Tuesdays with Story

Writer’s Mail
September 24, 2014

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” – Madeleine L’Engle

Second and Fourth
September 23, 2014

Jack read a poem called “Mes Pensee.”
Some in the group commented that they didn’t know the references, but that didn’t detract from the understanding of the poem. Deb wondered if she was misunderstanding the reference, but Jack said the only reference is to the sleep pattern. Katelin said the poem flowed and delivered a clear image.

Liam read several scenes from chapter 1 of Prisoner of the Gods.
Ruth and Deb expected the character Scott to be more mentally mature since he’s so old. Mental maturity is different from physical age. Deb thought that since he fought in wars he wouldn’t be so whiny. Jack agreed and suggested more explanation about his hormones still being that of a 15 year old. Jack and Deb suggested that Scott’s experience of war be more obviously a child’s experience and not an adult’s. Ruth compared the character to a child vampire in Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, where the vampire’s body was immortalized as a child but the mind matured normally. Several members thought the doctor’s explanation of why Scott still reacts like a teenager is not enough. Katelin wanted more explanation about why some immortals have new names in their current life and why some don’t. Deb didn’t have any sense of the overall plot of the book yet and felt lost. Katelin suggested that Scott be more impressed with the technology of the iPod at the end of the chapter, since he missed out on 6 years of technology upgrades. Katelin also suggested introducing one guard character instead of two to avoid confusion.

Who’s up next . . .
September 23: Ruth Imhoff (revised chapter 1, Motto of the Hound), Liam Wilbur (end of chapter 1, Prisoner of the Gods), and Jack Freiburger (???)

September 30: Fifth Tuesday

October 7: Andy Brown (chapter, Man Before the Fall), Andy Pfeiffer (chapters, The Void), Millie Mader (chapter 58, Life on Hold), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), Bob Kralapp (???), and Jerry Peterson (short story).

October 14: Ruth (new chapter 1, Motto of the Hound), Jack (poem), Katelin (new chapter 1, Battle of Sista), room for more!

October 21: Lisa McDougal (chapter, Tebow Family Secret), Andy Brown (chapter, Man Before the Fall), Cindi Dyke (chapter, North Road), Pat Edwards (???), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), and Judith McNeil (chapter 20, My Mother, Savior of Men).

September’s Fifth Tuesday . . .
We will all gather at The Chocolaterian Café, 2004 Atwood Avenue, on September 30 for Fifth Tuesday. This is an order-off-the-menu gathering.

Here’s the writing challenge: Write either a scene from a fictional memoir or an obituary for a fictional character, your choice. Length, no more than 250 words. Email your finished mini-masterpiece to Jerry Peterson by Monday evening, September 29.

The Best Books on Writing You’ll Ever Read
By Jeff Goins

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Good writers read. If you want to become better at your craft and you’re not reading often, then you aren’t serious about improving.
Sorry.
The bottom line is this: Good writing comes from good reading. But someone can read a statement like that and get the wrong idea.
Not all books are created equal
If you can help it, don’t just read anything. You should spend your time reading the best books you can find. There is, after all, a lot of junk out there.
That said, I wouldn’t worry too much about reading the right books. Just get started. The act of reading anything (even romance novels) in and of itself will make you a better writer. I just want you to make the most of your reading time.
If you’re pinched for time, I recommend finding a good book list and going through it. You only have so many hours, and you want to spend them well.
So, let’s compile a reading list
Becoming a better writer isn’t just about learning grammar and syntax. It’s not just about practice, either. It’s about becoming a well-rounded communicator — someone who knows the rules and understands how to break them.
So, without further ado, here are some of the best books on writing that I could come up with (after asking some friends):
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
• The AP Stylebook (for reference)
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Read the entire list and the full post at http://goinswriter.com/best-writing-books/

Great phrase . . .
virtual mobbing
pp. Using online media and technologies to attack or gang up on a person.
– virtual mob n.
Example Citations:
“He uses his book to describe how one can die by Twitter. He calls his experience a virtual mobbing.”
– Tim Harper, Tom Flanagan clawing back from a virtual mobbing, The Toronto Star, April 27, 2014
“The background against which the inquiry took place was an increasing number of situations in which people were committing criminal offences using social networks – particularly Facebook and Twitter. The committee examined instances of cyber bullying, revenge porn, trolling and virtual mobbing to try and determine whether or not they were criminal offences and if they were, whether new legislation was required to deal with them.”
– Katie Collins, Crime on social media covered by existing UK law, Lords conclude,’” Wired UK, July 29, 2014
Earliest Citation:
– John W. Daly, Germany blacklists cybermobbing site: Virtual mobbing turns to real life bullying, TechEYE.net, March 25, 2011
Notes:
The synonym cybermobbing (or cyber-mobbing) dates to at least 2009 and is likely a few years older than that.