Tuesdays with Story
May 3rd Meeting
“Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money.”
–Virginia Woolf
Well, let’s just hope we don’t get as cynical as that.
Mike
Seven of us Zoomed in on Tuesday to share their writings to offer suggestions and comments on writing. Here are the summaries from the writers:
Jaime Nelson Noven (New York, After All, chapter 2)… Most writers agreed the chapter is working well in both introducing the characters and providing intrigue. For Bob, the detail of the chocolate on the breath of the nurse made the scene really come to life. Kashmira suggested that instead of telling Charlie’s intentions in the last line, I can show this by having her hesitate putting on her reading glasses. Thanks, all!
Amber Boudreau Amber read from the beginning of chapter 6 of her sequel, Second Act. Jaime seemed to take immense pleasure in deleting sentences and Amber can’t wait to see what she got rid of. John, who wasn’t with us last time, said he didn’t immediately like Jeremy as much as he did Mavis. Jaime suggested mentioning a role Jeremy didn’t get as a way to perhaps endear him to the reader. Bob wondered if Jeremy isn’t on the autism spectrum. Spoiler: he’s not. Kashmira was looking for a little more reaction from Jeremy concerning his old pack.
Larry F. Sommers, “Brothers”–Kashmira suggested coal dust could get in the brothers’ eyes, perhaps as a veiled (or obscured) metaphor for the cloudy uncertainty of their futures. Jamie suggested switching the speaker of the marriage prediction from Jag to Hal. It was felt the relationship between the two brothers was very real. It was clearly set in a previous era, though not clear it was the 1930s. Thanks, everybody.
Bob KralappThe beginning of the short story “Storm” was well received. Mike commented that it was effective in creating a claustrophobic feeling. Amber was uncertain about Nate waking Katherine at two in the morning, then not wanting to have a conversation. Larry felt that the two couples in the story seemed to reflect each other in some way.
Kashmira Sheth Kashmira submitted two chapters of JTS. Mike and Amber thought the chapters felt quite finished. Bob mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Bibra scene was revealing. Larry and Jamie found the conversation between Dadima and Bapuji illuminating. John suggested taking out repetition to make the prose more powerful. Larry wanted clarification on nimboli fruit. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
Who’s up next?
For May 17th, we have so far:
Kashmira Sheth
Amit Trivedi
Mike Austin
So, we have a few slots open if anyone wants to submit.
Fifth Tuesday Writing Challenge!
Fifth Tuesday, May 31: The idea of making our writing prompts into a little contest has been shelved for now, to be revisited for August 30.
Due to a prior commitment, Larry will not be able to attend or host on May 31. So if Fifth Tuesday is to be held, somebody else must host. Also, no writing prompt has yet been assigned. So we’ll have to come up with one at our May 17 meeting, unless there is sentiment to skip Fifth Tuesday entirely–which in Larry’s view would be a shame, but he can’t be there so he doesn’t really get a say. Mike, who will also be missing the Fifth Tuesday, feels the same way.
Announcements
This from Larry: The following significant item appeared today in the “Publishers Lunch Deluxe” email from Publishers Marketplace. “Agents Association Revises Canon of Ethics, Expands Membership Criteria” The article is a little long for this newsletter, so I’ll post it on our group page.
The last word…
“I get tired of “under 40” lists.
Show me someone who got
their PhD at 60 after losing
everything. Give me the 70-
year-old debut novelist who
writes from a lifetime of love
and grief. Give me calloused
hands and tender hearts.”
Doug Murano @muranofiction
Tuesdays with Story 
Leave a Reply