Tuesdays with Story

Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
February 23, 2018

Eleven writers gathered at B&N Westside Tuesday evening to work through three chapters and one short story of their colleagues. Here’s some of what was said:

John Schneller (chapter 19, Final Stronghold) . . . Great suggestions were raised about drooling words, pollinating monstrosities . . . and a few other of my creative word choices. Also, a paragraph was unclear as to who is thinking confused thoughts (other than the reader). The consensus was to end the chapter at the scene break and switch to the second storyline, allowing the reader to question or believe that Kotel has been killed. This will work well as even when the protagonist is found to live through this attack, there are other important characters that are gonna die soon. Thanks for the input.

Mike Austin (chapter 27, Riding with the Reed Gang) . . . Using the first person narrative for Nick, instead of the third person I’ve been using, was received well. John Schneller suggested that if the cook brought food out to “old Willis’s” shack when Nick was hiding behind it, it could add tension to Nick’s situation. Kashmira suggested that the scene where Nick is looking at the stuffed bear is a good place for some introspection for him. Everyone agreed that the scene of Ned rolling Ben into the lake needs to be more clear. I also need to work on giving Nick more of a unique personality so that he doesn’t sound like the earlier character, Edgar. Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments!

Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapter 17, untitled novel) . . . Larry and John both felt that the first paragraph was not needed since the following letter revealed the same information. Pat wanted a little more description of cricket terms to better understand it. There was a discussion about displaced people, refugees being relevant today and that made this story of India’s partition feel timeless.

Jerry Peterson (short story, “The Clearing”) . . . If Jay is a poet from the mountain state of West Virginia settled by Scots and Irish, he has to know about fairy worlds and recognize that entering them and eating and drinking with wee folk is going to make him beholden to them, Pat Edwards and Amber Boudreau said. That, they said, didn’t show in this story and must. All who read the story were in agreement that it can’t end where it did, that there’s more that Jerry has to write.

Who’s up next

March 6
Millie Mader (???)
Paul Wagner (short story, part ???, “Mad Jack”)
Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapters)
Bob Kralapp (???)
Tracey Gemmell (chapters, Accidentally Fine)
Jerry Peterson (short story)

March 20
Larry Sommers (chapter, untitled novel)
Jack Freiburger (???)
Mike Austin (chapter, Riding with the Reed Gang)
Bob Kralapp (short story, part 3, “Faith”)
John Schneller (chapter 20, Final Stronghold)
Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapters)

Saying goodbye

Pat Edwards, back from wintering in Arizona, announced she will return there . . . forever. She’s put her house in Waunakee on the market. After it sells, she will pack up and move to Arizona’s Green Valley.

Pat has been our webmaster, Amber Boudreau will take over those duties.

Our editor

March 1, Amit Trivedi will become our editor for Writer’s Mail. If you have material you would like to run in our first March edition, email it to Amit.