Minutes of PWG meeting of 8th April 2021
Venue: Skype
Present:
John Goodwin Jennie Rook Bob Barker Richard Powell Gina Angeletta June Megennis Nikki Burrows Jennifer Gardner (new member) Dee Leigh
Greetings Scribes,
As always, we hope that you and your closest are healthy and safe.
We welcomed a new member, Jennifer, who writes mostly poetry. She has written a story book about a rescue dog, for the Animal Welfare charities. She hopes children will read it and become more aware of the welfare of dogs.
Dee had issues with her Microsoft password so Jennie stood in to take the minutes for this meeting. Dee did manage to get connected for the last five minutes of the meeting.
Readings:
Nikki: Before Nikki read, she announced that her debut novel will be launched in 72 hours on Amazon UK site. We all congratulated her on her success. She noted that now she has completed the first book, she feels that the next novel will be out much quicker, as she has more confidence in the whole process.
Bob mentioned that he had taken a look at her book on the Amazon site, purchased the e-book and noted that the acknowledgments were at the back. Nikki clarified to us that this is deliberate, tactical choice, as when readers open the ‘Look inside’ pages, they don’t want the first few pages of acknowledgments, credits, dedications etc. Bob countered that he thought the first pages of the ‘Look inside’ feature in Amazon were 10% of the page total, which would be satisfactory for most readers to get a feel of the content of the novel. Nikki may look at this for her next novel or make changes when she has this feature on Amazon.
Here is a link from Amazon UK explaining a little about the Look Inside software and how it works for the reader and author: https://amzn.to/3wGTjau.
Nikki then read Chapter 19 of Killer Genes – about non-identical twins that have been reunited, having been split by adoption. Feedback given that it had good flow, nicely descriptive with evocative feelings of the prime evil that is to come. The formatting was also improved in this document.
Bob: The next chapter of his ‘The Woman across the Street’ novel. The story moves on at a pace with the children going missing and the Sheriff and Detective Carver set their team to find them asap. The tension has built and the pace is fast with good use of short, sharpened, and contracted sentences.
A discussion led on how Bob is contemplating doing Jed Mercurio’s (BBC scriptwriter of Line of Duty and Bodyguard series) BBC Maestro course ‘Writing for Drama.’ Here is a link to those who may be interested when it is launched https://bit.ly/39VlXej.
Gina: Based on last week’s homework: Bloodied Hand I - a story of a recurring nightmare as a child, around a dangerous road, fearing death in a car crash. Feedback: good action, well written, good use of repetition at the end of some sentences to build tension.
Coffee break for 15 minutes.
Readings:
Rick: ‘Brighton’ – His article written for International Living, which will appear this week on the website. Feedback: A very informative guide to the seaside town in England. Good work.
Gina announced that she had been in touch with the owners at Neo’s Sports Bar in Peyia and that due to the restrictions of COVID-19 and the interior of the meeting room, that we will not be able to convene in-person, yet at the club. Gina will remain in contact with the owners and the meetings will continue for the time being on Skype.
Readings:
John: Based on last week’s homework: ‘Handprint’ – was a ‘cheeky number,’ which summed up John’s piece, which he admitted to being hastily written before and during the meeting.
Jennifer: The Plastic Doll – a witty poem inspired by her time in Thailand. Feedback: well written and funny. It followed on nicely from John’s rather risqué story.
‘Time on your hands’ – another poem by Jennifer, written during her time in the Covid-19 lockdown. Feedback: nicely written and evocative of the time we could all relate to.
Gina: Based on last week’s homework: Bloodied Hand II – a gory personal memory of suffering from a severe internal infection, at 9 years old. Feedback: emotive and realistic. Not too much editing needed to go into her memoir. There were some punctuation issues and a discussion led to punctuating with speech marks.
Here is a link to a useful quick reference guide on the most used punctuation marks: https://bit.ly/3ace84n
Here is an interesting article for writers, particularly for U.S. writers: https://bit.ly/3fTiIrH
For those who are confident editing their grammar and punctuation, download and use Grammarly for Word, but be aware that it is not always the solution for creative writing or for business writing: https://www.grammarly.com/. Once downloaded the software will automatically open alongside your Word document and you can edit your text, while writing.
Readings:
Rick:
Chapter 19 of his POW story – ‘Free at last’ – Following Mike’s journey back to England as a POW and the news that he had just missed his love, who has left UK for Canada with her husband. Mike’s heart breaks, has awkward meets up with Valerie’s parents whilst in hospital and eventually recovers enough to be sent back to Saskatchewan. Feedback: It was evocative and you could feel the some of the hardship and pains of a POW.
The following sentences needs to be re-written or omitted if it doesn’t portend any later event.
John and Rachael stayed until it started getting awkward, then left with a promise to see him again. They never did.
Homework prompt:
‘Saint George’s Day’
Write a piece around the saint day. In any genre, up to 500 words.
Meeting closed at 1-pm.
For those attending the call or meeting, please send your piece to Gina to upload to the PWG Skype Group, or any other you would like feedback on.
Next meeting will be on: Thursday 15th March on Skype.
For those interested in joining our PWG Online Skype group, please email us your skype name to add you to the PWG Skype group.
Gina will continue to monitor the situation regarding live meetings.
Thank you to all who, virtually, attended.
Stay healthy, safe and happy writing.
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