tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499938965527868332024-03-14T01:33:52.615-07:00Pencils! Writing WorkshopUpdates, news and meeting notes from the Wilton-based writers groupJen Connichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15920545545725408555noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-22246336815037425092009-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:002009-09-15T15:45:34.676-07:00Pencils! Points: September 8, 2009<p><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";"><br />Hello, all! Before I get to the meeting notes, here’s some announcements:</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste"; color: red;">The Pencils! 6<sup>th</sup> Annual Holiday Party will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 7 p.m. at Carol’s House.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";">As usual, we’ll be putting together invitations and sending them out via snail-mail, and directions will be enclosed. Watch this newsletter and your mailboxes for details, but count on our usual $5-$10 grab-bag gift exchange!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";">And now, onto the meeting:</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";">1. Iris and Eydie, our two newest members, are working on a memoir, and the meeting was spent on the first pages of their work as well as brain-storming. Their project has yet to have a title.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";">2. Tom arrived…and we all decided to do one of those famous (or infamous) 5-minute prompts! Carol suggested a “My life began on [social networking site of choice]. Joyce and Eydie wrote about e-mail, Tom wrote about Chatrooms, Carol about Twitter, and Iris and Kaye wrote about Facebook.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span style="font-family: "Wachovia Celeste";">SEE YOU ALL AT THE NEXT MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 22!</span></b></span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-15901532852501386132009-08-22T17:19:00.001-07:002009-08-22T17:19:29.244-07:00Pencils! Meeting Aug 14 2009We had our regular meeting on August 14, 2009. In attendance were Roger, Joyce, Claudia, and Jerry.<br />Joyce kicked us off with a new short story, Welcome to Kenya. “They passed a series of factories, and now she was looking at low cement block buildings with corrugated steel roofs, probably some sort of housing. They were all the same, going deep into the side streets, and running along one side of the main road for at least a mile. The gray structures stood about 10 feet apart on flat land, with no trees or flowers to break the monotony. Only scattered tufts of weeds provided a touch of green.”<br />Next up, Jerry and Claudia both presented several examples each of Hint Fiction. In 25 words or less, Hint fiction is intended to suggest a story rather than tell it. There is currently a contest, with a deadline of midnight EST on August 31. Only two entries are allowed per person. Winners (there will be 100-150) will be paid $25 each and published in an anthology by WW Norton. For a more detailed description and information about the contest, see <a href="http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8">http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8</a>. That will get you to the site, where there are many pages (all well over 25 words!) that describe various aspects of hint fiction as well as the contest itself.<br />If you don’t have the time or interest in pursuing this concept, here are a few examples of past winners & honorable mentions. (Actually these were just honorable mentions, but Claudia, Kaye, and Jerry are all in agreement that these are better than the winners.)<br />PROGRESS: After seventeen days she finally broke down and called him “daddy.”<br />PEANUT BUTTER: He was allergic. She pretended not to know.<br />(I don’t remember what sequence we read ours in, so ladies first. Since entries were limited to two, we were looking for reactions to help decide which ones to include. Just one each is included here.)<br />Claudia’s example:<br />The Affair: No wedding ring, no ring tan line. She fell in love. He was married, she found out. She made sure he hurt before he died.<br />Jerry’s example:<br />Execution: He told them again that he didn’t kill her as the needle pierced his vein. One of them knew he was telling the truth.Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-43659311084359387722009-07-31T16:23:00.001-07:002009-07-31T16:23:39.396-07:00Pencils! Points: July 28, 2009<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >ANNOUNCEMENTS</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Pencils! Annual Picnic</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We’re having a POTLUCK PICNIC this year! Details are in your inbox!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >And now, on with the show:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Joyce</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> kicked off our meeting with Chapter 21 of</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" > Venus Ascending.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Carol</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> is working on a new, untitled novel-length project. She shared the first couple of pages with us.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Jerry</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> read us his short story, “Virgins.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, that’s it for this week’s meeting! Our next meeting is Tuesday, August 11…see you all there!</span></span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-13891817890195158252009-05-04T16:08:00.000-07:002009-05-04T16:09:35.091-07:00Pencils! Points: April 28, 2009<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >We had a great meeting last week! Here are some highlights for those of you who missed it.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >First, welcome new potential member Susan, who found us through the newspaper. She’s interested in writing children’s fiction, and we hope she’ll join us again soon.<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >And also…welcome back Gary Kriss! Long time no see!<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >It's official: Kaye is graduating. She'll receive the MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College this coming June 28.<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >1. <b>Kaye</b> opened with the beginnings of a short story, working title “Paisley Surprise”: “There is a box wrapped in red paisley paper on my doorstep. It doesn’t have a tag; all it says in crude Sharpie lettering is Perishable.”<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >2. <b>Joyce</b> was next, with recent rewrites from <i>Venus Ascending:</i> “He put cotton in his ears and absorbed himself in his newspaper, pleased with President Eisenhower’s announcement that the way was clear for a January tax reduction for personal income and excess profits.”<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >3. <b>Gary</b> presented more of the novel he’s working on, which is part of a series...it involved a trapeze artist afraid of heights.<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><b>Quote of the Night</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >“Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.”</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >~ Jerry & Joyce</span></div>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-68910588566942187822009-03-25T00:21:00.000-07:002009-05-04T16:10:37.302-07:00Pencils! Meeting, March 24, 2009<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Pencils! met Tuesday March 24 at Shop-Rite. Claudia, Judith, Joyce, Lynn, Roger, Henderson, Kay, and Jerry attended.<br /><br />Henderson recommended a book he is reading called Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. (If that’s not a pen name, I’m jealous.) And I mentioned a workshop that is coming up on April 7 at the Milford Library, 7 PM, on how to get started writing your mystery. But I couldn’t remember the author’s name, so I will send an e-mail about that in a few days.<br /><br />First up was Roger, not with any new writing, but with a list of alternatives for a new title for his book, which he feels is too restrictive since it targets retirees only rather than leaving it open to anyone who has experience (past or future) with moving south. Some of the popular choices were “Southern Exposure”, “Woe is We”, “Fast on the Pedal, Slow on the Drawl”, “The Grass Wasn’t Greener on the Other Side”, and “What Were We Thinking When We Moved to the South?”<br /><br />Next Lynn shared the first 4300 words of her short story Anger Management. “Brianna tackles the mail as soon as it arrives, as usual well after 5:00. She sorts the letters into two piles, hers and Peter’s, adding the junk mail to his. As she pitches the rubber-banded roll of catalogs without looking through it, something on the floor moves. At first, the dark line appears to be a skid mark, as from a sneaker, but closer inspection shows it’s composed of tiny dots parading across the tiles into the dog’s food dish. Brianna remains crouched and staring for a moment, not wanting to accept that vermin removal is now her responsibility.”<br /><br />Henderson shared both a poem, Ripples, and a letter to the editor, the latter published in the Danbury News-Times on Monday March 23. “The principle of the separation of church and state does protect the civil law from meddling by any religion to impose its beliefs on everyone.”<br /><br />“We toss a pebble, making ripples of our own,<br />or maybe our very motion arcs one in,<br />and our ripples spread, combining, interfering.”<br /><br />Next up was Joyce with a rewrite of chapter 20 of her novel Venus Ascending. “Murray brooded as he saw the beaming nose of a long-bodied plane gently rise, angling up for take off. His fist formed compulsively at his side as the Convair 340 lifted and became airborne. His fingers clenched as the plane rose higher before leveling off, and it wasn’t until the gray silhouette faded into the dark sky that his hand opened.”<br /><br />Finally, Judith read more from her novel in progress. “Before Ali or Destiny could answer, the front door was thrust open forcefully. If Ali had not said, ‘Hi, Dad,’ Sylvia would not have recognized her ex-husband, Hamid Husam, who was slowly making his way over to the area where she was sitting. His face was ashen gray and lined with vertical creases from his forehead to his chin, the only interruption in the linear demarcations being two horizontal slits that served as eyes.”</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-14350910017270039162009-03-09T18:53:00.000-07:002009-03-09T18:57:41.670-07:00Pencils! Points: February 24, 2009<p style="font-family: arial;"><b>Announcements</b></p> <p style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: red;">REJECTION SLIP PYRE & POTLUCK THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 14, AT 3 P.M. AT KAYE’S!</span></b> If you haven’t let Kaye know you’re coming (or not), please do, and she also needs to know what you’re bringing to share. Please e-mail her and let her know what’s up, if you haven’t already. This should be a great way to celebrate this amazing spring weather we’re having!</p> <p style="font-family: arial;"><b>Congratulations, Judith!</b> …on your work being featured in the successful art show <em><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Stress, Struggle and Change </span></em>at The Mooney Center at the College of New Rochelle. The show ran from the beginning of January through the end of February. Nice work!</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">With the rejection slip party literally days away, I wanted to remind everyone about <b><span style="color: red;">Duotrope.com</span></b> as a fabulous market research tool.<br /></p> <p style="font-family: arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">Kaye was the lucky winner </span></b>of Stewart O’Nan’s Poe Screenplay in the Lottery to benefit the Shirley Jackson Awards.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">1. Carol presented Chapter 9 of <i>Buried for Life</i>: “The team of officers spread through the house like locusts. Every room on all three floors was turned upside down. His mother sat huddled in the corner of the warm sofa. Her cotton handkerchief twisted in her hands and her eyes swam in unwashed tears.”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">2. Henderson shared his newest essay, “The Day the Universe Split”: “I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I had chosen differently at certain times. I can recall a number of choice points in my life and I’m sure you can in yours, too.”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">3. Joyce read from Chapters 19 and 20 of <i>Venus Ascending</i>: “Estelle’s gentle hands were continuously moving—holding, grasping, pulling, squeezing—lifting forearm, upper arm, hand and fingers, until knotted muscles started to slacken, allowing range of motion to increase.” </p> <p style="font-family: arial;">4. Judith brought the beginnings of her newest work, <i>Four Days</i>: “Reception areas of major international airports are all the same, she thought. The ethnicity and attire of the people might be different, but the message was the same. Taxi? Hotel? For any assistance you may require, I am the person you most need right now, for a price, of course.”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">5. Jerry has been working on “Sin” and brought us the latest version: “Immediately, they began babbling, as sinners always do, pleading for mercy, protesting their innocence, denying that the word of God means they should be punished. They even muttered some nonsense about loving each other, as if that was even possible without first loving the Lord.”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">6. Claudia closed the night with “Two Sisters, a Brother, and a Dog”: “Cindy was fascinated with watching the white shredded mozzarella cheese bubble and brown under the red coil of the roof of the toaster oven through the clear door, and didn’t question Patti about the call.”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: red;">Quotes of the Night</span></b></p> <p style="font-family: arial;">“How is a baby ever <i>not</i> innocent unless it’s Chucky?”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">-- Kaye</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">“If it’s not moving the fory storward…I haven’t even had anything to drink tonight!”</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">-- Carol</p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-73154035151375028492009-02-11T17:59:00.000-08:002009-02-11T18:05:37.005-08:00Pencils! Points: February 10, 2009<div id=":13p" class="ArwC7c ckChnd"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" ><br />We're back at Shop Rite for the long haul! <b>Eleven members were on hand</b> and <b>Maria Barresi</b> treated us all to a Welcome Back/Valentine's Day mini-buffet: cheese, crackers, grapes, and apples. Thanks, Maria! It made our first time back feel special!</span></span> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" ><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" >Announcements</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~ We kicked off the meeting with <b>our treasurer's report—Carol was pleased to report</b> that many have paid dues. We have checks that say Pencils! on them (there's nothing to make you feel more special than that). Our first order of business was reimbursing Jerry for website domain costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Anyone wishing to pay dues can contact Carol McManus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~ <b>The 5<sup>th</sup> Annual Rejection Slip Pyre & Potluck</b><span>…you'll be getting an e-mail under separate cover with details, but here are the basics:</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 3 p.m.</span></b></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >at</span></b></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Kaye's house</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" ></span></b><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" ></span></b></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Bring a dish to share and BYOB.</span></b></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Bring some rejection slips to burn and leave feeling renewed for 2009!</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~ <b>Joyce</b> is back from her 10-day excursion to the Bahamas with "Singles Under Sail." Tropical drinks, anyone?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~ <b>Photos</b> from<b> John Palisano's reading and signing</b> on January 27 are up on the web! You can check them out<b> <a href="http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/johnpalisanoreading%26booksigning" target="_blank">here</a>.</b><span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" >And now…on with the show…</span><span style="color:red;"></span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >1. <b>Joyce</b> opened us with a portion of Chapters 17 and 18 of <i>Venus Ascending</i>: "Estelle saw the new Suburban and her eyes filled. Only three days old, and the front grid was cracked, the hood dented, and its little goat ornament was angled to one side."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >2. <b>Henderson</b> was next with his first attempt at short-short fiction: "Child's Play": "I got under the kitchen table to look up at a pirate's map I had discovered there. Mom or Dad never looked under the table, not even Sis, so this map was my secret."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >3. <b>Carol</b> was up with Chapter 8 of Buried for Life, which she's been working and re-working: "A blaring horn was the only warning that kept her from driving directly into the path of a car coming up from behind in the adjoining outside lane."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >4. <b>Yvonne</b> followed with a piece called "Racial Memories," which is part of a larger project: "She was good as her word, and each night, a new pie emerged from the oven, peach, blueberry, apricot, and rhubarb. She was a tough taskmaster, and [Yvonne's] reward for [her] hard work was a tray full of little tarts which matched the pie in flavor." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >5. <b>Kaye</b> closed with a short piece called "What the Dormouse Knows": "This is their final ride on the last day of their decades-overdue honeymoon. Jim turns the center wheel, wishing the cup would spin faster, and Della, whipped by her long hair, notices for the first time she's going salt and pepper."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" >This week's handouts</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >We passed out some information on Tips for writers on naming fictional characters from BabyNames.com…and "The Practice of Remaining in the Dark: How to Create Complex Characters", by Robert Boswell, from The Practical Writer column in Poets and Writers' July/August 2008 issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" >This week's Inspirational Kick-Out!</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >I read a piece called "Take that, Stephen King; Buzz Off, Sue Grafton", by David Howard, which is featured in the 2008 Rhode Island Writer's Circle anthology. Hilarious! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:red;" >Quotes of the Night</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >"You're going to give us a report, too, for twenty-four dollars?"</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >-- Maria</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >"The sound of word is important, too."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >-- Tom</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >"There's no such thing as a really hot sex scene with a guy named Murray."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >-- Jerry</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >~</span></span></p> </div>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-73049869318110817372009-01-25T19:10:00.000-08:002009-01-25T19:12:22.875-08:00Pencils! Points: Important Announcements, January 13 Meeting Notes<b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">Hello, all! Happy 2009!<br /></span></b><p><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">Important Announcements!</span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">Special Pencils! Meeting: Join us this Tuesday, January 27, at 6:30 p.m.</span></b> at the Norwalk Library in SoNo to hear John Palisano read from his latest work! See you there!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">Dues:</span></b> we've set dues at $24/year. If you attend three meetings per year, please send your dues to Carol by Jan. 31! </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">Snow Policy:</span></b> It's that time of year again, but hey, we're almost to February…only four more meetings at risk! </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the event of inclement weather and we need to cancel our Pencils! meeting for the evening, <b>THE DECISION WILL BE MADE AT THE LATEST BY 4 P.M. ON THAT DAY</b>, in which case, we will send out an e-mail to our distribution list. It will also be posted <b>ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE WEBSITE NO LATER THAN 6 P.M.</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></b></p> <p><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">~ We're BACK at Shop Rite as of February 10th, 2009!</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ Miss the <b><span style="color: red;">6<sup>th</sup> Annual Christmas Fest</span></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>at Carol's? <a href="http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/6thannualchristmasfest%21" target="_blank">Check out the pix here! </a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">Have good news to share? Please send your announcements to the membership directly using the members address.</span></b><a href="mailto:members@pencilswritingworkshop.com" target="_blank"><wbr></a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b><span style="color: red;">The Rejection Slip Burning is tentatively slated for Saturday, March 7, 2009!</span></b> <span> </span>We'll confirm this date and the location in the coming weeks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">And now…on with the show! Pencils! Points for our first meeting of 2009.</span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Roger opened the night with another chapter—"Blonde Ambition"—from <i>How My Retirement Went South. </i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerry was next with the beginnings of a great new short story, "Sin."</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kaye was up with part of a short story she's reworking from her Admit One project.</span></li></ol> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, that's all, folks! See you all in just a couple of days in SoNo!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">-- Kaye</span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-15935943171063107382009-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:002009-01-20T21:02:22.447-08:00Pencils! Welcomes 2009 with Important Announcements!<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>JANUARY 27 MEETING.</u></b><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><b style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />For the January 27 meeting, we'll be attending a SPECIAL EVENT at the NORWALK PUBLIC LIBRARY</b> in South Norwalk to support member <b style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">John Palisano</span></b> as he reads from his latest work as part of the 2009 Author Series. Copies of the anthologies in which his most recent work appeared will be available for sale, and proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Norwalk Library.<br /><br /><b style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">THE EVENT RUNS FROM 6:30 to 8:30</b>. Please join us! For more information, visit John's website <a href="http://www.johnpalisano.com/" target="_blank">here</a> and click on the link at the right of the page.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b>NEW FOR 2009 -- MEMBERSHIP DUES.</b></u><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br />As you know, over the years, Pencils! has grown -- we've gained and lost members, and many times the subject of charging nominal dues has come up. Dues will not only help us lessen the financial impact of events and other incidentals (printing, mailing, the domain name for the web, etc.), but will help our members strengthen their commitment and put us more in line with other professionally-oriented writing groups and associations.<br /><br />For 2009 and beyond, we're introducing membership dues for those who attend meetings.<br /><br />We've set the cost of dues at $24/year due on January 31 of each year (that's not much more than $1/meeting). This amount will also make it easy for us to pro-rate members who join later in the year. New members may attend a maximum of three meetings before deciding whether or not they wish to join.<br /><br />Carol McManus is the Treasurer and will open our first official Pencils! account. Please send your $24 membership dues as close to January 31 as possible to Carol.<br /><br />Have a wonderful few days and I'll see you all on January 27!<br /><br />Kaye</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-69929324338997799642008-10-13T18:54:00.000-07:002009-01-20T21:04:21.419-08:00Pencils! Points: September 23, 2008<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We had a very productive meeting at my house on Tuesday Sept 23. Attending were: Claudia, Keith, Joyce, Carol, Yvonne, Jerry...and Henderson who attended virtually- feeling a little under the weather, he sent a poem to be read via EMail.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Jerry was up first who read a short story called "Perfection" which was a re-work from a writing exercise we did at the May 27th meeting in which we had to use a sentence as either first or last. At that time his sentence was "Good is not good enough" ....."I trust you will strive for nothing less than valedictorian?" He waited for an answer and I said yes. "Well, he said "That is as it should be." And he left the room. I was Salutatorian of a graduating class of over 300 students. When the graduation ceremony was over, my father walked right past me to the Valedictorian and congratulated her on a wonderful speech. Knowing I was in earshot, he said "I wish my son was more like you." .....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Next, Joyce read a chapter from her novel, "Venus Ascending" .....Vince leaned forward, voice plaintive. "Mimi, don't be mad. You know how much I care about you." Mimi's shoulders pulled back. "I care about you too. I want us to be together, but, except for when we're dancing, you always keep your distance." She bit her lip. "We've been together since Thanksgiving, and you've never hugged or kissed me".....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Keith treated us to "the first third" of a short story titled "Fat and Ash".....Chores completed, he steps outside on to the deck with his pack of Lights and fires up the first of his daily five, a tiny defiant smokestack he hoists against the Jersey sky. The draw, the searing purge, and clarity. A tingle, a dancing ember of youth, starts at The base of his scalp, descends through his stomach, and culminates, satisfyingly, in his loins. He remembers. Today, he will not stop at five, Today, he will not stop. Today is Fat Tuesday. Ruby Tuesday.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Carol shared part of chapter 7 of her novel, "Buried for Life"..."That still doesn't explain how you met Mrs. Sullivan and her daughter at the playground." The jagged line of questioning increased Walter's anxiety but he answered as calmly as he could. "I'm sorry. My first love is photographing children in their natural environment, not in a studio setting. I like to go to the playground and shoot kids when they're not posing." .....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">5. The final piece was Henderson's poem, "I Welcome the Theologian - me" read by Claudia (who did not nearly do it justice...). ..." Theology-me even whispers of truths unknowable to science-me."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Announcement and Request- Jerry is working on the Pencils! website and is asking for suggestions from members of what we would like to have.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Book / Resource Recommendation- from Keith - "The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within" by Stephen Fry</span></span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-68691293927477259712008-08-12T16:55:00.000-07:002008-08-12T16:56:43.517-07:00Pencils! Manuscript Formatting Guidelines<span style="font-family: arial;">At the August 5 meeting, we all thought it might be a good idea to follow a uniform manuscript format -- it not only allows everyone to properly gauge reading time, but also puts us all in the frame of mind for submitting. Our guidelines are as follows:</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1" margins</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">12-pt. Times New Roman font</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Double-spaced</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Page numbers (name of piece and your name on subsequent pages is optional, but encouraged)</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-66341139796824062452008-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:002008-08-12T16:25:22.157-07:00Lon sells "Symphony..."<i style="font-family: arial;">Tales Out of Miskatonic University</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> bought Lon's piece, "Symphony for the Aligning Stars". Congratulations, Lon!</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-43484072935827848692008-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:002008-08-10T11:35:08.950-07:00John's short story accepted to anthology!<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="496"> <tbody><tr> <td rowspan="4" width="18"> </td> <td width="460"><img alt="" style="display: block;" src="http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=715ce6858a&realattid=0.1.1&attid=0.2&disp=emb&view=att&th=11bade4781e81d98" height="18" width="460" /></td> <td rowspan="4" width="18"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <img style="display: block;" src="http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=715ce6858a&realattid=0.1.2&attid=0.3&disp=emb&view=att&th=11bade4781e81d98" height="326" width="460" /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="460"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="460"> <tbody><tr> <td style="line-height: 2;" width="460"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 1px;" width="74"> </td> <td align="center" valign="top"> <span style="font-size: 15px;font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;color:#626262;" > <div style="line-height: 1.7;"> <div style="padding-bottom: 15px;"> <span style="font-size: 32px;font-family:Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif;color:#6e716e;" > <span style="display: block; width: 312px;">THE <div>OUTLAWS <div>OF<div>HILL COUNTY</div></div></div></span> </span> </div> <i> <span style="display: block; width: 312px;"><div>I'm delighted to report that my short story, "The Outlaws Of Hill County" </div><div>has been accepted into Graveside Tales' upcoming anthology, </div> <div>HARVEST HILL, </div><div>to be released in time for </div><div>Halloween this year. </div><div><br /><div><blockquote type="cite">The year is 1969. Harvest Hill, Tennessee finds itself in the midst of preparations for the annual Halloween Festival, taking place at Harvest High. Only problem is the Long Fellow has announced its return by taking Jenny Lou Harrison from them.</blockquote> <blockquote type="cite">Its up to a young hippie, his friend, and the local biker gang, The Outlaws Of Hill County, to showdown against the Long Fellow Halloween night.</blockquote><br /><blockquote type="cite">Just remember what all the kids</blockquote> <blockquote type="cite">sing each year around this time:<br /></blockquote><br /><blockquote type="cite">"When the night gets long<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">And the day goes quick,<br /> </blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">You better hide inside,<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Or you might get sick,<br /></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Out come the Long Fellow,<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Playing his tricks,<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"> <br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Sucking your soul,<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"> Through your fingertips…"<br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite"><br /></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Warm tidings</blockquote><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.johnpalisano.com/" target="_blank">www.johnpalisano.com</a></div></div></span> </i> </div> </span> </td> <td style="font-size: 1px;" width="74"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=715ce6858a&realattid=0.1.3&attid=0.1&disp=emb&view=att&th=11bade4781e81d98" height="100" width="460" /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> </div>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-29826650917535933652008-08-10T11:33:00.000-07:002008-08-10T11:34:06.753-07:00Pencils! 5th Anniversary Soiree in Wonderland photos are up!<span style="font-family: arial;">Hello, folks,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">...be sure to visit our page of photos from THE PENCILS! 5TH ANNIVERSARY SOIREE IN WONDERLAND at Al & Maryanne's on July 26. For those of you who missed it, we were all in costume and it was one hot day for a Mad Tea Party in the rabbit hole!</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial;">You can view the pictures here:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/pencils%215thanniversarysoireeinwonderland" target="_blank">http://pencilswritingworkshop.<wbr>googlepages.com/pencils%<wbr>215thanniversarysoireeinwonder<wbr>land</a><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial;">If the above link isn't working, just head to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.pencilswritingworkshop.com/" target="_blank">www.pencilswritingworkshop.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and visit The Pencils! Scrapbook page for a link. Happy perusing!</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-72701317642393130282008-08-04T04:17:00.001-07:002008-08-04T04:18:11.519-07:00Keith's first chapter takes first place<span style="font-family:arial;">Our newest member, Keith, has just been notified that the first chapter of his novel, </span><i style="font-family: arial;"><b>Bank Street</b></i><span style="font-family:arial;">, won the First Chapter Competition at Writer's Billboard. Here's the link where you can read it:</span><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.writersbillboard.net/firstchaptercomp.html" target="_blank">http://www.writersbillboard.<wbr>net/firstchaptercomp.html</a></div><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;">Congratulations, Keith!!</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-49571164437532652772008-07-16T19:41:00.001-07:002008-07-16T19:41:59.378-07:00Soiree is on tap!<p><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">PENCILS! 5<sup>TH</sup> ANNIVERSARY SOIREE</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> will be held at 3 p.m. JULY 26 at Al & Maryanne's. We're looking at a fantastic turn-out! If I have your deposit from the original date, then I'm assuming you're attending. If you can come now and couldn't before, please drop us a line and let us know. We'll be doing all of our preparation in the next few days.</span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-65899448300484619312008-07-16T19:40:00.000-07:002008-07-16T19:41:05.112-07:00Walt Featured Flash, Interrogated...<div id=":83" class="ArwC7c ckChnd"><div dir="ltr"> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Walt's at it again. Back at the beginning of June, he let me know that his story, "The Case of the Checkered Murder", was the "Featured Flash" for their Minute Mystery June 2008 edition: Summer Heat. Check out his story at <a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/mysteryauthors/flash.html" target="_blank">http://mysite.verizon.net/<wbr>mysteryauthors/flash.html</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">He then interviewed himself. Check it out at the MysteryAuthors.com blog here:<a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/mysteryauthors/" target="_blank"> http://mysite.verizon.net/<wbr>mysteryauthors/</a>. Click on the Blog Link and scroll down to the Thursday, May 29, 2008 post entitled "The Muse Interrogates…er, Interviews the Author".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Congratulations, Walt! Best of luck with your continued moving and we hope to catch up with you soon!</span></p> </div> </div>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-90629443121644454472008-07-16T19:39:00.002-07:002008-07-16T19:40:23.655-07:00Kathryn's work in McSweeney's, Farmhouse Magazine<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hey gang, </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">I got some news from Kathryn last week. She's been happily jamming-busy with her internship at Time, Inc., in New York City, and she reports that with her steady stream of submissions, she's "still trying VERY HARD and getting rejected daily." However, she DID have success—major success—with placing her very funny "Real Historical Dolls: A Catalog" piece in <b><i>McSweeney's Internet Tendency</i></b>. You can read it here:<br /><a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2008/3/19higgins.html" target="_blank">http://www.mcsweeneys.net/<wbr>2008/3/19higgins.html</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">And, just recently, her piece "Painful skin condition afflicts girlfriends/wives of 'hot' guys" appears in <b><i>Farmhouse Magazine's</i></b> Summer 2008 Issue. Check that out here:<br /><a href="http://www.farmhousemagazine.com/summer2008-satire-higgins.html" target="_blank">http://www.farmhousemagazine.<wbr>com/summer2008-satire-higgins.<wbr>html</a></span></p> <span style="font-family: Arial;">Congratulations, Kathryn! </span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-89498580605683820802008-07-16T19:39:00.001-07:002008-07-16T19:39:31.679-07:00Vance graduates from Sacred Heart<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's the moment we've been waiting for: Vance graduated from Sacred Heart University, <b><i>Cum Laude</i></b> with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a concentration in writing! The graduation exercises were held May 18.</span></p> <span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-53736550038514781792008-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:002008-07-16T19:38:42.359-07:00Kaye new EIC of Pitkin Review<span style="font-family: Arial;">Kaye has been named Editor-in-Chief for the Fall 2008 Issue of Goddard College's Literary Magazine, the <b><i>Pitkin Review</i></b>. She's really excited—but, as usual, there's an overwhelming amount of work to be done.</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-81517255185783142502008-07-16T19:36:00.002-07:002008-07-16T19:37:27.183-07:00"The Other Joyce" in Musings<span style="font-family: Arial;">Joyce's story, "The Other Joyce"—which she workshopped here awhile back and, as I recall, was really entertaining—was published in the most recent edition of Norwalk Community College's literary magazine, <b><i>Musings</i></b>. Congratulations!</span>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-45938694914213860832008-07-16T19:36:00.001-07:002008-07-16T19:36:47.663-07:00Shirley in Musings<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm pleased to announce that Shirley's poem, "The Avaricious Sea" was recently published in Norwalk Community College's literary magazine, <b><i>Musings</i></b>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Congratulations, Shirley!</span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-29362783768360374332008-07-16T19:34:00.000-07:002008-07-16T19:36:04.265-07:00Pencils! Points: May 27 & July 8, 2008<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hello, folks…long time no chat!</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (Let me add here that if you've contacted me by e-mail or phone and I've not gotten back to you—eek! Kathryn and Jen Connic—I've not forgotten you nor am I blowing you off! I'd like to block out some time to, well…<b>CHAT</b>). Due to school and hundreds of other things going on here I regrettably missed the June meetings, so here I present notes from the two terrific meetings I was at!</span> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Welcome Carol McManus' friend Barbara Smith. Barbara took a class with Carol, who will also be returning shortly.</span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">DON'T FORGET THE PENCILS! 5<sup>th</sup> ANNIVERSARY SOIREE IS SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2008.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Please let us know ASAP if you are coming or not! I'm assuming those of you who said "yes" last time—before the reschedule—will be attending.</span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">STAY TUNED</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: I've missed <b><span style="color: red;">LOTS of announcements</span></b>. They'll be filling up your inboxes very shortly!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">In other news, <b><span style="color: red;">MOUTH FULL OF BULLETS</span></b>—the terrific 'zine that's published more than a few Pencils! writers, including Jerry, Walt, and Keith Harjes, is discontinuing its recently-established print edition. BJ has always done a terrific job with the electronic version, and will be returning to his previously-successful all-electronic focus. You can read the entertaining MOUTH FULL at <a href="http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com/" target="_blank">www.mouthfullofbullets.com</a>. Thanks, Jerry, for the heads up!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">And now…on to the meeting notes! If I have your stories and your snail-mail addresses, they'll be on their way to your regular mailboxes this afternoon.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">OUR NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, JULY 22 AT SHOPRITE!</span></b></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">Pencils! Points: May 27, 2008</span></u></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks to Carol M, we opened the meeting with a listen to part of Joe Ortiz' "Supercharge your Creativity through the Art of the Six Minute Story" workshop, which was presented at the 2006 Maui Writer's Conference. The key point? "Don't worry about what you're doing when you write—don't be concerned with mechanics. The best stuff comes out when you don't give a shit." </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">We followed this up with a six-minute writing exercise (well, we ended up doing eleven minutes because we were so into it), in which we had to use a sentence as either first or last. Here are descriptions of the pieces attending Pencils! came up with:</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tom: "stuff around the house". Let's hope Tom takes this idea quite a bit further. We all agreed it was hilarious!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shirley: "burning letters".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Henderson</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">: "space-time continuum".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kay: "back home again in Indiana".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerry: "Good is not good enough". (Great flash piece! Send it out!)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Joyce: "Memorial Day Parade".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Claudia: "??".</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Carol: "People who say "I just finished"/"I'm working on" are winners in life."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kaye: "Water Wheel"</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Shirley kicked us off with a reading of her poem, "The Avaricious Sea"—which was just recently published in Norwalk Community College's <b><i>Musings</i></b>. She didn't provide a copy, or I'd print some here.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. Yvonne shared more of her environmental crisis novel, which also happens to be her thesis at <b>Goddard College</b>. "Chaim studied Asher's sandy curls and alert blue eyes as he spun the dreidel. He was a fine boy. Being his daughter Devorah's son, he wouldn't carry on the Silverman name, but still, a grandson was a grandson and a healthy one at that."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">3. Claudia presented her poem, "The Green Grass." "Hmmm…don't mind if I do…well…maybe I'll have two…/I never thought I should, never thought I would…/But, you know Man, the stuff's pretty good!"</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">4. Henderson shared two poems—a re-work of his "Empty House" and another called "What're You Doing?" "I know something about empty houses./They sit, sad, tragic, dangerous, and spooky./One sat back, shielded by heavy growth/behind an iron fence which, when, on a dare,/we pressed our faces against the rust, and stared,/it left a stain more visible than the ghost that surely haunted there."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">5. Last up was Jerry with the beginnings of his newest short story "Truth & Consequences". "He had never met Emory before, but he'd recognized him from the pictures Janet had shown him. Emory's body, like his life, was a glaring example of excess. He was too tall, his nose was too wide, his ears too big, his fingers too long. And his eyes, just as Janet had told him, were too blue. Ice blue, she'd called them. At first, she'd seen warmth in those eyes, and a bright future blazing with promise. But after three years of marriage, of getting to know the man behind them, all she could see was the bitter cold."</span></p> <p><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Quotes of the Night</span></u></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">"That's it. Roll it up and smoke it."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">--Jerry, on Claudia's poem</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Dysfunctional people don't cease to be dysfunctional in Walt Disney World. They can pretend like they will, but even Fantasyland can only take you so far."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">--Tom</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">"I didn't have a pen."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">--Yvonne</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">Pencils! Points: July 8, 2008</span></u></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">An interesting meeting…not many readers, which gave us LOTS of time to discuss minutiae. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some ideas on the table this meeting were:</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ breaking up some of Kaye's work, such as the website, since she's entering her final semesters at school and has a lot of deadlines to meet;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ the possibility of introducing a conference-style meeting (via speakerphone) so that those of us who will be moving out of state can join us.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Maria presented "Denied the Cup". "He invited all to partake. He even offered the cup to Judas—knowing that Judas would betray Him. He didn't have any stipulations attached to the invitation. He didn't ask any questions. He didn't pass out small plastic cards stamped with "I am eligible to receive."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. Kaye read what little she had so far of her newest, "What the Dormouse Knows". "This is their final ride on the last day of their decades-overdue honeymoon. Jack turns the center wheel, wishing the cup would spin faster…"</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">3. Maria's sister, Julie Georgis, graced us with her presence as a visiting poet. She lives in Germany! She read her poems "Let There Be Words" and "Yes." "The tickelty tackelty of mummy's loving fingers/The ingenuity of Daddy's quick and vibrant mind".</span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-88353151785300914892008-05-16T14:47:00.000-07:002008-05-16T14:51:12.598-07:00Pencils! Points: May 13, 2008<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;">ANNOUNCEMENTS<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ June 14<sup>th</sup> is the Pencils! 5<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Soiree in Wonderland</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">. $30 per person includes catered meal (appetizers, entrees, sides and salad) with wine, beer, and soda included…we promise a bountiful feast as well as a special dessert, and Al and Maryanne have made some magic in their yard you won’t want to miss. Come in costume! Invitations went out via snail and e-mail about two weeks ago. If you didn’t receive either and would like info, contact me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family: Arial; color: red;">PLEASE LET US KNOW BY JUNE 1 IF YOU ARE COMING OR NOT. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR CATERER.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> In addition, we have to give him the money up front. <b style=""><span style="color: red;">IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE PAY IN ADVANCE</span></b><span style="color: red;">.</span> You can bring it to the next Pencils! meeting, or just mail it to me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can make the check out to me; I’ll be cutting the check to the caterer.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks! We hope you’ll all join us for this super-special occasion! (Hey, gang, we’re probably back to pot-lucks after this). We’ve got several RSVPs already. Don’t miss it!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b style="">Kaye is back from Disney</b>, and her project, <b style=""><i style="">Admit One Literary Theme Park</i></b>, has successfully distributed two stories to a small mailing list. This collection of short stories is set in Walt Disney World, and eventually they’ll all be available on a website, the elements of which are under construction right now.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you’re a Disney Fan and would like to receive one short story per month, contact Kaye. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b style="">This week’s handout was an article from the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of <i style="">Poets & Writers</i></b>, “The Sadness they Carry on their Backs”, by Kris Babe, about short fiction writer Benjamin Percy and his new collection, <i style="">Refresh, Refresh</i>. The reason I chose this was because I liked Percy’s philosophy on the writing life. If you’d like a copy of this piece, drop me a line at the Pencils! g-mail address and I’ll get it in the mail to you.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ <b style="">Book recommendations for this month! </b>Wanna great laugh and learn a bunch at the same time? Check out <b style="">How Not to Write a Novel</b>:<span style="color: black;"> <b style="">200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them--A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide</b> </span>by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kaye’s review is over at the Amazon.com page, and the website’s got some great stuff. You can check that book out at either Amazon here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Write-Novel-Them-Misstep-Misstep/dp/0061357952/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210962386&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Write-Novel-Them-Misstep-Misstep/dp/0061357952/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210962386&sr=8-1</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">or at their website here: <a href="http://www.hownottowriteanovel.com/">http://www.hownottowriteanovel.com/</a>. Jerry just finished reading <b style="">Self<span style="color: black;">-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print</span></b> by Renni Browne and Dave King and highly recommends it; I know I’ve got it on my list for this coming semester. You can check out that book at Amazon here:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210962519&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210962519&sr=1-1</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Read a <b style="">great writing book lately? Or any great book lately?</b> Read anything that <b style="">SUCKED</b>? Drop me a line so we can get the word out to other Pencils!. Keep in mind that it’s great to recommend quality, but it’s also helpful to warn about crap. Crummy books shouldn’t be getting our money; it frees us up to spend it on what’s really worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ Yvonne </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">mentioned that she found the CD’s Carol has been sharing at the beginning of the group very helpful and valuable. John Lescroart had talked about reading poetry before he begins writing, and how it helped his flow. Yvonne took the advice and said it has thusfar made a big difference in her work.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Carol will be back at the May 27<sup>th</sup> meeting to share more from <st1:place st="on">Maui</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;">~ OUR NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, MAY 27</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">. Come join us! With all this time, we’ve got plenty of room to workshop the hell out of things!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And now, on with the show! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The new space at ShopRite is amazing. Private bathrooms, bright, large, comfortable—plenty of table space! It’s also so clean. And, a special thanks to Kay Cole. She had arrived early to find that, more than likely, the employees had had a meeting in there and there were some cookies and other things left out. She did a fantastic job cleaning up for us so we could have a clean space! In future, I’ll make sure I arrive about fifteen minutes early to make sure it’s tidy for us so Kay, when she comes, doesn’t always get stuck with the job.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you haven’t been to our new digs, make the time. It’s easy, even, to stop by the deli (which is what I did) and get a sandwich. And oh, blessed silence! Oh blessed no interruptions! I can see Pencils! Writing Workshop has finally found its permanent—and perfect—home. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Joyce was up first with “The Wellness Institute”, part of <i style="">Venus Ascending</i>: “As she stripped down, she recalled the panic that had engulfed her the first day she’d disrobed at the Institute. Now she stood calm, accepting the imperfections left by her mastectomy. Her body functioned well, though there was a vestige of pain when she thought of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Murray</st1:City></st1:place>’s rejection. <i style="">It’s foolish to accept his judgment,</i> she told herself. <i style="">He’s so flawed himself</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. Next was Kaye with a portion of a new story she’s working on, “Phantom Limbs”: She reminded herself that it was <i style="">supposed</i> to contain the ashes of a nasty old billionaire—one who had summered with three different mistresses at this very hotel before “dying of some weird all-over rot,” according to his daughter in an <i style="">Earth Day is Every Day </i>T-shirt—but that it <i style="">didn’t</i>. There were no ashes in that urn. There were no ashes in any of the urns that she delivered.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3. Jerry brought the first part of his newest endeavor, “Truth or Consequences”: “Despite her situation, she was feeling calmer, more in control, for having begun to assess it. She’d always prided herself in her ability to think her way out of difficult situations. Left with only one weapon, had she been able to choose, she’d have chosen her mind…The voice came from behind her and above, but she knew it well. She’d been hearing it tell her <i style="">no</i> for the past three years, ever since she married him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Henderson</st1:City></st1:place> finished us out for the evening with a poem, “Empty House”: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I know something about empty houses.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">They are sad, tragic, dangerous, and spooky.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One sat back shielded by heavy growths<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">behind and iron fence which, when, on a dare, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">we pressed our faces against it and stared,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">left a stain more visible than the ghost that surely haunted there.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Quotes of the Night<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“The pencil might be pushing a little bit…I can’t believe I said that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">-- Tom<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Self-deprecation does not flatter you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">-- Kaye<o:p></o:p></span></p>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-549993896552786833.post-11801647739093788562008-04-26T10:20:00.000-07:002008-04-26T10:21:49.924-07:00Jen nominated for SPJ awards<span style="font-family: arial;">Jen Connic has been named a finalist in the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists Connecticut Chapter's Excellence in Journalism Awards Competition!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">She has been cited for work she did with </span><i style="font-family: arial;"><b>WestportNow</b></i><span style="font-family: arial;">. She is nominated for work on the breaking news pieces "Demolition of Paul Rudolph House" and "Flood Emergency"; she has also been nominated for the online feature "Eric Von Schmidt -- Westporters Who Knew Him" and for "General Excellence, Independent" (which I believe is a category). </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> The winners will be announced at a formal event on Thursday, May 22 at Fantasia in North Haven. </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> Awesome, Jen! If you'd like to check out her pieces and hear details from the gal herself, visit her blog at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://jenconnic.blogspot.com/2008/04/finalist-in-spj-connecticuts.html" target="_blank">http://jenconnic.blogspot.com<wbr>/2008/04/finalist-in-spj<wbr>-connecticuts.html</a>Kayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08525919352174021109noreply@blogger.com0