scones

yesterday was the writing group, 8:30 am on a Saturday, which we all agreed was a good time because I think it weeds out a lot of people who would not really be up to committing and showing up and also, its just hard once a day is started to suddenly go - oh yes, after all that now I have the energy and desire to go spend 4 hours discussing and being discussed.


We also "closed" the group yesterday and hammered out a plan to sort of, keep it from overwhelming all of us. I mean, we have 10 writers now and when all 10 submitted this week - anywhere from 1800 to 5000 words, it was a mad race to try and get them all read and commented and things got lost and things got ignored and all that.


So we decided to alternate, we would all meet every three weeks but only half of us would submit each time. This way we think we can cut down the reading, pay closer attention and be in and out in under 3 hours.


I think the most amazing thing (besides the scones on the table) is the diversity of the group. Not just "oh-your-so-diverse-look-at-the-types-of- people-here" but that as writers, and as readers, we are all very diverse, very outspoken and have proven to be very capable of disagreeing quite amiably. The themes, the forms, the language, the style - our most heated debated yesterday was whether or not structure and plot were necessary to fiction, which was good because it led us to start identifying the type of fiction we were all aiming at individually. Literary, category, commercial all of those and then learning about each type so we will be better able to offer constructive criticism. They have also had a crash course in dramatic poetry to help be able to critique my work and it is just...you leave and you are wired to write for the next three weeks.


But hopefully, with the new plan in place, we all won't be staying up till 1am the night before, overcaffeinating ourselves and trying to get through everyone's pieces. Which, btw, made the third hour an absolute hoot because we were all punch drunk.


Today, in the midst of my other things, I am off to go write my six letters at the local Amnesty International Write a thon. Then...buraco.


MK has been merrily tucked in all morning. The days are finally turning colder and I doubt we will see 40 degrees for a long time. The odd thing I have noticed is that between the hours of 5:30 and 7, the temperature just plummets. Then bounces right back up. Weird.


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