Happy March!

Last evening, nine of us met at Symposium Restaurant.

Welcome back to Dennis Fitter who has completed 75% of his novel. His Mexican working holiday was a roaring success.

Welcome to Paul and Sandra. We enjoyed hearing about your writing adventures and hope you will return next month.

A few upcoming events and contests...

• Sarah Totton will be presenting an Aspiring Writers workshop at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library on Wednesday, March 9th at 7:00 p.m. No registration is required.
• Cindy Carroll will be facilitating a critique workshop on Sunday, March 20th. Contact Cindy if you are interested.
• The deadline for the Ten Stories High Contest is Thursday, March 31st.
• The deadline for the CAA Travel Writing Contest is Tuesday, May 31st. Write your favorite travel story in 200 words or less and you could win an exotic tour.

Written by Joanne Guidoccio

Creative Explorations Workshop

This evening, Nikki Everts-Hammond facilitated a two-hour creative writing workshop at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. She provided a number of exercises designed to release creativity.

A few examples...

Scenario--If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be?

If I were a vegetable I would probably be a potato. I've certainly been mashed, boiled, baked and fried more than a few times in my life. There's nothing very special about me but I'm positively unavoidable. I don't do raw very well. I prefer to be dressed, buttered up and well seasoned. I work well with others. Put me in a group or soup...whatever you may call it.

I don't mind coming from dirt, being rather plain in appearance, functional, dependable. I have a thick skin, don't bruise too easily--sometimes. It all depends on what you expect from me.

I have eyes in the back of my head--or so I 'm told. I have a large family and we're a loyal bunch, lots of little tater tots in the family now...

Scenario: You are in a closet with a door closed behind you. A time machine takes you to the past or future.

Of course it's a time machine. It's where all the luggage is kept--in a large dusty closet under the basement stairs. The two large Samsonites with the airline tags still attached to the handles and their bright Christmas bows so that we'll recognize them amid all the other luggage rotating happily on their airport carousels. The carry-on bags are also in there, along with the snorkeling equipment still covered in gritty, white Jamaican sand. If I crawl into the closet and close the door behind me, I can still smell the musty smell of damp clothes, bathing suits that never dry in the moist Mexican humidity.

If I close my eyes and wish hard enough can I get there--that beach in paradise--without all the hassles of planes, trains and automobiles, lineups and snotty customs officials, passports and paperwork. Why can I not in this day and age of high tech gadgets just close my eyes and say: Beam me up Scotty, there's a poolside bar stool waiting for me somewhere.

Written by Patricia Anderson

Information Update

The Chicken Soup for the Soul Book series is looking for inspirational, humorous or heart-warming stories that take place in Canada or are written by Canadians. The deadline is Monday, February 28, 2011. Visit the website or more information.

A two-day writers workshop will be held at the University of Guelph on Thursday, February 24 Friday, February 25. The workshops are free to U of G students and staff. Members of the general public can pay $30 per workshop. Visit the website for more information.

Written by Joanne Guidoccio

New Energy

Yesterday evening, eight of us braved the pre-storm conditions to meet at Symposium Restaurant.

There was new energy in the room. We were joined by Cindy Carroll and two other members of the Guelph Write Now Group--Kasia and Kevin. Matthew Wren, one of Dennis' students from the last creative course also joined us. Our own prodigals--Bonnie and Sarah--returned and gave us updates on their writing and non-writing lives. Congratulations to Bonnie who is a regular contributor to a Puslinch paper. We hope to see some of her articles on this blog.

Cindy has invited us to her group's events. Visit the website for more information.

A few upcoming events and contests...

• Sarah Totton will be presenting an Aspiring Writers workshop at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library on Wednesday, February 9th at 7:00 p.m. No registration is required.
• The deadline for the Postcard Contest is Monday, February 14th.
  
• The deadline for the Annual Ultra-Short Contest is Tuesday, February 15th.
  
• There will be a Creative Explorations workshop at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library on Wednesday, February 16th at 7:00 p.m. No registration is required.
• The deadline for the Toronto Star Short Story Contest is Sunday, February 27th.

Written by Joanne Guidoccio

Where is Everyone

Today I had some free time and that always makes me restless. I decided that it had been weeks since I had browsed the blogs I like to follow. Everyone appears to be in the same position I am. Either too busy or just can’t be bothered to write just now. I have started 2011 off on the right foot, and I already have 2 posts on my own blog. When I went to “Writers Ink” and saw no recent blogs, I decided to add one. Maybe this will help others to get writing again, at least where I can see it.I am sorry I missed Tuesday night’s dinner, but weather was lousy and I just wanted to get home after work. I am sure the conversation was plentiful and stimulating, as always. Hopefully I will make it next month.I haven’t written much more than my annual Christmas letter until just recently and I haven’t read a book in over a month. As much as I love Christmas, it takes it’s toll on the other pleasures of my life. Now that 2010 is behind us and we still have 353 days until next Christmas, you can look forward to seeing more of my writing, right here. All the best in 2011 to everyone………. dg

Short Story Writing Tips

Last Wednesday, Judy Emery and I attended Sarah Totton's workshop, The Art and Business of Short Story Writing at the Guelph Public Library.

Sarah presented a very informative and entertaining workshop chock full of tips for the aspiring short story writer.

• Be persistent and enter contests. Sarah highly recommends the Writers of the Future contest which is run four times a year and has no entry fee. She entered 17 times before winning a prize!!!

• When submitting short stories, send them directly to the fiction editor of the magazine. Do your research and find out his/her name. Do not use Dear Sir or Dear Madam in the salutation.

• Check submission guidelines for all contests and publications. Follow the instructions very carefully.
  

• No query letter is required. Instead, send a brief cover letter that can be pasted in the body of the email.

• Pay rates for short stories will vary. "For the love" means they pay in exposure. Some stories receive a token payment or flat fee of $5, $10 or $20. The semi-professional rate is $0.01 to $0.05 per word. the professional rate is more than $0.05 per word.

• Short stories are usually 4 to 30 pages in length (1000 to 7500 words). Flash fiction stories are less than 1000 words in length.
  

• Read fiction and watch movies that inspire you to get ideas for short stories. Past stories in New Yorker magazine are available online.

Written by Joanne Guidoccio

Last night I felt like the prodical son, once again joining the group for our monthly dinner. Everyone welcomed me back into the group, and it wasn't very long before it seemed like I had never been away. I met three new people who have joined our group as well. I even won the door prize. I found out that people are actually reading my blog. Joanne told me where to look, so that I can see how many are looking. There have been 17 hits... I find that very exciting. We had a lengthy and very interesting discussion about other members of Dennis' writing class. One of particular interest to me, was Father Gregory. Dennis did not remember his last name, so I decided to look up "Father Gregory, Illinois" I thought it would be easy, and Joanne agreed that there couldn't be that many Father Gregorys in Illinois. Well... I got over 1,128,000 hits. It is indeed, a very popular name for a priest. Many of them are actually Abbots, too. So, I will have to set aside more time to look this fellow up, or Dennis, maybe you could remember his last name.
I am going to start my new book this weekend. With my husband working all weekend, it will give me some free time to get at it, and leave all my chores for another time...
I am looking forward to our next dinner and the conversation and information that comes along with it. We are indeed a very diverse and interesting group.