With thanks to Country and Townhouse:
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Monday, 3 February 2025
More things to do in London this week
Sunday, 2 February 2025
Cleckheaton Writers Group minutes, meeting 20 January 2025
Cleckheaton Writers Group (CWG) met on Monday 20 January 2025 at 5.30-7.00pm in Cleckheaton Library with David, Karen, Kathy, Michael, Molly and Reuben in attendance, Barbara having passed on her apologies.
WIP updates: Karen had entered the Story Godmother mentorship with her humorous picture book My Grandma is a Vampire (she should hear by February if she is successful), and, for her new business Creative Services Yorkshire (C. S. Y.), worked with 3 clients on ms appraisals. Kathy has been working on the first section of Tobias, plus breaking others into chapters she needs to re-do and brought a short story for feedback. Michael worked on his cat poetry, has written two more and is looking into illustrations, dip pen and ink, to do a "Quentin Blake." He also worked on some of his stories. David entered the Bruntwood Prize with Changing Tastes (he will hear in April if he is successful) and finished Ten Years Ten Days, a 68k words story, and has given it to his friends for feedback. He started a new one Another Day, and looked at a couple of bits of poetry. Reuben had been writing a new chapter for his novel but it is not typed up yet, and a chapter rewrite yet not typed up either has been working on he application to University Challenge. He has been writing a poem and had a couple of other novel ideas, one a YA about a lost princess, the other a fantasy.
CW comps/workshops/events: Anna Chilvers writing courses (details shared with the CWG agenda), Scarborough Writers Retreat (full payment due 31 January) and #DeservepIt on X.
Writing plans: Karen has joined a writers group hoping it will make her write again instead of editing or working on other people's writing and will be continuing Dream Author. Molly will be reading the donated poetry leaflet. Reuben will be attending the Write as You Mean to Go On classes with Anna Chilvers on a Tuesday and type up his writing. David will do more on Another Day as it is plotted out and some of it written but he needs to work out how to continue (there is a body and a possible unreliable narrator), plus a couple of poems. Michael will be working on his cat book before hopefully self-publishing on Amazon in June/July with own illustrations (poems or children's poems). Kathy will work on Tobias now she has seen the light on it.
Feedback sessions: Reuben shared a poem, the train, which had lovely rhyming cadence and Molly felt like it was taking ownership of the train, and Michael that it carried you along. Kathy, who has a new laptop, shared her short story Her Winter which was a beautiful vignette on dementia with perspectives from both sides. Members encouraged Kathy to submit the story to a magazine or competition as it packed a powerful emotional punch. David shared a Welsh poem (a tribute to hope) which he will finish following feedback and the first chapter of Ten Years Ten Days. Molly asked about the POV and Michael felt it evoked memories of old houses that you've lived in. Reuben asked about the plot and members felt it was a snapshot of a moment in time. Michael shared his poem based on real life. Members thought it would be wonderful for children, perhaps a graphic novel/comic, and that one of the stanzas needed a little work with rhyming. A discussion took place about illustrations, a possible ending and title (A Breakfast Purloined - or purr-loined).
Writing challenge: January theme - Donald Trump (or just trump)
Next meeting: Monday 3 February 2025
Le Paris Cafe Festival 12-14 April 2025
For those of my followers who love coffee, early bird tickets are available now:
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