love,  Amanda – What direction,  Elizabeth – Learning to ski,  Juan – Look to the future,  Diane -  Justice and injustice,  Wendy  - Hurtling to the ground and  Helene – The marble eye.


Homework
Unpopular












08 February 2017

Record of meeting 8 February 2017

The writers

Wendy, Cath, Terry, Helene, Elizabeth, Lynne, Diane and welcome to new member Jenny

Words of the day

Glom – 1.to grab, catch or steal 2.look or glimpse

Icon – sacred image

Penumbra – partial shade

Sapient – wise or shrewd

Hoity-toity – arrogant or haughty

Fawn – young deer, colour or servile

Mull – think about, wine, promontory, humus, spine book binding

Writing from words of the day
The writers mulled over the words of the day and created sapient stories and poems: Helene – An amazing family, Cath – The loot, Jenny- The whipper snapper, Lynn – A piece of art, Elizabeth – At the auction, Terry – Not worth my time and Wendy – Why did I bother.


Reading of homework
Five writers read out their homework: Lynne – Too late for a new uniform – a thought provoking story, Elizabeth – As children, Terry – The album, Helene – Bodies of water and Cath – The birthday cake.


Exercise - a view through a peek hole at night
Helene – The style police, Cath – Hello Gran, Diane – An eye, Jenny – The postman, Lynne - Are you home, Elizabeth – Two big brown eyes, Terry – The cash cow and Wendy – A bloodshot eye.


Homework
Write about your own or others compulsions or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 




03 February 2017

Meeting 1st Feb 2017

Attendance
David, Lynn, Cath, Wendy, Terry, Elizabeth, Dianne

There was an inordinate amount of verbal interaction this day i.e we spoke a lot.

Words of the Day
Ambivalent...wavering, indecisive,   Tidbit...small morsel,    Anarchic...lawless
Epicentre...focal point of something, also directly above an earthquake
Chattel...movable personal possessions,  Peevish...easily irritated  (Donald Trump perhaps?)
Mayhem...violent destruction, chaos, intent to maim

From these words an array of thoughts and ideas found there way onto paper.

Homework readings

Cath...a cruise on the good ship Delphinium
David...a school experience...to be continued
Terry...When Tennyson McGuiness met Terrencio Mancini at Tuggerah Lakes

Homework for next week

Write a story involving a pastry cook, a rotary dial telephone and a boat's steering wheel

26 January 2017

Meeting 25-1-17

Attending...Elizabeth, Diane, Cath, Pauline, Terry

Words
Perfidious...Deceitful, untrustworthy,   Clamour...loud appeal, confused,
Fear...unpleasant emotion caused by perceived threat or harm, Obsequious...servile, obedient
Claustrophobia...irrational fear of confined spaces

A range of poems, stories from these words were presented

Homework readings
Diane...a fear of writing      Pauline...No is the word      Terry...Fear of failure? or of success

Exercise was to come up with the basics on which a short story/poem could be based. Fill in the table
below and use the information as a basis. Words in red are examples only.

            Item                      Your first name initial                 Your Surname initial
                                            (e.g. P from Peter)                    (e.g P from Piper)

A body of water                        Pond                                        Pacific                

Flower                                     Pelargonium                            Pigface

Food                                        Pizza                                       Potato chips

A first name                            Patricia                                    Phillip

A surname                              Porter                                       Parsons