Writer’s Mail for 11/6/13
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
FIFTH/FIRST TUESDAY
Somewhere in the neighborhood of sixteen folks descended upon the Mystery to Me bookstore, coming in out of the rain for food, fun, and short pieces about three weird photos.
TWS writers submitted 11 pieces for the Fifth Tuesday challenge. Mystery To Me store owner Joanne Berg selected Judith McNeil’s “Stare Down” as the best of the best stories, presenting Judith with the big cup of money which she used to by Walter Mosley’s newest Easy Rawlins mystery, Little Green. Here’s the winning entry:
STARE DOWN By J.G. McNeil
It was supposed to be a staring contest with some old lady who had perfected the art of staring down as many people who wanted to engage her in this way. I was twenty-five and had made quite a bit of money taking on stupid people in my office who had nothing better to do with their money than bet against my radical staring skills. I could have copyrighted an eye-rolling technique that entailed a dramatic roll to the left, slowly to the right, and then a dead ahead stare. I saved the disdainful stare for those who offended me most. They just couldn’t stare me down, but would back out of the room after this kind of encounter.
The old lady had gained a reputation of changing anyone who did a stare down with her. On a dare from my boyfriend, I decided to find out for myself. She worked out of a kiosk in the mall. It was structured to be opaque and had a thick entry curtain. There was a small solitary candle in the middle of the table. A cup of tea was directly in front of her. There were no extraneous sounds from the mall. Her gaze caught mine. I couldn’t move. After twenty minutes I left. My boyfriend stared at me, then turned away. I looked at my reflection in the store windows and nearly fell down. I looked exactly like the old lady.
The other Writing Challenges will be posted in the Fifth Tuesday Challenges file for 11/05/13 are available on our secure group site.
Our next Fifth Tuesday is not until next year, way into the spring . . . April 29. We will again be at Mystery To Me. First-and-third group hosts.
Who’s up next . . .
November 12: Carol Hornung (scene 11, The Ghost of Heffron College), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (chapter 4, Coming Up for Air), Deb, and Karen.
November 14: TWS Writers Jam at Mystery To Me
November 19: Lisa McDougal (chapter, Tebow Family Secret), Bob Kralapp (???), Aaron Boehm (???), Andy Pfeiffer (chapter, The Void), Judith McNeil (chapter 7, My Mother, Savior of Men), and Jerry Peterson (chapters 17-18, Capitol Crimes).
December 3: Lisa McDougal (chapter, Tebow Family Secret), Millie Mader (chapter 48, Life on Hold), Clayton Gill (chapter, Fishing Derby), Cindi Dykes (chapter 2, North Road), Amber Boudreau (chapter 23, Noble), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 19, Capitol Crimes).
Don’t forget: Barnes & Noble usually throws us out in December. Both groups will need to find alternative places to meet that month!
Jammin’ with the TWS greats . . .
We return to Mystery To Me on the evening of November 14 – that’s a Thursday evening – for the TWS writers jam.
Eight of our writers will be doing 15-minute presentations, reading something they’ve written, then taking questions from the audience. Plan to be there and bring family and friends. Let’s pack the place.
Here’s the order of the jammers: Lisa McDougal (6:30), Alicia Connolly-Lohr (6:45), Millie Mader (7:00), Carol Hornung (7:15), Kashmira Sheth (7:45), Terry Hoffman (8:00), Bob Kralapp (8:15), and Pat Edwards (8:30).
NaNoWriMo is now . . .
Ruth Imhoff and Alicia Connolly-Lohr have signed on to write a novel in 30 days, in the merry month of November. A novel by National Novel Writing Month definition is 50,000 words.
Ruth says she intends to write 2,000 words a day. “It will probably be a lousy novel, but I’ll bring it to you when I rewrite it,” she told the first-and-third group last week.
Here’s Something Fun…
Found this going around on Facebook – it takes a piece of your writing and analyzes your style – who do you write like? I came up with Kurt Vonnegut for The Ghost of Heffron College (I suspect it’s because there was a potty word in it) but was delighted to score with Neil Gaiman with a passage from Asperger Sunset. And it looks like if there’s anything dragon or elf like in the language you will get Tolkien. Give it a try! It’s fun.
Newsletter Editor:
Step up and take the reins of the newsletter for a month. It’s easy! Get on the schedule now! Here’s the current line-up:
November – Carol Hornung
December – Clayton Gill
January – Make it your New Year’s Resolution to get more involved!
Feburary – It’s a short month – you can do it!
March – Spring. ‘Nuff said.
If you’re willing to take on editor duties one of these months, let me know!
The Last Word:
“Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”
—Ray Bradbury
Tuesdays with Story 
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