Another productive meeting tonight where D, P and myself were in attendance, L, N, J and A having passed on their apologies.
D informed the group that she has continued to work on her new MG work in progress (WIP) since the last meeting. TW, her working title, has undergone character development and plotting, but she has yet to have visited a forge. P and I have not completed any substantial writing since the last meeting as we have concentrated our energies on the O. U. fiction writing course.
As N was not in attendance and neither D nor P had had chance to read my piece, the feedback session was abandoned, but we did discuss the play writing opportunity the group has been given at Halifax Playhouse. The members expressed concerns that not only were the plays to be written by the members, but directed throughout the production process. The general consensus was that directing is a very different role and skill set to writing and this may be problematic. It was agreed that this should be tabled to discuss at the next CWG meeting where A might be in attendance as he is the most knowledgeable member in regard to script writing.
P informed the group that there is a free creative writing guide in this months' edition of Writing Magazine and that the Morley Literature Festival has a free to enter short story competition running at the moment.
We then discussed computer difficulties following the Chrome issues that two members have experienced and the resultant problems with Adobe. It was suggested that Chrome and Google should be deleted from ones computer before reinstalling them.
Following some of the writing exercises I have undertaken as part of the O. U. course, I mentioned to the group a story idea I had been inspired by and this lead us on to discuss the lure of new ideas. It was agreed that as other writers (Joanne Harris being just one) advise to work on the piece that has the strongest pull or the one where the characters are 'talking to you' and go with that, we should follow this advice but that this does not mean that you don't go back to the piece you were working on originally. Writers can have more than one WIP at a time, but the goal should always be to get them to first draft.
We then discussed the concept of letting go of a WIP when it becomes obvious to the writer that they are working on the wrong book. No work/idea is ever wasted as you are learning as you write and some of the ideas/work may be used in future WIPs, or you may go back to the original idea when you are ready as a writer to write it.
It was decided that unless another member contacts the chair, the feedback sessions for the next meeting will consist of myself and N's work as the writing has already been sent to the members for feedback.
The next meeting will take place on Monday 26 May 2014, 6-8pm at Cleckheaton Library, where new members are always welcome.
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