Tuesday, 3 October 2017

Cleckheaton Writers Group minutes 2 October 2017

Cleckheaton Writers Group took place last night, here are the minutes:


Cleckheaton Writers Group Meeting

03 October 2017:  17.30 -19.00

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Welcome and Attendance

·         Attendance – Neil, Mandy, Sarah, Alice, Karen, Kathy and Pauline

·         Apologies – None sent

Minutes of Last Meeting

Taken as read.

Work in Progress

Karen: has been editing a pilot script to enter into the BBC Writers Room C4 Screenwriting Course 2018 competition, been plot-planning for NaNoWriMo and has written three new pieces following a creative writing workshop she attended on Friday.

Kathy: has finished a flash fiction piece and been working on an idea regarding the war memorial graves, written in two time frames, 1917 – 2017, about a letter written then delivered 100 years later.

Neil: has been blogging and has written book and TV reviews.  He has written a Harry Potter fan fiction to get him back into writing as he has not written for over a year.  He is thinking of taking part in NaNoWriMo this year with a sci-fi military story.

Mandy: has been inspired to write four new short stories and four flash fiction stories, plus a travel writing piece for the Brandt travel writing competition (she has been runner up before and is hoping for more this year).  Her book launch, that she has been waiting a long time for, is in London in December and she is also considering taking part in NaNoWriMo this year, but with several short stories as the aim rather than a novel.

Sarah: has written a flash fiction piece, been editing (she is 40,000 words into her second draft) and is thinking of taking part in NaNoWriMo this year and asked if any of the members who have taken part before have any hints and tips.  Suggestions included plot-planning out the story, flash cards or picture cards of characters or events that need to happen in the story, so that if you become stuck, it is easier to write a different section or some back story to your character to keep you writing.  The worst thing you can do is miss a day word-wise, as then it is so much harder to catch up and can lead to quitting.

Alice: has been editing and has had some new ideas, plus she has been gathering images for her book.

Feedback Sessions

Neil shared a fan fiction piece inspired by Harry Potter.  The group thought that the beginning drew you in and that the mother on her mobile and the cheap sausages were particularly evocative, but needed a couple of editing points, e.g. whether a 8-9 year old child would use the phrase ‘journey’s end.’ Sarah asked if this would be shared on a website as she understood fan fiction could not be traditionally published due to copyright issues.  Neil then shared a synopsis, he sees the tale as magic now being visible to humans, and it was a great plot plan for story completion.

Sarah shared a flash fiction story entitled ‘Caught on Camera.’  It cleverly led the reader down one path, only to end on another.  Sarah has sent it to Flash 500 so we wish her luck.

CW Competitions/Workshops/Events

Karen had shared some competitions, workshops and events via email prior to the last meeting. Pauline informed the group about a fellow writer sharing a trilogy of ghost stories for review.

Writing Challenge Session – Due to the length of the feedback sessions, there was no time for the writing challenge.

As it was Sarah’s last meeting as she is about to travel for seven months, the group wishes her well, told her we expect lots of FB pictures and her to keep in touch, and enjoyed the mini-muffins she brought as a leaving treat.

Next meeting: Monday, 16 October 2017

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