WOMEN ONLY
The Meeting here Wednesday night consisted of four women. We missed seeing Luke and Guy. Charity was dealing with a family emergency. And Kay is away helping to support firefighters in the interior. Crystal and Annette were here, and Annette brought a friend, Teena Rawding, with her. Teena also writes and has compiled a manuscript of what she called devotional pieces meant to support and encourage women who have suffered domestic abuse. She hopes to self-publish, perhaps as an ebook.
Annette read first, two more chapters. In the first chapter Maxine’s self absorbed in her fear of being trapped in a relationship with Jarod because her conscience won’t let her abandon him before he recovers from his injuries. In the next chapter she is back in the ICU as Jarod is being prepped for surgery. As he is wheeled away, she faints and because she is not an admitted patient, she ends up in the long waiting line in the ER. That’s when she realizes Jarod would never be there to look after her.
Teena read one piece entitled “Can You Imagine?”. It exemplifies how an abused wife loses all confidence in herself and is unable to communicate or make choices as everything she does is criticised in detail by the husband. She eventually accepts she is stupid and cannot escape, and submits to being told how to live in every way. Then the article goes on to tell about the hope that comes after leaving the abuser. The article addressed specifics of everyday life and would be very relevant to anyone in those circumstances.
Crystal had written a short first person story from a writing prompt that said to write about a tattered piece of clothing. Her mother wanted her to clean out her closet and get rid of a particular shirt. But the shirt was her security blanket for many years and was worn through many events in her life and consequently evoked memories she didn’t want to lose. I suggested that if Crystal could cut the words to 750 maximum she could enter the Polar Expressions writing contest, deadline July 31st.
I planned to enter something in the same contest so I read two short stories and asked which one I should enter. The first was “Parade of Sorrow” about a grieving mother watching the Veteran’s Parade on November 11th. She was a middle aged mother grieving her son lost in Afghanistan. The second story I read was “Playing Trivia” about a middle aged couple on a first date at the pub, with him wanting more than she was willing to give. The group chose “Parade Of Sorrow” because it had the greatest emotional impact. So that is the one I will enter.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, August 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see everyone then. Stay away from fires in the meantime.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Friday, July 21, 2017
Friday, July 7, 2017
THE REVIEW
WRITING CORNER
Annette, Luke, Charity and Kay all joined me Wednesday for a lively Meeting and discussion. Adjusting to different circumstances around us, we seemed to be trying out different writing spaces and/or mindsets lately. One had lost a home office. One lost a work office. One gained somebody else’s office. One set a daily word count quota of 100 words and often wrote more than that. And one is looking for the next writing project.
We started with a discussion on foster homes, the sad need for them in the first place and the different experiences of children raised in them, some good, some bad.
Charity read first, about Trixie waking up in the sand, covered in blood from the fight with the mountain lion. She cleans herself and her injuries as best she can in the pond, and then uses a fallen tree limb as a cane to leave the area before sunrise. She seeks refuge in a deep, dark canyon where she collapses. Readers are left anxious for her welfare.
Luke read about Goren waking outside on the grass after the earthquake. He had hit his head escaping the collapsed house. He has to prevent himself from panicking, and then realizes he must go and find his sister. The landscape has changed totally, much covered by fallen rock. He heads to the river which is churning and muddy and full of fallen trees and debris. As he watches, a body comes floating downstream toward him. An orderly environment is now in total chaos.
Annette read of Maxine seeking to clear her head outside the hospital after signing for Jarod’s surgery. She first escapes the cloudy atmosphere around patients smoking near the door. Overcome with grief at her lost dream of love and marriage, she sinks into dirty grass and then has to rise and eventually hides inside her car where she breaks down and cries. She goes back inside the hospital and tries to clean up in a public washroom where water, soap and hand drying are only possible by motion-sensored equipment that doesn’t help with legs and feet. (Don’t know if such comedy was intended, but this was pricelessly funny.) Back in Jarod’s room, the nurse tells her to go home and rest so she can be strong for Jarod. Maxine wants to rebel, but doesn’t.
Kay didn’t read, but said she is still working on her script. Apparently, with scriptwriting, she was told not to discuss or publicise her intended plot at all. Filmmaking is very secretive, apparently.
I read two short pieces from my archived collection of past endeavors. The first was “Raccoon” about a man who scavenges the city streets at night looking for excitement like a raccoon seeks food. The second piece was a bit of memoir about running into a teenage cousin who had been given up for adoption when she was just six years old. It was a very sad family story.
Crystal emailed me to say she was at home Wednesday with the flu, so we hope she is recovering and can join us next time.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then and that everyone can keep writing wherever and whenever circumstance allows.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Annette, Luke, Charity and Kay all joined me Wednesday for a lively Meeting and discussion. Adjusting to different circumstances around us, we seemed to be trying out different writing spaces and/or mindsets lately. One had lost a home office. One lost a work office. One gained somebody else’s office. One set a daily word count quota of 100 words and often wrote more than that. And one is looking for the next writing project.
We started with a discussion on foster homes, the sad need for them in the first place and the different experiences of children raised in them, some good, some bad.
Charity read first, about Trixie waking up in the sand, covered in blood from the fight with the mountain lion. She cleans herself and her injuries as best she can in the pond, and then uses a fallen tree limb as a cane to leave the area before sunrise. She seeks refuge in a deep, dark canyon where she collapses. Readers are left anxious for her welfare.
Luke read about Goren waking outside on the grass after the earthquake. He had hit his head escaping the collapsed house. He has to prevent himself from panicking, and then realizes he must go and find his sister. The landscape has changed totally, much covered by fallen rock. He heads to the river which is churning and muddy and full of fallen trees and debris. As he watches, a body comes floating downstream toward him. An orderly environment is now in total chaos.
Annette read of Maxine seeking to clear her head outside the hospital after signing for Jarod’s surgery. She first escapes the cloudy atmosphere around patients smoking near the door. Overcome with grief at her lost dream of love and marriage, she sinks into dirty grass and then has to rise and eventually hides inside her car where she breaks down and cries. She goes back inside the hospital and tries to clean up in a public washroom where water, soap and hand drying are only possible by motion-sensored equipment that doesn’t help with legs and feet. (Don’t know if such comedy was intended, but this was pricelessly funny.) Back in Jarod’s room, the nurse tells her to go home and rest so she can be strong for Jarod. Maxine wants to rebel, but doesn’t.
Kay didn’t read, but said she is still working on her script. Apparently, with scriptwriting, she was told not to discuss or publicise her intended plot at all. Filmmaking is very secretive, apparently.
I read two short pieces from my archived collection of past endeavors. The first was “Raccoon” about a man who scavenges the city streets at night looking for excitement like a raccoon seeks food. The second piece was a bit of memoir about running into a teenage cousin who had been given up for adoption when she was just six years old. It was a very sad family story.
Crystal emailed me to say she was at home Wednesday with the flu, so we hope she is recovering and can join us next time.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then and that everyone can keep writing wherever and whenever circumstance allows.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
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