Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays With Story
WRITER’S MAIL for November 29, 2012

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

November 27 Meeting
Five people gathered at Barnes and Noble last Tuesday.

Rebecca, The Cheese Logue
The group suggested a few small changes, for example deleting repetitions like the description “important.” Katelin thought the middle seemed to drag some. Several people liked the ending, and Katelin commented on the nice bookend with the beginning of the chapter.

Liam, Fog-Gotten
Terri and Rebecca thought the part about the girl “handling junk” was disturbing, too strong, and suggested accomplishing the culture shock less shockingly. Katelin liked the lengths of the scenes, how they started short and got longer as Mike healed. Jen asked how Mike knows he hasn’t been moved. Rebecca wondered why Mike didn’t ask Taran why no one spoke English. Terri and Rebecca thought Mike should panic more when he wakes up and can’t function normally. He should check himself for injuries right away. Terri pointed out to watch language use as he heals to show gradual progress toward healing. If Mike is so calm and analytical because of boot camp, mention boot camp so the reader knows. Terri suggested another way to tell the reader about the previous head injury: maybe when Mike wakes up he thinks he’s recovering from the first injury and then realizes that can’t be right because he’s in the wrong place and that was a long time ago.

Terri, The Great Tome
Rebecca pointed out that the nurses would check on Rachel every 15 minutes while she’s in the hospital, even if they only look through the window. Also, there would there be bars on the windows, and there might not be a sink in the room. Jen wondered what the “charges” were at the end of the chapter. Katelin thought Rod and the therapy session were well written and believable. Liam thought the comment about silver bullets made it seem like Rod really didn’t believe Rachel. Katelin could see that he did believe her and was just joking, but something didn’t seem right about the jokes. It could seem off because werewolves and vampires are creatures that move, and the Tome is an inanimate object. Perhaps a comparison to the ring from Lord of the Rings would be more appropriate. Rod could suggest throwing it into Mount Doom. Or Rod could make fun of things by suggesting an exorcism, since Rachel said the book owns her.

Karen, Tall Tail Sail
Everyone liked the picture dictionary at the beginning. Rebecca suggested making the sister squirrel’s bow yellow instead of red, because red looks like she’s bleeding. Terri suggested introducing the ocarina bag in an earlier picture and making it blue. Rebecca, Jen, and Liam thought the paint brush didn’t look like a paint brush. Rebecca suggested showing more of the handle. Rebecca also suggested making the trees more like the tree on the last page. Everyone liked the added scenes.

Who’s up next . . .
Wednesday December 5 at the Alicia Ashman branch library:
Liam Wilbur (???), Susanne Fortunato (???), Bob Kralapp (???), Aaron Boehm (film script/part 2, “Whole Again”), Judith McNeil (short story part 4, “The Man with the Broken Heart”), and Jerry Peterson (short story/part 1, “The Santa Train”).

Tuesday December 11 at Hickory Knoll Farm:
Jack Freiburger (poem, “Avibus”), Michelle Nightoak (memoir), Rebecca Rettenmund (chapter 18, The Cheese Logue), Terry Hoffman (chapter 17, The Great Tome), Katelin Cummins (???)

Tuesday December 18 at the Alicia Ashman branch library:
Lisa McDougal (chapter 9, Follow the Yellow), Liam Wilbur (???), Amber Boudreau (chapter, Noble), Millie Mader (chapter 40, Life on Hold), Pat Edwards (more Soul), and Jerry Peterson (short story/part 2, “The Santa Train”)

Tuesday December 25 – CANCELED – Merry Christmas!

Where we are in December . . .
All groups that meet at Barnes & Noble Westside have to go elsewhere in December. The store needs all the meeting space and tables for book displays because this is the B&N’s big sales month.

So, first-and-third group will meet at the Alicia Ashman branch library, in the community room, on Wednesday evening, December 5, and Tuesday evening, December 18. Alicia Ashman is off the Beltline at Old Sauk Road and North High Point Road . . . in the High Point shopping center.

Second-and-fourth will gather at Jack Freiburger’s Hickory Knoll Farm on December 11. The group’s second meeting falls on December 25. Rather than cancel Christmas, the group has cancelled its meeting.

Directions to Hickory Knoll Farm
From Fish Hatchery Rd:
Go south through Fitchburg to the first stop sign. Turn left onto M and go
about .7 miles. Sign at the Drive says Hickory Knoll Farm.

From Park St:
Go south on 14 to the Oregon/MM exit, follow the roundabouts to M and turn
west, the only way you can. The Farm is 2 miles on the right. Sign at the Drive
says Hickory Knoll Farm.

Writer’s Mail: Duty Roster
This is the last November newsletter. For the next newsletter and all of December, send your articles and meeting notes to Clayton.

December – Clayton Gill
January – Pat Edwards
February – This Could Be You!
March – Sign up today!

January’s Fifth Tuesday . . .
Put it on your calendar now. Make your commitment to be with us on January 29. First-and-third group hosts. While the place has not yet been set, the writing challenge has.

Here it is: You, or a character of your creation, believe the world is going to end on a set date. You or your character get ready for it . . . then it doesn’t happen. What do you or your character do now?

Maximum length? Our ever-popular 250 words.

NaNoWriMo Report!
This writing challenge ends tomorrow! Many new first drafts around the world will be completed this week, ready to be edited, rewritten, and polished in the next months and years. Over 100 books that started as NaNoWriMo novels have been published. See the list here:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/publishedwrimos

Get Professional, High Level Analysis of your Story for $35!
Larry Brooks of Storyfix.com offers to analyze your story’s concept and first plot point for dramatic effectiveness and offer suggestions on how to make it even better. For more on this deal, follow this link: http://storyfix.com/the-35-conceptual-kick-start-story-analysis

The Last Word . . .
“…your own opinion of your work is entirely irrelevant, and so is the opinion of others. You have a job to do, and that job is to write a novel.” ― Nick Hornby, NaNoWriMo Pep Talk, November 28, 2012