Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story
August 25, 2019

The first word . . .

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

― Philip Roth (1933-2018), novelist and short-story writer

Tuesday evening at the bookstore . . .

Ten writers came together to critique the works of seven of their colleagues. If you weren’t with us, here’s what you missed:

— Amber Boudreau (chapters 10-12, Mavis) . . . Chapters 10 through 12 of Amber’s urban fantasy were well received. Tracey thought there might be a few too many stage directions, giving the manuscript an over-choreographed feel. Also, too many eyebrows doing things.However, a lot happened in these chapters and she liked them. Larry questioned if the audience would know what old-fashioned wringer rollers would look like. (This isn’t for YA, so I hope they do, otherwise, they can look it up.) John enjoyed it and looked forward to reading the third chapter he skipped.

— Jack Freiburger (chapters 56-57, A Walk upon the Water) . . . Some useful advice, dropped an entire paragraph, moved lines around on a rowing description, otherwise it seemed to work but for a few word changes and edits. Consensus is to use Claire not Clare for our heroine.

— Larry Sommers (chapter 22, Freedom’s Purchase) . . . Someone suggested adding the Norsk version of the proverb which appears twice in the chapter. We discussed using commas to separate verb phrases, and also to join discrete thoughts in “run-on” style sentences. The latter can work in dialogue. Jack suggested having Aanon wait for Maria at the well, rather than coming up later; and also giving Maria more attitude in her response to Kirsten about slave catchers searching Anders’ and Maria’s farm. POV confusion was detected in the place where Anders goes back to fieldwork while trying to conceal the extent of his pain from Maria. And some questions about particular phrases or locutions. Thanks much to all for your comments.

— Paul Wagner (short story, “Mad Jack” rewrite) . . . I greatly appreciated everyone’s comments. Hard at work at ANOTHER (ye gods) revision; hopefully next time I can have the WHOLE thing done.

— Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapters 21-22, untitled novel) . . . (1) Kedar character—show that he has recovered and is stronger. Show he has mastered the art of tying the turban. Remembering his parents at the waterfall looking at the lioness. Change poem to reflect his regained strength. (2) Break down first paragraph of Uma’s chapter into two. Tie the ocean waves with the waterfall in Kedar’s chapter. (3) Remove the last lines in Kedar’s chapter and end it there. (4) Describe the club where Shivdas visits with his friend. (5) Rework Uma’s statement about ‘nothing will do any good’—why self pity?

— Mike Austin (short story, “Roadhouse”) . . . I got some great feedback for “Highway Robbery” or “Roadhouse” or whatever I might figure out for a title, as Tracy did suggest a better title. Jerry said that I should tell what kind of pistol she was brandishing. I need to bone up on my firearms. Any suggestions? I kept leaning toward a Colt 45 revolver, but have been thinking lately that it could be an old .22 Savage (my dad had one of those) that she’d stolen from Joe years before. I’ll keep thinking on that title. Thanks everyone!

— Jerry Peterson (5 short stories, 80 Candles) . . . Tracey led the attack on Jerry’s story, “No Sympathy”, in which an older man ogles a teenage girl in a bikini. “You can’t do that in this age of me-tooism,” she said. Now if it’s a well-build older woman in a bikini who gives an inviting wave to the man . . . Several wondered whether there were cellphones in 2001, the year of the story. There were. Most were about the size of today’s cells, and most that were a couple years older had stubby antennas where today’s cells don’t have visible antennas. John wondered where, if this woman is wearing a bikini, she would have had her cell. Interesting question.

Who’s up next . . .

September 3

Cindi Dyke (???)

Jack Freiburger (chapters, A Walk upon the Water)

John Schneller (chapter, Broken rewrite)

Bob Kralapp (chapter, Capacity)

Larry Sommers (chapter, Freedom’s Purchase)

Jerry Peterson (more stories, 80 Candles)

Our editor . . .

Next month, it’s Tracey Gemmell. Send her stories about writing you’d like her to share with the group in her first September issue.

News from Lisa . . .

Lisa McDougal is stepping away from TWS for a while. Here’s her note: “I’m currently getting my book edited by a professional. So far, her help has been great and I’m starting my first edit based off her suggestions. This will require a little restructuring and cuts, so I will be withdrawing from the group for another extended period. Between this, work, going back to school and trying to buy a house, I can’t fit reading other members work on my plate. So I’m going to take the next few months to get things cleared up, and then I can jump back into the group.”

A silent book club?

Yes, there is that sort of thing. Actually, there are 70 chapters of the Silent Book Club around the world.

Here’s an excerpt about it from an August 12 NPR story:

The air tingles with prose. Patrons perch atop bar stools, but they aren’t drinking. Individuals congregate together as a group, but they aren’t talking.

Paperbacks adorn a table stained by water rings, and tote bags dangle over the backs of chairs. Classic rock is blaring from the speakers, but at this table, silence rings out.

A Silent Book Club is meeting.

The concept is simple yet revolutionary: Members meet up at a bar, a library, a bookstore or any venue that will host them. Once the bell rings, silent reading time commences. After an hour, the bell rings again.

Other than that, there are no rules.

Liberated from the orthodoxy of traditional book clubs, participants can bring whatever they’d like to read and chat about anything, before and after the designated reading time.

The idea began with two friends reading together at a bar in San Francisco, annoyed by the assigned reading of a demanding book club.

“I wished that I had a book club where basically there was no assigned reading but you could just show up, hang out with your friends, talk about what you were reading and then just sort of read your book with no pressure to prepare snacks or vacuum your house or do any of the things that normal, traditional book club hosting entails,” says Guinevere de la Mare, who co-founded the organization with Laura Gluhanich in 2012.

“And Laura was like, ‘That sounds amazing. Let’s do it.’ And so we did.”

Today, Silent Book Club has more than 70 chapters for what de la Mare calls Introvert Happy Hour. Locations dot the globe, with congregants meeting monthly in Pakistan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and many other cities and countries.

The founders help interested individuals create new chapters by offering logistical assistance and social media suggestions. From there, de la Mare says, she lets each group do as it pleases, with the goal of creating spaces “where people can connect with like-minded individuals, even if all that they have in common is a love of reading.”

Many clubs share book recommendations, or members go around in a circle to talk about what they’re reading. Others exchange scholasticism for schmoozing, order drinks and become part of the barroom din that once pierced their silent reading time.

“Some people choose to talk about their book. Some people choose to talk about how they felt about the experience. Some people don’t talk at all,” says Ana Maria Panait, who started a chapter in Johannesburg, South Africa.

If you’d like to read the full story, here’s the link: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/12/740897970/a-novel-concept-silent-book-clubs-offer-introverts-a-space-to-socialize?utm_source=pocket-newtab

The last word . . .

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

― Stephen King (1947- ), novelist and short story writer