West Side Gang- Writers' Group

Tonight was the twice-a-month meeting of the local writer's group, the "West Side Gang." I've been going long enough to be no longer exactly a newbie. Most of the people brought poems tonight. There was one prose vignette, and Ellen had a chapter from her novella. Nine writers came, and seven of us brought things to read.

I took "Now Then When," the poem that popped into my head, mostly last Tuesday night.

Most of the group, and particularly the facilitators are very fond of unstructured, stream of consciousness poetry. I'm not opposed to that, but I like the challenge of making words fit into the structure of a meter and form and still have it be meaningful and readable without being "sing song." However, "Now Then When" is less structured than most of my poems, and it was well-received. I think it needs a couple of tweaks yet: there are two parts that don't work as well with the theme and symbolism, for me, as I want them to.

I'm hopeful that there will be a call for more poems for the Elements of Life anthology, and if so, I plan to submit this. (from Twin Trinity Media).

Story on Stage

Elliot Plummer reads "My First Cake Was a Failure" by Andy Mozina

As I'm trying to get more involved with the local writing group; this is the second installment of "Story on Stage" that I've attended. The idea is that there are three stories selected by Michigan writers. Those stories are then read by local thespians. In between the stories are songs performed by local artists.

This is the third such event presented by Ludington Visiting Writers. The stories were "My First Cake Was a Failure" by Andy Mozina, and read by Elliot Plummer; "Beach Glass" by Deborah Ann Percy, and read by Lisa Enos; and "What We Don't Know" by Phillip Sterling, read by Chris Plummer.

There was quite a good turnout, which is encouraging for the arts in Ludington. I have mixed feelings about the event. I've now heard six stories in this venue, and they are all the same tone, which is not my favorite. They were all depressing and open-ended; the "life is a sad enigma" sort of story. I'm not sure if that's the only kind of stories that do well right now, or if the selections are a function of the fact that the person who chooses them likes this kind best.

So, I'm caught between wanting to be involved and not really enjoying the stories all that much.

But, all three authors were there, and there was an open question and answer session at the end. They all said that they really enjoyed hearing someone else interpret their stories. I would have posted that picture, but it wasn't in focus. Bummer.

Open Mic at Redolencia

The Ludington Visiting Writers hosts an open mic poetry night once a month at a nice coffeehouse in Ludington. The theory is that it will be once a month, but I guess it doesn't happen quite that often. At any rate, this was my first time to attend.

It was such a small group that we didn't even use the mic, but just sat around a table. Four people read poems that they had written, myself included. There were a number of different styles, which made it fun.

I read a "cautionary tale," in the classic style, entitled "Helen, Who Annoyed Her Siblings and Learned a Nature Lesson."

I suspect the crummy weather kept some folks away, and Ellen had a cold, so she didn't come. This networking stuff is hard work for me. I'd rather hide out.

West Side Gang- Writers' Group

Tonight was the twice-monthly meeting of the West Side Gang, the local writers' support group. It was a good turnout tonight with a total of 11 people. That's the most that have ever come since I've been attending (admittedly not very long).

The idea is that we bring some writing to share, read it aloud, and the others offer friendly (and hopefully helpful) critique. Not everyone brings something every time, but that's OK too.

I've been reading chapters of News from Dead Mule Swamp. I managed to get one more written before tonight. That's a total of eight, so far. With this kind of support group, I might even finish this little project.

We heard several poems, an essay prompted by a picture, a portion of a semi-factual historical novella, some pages from another mystery in progress, and my two chapters.

Next Tuesday, the group is hosting an "open mic" night at a local coffeehouse. I said I would read a poem.

Here's a teaser from Chapter 8 of News from Dead Mule Swamp:

Tom guffawed. "Ma’am, I can tell you don’t know Cherry Hill any too well. Ain’t you that lady what bought the place over in Dead Mule Swamp?" He went right on, not needing an answer from me. The question was apparently rhetorical. "You got to call Jerry at home. Everyone knows that."

Added to Michgan Author List

Books Leaving Footprints has been added to the Michigan Authors list at Ludington Visiting Writers.

So much of this authoring game is marketing, that any time there is an opportunity for another link, another contact, etc, it's great.

Ludington Visiting Writers Poetry Reading

Last night I went to the Ludington Visiting Writers poetry reading. Four local poets read selections from poetry booklets (chapbooks) which have also been published under the umbrella of Ludington Visiting Writers.

From left to right they are Betsy Rosenow, Jim Stewart, Jeanie Mortensen, and Vondalee Knoll.

There were actually more people there than I expected. Each poet read for about ten minutes, and there were light refreshments. The booklets were for sale. Jim's book is "Our Lady of the Morels," and the three other poets are featured in a book named "Three True Voices."

If I am going to try to do this writing thing, I need to be spending time with writers, so this is part of my program!

Story on Stage

In the evening, I went to a local event of the Ludington Arts Council called Story on Stage. Local writers whose stories were selected had their short stories read by local actors. Ellen urged me to go (she was there too), so I did. My reactions are mixed. Part of the problem is that audio input is my weakest sensory pathway. I have to work really hard to take in stories being read out loud. I also have to confess that I didn't care for three of the stories. They were all well-written... it wasn't that it was a low-quality "hick" production. They just weren't the kind of thing that appeals to me. One was a bleak tale of a failing marriage, one was about a guy who wants to kill himself, and one was the moment-by-moment angst of a mother waiting for the birth of her second baby- and her first one had died at birth.

I've agreed to start going with Ellen to the local writer's support group and see how I like it. We'll see... I don't think I write the visceral kinds of stories that are considered sophisticated. Tonight didn't really encourage me. But, it's good to stretch.

In other writing news, Accentuate Writers has finally announced the winners of the last three contests of 2010. Contests are being temporarily suspended in 2011 so they can get caught up with getting the books published. The three themes were Hope, Faith, and Gratitude. For the first time in the history of my entering these contests one of my stories didn't even make a "Digital Download." I can't complain... my overall track record is too good to be a sourpuss about that. Just for the record, the story that didn't win anything is on the Hope theme, and is called "Doru's Birthday Prayer."

My Faith story is called "Ebeneezer," and it will be offered as a Digital Download. It takes a pretty traditional development of the Faith theme, but I kind of like it. My Gratitude story is called "Thank You," and it won a place in the anthology book "Expressions of Grace." This publishing all takes a LOT of time. The first of my stories that won anything was in November 2009, and that book may be actually available in February... at the earliest.

So, now I have one "leftover" story. It probably needs a couple of friends, and to be made into an ebook. If you want to see the list of all my published and "accepted for publication" works go to Books Leaving Footprints