THE REVIEW

WE’RE A TEN!


Ten of us met Wednesday night for another exciting meeting of dedicated scribes. Norah Dunlop and Ron Young were two new faces. Welcome to the fold.

I started by telling everyone the September issue of Writers’ Digest has a lot of excellent material in it. There is a list of agents looking for new writers. There are some very good sample Query letters. And there are several articles looking at various aspects of memoir writing. Worth picking up a copy if any of those topics interest you. I also put out a number of writing resource books that I am willing to lend, but I did ask for a list of who took what as I don’t want to lose any of them in the process.

Jim said he had been inspired to write a short story after receiving two emails requesting submissions that I had forwarded. His story was called “Dimensions”, and Danny read it aloud so Jim could hear how it sounded. It is about a male who changes realities every time he reaches his 40th birthday. That is when he is removed from that lifetime and plunked into another where he begins again at age 16. The story has him leaving a wife and 2 children when he turns 40. But before he is inserted into his next 24 year lifespan, there is a glitch and he wakes up beside a beautiful woman whom he wants to make love to. In this short lifespan, we see him trying to find some coffee and trying to figure out how the appliances work, since all these daily essentials are different with each incarnation. But very suddenly he is removed and wakes up at age 16, on a farm, where he toils till he’s 40. He wants to, and tries to commit suicide, but is unable to accomplish his desire. So he works the farm till his next transition. Fascinating theory. Jim says he is also half way through the 2nd draft of his novel.

Margaret read us the last chapter of “Blow Up The Castle”. The clergy of the area have come to Castle Hall to meet and listen to the Bishop, whom most of them have never met. Unfortunately, Rev. Peacock had to bring Joey, his parrot, with him and he was hidden under the reverend’s coat. As the meeting progressed, Joey looked out from under the coat and all the clergy, dressed in black and white, appeared to him to be penguins. On seeing a model of a clipper ship resembling one blown up by pirates, Joey immediately assumed the worst and screamed “Blow up the Castle!” The Hall was evacuated in five minutes flat. Margaret said she has a publisher currently reading her story collection. We all have our fingers crossed for her.

Ron read from his first draft of a novel about Hungarian ancestors who immigrated to Canada around the late 1800s and early 1900s, entitle “Of Stalwart Peasants”. Ron read his prologue, about Alistair MacArthur’s career as press secretary for Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior. It was Sifton’s idea to populate the prairies with immigrant farmers, ideally eastern European Slavic peasants who could settle and work and farm, which caused a great deal of controversy among the predominantly English population that existed outside of Quebec at the time. There was a great deal of relevant Canadian history in this prologue, and fascinating to us listeners.

Danny read the prologue from his book. We hear he is seriously depressed and suicidal after his breakup with his love interest. He unscrews the gas line where she lives. Suddenly there are the sirens of police cars and fire trucks. He is in the midst of a breakdown. Then Danny read the next paragraph, which tells us he was born August 14, 1959, the oldest of eight. Danny’s writing is very gritty and to the point, portraying the pain and angst of what he was going through.

Bob had some more writing about the history of B.C.’s jewellery business to read. This chapter is about the salespeople who worked in the trade and traveled the province during the last century, which could be a difficult process. In 1958 they formed the B.C. Chapter of the Canadian Jewllery Travellers Association, which eventually organized jewellery buying shows, which brought the buyers to them instead. In 1987 their show was the first event held in the new Canada Place Convention Centre. But the show in 1995 was their last.

Jason read his 2nd Chapter. We see the funeral for Iris, who passed away. Her great grandsons are teenagers, not really wanting to be there. Greg is bored and wants to be gone. Dave is more spiritual, and asks for the appearance of an angel. Outside, he sees a form take shape from the dust, but his father calls him and says he can drive the car. His mother’s thoughts are all about the details of catering to all the guests after the funeral. This was a good chapter for showing us the family setup of characters we assume will be major players in the novel.

Gemma brought copies of her book, “What Heidi Knows”, and asked for some volunteer readers. Bob and Jim each took a copy and we look forward to their views about this dog story. Gemma also has a poem accepted for the anthology being put out by Polar Expressions. Congratulations.

Lynette and Norah and I didn’t read anything. But we sure enjoyed listening to everything. Maybe we’ll read next time.

The contest deadline for the Surrey International Writers’ Conference is 4:00 p.m., Friday, September 4th. You can find contest guidelines at www.siwc.ca

Next meeting will be here at my place on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:00 p.m. Look forward to seeing you then.

Lisa