ACCUSABLY, ANACHRONISTIC, AND TWO SCHEMING UNCLES BOATING TO THE BEAT
As you can see, Wednesday’s Meeting was full of tongue twisting pronunciations of words and phrases. Lots of fun with Jason, Luke, Charity, Annette, and new member, Kay Jordan, joining me here.
Charity read first, the next chapter in “Trixie Trouble”. We see Gravedigger and Donovan square off to fight. After a faulty start, Donovan comes back to win the match and Trixie is faced with losing a lot of money she didn’t have. This was a great chapter documenting the fight, very vivid.
Dressed in costume that she wears for SCA, the Society for Creative Anachronism, Annette stood up to deliver a tale about three different stories of how the Selkie Folk came to be. Then she sang us a ballad, The Skye Boat Song. This was an amazing performance and we didn’t even have to pay for front row seats! Bravo, Annette, Bravo!
I read the next story, “It Was Time” from my Honey collection. This was about an outing with Honey up at Green Lake that had me struggling from the lakeshore up a winding track on a steep hillside in pursuit of the Lodge at Little Horse, and the subsequent stop of my trek at a cattle guard I couldn’t cross with my wobbly legs and two branches used as walking sticks. That was when I decided to take my cane with me whenever I went out with Honey.
Charity asked if I had submitted the story I read last time to Polar Expressions yet. I spent some time re-writing the ending and the story is ready to submit, but I still have to write a short author’s bio to go with the submission, as required. The deadline isn’t until July anyhow, if anyone else wants to submit a short story of 750 words or less.
Jason read his next chapter that shows us the appearance of the Nobella, Kwen’s and Tiber’s spiritual leaders. One of them, Bealunwit, knows who Damianos is, and it appears they are enemies. He threatens Damianos with a knife. Meanwhile, Tiber takes the mythical coin and hides it, though Kwen saw him do it. The plot thickens. And it was Jason who used the word ‘accusably’, which I erroneously questioned. It’s a synonym for ‘guiltily’.
Luke read the next scene where Dalin is waiting for the return of Sgt. Torch. While waiting, he runs the troops through battle training. When Torch returns, the Commander and Captain are with her and ask Dalin how he came to know so much about their strategy because there seems to be a leak of info as the enemy always seems to pre-empt their movements. They ask him where the hole in their strategy seems to be.
Kay told us she is working on a humorous skit where a wife is admitting her guilt to a crime of infidelity, which happened to be her eating her husband’s dessert. Kay said she likes comedy and wants to write in that genre.
At the end of the Meeting, I confessed I had been playing on my computer with a plot generator app. I filled in a detailed questionnaire, clicked the button, and the app spewed out a short story, which I read to the group. It was very nonsensical and had us all laughing. The things we will do to postpone our own writing! But maybe I can get a story of my own out of the two scheming uncles boating to the beat?
Margaret F. emailed me to say she was away in Tofino this week. Hope she’s having fun.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, June 1st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Friday, May 20, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
THE REVIEW
Re-Writing Class
Charity, Luke, Annette and Jason all joined me Wednesday for our latest Meeting. We started with Charity giving us a demonstration on her laptop of how she uses different MS Word features to supply a list of chapters and scenes and comments that she can use as an outline to find something specific she wants to look at in her manuscript. Luke says he uses Scrivener story writing software. I write an outline manually as I go along, since I like to use the printed page when I edit, rather than the computer. We guess it all boils down to what works best for each writer. But I will spend some time working with the ideas for MS Word. Jason didn’t say what he would like to try, even though he did say trying to remember everything in his head wasn’t working. And we can all relate to that problem.
We did the blind voting for a prize from the box for best writing from the last Meeting and Charity was the winner for her chapter from “Trixie Trouble”.
I read first, a re-write of the story I had read last time. I changed names and places of characters’ origins, and did the storyline inside the framework of a police interview. It is approximately 730 words long, so I will enter it in the Polar Expressions contest/anthology this year.
Luke read us a chapter about the soldier, Dalin, and an encounter he has with his immediate superior. Dalin tries unsuccessfully to convince the other soldier that there is something terribly wrong with the army’s plan to extricate itself from a tight situation. Dalin then talks the female soldier, Sgt. Torch, into telling another officer for him as he is forbidden to do so himself.
Jason read us the next chapter where Tiber is still browbeating Kwen, and threatening to turn her in for stealing the mystical coin. And Damianos is still suffering excruciating pain, but deep inside hears a voice that gives him hope. At the end of the chapter he hears the voice of his stolen sister calling his name.
Charity read the next chapter in “Trixie Trouble”. At the bar she runs into Brett Marley, who makes sexual suggestions. She plays along briefly, but doesn’t give in. She then goes to make her bet on the boxer Grave Digger, asking who will be his challenger in the ring. That’s when she sees the preacher’s son get in the ring as the other contestant.
Both Jason and Charity are very good at ending each chapter with a hook that leaves the reader wanting to keep turning pages to see what happens next.
Annette didn’t read anything, but gave us hints on what the story she read last time would contain going forward.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Again, bring your vote for best piece of writing from this last Meeting. I do look forward to seeing you all next time and wish you successful writing in the meantime.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Charity, Luke, Annette and Jason all joined me Wednesday for our latest Meeting. We started with Charity giving us a demonstration on her laptop of how she uses different MS Word features to supply a list of chapters and scenes and comments that she can use as an outline to find something specific she wants to look at in her manuscript. Luke says he uses Scrivener story writing software. I write an outline manually as I go along, since I like to use the printed page when I edit, rather than the computer. We guess it all boils down to what works best for each writer. But I will spend some time working with the ideas for MS Word. Jason didn’t say what he would like to try, even though he did say trying to remember everything in his head wasn’t working. And we can all relate to that problem.
We did the blind voting for a prize from the box for best writing from the last Meeting and Charity was the winner for her chapter from “Trixie Trouble”.
I read first, a re-write of the story I had read last time. I changed names and places of characters’ origins, and did the storyline inside the framework of a police interview. It is approximately 730 words long, so I will enter it in the Polar Expressions contest/anthology this year.
Luke read us a chapter about the soldier, Dalin, and an encounter he has with his immediate superior. Dalin tries unsuccessfully to convince the other soldier that there is something terribly wrong with the army’s plan to extricate itself from a tight situation. Dalin then talks the female soldier, Sgt. Torch, into telling another officer for him as he is forbidden to do so himself.
Jason read us the next chapter where Tiber is still browbeating Kwen, and threatening to turn her in for stealing the mystical coin. And Damianos is still suffering excruciating pain, but deep inside hears a voice that gives him hope. At the end of the chapter he hears the voice of his stolen sister calling his name.
Charity read the next chapter in “Trixie Trouble”. At the bar she runs into Brett Marley, who makes sexual suggestions. She plays along briefly, but doesn’t give in. She then goes to make her bet on the boxer Grave Digger, asking who will be his challenger in the ring. That’s when she sees the preacher’s son get in the ring as the other contestant.
Both Jason and Charity are very good at ending each chapter with a hook that leaves the reader wanting to keep turning pages to see what happens next.
Annette didn’t read anything, but gave us hints on what the story she read last time would contain going forward.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Again, bring your vote for best piece of writing from this last Meeting. I do look forward to seeing you all next time and wish you successful writing in the meantime.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Saturday, April 23, 2016
THE REVIEW
A MIX OF GENRES
We had a fantastic Meeting here on Wednesday when Luke, Jason, Charity, Annette, Hayden and Margaret F. all joined me to showcase a variety of genres among the group.
I read first, this time a piece of fiction, a short story, based on two people who did actually attend the group on two different occasions. It was in response to Kristi’s question as to whether or not they might have been gay. And I started thinking ‘what if?’ and proceeded from there. Charity noticed, though, when I switched from recounting true events to creating fiction. And Luke thought I should put the whole story in another context, perhaps a police interview. Somebody said they liked the ending. And then Charity said she hopes I never decide to write about her! Too funny. I thought it felt good to actually write something new for a change but maybe I should go back to editing my ‘Honey’ stories.
Margaret F. read Chapter 7 from ‘Babes In The Wood’. She is still doing research in the library but has progressed to the investigation by Detective McKay. There end up being many more questions about the age of the children, genders of same, false information about a French woman who was a suspect, and so on. Margaret decides she has to see the real police file.
Luke read some more from his fantasy novel. We see Goren winning a mixed combat competition against his opponent, Kennet, who had beat him before. This earns him recognition by a master. I did tell Luke I would like to know more of what Goren is thinking and feeling during the bout.
Hayden has started writing a fantasy novel called ‘The Dragonformer’. He read from the Prologue which informs us that Svelt is required to kill one group of people at the behest of another in order to save his own people. We see him commit a gruesome killing. Details of the actual killing were very vivid.
Charity read the next chapter in ‘Trixie Trouble’. Trixie sneaks out of the house at night and roves through the wild part of town looking for Marley, whom her father knew, and a job. He offers her one as a whore but she refuses. Then she decides she will bet on a fighter. This chapter was full of colour and sights and sounds and smells and gave us a very vivid picture of the world she was travelling in.
Annette read from her Victorian novel. We see sixteen year old Jane dancing at a birthday party and talking to her cousin, Robert. Then she sneaks outside to meet Ronin in the garden, but she is attacked by an unknown assailant and her dress is torn, her breasts fondled, and she is thrown on the ground and left. Ronin finds her and picks her up, covered with his coat. This scene went from the prim normalcy of Victorian life to the terror of sexual assault, a vivid contrast.
Jason read his next chapter where Kwen confronts Tiber, who is still holding a naked Damianos over a bed of hot coals. Tiber drops Damianos who is badly burned. Kwen pours water on him, but that makes things worse, and he just wants to be left alone to heal himself with his own special powers. Meanwhile, Tiber is furious and jealous and turns on Kwen. To appease him, she becomes submissive and says things to swell his egotistic pride. That is probably true to human nature.
Pat and Kristi were unable to attend, but we hope to see them next time.
Four of us who had been at the previous Meeting voted for who deserved to pick from the prize box. But the vote was a stalemate. And people seemed to want to do a secret vote. So now, for the next Meeting, those who were here Wednesday are asked to bring their vote for best piece of writing on a piece of paper (author’s name, I guess). Don’t forget!
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
We had a fantastic Meeting here on Wednesday when Luke, Jason, Charity, Annette, Hayden and Margaret F. all joined me to showcase a variety of genres among the group.
I read first, this time a piece of fiction, a short story, based on two people who did actually attend the group on two different occasions. It was in response to Kristi’s question as to whether or not they might have been gay. And I started thinking ‘what if?’ and proceeded from there. Charity noticed, though, when I switched from recounting true events to creating fiction. And Luke thought I should put the whole story in another context, perhaps a police interview. Somebody said they liked the ending. And then Charity said she hopes I never decide to write about her! Too funny. I thought it felt good to actually write something new for a change but maybe I should go back to editing my ‘Honey’ stories.
Margaret F. read Chapter 7 from ‘Babes In The Wood’. She is still doing research in the library but has progressed to the investigation by Detective McKay. There end up being many more questions about the age of the children, genders of same, false information about a French woman who was a suspect, and so on. Margaret decides she has to see the real police file.
Luke read some more from his fantasy novel. We see Goren winning a mixed combat competition against his opponent, Kennet, who had beat him before. This earns him recognition by a master. I did tell Luke I would like to know more of what Goren is thinking and feeling during the bout.
Hayden has started writing a fantasy novel called ‘The Dragonformer’. He read from the Prologue which informs us that Svelt is required to kill one group of people at the behest of another in order to save his own people. We see him commit a gruesome killing. Details of the actual killing were very vivid.
Charity read the next chapter in ‘Trixie Trouble’. Trixie sneaks out of the house at night and roves through the wild part of town looking for Marley, whom her father knew, and a job. He offers her one as a whore but she refuses. Then she decides she will bet on a fighter. This chapter was full of colour and sights and sounds and smells and gave us a very vivid picture of the world she was travelling in.
Annette read from her Victorian novel. We see sixteen year old Jane dancing at a birthday party and talking to her cousin, Robert. Then she sneaks outside to meet Ronin in the garden, but she is attacked by an unknown assailant and her dress is torn, her breasts fondled, and she is thrown on the ground and left. Ronin finds her and picks her up, covered with his coat. This scene went from the prim normalcy of Victorian life to the terror of sexual assault, a vivid contrast.
Jason read his next chapter where Kwen confronts Tiber, who is still holding a naked Damianos over a bed of hot coals. Tiber drops Damianos who is badly burned. Kwen pours water on him, but that makes things worse, and he just wants to be left alone to heal himself with his own special powers. Meanwhile, Tiber is furious and jealous and turns on Kwen. To appease him, she becomes submissive and says things to swell his egotistic pride. That is probably true to human nature.
Pat and Kristi were unable to attend, but we hope to see them next time.
Four of us who had been at the previous Meeting voted for who deserved to pick from the prize box. But the vote was a stalemate. And people seemed to want to do a secret vote. So now, for the next Meeting, those who were here Wednesday are asked to bring their vote for best piece of writing on a piece of paper (author’s name, I guess). Don’t forget!
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Thursday, April 7, 2016
THE REVIEW
WRITING ROUNDUP
Charity, Jason, Luke and new member, Pat Burnett, joined me last night for a great meeting of The Rams.
I started the meeting by handing out some things I had copied. There was a one page plan for writing a book, one page for a character chart, one page of writing tips, and one page on points to consider when critiquing.
Luke read a middle chapter from his novel, “The Heart Of The Earth”. The main character, Goren, and his two bodyguards are seeking information. They take a trip to the underground archives of the library, and we are shown a setting where they are not allowed to browse to look for the information they seek.
Pat read the prologue from her novel “Black Caul”. It was a short scene showing a girl experiencing either terror or an anxiety attack in an underground parkade. The scene was riveting and would definitely hook the reader. Then Pat read some research she had done on Bowen Island during the 1940s and 1950s. We asked her if there had been a blackout required of ferries visiting Bowen during the war years, but Pat didn’t know and said she would look that up. If any of our members remember about that, please let us know.
Charity read the next chapter from “Trixie Trouble”, entitled “A Lick And A Promise”. We see Trixie and the preacher’s son, Donovan, still bickering after their fight is broken up by the preacher. Trixie is sent indoors to clean up and is shown to her room by another rescued girl named Charlotte. Trixie is bothered that she doesn’t know where she belongs, and even more so when she sees a black mourning dress she is expected to wear.
Jason’s next chapter shows us Kwen walking through the soldiers’ encampment, on her way to find Damianos. She is accosted by the young soldier, Tement, who blames her for the deaths of four soldiers. She is the only female warrior, but can still defend herself against him, even with her injured shoulder. When she gets to the tent where she expects to find Damianos and her special coin, they aren’t there. This was a well written, edgy chapter. But we did tease Jason about using one humdrum cliché (getting sick and tired of it) when his writing is almost always descriptively unique. He never uses clichés. Beware the cliché, for the Rams will pounce on it! And again, Jason used ‘passed’ when it should have been ‘past’. Examples of use would be: The football player passed the football to another player, who ran it past the goal line for a touchdown. The years passed quickly until they were all in the past. But I’m still working on who’s and whose.
I read another ‘Honey’ story, “Rodeo of Fabrics”. It was about Honey wanting me to sew him a cowboy shirt and his having trouble choosing proper fabrics to make one. This was a very short story, around 300 words. Luke said he was waiting for the story to continue and tell him about actually making the shirt. I’ll have to think about that.
Kristi was unable to attend. Margaret F. said she was up at 3:00 a.m. and then would be working a long day, therefore in bed about the time we started the meeting. Annette said they were doing a lot of yard clean-up. And Hayden said his wife wasn’t well and he needed to stay home for her and their daughter. We missed all these writers.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Charity, Jason, Luke and new member, Pat Burnett, joined me last night for a great meeting of The Rams.
I started the meeting by handing out some things I had copied. There was a one page plan for writing a book, one page for a character chart, one page of writing tips, and one page on points to consider when critiquing.
Luke read a middle chapter from his novel, “The Heart Of The Earth”. The main character, Goren, and his two bodyguards are seeking information. They take a trip to the underground archives of the library, and we are shown a setting where they are not allowed to browse to look for the information they seek.
Pat read the prologue from her novel “Black Caul”. It was a short scene showing a girl experiencing either terror or an anxiety attack in an underground parkade. The scene was riveting and would definitely hook the reader. Then Pat read some research she had done on Bowen Island during the 1940s and 1950s. We asked her if there had been a blackout required of ferries visiting Bowen during the war years, but Pat didn’t know and said she would look that up. If any of our members remember about that, please let us know.
Charity read the next chapter from “Trixie Trouble”, entitled “A Lick And A Promise”. We see Trixie and the preacher’s son, Donovan, still bickering after their fight is broken up by the preacher. Trixie is sent indoors to clean up and is shown to her room by another rescued girl named Charlotte. Trixie is bothered that she doesn’t know where she belongs, and even more so when she sees a black mourning dress she is expected to wear.
Jason’s next chapter shows us Kwen walking through the soldiers’ encampment, on her way to find Damianos. She is accosted by the young soldier, Tement, who blames her for the deaths of four soldiers. She is the only female warrior, but can still defend herself against him, even with her injured shoulder. When she gets to the tent where she expects to find Damianos and her special coin, they aren’t there. This was a well written, edgy chapter. But we did tease Jason about using one humdrum cliché (getting sick and tired of it) when his writing is almost always descriptively unique. He never uses clichés. Beware the cliché, for the Rams will pounce on it! And again, Jason used ‘passed’ when it should have been ‘past’. Examples of use would be: The football player passed the football to another player, who ran it past the goal line for a touchdown. The years passed quickly until they were all in the past. But I’m still working on who’s and whose.
I read another ‘Honey’ story, “Rodeo of Fabrics”. It was about Honey wanting me to sew him a cowboy shirt and his having trouble choosing proper fabrics to make one. This was a very short story, around 300 words. Luke said he was waiting for the story to continue and tell him about actually making the shirt. I’ll have to think about that.
Kristi was unable to attend. Margaret F. said she was up at 3:00 a.m. and then would be working a long day, therefore in bed about the time we started the meeting. Annette said they were doing a lot of yard clean-up. And Hayden said his wife wasn’t well and he needed to stay home for her and their daughter. We missed all these writers.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Saturday, March 19, 2016
THE REVIEW
SAVING DAYLIGHT
There were six of us Rams here on Wednesday and the Meeting started out in broad daylight for a change.
We began by discussing technicalities of writing. I mentioned point of view when used in a short story. Kristie and I both think it should be limited to one point of view to make the most of the minimal word count devoted to that one character. Adding the points of view of other minor characters deletes the impact the story has on the reader.
Then we discussed plotting a story. Jason said he was having trouble keeping story elements in his head and knowing where to go back and find things as he progresses in writing his novel. I suggested doing a handwritten outline at the end of each chapter that includes page number and word count to that point, as well as short recap of the chapter. It could be kept in a notebook for easy reference. That is what I did writing “Fire”. Then Charity told us the same function exists in MS Word. I just did some research and think this function can be found under References, then Mark Entry/Index. I haven’t used it myself as I always balk at spending time learning more digital ways of doing things when pen and paper are still so handy. But Charity said she uses this function regularly and you can bring it up in a side window.
Jason read first, a very long chapter that shows Kwen being treated for her wound by a doctor who is also a friend, and seems to be gay. This chapter gives a lot of background information about the different peoples involved in this story, as well as showing Kwen’s concern for the safety of Damianos.
Annette read what she said is the beginning of a story, which was a gripping tale from inside the head of a serial rapist/pedophile in the Victorian era, when in time this wasn’t really so much of a crime. He was watching a group of young girls, trying to decide which one he would grab for his own purposes.
Charity has decided to forego finishing “Saltwater Mermaid” in time for the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this year, and instead is working on “Trixie Trouble”, a previously written Young Adult novel which is also a western set in Texas just after the civil war. It starts out with Trixie watching her father being hanged for horse stealing. It grabs the reader’s attention immediately. Charity is also trying to write articles for the magazine that is now all about marijuana. She’s having trouble finding research that is pro-marijuana for medical use. And she balks at buying cosmetics that include marijuana in their ingredients as that could be a conflict of interest with her husband’s job. Aah, the trials and tribulations of being a journalist!
Margaret F. read to us Chapter 6 from “Babes In The Wood”. She is still in the library reading clippings about the murders. We learn that Professor Mark Skinner from SFU had examined the remains and determined that the teeth of both children had developed to the same stage and their estimated age was seven or eight. He raised the question of whether or not they could have been twins. Margaret also wondered, given that they had been wearing similar clothing.
Kristi had been working on developing a plot that would continue from the story she read last time about the girl beside the well. We look forward to hearing the story when it is written.
I didn’t read as time had run out. But Charity did take a copy of my story home with her to read. She was the only one who hadn’t heard or read “The Blob At Green Lake”. That was the next story in line in my compilation of ‘Honey’ stories.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy Easter in the meantime!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
There were six of us Rams here on Wednesday and the Meeting started out in broad daylight for a change.
We began by discussing technicalities of writing. I mentioned point of view when used in a short story. Kristie and I both think it should be limited to one point of view to make the most of the minimal word count devoted to that one character. Adding the points of view of other minor characters deletes the impact the story has on the reader.
Then we discussed plotting a story. Jason said he was having trouble keeping story elements in his head and knowing where to go back and find things as he progresses in writing his novel. I suggested doing a handwritten outline at the end of each chapter that includes page number and word count to that point, as well as short recap of the chapter. It could be kept in a notebook for easy reference. That is what I did writing “Fire”. Then Charity told us the same function exists in MS Word. I just did some research and think this function can be found under References, then Mark Entry/Index. I haven’t used it myself as I always balk at spending time learning more digital ways of doing things when pen and paper are still so handy. But Charity said she uses this function regularly and you can bring it up in a side window.
Jason read first, a very long chapter that shows Kwen being treated for her wound by a doctor who is also a friend, and seems to be gay. This chapter gives a lot of background information about the different peoples involved in this story, as well as showing Kwen’s concern for the safety of Damianos.
Annette read what she said is the beginning of a story, which was a gripping tale from inside the head of a serial rapist/pedophile in the Victorian era, when in time this wasn’t really so much of a crime. He was watching a group of young girls, trying to decide which one he would grab for his own purposes.
Charity has decided to forego finishing “Saltwater Mermaid” in time for the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this year, and instead is working on “Trixie Trouble”, a previously written Young Adult novel which is also a western set in Texas just after the civil war. It starts out with Trixie watching her father being hanged for horse stealing. It grabs the reader’s attention immediately. Charity is also trying to write articles for the magazine that is now all about marijuana. She’s having trouble finding research that is pro-marijuana for medical use. And she balks at buying cosmetics that include marijuana in their ingredients as that could be a conflict of interest with her husband’s job. Aah, the trials and tribulations of being a journalist!
Margaret F. read to us Chapter 6 from “Babes In The Wood”. She is still in the library reading clippings about the murders. We learn that Professor Mark Skinner from SFU had examined the remains and determined that the teeth of both children had developed to the same stage and their estimated age was seven or eight. He raised the question of whether or not they could have been twins. Margaret also wondered, given that they had been wearing similar clothing.
Kristi had been working on developing a plot that would continue from the story she read last time about the girl beside the well. We look forward to hearing the story when it is written.
I didn’t read as time had run out. But Charity did take a copy of my story home with her to read. She was the only one who hadn’t heard or read “The Blob At Green Lake”. That was the next story in line in my compilation of ‘Honey’ stories.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy Easter in the meantime!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Saturday, March 5, 2016
THE REVIEW
SEVEN SCRAWLERS
Jason, Margaret, Annette, Kristi, Charity and new member, Hayden McKinnon, joined me on Wednesday for the latest Meeting of esteemed Rams. Hayden is a teacher of grade six students who writes short stories and is looking to expand his writing horizons.
Margaret read first, Chapter 6 of “Babes In The Wood”. It details her research into newspaper articles written about the murders over a period of years, but which exposed many contradictory statements she was seriously questioning in 1996. There was no logical explanation of who had committed the crime, or of how the murders of two children were really executed.
Kristi is just now getting back into writing after the hiatus she took to study for a work related exam. She read to us a scene she has written, about a young girl named Ainsley. She is exploring property she lives on, and comes across an abandoned well, that has a cold bench in front of it, and a sign that says “Take a penny. Leave a penny.” A crow joins her, but as it leaves it turns into a raven. We were all waiting for something drastically evil to happen.
Hayden read to us his short story “The Lighthouse Man”. It tells of an elderly keeper named Marlo who is barely able to do his maintenance job, and whose 40 year old son lives with him. Marlo’s health is failing, but he has emotional ties to his home by the sea, and dances as if still holding in his arms his deceased wife. Marlo is faced with the decision made without his permission to move him into a care home. There is a lot of well portrayed sadness in this story.
Charity has started re-writing “Saltwater Mermaid” and read to us a beginning chapter. It shows Persephone telling her family on Hornby Island that she has seen the sea witch. Then the story backtracks to when she had been waiting for the ferry to the island and took a dip in the ocean to cool off. When she comes out of the water she cadges a ride from the young artist, Adam, who doesn’t really like people. Otherworldly hints are dropped amid the telling of everyday life.
Jason read his next chapter about Damianos trying to escape the clutches of the giant men detaining him, and bent on torturing him to gain information from him. Damianos seems doomed. Do we root for him to overcome this situation or not?
I read another ‘Honey’ story, “Malfuntion”. It tells of a domestic electrical problem that affected the whole house, but was caused by a shorted ground fault connector outside under a giant fir tree between our driveway and the next one. In retrospect, there was a lot of humour in how we handled this problem.
Annette didn’t read anything, but did show us the brand new throwing knife she bought for upcoming competitions she is entering. She said she also had throwing axes out in her vehicle. I told her not to get pulled over and charged with weapons offences. She should be writing a murder mystery about somebody using their knives or axes for devilish purposes.
Hayden said he maintains a blog that can be found at www.frostyhound.blogspot.ca
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Since St. Patrick’s Day will be the following day, everyone can attend wearing something green! Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Jason, Margaret, Annette, Kristi, Charity and new member, Hayden McKinnon, joined me on Wednesday for the latest Meeting of esteemed Rams. Hayden is a teacher of grade six students who writes short stories and is looking to expand his writing horizons.
Margaret read first, Chapter 6 of “Babes In The Wood”. It details her research into newspaper articles written about the murders over a period of years, but which exposed many contradictory statements she was seriously questioning in 1996. There was no logical explanation of who had committed the crime, or of how the murders of two children were really executed.
Kristi is just now getting back into writing after the hiatus she took to study for a work related exam. She read to us a scene she has written, about a young girl named Ainsley. She is exploring property she lives on, and comes across an abandoned well, that has a cold bench in front of it, and a sign that says “Take a penny. Leave a penny.” A crow joins her, but as it leaves it turns into a raven. We were all waiting for something drastically evil to happen.
Hayden read to us his short story “The Lighthouse Man”. It tells of an elderly keeper named Marlo who is barely able to do his maintenance job, and whose 40 year old son lives with him. Marlo’s health is failing, but he has emotional ties to his home by the sea, and dances as if still holding in his arms his deceased wife. Marlo is faced with the decision made without his permission to move him into a care home. There is a lot of well portrayed sadness in this story.
Charity has started re-writing “Saltwater Mermaid” and read to us a beginning chapter. It shows Persephone telling her family on Hornby Island that she has seen the sea witch. Then the story backtracks to when she had been waiting for the ferry to the island and took a dip in the ocean to cool off. When she comes out of the water she cadges a ride from the young artist, Adam, who doesn’t really like people. Otherworldly hints are dropped amid the telling of everyday life.
Jason read his next chapter about Damianos trying to escape the clutches of the giant men detaining him, and bent on torturing him to gain information from him. Damianos seems doomed. Do we root for him to overcome this situation or not?
I read another ‘Honey’ story, “Malfuntion”. It tells of a domestic electrical problem that affected the whole house, but was caused by a shorted ground fault connector outside under a giant fir tree between our driveway and the next one. In retrospect, there was a lot of humour in how we handled this problem.
Annette didn’t read anything, but did show us the brand new throwing knife she bought for upcoming competitions she is entering. She said she also had throwing axes out in her vehicle. I told her not to get pulled over and charged with weapons offences. She should be writing a murder mystery about somebody using their knives or axes for devilish purposes.
Hayden said he maintains a blog that can be found at www.frostyhound.blogspot.ca
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Since St. Patrick’s Day will be the following day, everyone can attend wearing something green! Hope to see you then.
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Saturday, February 20, 2016
THE REVIEW
RANDOM READINGS
On February 17th, Annette, Margaret F., Jason, Charity, and a new member, Luke Koster, joined me for our most recent Meeting of The Rams.
Charity brought two samples of magazines that publish her non-fiction articles. One magazine is Maximum Yield, and the other is Hydro Life. She read her article “Essential Oil Or Not” in the Hydro Life magazine, which outlined many of both the questions and beliefs in the health benefits of essential oils. Then Charity told us that magazine is slated to change its focus to pro-marijuana consumerism. My, how things change in publishing. As far as her novel is concerned, Charity said she is still working on plotting it out.
Margaret F. had been away on extended holiday so didn’t have the next chapter for “Babes In The Wood”. But she did read to us two previously written poems. “Sisters” was a longing to find purpose and a dream again, after the end of a marriage. The second poem, “Incantation For Victory In War After Defeat” was a strong rallying of force to carry on after setback.
Luke is writing an epic fantasy novel called “The Heart Of The Earth”. He read to us one scene in which Dalin, a young army recruit, is angry and upset that he’s been sent to basic training instead of officers’ training, and set the task of digging a latrine. But that’s true of how basic training works; break the man to make the soldier.
Annette read another chapter from “Within The Tangles”. This time, a group of teens is meeting for group therapy. It sounds like they’ve been having problems at school and that is the reason for their referral to therapy. Janna arrives and hides in the washroom, locking the door. Backstory is coming out about her having been abducted. We want to hear more about the angst that she is suffering.
Jason read to us about Damianos regaining consciousness inside a giant tent with giant furniture. He muses about Kwen and Ligeia, their differences and their similarities. He finds that he is naked and starts searching for his clothes to escape, but is caught by two giant warriors who act like buffoons.
I read the next “Honey” story, “Deposition for Separate Bedrooms”. It tells of Honey’s morning rituals before he retired, when he was angry about having to get up early for work when I did not. Charity said she likes that I read last so they can all leave after having a good laugh. I’m glad the humour comes through.
Margaret Moffatt has an article on the history of Cranbrook, B.C. in Today’s Senior Newsmagazine for February.
Christine Potter said she hopes to be able to attend Meetings again around the latter part of April. She also said she developed a writing schedule of completing 500 words a day, five days a week. That way she doesn’t feel so overwhelmed at trying to write a whole book of stories.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. May the Muse hound you into writing before then!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
On February 17th, Annette, Margaret F., Jason, Charity, and a new member, Luke Koster, joined me for our most recent Meeting of The Rams.
Charity brought two samples of magazines that publish her non-fiction articles. One magazine is Maximum Yield, and the other is Hydro Life. She read her article “Essential Oil Or Not” in the Hydro Life magazine, which outlined many of both the questions and beliefs in the health benefits of essential oils. Then Charity told us that magazine is slated to change its focus to pro-marijuana consumerism. My, how things change in publishing. As far as her novel is concerned, Charity said she is still working on plotting it out.
Margaret F. had been away on extended holiday so didn’t have the next chapter for “Babes In The Wood”. But she did read to us two previously written poems. “Sisters” was a longing to find purpose and a dream again, after the end of a marriage. The second poem, “Incantation For Victory In War After Defeat” was a strong rallying of force to carry on after setback.
Luke is writing an epic fantasy novel called “The Heart Of The Earth”. He read to us one scene in which Dalin, a young army recruit, is angry and upset that he’s been sent to basic training instead of officers’ training, and set the task of digging a latrine. But that’s true of how basic training works; break the man to make the soldier.
Annette read another chapter from “Within The Tangles”. This time, a group of teens is meeting for group therapy. It sounds like they’ve been having problems at school and that is the reason for their referral to therapy. Janna arrives and hides in the washroom, locking the door. Backstory is coming out about her having been abducted. We want to hear more about the angst that she is suffering.
Jason read to us about Damianos regaining consciousness inside a giant tent with giant furniture. He muses about Kwen and Ligeia, their differences and their similarities. He finds that he is naked and starts searching for his clothes to escape, but is caught by two giant warriors who act like buffoons.
I read the next “Honey” story, “Deposition for Separate Bedrooms”. It tells of Honey’s morning rituals before he retired, when he was angry about having to get up early for work when I did not. Charity said she likes that I read last so they can all leave after having a good laugh. I’m glad the humour comes through.
Margaret Moffatt has an article on the history of Cranbrook, B.C. in Today’s Senior Newsmagazine for February.
Christine Potter said she hopes to be able to attend Meetings again around the latter part of April. She also said she developed a writing schedule of completing 500 words a day, five days a week. That way she doesn’t feel so overwhelmed at trying to write a whole book of stories.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. May the Muse hound you into writing before then!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
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