BAND OF HEROES
Seven of us were heroic and attended the Meeting last night. Bob, from memory, recited the dates that certain goods appeared in our world during the last century or so, correcting things mentioned in a joke I had emailed him. The rest of us just read words we (or someone else) had written.
Margaret read to us of Coffin enjoying himself at the Thistle Inn, dining on haggis. The Scotsman who had picked him up from the rock on the moor, returned him to same after they had celebrated Robbie Burns Day. Coffin fell and knocked himself out. Since he had been missing for so long, Dye called the Police, who found him and sent him to hospital. They asked Dye what the two had been doing on the moor, dressed in kilts. Dye explained they were ghost eradicators. When he reached the hospital, a nurse told him Coffin said he saw the ghost of the Duke of Cumberland in battle on the moor. Dye agreed to have Coffin speak publicly about his sightings.
Danny, after visiting the Langley Writers’ Guild and listening to Ed Griffin talk about the steps of the Hero’s Journey, decided he needed to re-write the beginning of his autobiography, which he then read to us. He told us racers don’t race on Easter Sunday or on Mother’s Day, because if they died in an accident on either of those two days, it would be just way too traumatic for any mother to bear. The first chapter, called “Page Zero”, is set on Mother’s Day in 1967, when Danny is 7 ½ and his brother Mike is 5 years old. Danny is looking forward to racing his go-cart after church, an activity he shares with his Dad while the other children stay with his Mom. But Mike wants to go with them and follows them to the car, where their father tells him to return to the church. Mike goes to cross the street and is hit by a Ford Galaxie 500. He is seriously injured, but does survive and recover. After seeing such an emergency and that his brother was rewarded with lots of toys, Danny’s boundaries expanded and he was no longer afraid of any consequences to racing.
In response to a reading of his autobiography, Danny received a letter from Tomas Newman, a producer/director now working on “Bong Of The Dead”, who wants to help Danny get his book published and wants the film rights to it. Exciting news for Danny.
Gemma read a personal, untitled, article about being unable to breathe and landing in hospital with bronchitis. After tests she is told to quit smoking, given a puffer and sent home, but is still unable to quit smoking and she admits she will have to die of something anyhow. Jim suggested she ask her Doctor about using Zyban to help quit, as that’s what worked for him.
“For The Love Of Heidi” is another piece Gemma read telling how, a week after her bronchitis episode, she went to do a movie shoot. The hairdresser had a dog that had suffered from arthritis as badly as Gemma’s dog, Heidi, and she gave Gemma some herbal remedy she swore had helped her dog. Not liking the smell of it, Gemma administered it to herself as well as her dog, and after 5 days they both became very sick. She then decided to throw it away and they both recovered.
I read a collection of 4 small pieces I called “Minutiae”. The first paragraph told of my shivering in the cold while staring at a display of summer swim toys. The second paragraph describes seeing a table of twelve deaf people in a local, noisy pub, and how their method of communicating by sign language succeeded in spite of the noise, and also excluded those who could hear. The next short piece described a middle aged couple on a first date at the pub, and overhearing their conversation. The man was wooing her but she was resisting and after they left, we wondered if he was going to score that night or not. The fourth piece I read told of two men in their sixties meeting at the pub for a drink, and how their conversation started with anger directed at their wives, but after 4 beer each they had mellowed and thought the women pretty wonderful. These pieces were my attempt to capture some pictures in words.
Jason read Ch. 9, and we see Greg follow Bruce into the forest. Bruce tells him the Shadows are chasing Jodie through the force put out by the pendant, and since Greg was carrying it, they were after him. When they come to a clearing, Ludwig and his car are there, and he has a sword and threatens them. Greg hears Bruce talking to someone who is not there, very strange. The pendant in his pants heats up, he pulls it out and hears a voice saying “Don’t run. She lies in wait.” Bruce enters the clearing and he and Ludwig square off. A young woman appears in the clearing, with Dave following. The woman changes into a centaur and leaves Dave wondering where the sensual woman and her charms had disappeared to. Dave goes into the trees and Greg goes to follow but the voice says “Don’t go into the trees.” Then the pendant burns his hand and he drops it and the voice says “She’s here.” There was lots of suspense in this chapter and we all want to know what happens next.
Jim read Chapter 6 of “Coventry Ghosts”. This chapter shows the ghost, Leanne, and the kitten’s ghost, brought to court in ghostdom for unghostly behavior. The prosecutor, the ghost of King George IV, says she should fade away or exile herself. Leanne is defended by the ghost of Jane Seymour, who strives for gender equality in the right to haunt. The judge tells King George that he can do the banishing of Leanne and Sara, but he is unsuccessful and then it is Leanne’s turn to exile him and she succeeds, proving she is the stronger ghost. Absolutely charming tale with lots of humour and plays on words.
Jim also has a blog in connection with the Coffee Shop Author contest and he has written another short story there that you can read and comment on at www.coffeeshopauthor.com/blogs/jaw/conversation-god
On Saturday, April 24th at Porter’s Store at the 5 corners in Murrayville, from 10:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m., there will be a number of Langley’s published book authors doing readings and signings and selling their books. Yesterday’s Langley Times has a write-up about it on Page 31.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Bring your Muse.
Lisa
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
THE REVIEW
APRIL SHOWERS
In spite of heavy rain, seven of us did meet on Wednesday to invoke The Muse. Unfortunately, Michael and Gemma weren’t able to join us due to ill health. Hope they are both feeling better.
Margaret brought a sample book published by the same company publishing her “Blow Up The Castle”. She’s still uneasy about the final form her own book will take.
From “Coffin and Dye”, Margaret read of the two men going to pick up the Rolls after it had been repaired. Dye insisted they wear kilts to blend with the ghosts from the Battle of Culloden. They rented the kilts and then went to the moor where the battle had been. It was cold and a fog rolled in. Coffin got lost, but finally managed to catch a ride to a nearby pub with a Scotsman going to celebrate Robbie Burns Day. We all love Margaret’s wry humour.
Danny read two chapters from his autobiography. The first was “So Where Am I?” where he tries to equate the forensic psychiatric hospital where he is held to a vacation resort. He describes the place, which had been a previous army facility and he shows the fear experienced by those inside what feels like a secretive enclosure, and the resultant suicidal thoughts. In “Waiting For N34”, Danny tells how Saturday is Bingo day for those invited, where winners take in $5.00. He is hoping for N34 to be drawn so he can win, which causes a deep realization of how low he has sunk. This is where he turns to a higher power and asks for help to redeem his life. The first chapter Danny read so exemplified the anxious, veering thoughts of someone who is bipolar and not coping. It was very realistic. And the second chapter he read finally shows a glimmer of hope.
Jim read Ch. 4 of “Coventry Ghost”. Tammy witnesses the death of a kitten she would have adopted. When the kitten passes over, she is adopted on the other side by Leanne and the two become ghostly partners. Later, Olivia invites Tammy to come to the coffee shop at night when she and her Mom are cleaning, so Tammy can meet the ghost. Tammy gets to meet both Leanne and Sara, the ghostly kitten. Finally, Leanne and her family learn from Tammy that the other woman who tried to help her was Cheri, the owner of the coffee shop. They decide to invite Cheri to attend one night after midnight. Jim’s story is progressing nicely and he has some wonderful descriptions of the ghostly appearances and antics, and the end of the chapter leaves the reader wondering ‘what next?’ I can see young girls being enthralled with this story.
Jason read Ch. 8, where we see Greg and Dave at the edge of the forest listening and cringing at the screams they hear. The trees are jumping and there is a weird moving light. Dave backs away but Greg goes into the forest and is assaulted with a foul odor and sees smoke. Bruce sneaks up on him and covers his mouth so he can’t scream. He tells Greg the Shadows can feel the power of the pendant he carries. Bruce is following the Shadows to keep them from harming Jodie, the Akomadron. There is a lot of suspense and mystery in this chapter which would definitely be a page turner for any reader.
Anne said she and her son often walk the Huston Trail in Fort Langley and had seen some abandoned trucks there. The trucks sparked an idea for writing a novel, and she has renamed Fort Langley as Fort Hendy. The book’s title is “Ankle Bone”. Anne read us the prologue where we meet Sy and Squid, two young male friends sparring verbally with each other. The story sounds very promising and with Anne’s background in criminology, I’m sure she can put together a story we’d all want to read.
We did point out that she needs to decide beforehand what point(s) of view she will use to help the reader understand more clearly whose head she is in when telling the story. And we also mentioned past tense and present tense should be considered beforehand as well. The most immediate connection of reader to character is with first person, present tense. The most often used is third person, past tense. Nowadays there are many books that use multiple persons, past tense. In this case it’s best if each character has their own chapter. Next best is if they have their own scene, or section in a chapter. With a few stories characters only have their own paragraph. But never, ever, ever put two characters’ points of view in the same paragraph or the same sentence. If you have a main character you want the reader to care about, then stay with that character’s point of view. With omniscient point of view, the narrator has an overview of his/her own as well as the narrower view of every character. In this instance, the reader is further removed from the characters and doesn’t relate to them as easily, but if writing an historical epic, this can allow for a lot of background information to be given to the reader. Lots to think about, that’s for sure. It bears doing some research of novels you liked before you start.
Neither Bob nor I did any reading. Bob said he is still trying to write his electronics saga. I’ve been toying with some ideas and making notes, but nothing finished on the printed page yet.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
In spite of heavy rain, seven of us did meet on Wednesday to invoke The Muse. Unfortunately, Michael and Gemma weren’t able to join us due to ill health. Hope they are both feeling better.
Margaret brought a sample book published by the same company publishing her “Blow Up The Castle”. She’s still uneasy about the final form her own book will take.
From “Coffin and Dye”, Margaret read of the two men going to pick up the Rolls after it had been repaired. Dye insisted they wear kilts to blend with the ghosts from the Battle of Culloden. They rented the kilts and then went to the moor where the battle had been. It was cold and a fog rolled in. Coffin got lost, but finally managed to catch a ride to a nearby pub with a Scotsman going to celebrate Robbie Burns Day. We all love Margaret’s wry humour.
Danny read two chapters from his autobiography. The first was “So Where Am I?” where he tries to equate the forensic psychiatric hospital where he is held to a vacation resort. He describes the place, which had been a previous army facility and he shows the fear experienced by those inside what feels like a secretive enclosure, and the resultant suicidal thoughts. In “Waiting For N34”, Danny tells how Saturday is Bingo day for those invited, where winners take in $5.00. He is hoping for N34 to be drawn so he can win, which causes a deep realization of how low he has sunk. This is where he turns to a higher power and asks for help to redeem his life. The first chapter Danny read so exemplified the anxious, veering thoughts of someone who is bipolar and not coping. It was very realistic. And the second chapter he read finally shows a glimmer of hope.
Jim read Ch. 4 of “Coventry Ghost”. Tammy witnesses the death of a kitten she would have adopted. When the kitten passes over, she is adopted on the other side by Leanne and the two become ghostly partners. Later, Olivia invites Tammy to come to the coffee shop at night when she and her Mom are cleaning, so Tammy can meet the ghost. Tammy gets to meet both Leanne and Sara, the ghostly kitten. Finally, Leanne and her family learn from Tammy that the other woman who tried to help her was Cheri, the owner of the coffee shop. They decide to invite Cheri to attend one night after midnight. Jim’s story is progressing nicely and he has some wonderful descriptions of the ghostly appearances and antics, and the end of the chapter leaves the reader wondering ‘what next?’ I can see young girls being enthralled with this story.
Jason read Ch. 8, where we see Greg and Dave at the edge of the forest listening and cringing at the screams they hear. The trees are jumping and there is a weird moving light. Dave backs away but Greg goes into the forest and is assaulted with a foul odor and sees smoke. Bruce sneaks up on him and covers his mouth so he can’t scream. He tells Greg the Shadows can feel the power of the pendant he carries. Bruce is following the Shadows to keep them from harming Jodie, the Akomadron. There is a lot of suspense and mystery in this chapter which would definitely be a page turner for any reader.
Anne said she and her son often walk the Huston Trail in Fort Langley and had seen some abandoned trucks there. The trucks sparked an idea for writing a novel, and she has renamed Fort Langley as Fort Hendy. The book’s title is “Ankle Bone”. Anne read us the prologue where we meet Sy and Squid, two young male friends sparring verbally with each other. The story sounds very promising and with Anne’s background in criminology, I’m sure she can put together a story we’d all want to read.
We did point out that she needs to decide beforehand what point(s) of view she will use to help the reader understand more clearly whose head she is in when telling the story. And we also mentioned past tense and present tense should be considered beforehand as well. The most immediate connection of reader to character is with first person, present tense. The most often used is third person, past tense. Nowadays there are many books that use multiple persons, past tense. In this case it’s best if each character has their own chapter. Next best is if they have their own scene, or section in a chapter. With a few stories characters only have their own paragraph. But never, ever, ever put two characters’ points of view in the same paragraph or the same sentence. If you have a main character you want the reader to care about, then stay with that character’s point of view. With omniscient point of view, the narrator has an overview of his/her own as well as the narrower view of every character. In this instance, the reader is further removed from the characters and doesn’t relate to them as easily, but if writing an historical epic, this can allow for a lot of background information to be given to the reader. Lots to think about, that’s for sure. It bears doing some research of novels you liked before you start.
Neither Bob nor I did any reading. Bob said he is still trying to write his electronics saga. I’ve been toying with some ideas and making notes, but nothing finished on the printed page yet.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
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