Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story
February 16, 2021

The first word . . .

Whatever you’re writing today do it with the confidence of a four year old in a batman T-shirt. 

Tuesday’s With Parkas . . .

Some members of our group proved they are mere mortals this week, succumbing to illness or household calamities. Subzero weather outdoors, Covid lurking in nooks and crannies, the rest of us gathered via zoom. Here is some of what was said:

— Kashmira Sheth   Kashmira will present her chapters next week as she got knocked down by her Covid vaccine booster. Fortunately she reported doing considerably better on Wednesday.

— Amit Trivedi (Poem: When I Think of You Now I Smile) . . . Poem received mixed reviews. Jack felt it did not make much sense whereas Larry felt it was simple but complex. John and Jerry mentioned a few words changes and suggested rewriting a sentence. 

— Bob Kralap (Poem: Everbearing) . . . The poem “Everbearing” got a mixed reception. Jerry liked it, especially the line about a morning that hums with bees. Although Larry liked its rhythm and sensibility, he was uncertain, because of details relating to weather, whether it was set in early summer or late. Jack focused on line breaks, as well as the imagery used. 

— John Schneller (Precious Daughter chapters 3 and 13) . . . Two major dynamics were discussed in Kotel’s entry into Book 2 of the series. Jamie suggested that I narrow the elements of backstory to only the essentials. Larry and Jack wanted more effort in establishing the scene, possibly starting with a bird’s eye view from Silent Eyes. POV concerns were discussed and possibly can be circumvented at this moment.

— Larry Sommers (Bike Time chapters 1 and 2). . . Almost everybody was tangled in knots of confusion over the way I set up the initial situation, with the narrator appearing to recognize a granddaughter from the far future whom he could not have known about as a single 20-year-old in his native 1964. Jack made the helpful suggestion of focusing on the action initially and gradually introducing the concept that the girl in question was his granddaughter. Jerry pointed out that in the Monday night scene, there were no lights, so he couldn’t have seen what was going on. Oh, and Amit and others wondered how Gramps could have the effrontery to break the Axenberg-Nerdleman hypothesis by traveling forward in time.  There’s a lot of work to do to make this merry excursion comprehensible. Thanks, all.

— Jerry Peterson (Escape to Key West, chapters 1 and 2) . . . Creating a story of someone trapped in the depths of Wisconsin’s winter escaping to Key West, Florida, grabbed everyone’s interest, at least as measured by the enthusiasm of the critiques. “Oh, what you can do with Duval Street and Sloppy Joe’s, Hemingway’s favorite bar,” Jack said, particularly if I were to change Ange Pafko’s name to Ernest Hemingway Pafko, named that by his mother who, as a high school English teacher, was enthralled by Hemingway the writer. “No bell has ever tolled for Pafko,” Jack said because Pafko is still a nobody. “The sun didn’t rise on him, either,” Larry said. Several agreed with Amit that we don’t know why Pafko is leaving Wisconsin, that it has to be something far more important than the just the snow is deep.

Who’s up next . . . 

On March 2, here’s who will be presenting:

Kashmira Sheth (???)

Jaime Nelson Noven (chapters, Outsleep)

Paul Wagner (???)

John Schneller (chapter 1 Precious Daughter)

Larry Sommers (???)

Jerry Peterson (chapter(s) Escape to Key West)

Our editor . . .

Amit Trivedi will edit our March issues of Writer’s Mail. He would appreciate your news. Email it to him and he’ll include it in the next issue.

From Jerry. . .

The kind things you said about me and my work with TWS writers these past 20 years have meant a lot to me. Thank you.

Said Jack in a note, “You and Marge will be receiving a couple of consumable and healthy gifts from the group in the next few weeks, one of them not until the weather warms. At our age, who needs another plaque on a wall!”

The first gift has arrived, a monster-sized decanter of ‘classic’ mixed nuts from Koeze of Grand Rapids, Michigan. You know this is premium because it carries the company’s ‘Good as Gold’ guarantee. Also, the company’s motto is ‘Impress your family, friends and business associates with a gourmet gift.’

We are impressed.

But a gift of nuts, is this someone’s way of saying nuts to you?

Naw. Can’t be. Nope. No way. Not at all.

Marge and I want you to know we have shared this gift with family and friends. Everyone loves it. And it does beat another plaque on the wall.

Larry shared that he received the best rejection letter of his career. The letter proved “liberating” and allows him to move on.

From Jamie, If anyone has any updates or suggestions for the TWS website, they can email me.

Jamie googled the word Larry was looking for: Aptronym.

An aptronym, aptonym, or euonym is a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner.

The last word . . .

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a dance performance that captures a lifetime of writing: https://youtu.be/SFRiHQ-Lwzk