THE REVIEW

BACK ON TRACK

This past Wednesday saw five of us Rams here at a Meeting after the previous one had been cancelled due to members unable to attend. Margaret F., Kristi, Annette and Jason all joined me to re-connect as writers in need of other writers.

Kristi read two poems. One was about a wind chime made of sea glass that twirled together the wind and the colours. The second poem was called “Portrait” and was about a confident woman unafraid of living in an explosion of colour.

Kristi also said she thinks she needs a plot outline in order to continue writing “Jane And The Midnight Daisies”, that she may be the type of author who needs that structure to start with. I asked if she had any idea of what the end of the book would be, and she said no. Knowing the end of my novel was something that helped me write towards a specific goal. I might not have been able to keep going otherwise. But Jason and Margaret both contend the act of writing will lead you to where the novel wants to go. Different things work for different writers.

Margaret read Chapter Two of “Babes In The Wood” and this chapter shows how she dared travel to Vancouver’s downtown Eastside to see an exhibit of police evidence collected on the Babes in the Wood case. She tells explicitly what she saw both on the street and inside the museum. The depravity of the murders are expanded by the decay and insanity in the neighbourhood where the display is housed. And in the telling of this, Margaret includes the symptoms of her own Asperger’s Syndrome that compel her to keep asking questions and dig deeper, desperately needing answers.

Jason read his next Chapter, which shows Damianos and the Amazon woman, Kwen, after he has saved her and removed the arrow from her shoulder. He has fed on those he killed and regained his strength. The two of them spar verbally and seem to be flirting, though she is so much larger than he is. Damianos wants to know what world they are in, but Kwen doesn’t tell him. He tells her she should enlighten him before he grows hungry again.

Annette said she didn’t bring anything to read, but has been devising a plot for a novel as she spent the past two days working, driving a tractor. The novel would be about the kidnapping of a young girl and its aftermath until she graduates from high school. She said she would incorporate some things she experienced herself while growing up.

Annette also told us she has been unable to keep writing her novel “A Touch Of Wormwood” since we all said we wanted her main character to be more dynamic. One party did not like the character at all and voiced that opinion. So this brings up the question of critiquing and how it’s done. We need to remember we should only comment on writing technicalities, never content or personal likes or dislikes. Some members want in-depth critiquing and others find that too off-putting to keep them inspired. I’ve had members quit for both reasons, because we critiqued too much and because we didn’t. Perhaps we need to ask those who read what it is they specifically want from those of us who are listening. That way any advice we have would be directed where it’s really wanted.

I had been recovering from some emergency surgery I had the end of September, and after another anaesthetic wasn’t feeling too mentally active. However, I did write a short ‘Honey’ story of 500 words entitled “Locked Out”. It’s about trying to find space to write in this house I share with Honey when he is at home and locks me out of the den while he works on his own project.

Chris Potter has been away but hopes to join us again at the next Meeting. Another writer has also queried about the Rams and said she will join us then, too. I have gone online and placed our Meetings on the Event Calendar for the Langley Times as well as the Abbotsford, Aldergrove, Surrey and White Rock papers.

Since the Langley Legion closed, I will have to make an effort to find a copy of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine each month so I can report on the articles Margaret Moffatt keeps writing for them.

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place and I hope to see you then. Stay safe for Halloween!

Lisa A. Hatton
Author