Cleckheaton Writers Group (CWG) met on Monday 19 February 2024 at 5.30pm with Karen, Kathy, Molly, Reuben and new members David and Ivy in attendance, Jack, Jake and Michelle having passed on their apologies.
Karen welcomed new members David and Ivy to the group and each member discussed their writing journey. David has been writing for 20+ years and has recently moved back to England from France. He has had a radio play performed, written poetry and a stage play and wishes to start writing again. He also wishes to edit 2 drafts he currently has. Ivy has written reimagined fairy tales which are whimsical and absurdist (dark and twisted or the other way) and has had a rhyming version of Hansel and Gretel published as part of a competition. She likes Folk, Horror and Psychological in the Fae Realm.
The minutes from the last meeting were passed.
WIP updates: Karen has entered the People's Friend Fiction competition and the Writers & Artists 24 competition. Molly has been reading Process of Poetry book and attending the Nabeela Ahmed Wednesday workshops Creative Writing for Expression. Reuben has 2 man in black chapters written and halfway through chapter 2, then finishing second half of it on Wednesday. Kathy has worked more on Book Puppet and been figuring out the the connections - how the facts to the murder connect and how to apply the murderer in connection to it, figuring out timing errors and there is a gap to bridge. Her MC Vinnie knows Andy because he's the publicist. This led to a discussion to help Kathy fix this plot problem.
CW comps/workshops/events: FREE to enter Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest, deadline 1 April (see Karen's blog for details). York Literature Festival in 2 weeks with a horror workshop.
Writing plans: Karen wants to do some editing of the sequel to Christmas Evie and apply for a couple of upcoming writing opportunities. Molly will be carrying on with the Process of Poetry, continue the Wednesday workshops and do more of Beth Kempton's course, which is open until the Summer. Reuben will work on the last of chapter two and start on the next chapter for his MC Justine. Kathy will keep going with Book Puppet. Ivy will focus on the short novel. David will be looking at his stage piece Changing Taste to polish and his collection of short stories, Listening to Frogs.
This led to a discussion on poetry groups including Leeds free writing group with prompts, Geek Retreat in Halifax, Todmorden Writers Group and performance poetry in Huddersfield and Leeds, Inkspill Poetry (Huddersfield Literature Festival) Head of Steam on the last Friday. Karen mentioned the Chemic Tavern in Leeds run by Mark Connors and The Batley Poets 
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and Anna Chilvers March Write! with writing prompts (March Write! is a week of prompts - for the first seven days of the month she'll send you a prompt every day to get you in the writing mood that will hopefully carry you through the month. Framing the Short Story is a four week course which will look at beginnings, middles and ending of short stories. The aim is to write or plan a short story by the end of the month. It will be on Wednesday evenings 7pm-8.30pm and starts on 6 March. Please contact Anna on annaruthchilvers@gmail.com if you'd like to take part in either of these. March Write! costs £10 and Framing the Short Story is £40/£30).
Feedback Sessions: Molly shared her Contemplation poem (for Cadeseus magzine) with a science and spiritual element, with 24 lines and not too wide, with the sea as the theme. Members felt the drowning and the waves were topical and relatable in avoiding pain, that the imagery stands out and that the gaps she leaves when reading is part of the impact of the poem. David shared snippets of his writing to give a flavour, the poem Works Eye View, dialect poem Black Pudding neet and a section of Blue Train. Members felt the carriage description in the 2,700 word story felt historic and that the Wergle Flomp Humor Competition would be a great place to submit his poems. Next time, David hopes to share more on The Blue Train and Changing Tastes. Ivy read the introductory twist on Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, Blondielocks and the bear, her collection of reimagined fairy tales which were well received. Members felt the piece was very visual and that the beat was similar to bear steps.
Next meeting: Monday 18 March 2024, 5.30pm at Cleckheaton Library. New members always welcome.
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