P.W.G Minutes of the Meeting on 28 March 2019
Venue: Neo’s Sports Club, Peyia
Present:
John Goodwin Jennie Rook Bob Barker Ann Joyce Svetlana Garshina
Maurice Holloway June Megennis David Greensmith Paul Trebiss
Greetings Scribes,
An informative meeting full of feedback, writing advice, technical tips around formatting, a book review and plenty of readings.
Readings:
Paul ‘I wish I had never …’ based upon last week’s homework
David ‘Murphy’s Holiday’
‘Tales of the unexpected’
June An extract from her autobiography
This led to the following discussions:
How a writer’s style improves when joining the Paphos Writers Group
Where do you stop when writing an autobiography? How to split an autobiography into Parts, give each part a Theme or write it in Volumes.
Formatting a book using a PC.
Using cloud storage to safely keep your work.
The Wikipedia definition of cloud storage is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_storage
‘Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools. The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company.’
Maurice introduced the group to a book he had been given and read, ‘The Emotional Craft of Fiction’ by Donald Maass. The author attempts to show the reader how to get inside the character’s head and to express in your writing how that character feels, how to show their emotions. There are exercises in the book which are time consuming but a worthwhile read for those wanting to improve on their fictional, character writing.
Coffee break: 11:00 – 11:30
John advised the group about using Grammarly which ‘from grammar and spelling to style and tone, helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself.’ He reported it has many uses but to choose your preferences when setting it up to really benefit from the app.
This led to a discussion about punctuation marks such as commas and semi colons, when and where to use them. Click here for visual explanations.
Readings:
Svetlana ‘Kick in the rear’ / What if this didn’t happen? – An emotive true story based on a previous speed writing exercise
Ann ‘An edge to the Air’ – a poem based on the homework prompt: ‘Unintended’
A discussion followed with Ann explaining the progress being made for the 10th anniversary of the Rosses Point Shanty Festival in Sligo, in June.
Here’s a link: http://www.wildatlanticshanty.ie/
Readings:
Jennie ‘Words have consequences’ a story with lessons to be learned - based upon last week’s homework prompt, ‘Consequences’
‘Socrates Filter’ – a story based on the classical greek philosopher with lessons to be learned – based upon week’s homework prompt, ‘Consequences’
Bob An extract from his new crime thriller book
John ‘The Wedding’ based on a true story
Homework: Prompt: ‘Tales from the riverbank.’ Any genre you like.
Next meeting will be on: Thursday 4th April at Neo’s Sports Club.
Thanks to all who attended and happy writing.
