THE REVIEW

WRITING IN THE RAIN

In spite of heavy rain, four people joined me for a Meeting on Wednesday. Cougar, Charity and Annette were here, as well as new member Chelsey Anderson. We started by giving brief writing bios, and learned Chelsey likes to write short stories and recently attended The Surrey International Writers’ Conference.

I read first, but not a new piece of work. This was a short story called “Fine Print” which was published in 2010 in a short-lived magazine named “Eclectica”. My story was my one and only attempt at sci-fi, or maybe it could by fantasy, depending on your perspective. It detailed a woman returning a male robot she found unsatisfactory in all respects. Due to fine print, she was only allowed a replacement on her purchase.

Cougar has re-written his Chapter 1 and the latest draft gives three different points of view, but the transition from one to the other is more seamless. It ends with Eric questioning his own identity, which is the conflict he must resolve for himself as well as the other characters in the story.

Annette said sometimes she writes as therapy, and then read to us the beginning of a story entitled “Sometimes I Forget To Breathe”. It starts with a first person female character telling of her first encounters with the opposite sex, and then segues into telling about living with a young daughter consumed by raging hormones. As a mother of a daughter, I could relate. Hope to hear more of this.

Chelsey bravely read to us her short story “Hi-Rise Jeans”. It is fiction written in first person and tells the story of a sixteen year old facing an abrupt and heartbreaking conflict between trying to loosen the ties of home and religion, but then confronting the sexual abuse and exploitation of the outside world. You could sense how the girl’s innocence and hopes and dreams were so rudely slaughtered. It was a great story that needs a bigger audience.

Charity read her chapter called “Dead Or Alive” about Trixie. We see her sleeping on the floor in her Ma’s room, in turmoil over what she should do. She knows the Preacher and his son would turn her in for the death of the Marley boy. But if she tells her Ma, her Ma would see to them being killed to protect her. But Trixie doesn’t want anything more to do with death or to become like her Ma, so she sneaks out during the night. Charity promised that Trixie will have a few more bumps along the way before the end of the story.

I asked the group for help picking a new title for my story “Penny Pincher”. As I hope to submit it to mystery magazines, I needed a title that would indicate it is a mystery, as it doesn’t start out that way. After reading out several titles, the one that was picked was “Bloody Quittance”.

Charity said she has started a blog connected to her writing, and is doing more online. She said she often tells people she writes, but felt she needed to provide evidence of that in case anyone was looking online. I think she’s right and have also been thinking of putting more of my writing online, probably in a blog. I have a great number of small pieces that I will never send anywhere, so I may as well put them out for others to read, and hopefully enjoy.

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. That will be the only Meeting in December. If anyone has a Christmas story they would like to read, that is welcome, too. Hope to see you then!

Lisa A. Hatton
Author