We meet today at Mary Lou’s Condo on the hill. It was a wonderful gathering of some very talented individuals. We shared our stories, recent readings, dreams and Mary Lou’s generous hospitality and good food. The dishes all had a Slovakian name and unique taste. You could tell that she put a great deal of love and energy into providing a great setting for our gathering. Thank you again from all of us…you truly are a generous person.
Because of the limitations of Blogger this posting is organized in multiple postings. I have arranged the readings, poems and short stories at the end so I could include the pictures which I think add to the power of the words. I hope you enjoy.
We had 10 members join us today for our meeting where we discussed current projects and here is a summary of our efforts:
Dan V Attended the AWW in Yellow Springs in July and brought back some interesting stories about the speakers. Dan recommended an author by the name of Ralph Keyes who wrote a book entitled Courage to Write. The author was one of the keynote speakers at this year’s conference. He discussed a new book that he is currently developing that is a memoir about his mother
Another author that Dan recommended was Ms. Ann Hagedorn who is the author of Wild Ride: The Rise and Tragic Fall of Calumet Farm Inc. Since Ms. Hagedorn is a originally from Dayton there may be a connection.
Last of all Dan recommended Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth as a good audio book to listen to in the car when on long trips. Especially if your bride is in the back seat watching a video and you are annoyed by the periodic laughter and “Oh my God’s” even though he have not said a word in over 100 miles.
Trish C She continues to share with us material from her memoir. Really great stories…can’t wait for a peek at the first draft. Here are some books that she recommends:
A good book on writing style is Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs is a memoir
Rosie H Our newest member is well known in the Dayton area for her artistic talents. Her works are currently on display at the Town and Country Arts Center (next to Buffalo Wild Wings). She is interested in exploring the connection between poetry and writing. We collectively recommended Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan. Even though Ms. McClanahan is an accomplished poet and has published a number of books in that genera this book is a comprehensive bible of power of words and how they can create a great novel.
She read a poem entitled:
Brandon
By Rosie Huart
I paid you homage today.
I went to the garden and found you in the diamond dew on the wispy fern.
There—you glistened in the sunlight.
I caught you dancing with butterflies and doing somersaults in the air.
Throughout the yard I saw you shimmer.
Even my hand had your sparkle on it.
I smelled you in the fragrance surrounding me.
I invited you into the silence.
I heard you call my name in the murmur of the crickets and birds.
I think—you.
Therefore, you are.
Don H Currently working on his book of Mnemonics entitled: The Senior Fix. He is teaching a class at UDLLI this fall and disappointed our group by informing us that it is sold out. How can that happen I haven’t received my catalogue yet.
Mary Lou Besides all the cook and preparation for the group meeting at her home. Now don’t deny it. You are like my bride, everything had to look just right and it did. That does not happen through magic…I have tried.
She had just returned from Slovakia and was able to conduct a great deal of research on her memoir about her grandfather and life in Eastern Europe during the last century. It was interesting to hear her writings about the simple life that was led by families and how each had a specific role each day. Her novel will be called the “The Family Secret” Can’t wait for this creation as well.
Bill F will distribute a copy of his book entitled: The Whale in the Library. He is sending a copy to individuals who attended the August meeting. We will not post any portions of the book on this blog site.
Here is a list of books that Bill recommends:
The Artist Way by Julian Cameron
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Bob Mc M Brought a copy of the two books: a self published book of photo’s and dialogue entitled: “Bugs, Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Flowers and Such” and his newest book which is also self published and includes a number of his poems. The new book will be entitled, “The Beauty of Nature”. Bob uses a self publishing software and services company Blurb.com. It is similar to LuLu.com in that it provides you with the capability to create formats, text and import your own pictures into different layouts and size of books that you want to publish. The cost depends on the number of pages and size.
Bob read a couple of his poems that will be included in the new book.
Don Q Still working on his Santa’s Magic manuscript. He is currently awaiting the books illustrations from a budding artist who recently graduated from the University of Dayton It will probably be self published like his first book.
Education and Seminars
University of Dayton LLI Beginning Fiction Writing(call to determine time and dates for the class)
Sinclair College There are a number of classes offered this fall at Sinclair. There are classes in Creative Writing Poetry and Writing as well as Freelance Writing
Article: Check out the article in the Life Section of the Dayton Daily News about Katrina Kittle an author from Kettering who discussed the help you can receive as a beginning writers. The article also references Darren McGarvey who has conducted the Words Worth Wring Center in Oakwood for the last few years. You can search for his classes with Google
Here is their Web address: http://www.wordsworthdayton.com/id70.html
Mad Anthony Writers Conference April 8-9 2011. You can put this on your calendar.
Writers Digest Competition: Go to the Writer’s Digest Web site for the details. There are different competitions for poetry, fiction and short story.
