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