Tuesdays with Story
March 7, 2023
The first word . . .
“Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. … I have 10 or so, and that’s a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.”
—Gore Vidal
Tuesday evening on Zoom . . . and in person at Larry’s place, eight TWS writers gathered together to critique the chapters and a short story 6 of their colleagues shared with the group. Here is some of what was said:
— Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapters 8-10, If Not For the Partition) . . . 1. Tense is not right in some places. 2. Uma’s letter to Rukhi seems more distance and detached. & 3. The cricket scene was very effective.
— Suzanne Gillingham (chapters 1&2 rewrite, Kaleidoscope) . . . There was universal agreement that Chapters 1 and Chapter 2 should be expanded to include more information on why Brandon, as a child, thought he was seeing souls, on the loneliness of the two men, and on their attraction to each other. Jack suggested expanding “routes” to include Brandon’s lack of routes in his life. Larry gave some suggestions on making my writing more personal. Amit would like to see some difference in how the two characters react. Right now their reactions seem too similar. Thanks everyone! I appreciate the input.
— John Freiburger (chapter V, Jesus at the IHOP) . . . We had some discussion about the story, which readers seemed to enjoy and about begging as a religious expression that is and was found in many cultures. The “oily one” finds he is being regarded as divine, which you’d have thought he’d have known after his resurrection, but the Bible has multiple resurrections in it, so consistent with history, I have Jesus in a state on continuing enlightenment. Larry asked about revelation, from whom. Along with Paul, that answer is hinted at, but not answered yet. Who is he who reveals? Jesus will discuss that with himself at length in a later chapter. Future chapters include such fun discussions, as well as a lengthy exegesis on pseudepigraphy. A Deconstructionist joy-ride. Bet you can’t wait!
— Bob Kralapp (short story, Delay) . . . Delay was well received. There were questions about Carter repacking the weekend luggage three times in the back of the car before being satisfied. Others wanted more references and images suggestive of what happened at the gas station. Several comments came in that the business with the frogs jumping up into the headlights went on for too long. Thanks, all, for the thought-provoking comments.
— Amber Boudreau (chapters 29-30, Second Act). . . Bob thought the dialogue in these chapters was good. Kashmira thought Moira kind of got lost in the shuffle of chapter 30 and would like to see her have some lines. Larry thought the character of Broderick had a mob boss type feel to him which was well done. Everyone seemed to think the names of characters fit them well. Amber admits to spending some time on baby name websites. Thanks to everyone for the comments.
— Larry F. Sommers (chapters 3-4, Pt. II , Blood Mercy with some comments on previous) . . . In Chapter 4, it was suggested that Jag’s interaction with Dewey could be expanded a bit, and also that more development was needed in the conversation between Jag and Pop about Jag’s college plans. Several people were relieved that Jag is now presented in a more identifiable light, and Jack suggested several specific word edits. Thanks, everybody. Very helpful.
Who’s up next . . .
On March 21st , here’s who will be presenting:
Suzanne Gillingham (chapters, Kaleidoscope)
Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapters, INFTP)
Larry F. Sommers (chapters, Blood Mercy)
Bob Kralapp(short story (cont), Delay)
Amber Boudreau (chapters, Second Act)
Kashmira Sheth (chapter book?)
Our editor . . .
Amber Boudreau will continue to edit the newsletter for March. If you would like something included in Writer’s Mail, please send it to her. She would appreciate your news. Email it to her and she’ll include it in the next issue.
A note from Management . . .
The Writer’s Mail is an institution founded early in the mists of time, either by Jerry Peterson, or maybe by someone even more historic. It deftly summarizes our proceedings, alerts us to upcoming events and opportunities, and purveys choice items of news and writerly wisdom.
In so doing, it also bolsters our identity and cohesion as a group.
In recent years, the simple task of editing the Writer’s Mail has been shared among our members on a round-robin basis. Since becoming de facto coordinator of this group, I have exempted myself from editing the newsletter, my other contributions to the process being manifest. This should also apply to Amber, since she serves the important function of de facto webmaster. Therefore, Amber is exempted by fiat from editing as long as she continues to honcho our web presences.
All this means the rest of you may expect your turn to come up once every five to six months. Since it’s mostly a matter of plugging supplied information into a standard template, the editorship is no onerous task.
Consider also that one of your colleagues may need to beg off the duty for a short time yet ought not be made to literally beg to be excused. So why not consider volunteering for this pleasurable duty a bit more often than the theoretical minumum? It may come back to benefit you when you need a break from it.
We could institute a fixed rota. Then if you couldn’t take your regular turn, you would need to arrange in advance for somebody to switch months with you. But isn’t is simpler that everybody just step up two or three times a year and volunteer?
Thank you,
The Management
The last word . . .
“I certainly don’t sit down and plan a book out before I write it. There’s a phrase I use called “The Valley Full of Clouds.” Writing a novel is as if you are going off on a journey across a valley. The valley is full of mist, but you can see the top of a tree here and the top of another tree over there. And with any luck you can see the other side of the valley. But you cannot see down into the mist. Nevertheless, you head for the first tree.” – Terry Pratchett
Tuesdays with Story 
Leave a Reply