Pencils! Writing Workshop

Pencils! Points: September 8, 2009

2009-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, all! Before I get to the meeting notes, here’s some announcements:

The Pencils! 6^th Annual Holiday Party will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 7 p.m. at Carol’s House. 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!

And now, onto the meeting:

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.

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.

SEE YOU ALL AT THE NEXT MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 22!

Pencils! Meeting Aug 14 2009

2009-08-22T17:19:00.001-07:00

We had our regular meeting on August 14, 2009. In attendance were Roger, Joyce, Claudia, and Jerry.
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.”
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 http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8. 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.
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.)
PROGRESS: After seventeen days she finally broke down and called him “daddy.”
PEANUT BUTTER: He was allergic. She pretended not to know.
(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.)
Claudia’s example:
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.
Jerry’s example:
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.

Pencils! Points: July 28, 2009

2009-07-31T16:23:00.001-07:00

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pencils! Annual Picnic

We’re having a POTLUCK PICNIC this year! Details are in your inbox!

And now, on with the show:

Joyce kicked off our meeting with Chapter 21 of Venus Ascending.

Carol is working on a new, untitled novel-length project. She shared the first couple of pages with us.

Jerry read us his short story, “Virgins.”

Well, that’s it for this week’s meeting! Our next meeting is Tuesday, August 11…see you all there!

Pencils! Points: April 28, 2009

2009-05-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great meeting last week! Here are some highlights for those of you who missed it.

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.

And also…welcome back Gary Kriss! Long time no see!

It's official: Kaye is graduating. She'll receive the MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College this coming June 28.

1. Kaye 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.”

2. Joyce was next, with recent rewrites from Venus Ascending: “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.”

3. Gary presented more of the novel he’s working on, which is part of a series...it involved a trapeze artist afraid of heights.

Quote of the Night

“Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.”

~ Jerry & Joyce

Pencils! Meeting, March 24, 2009

2009-03-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

Pencils! met Tuesday March 24 at Shop-Rite. Claudia, Judith, Joyce, Lynn, Roger, Henderson, Kay, and Jerry attended.

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.

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?”

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.”

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.”

“We toss a pebble, making ripples of our own,
or maybe our very motion arcs one in,
and our ripples spread, combining, interfering.”

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.”

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.”

Pencils! Points: February 24, 2009

2009-03-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Announcements

REJECTION SLIP PYRE & POTLUCK THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 14, AT 3 P.M. AT KAYE’S! 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!

Congratulations, Judith! …on your work being featured in the successful art show Stress, Struggle and Change 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!

With the rejection slip party literally days away, I wanted to remind everyone about Duotrope.com as a fabulous market research tool.

~ Kaye was the lucky winner of Stewart O’Nan’s Poe Screenplay in the Lottery to benefit the Shirley Jackson Awards.

1. Carol presented Chapter 9 of Buried for Life: “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.”

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.”

3. Joyce read from Chapters 19 and 20 of Venus Ascending: “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.”

4. Judith brought the beginnings of her newest work, Four Days: “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.”

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.”

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.”

Quotes of the Night

“How is a baby ever not innocent unless it’s Chucky?”

-- Kaye

“If it’s not moving the fory storward…I haven’t even had anything to drink tonight!”

-- Carol

Pencils! Points: February 10, 2009

2009-02-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

We're back at Shop Rite for the long haul! Eleven members were on hand and Maria Barresi 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!

Announcements

~ We kicked off the meeting with our treasurer's report—Carol was pleased to report 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.

Anyone wishing to pay dues can contact Carol McManus.

~ The 5^th Annual Rejection Slip Pyre & Potluck…you'll be getting an e-mail under separate cover with details, but here are the basics:

Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 3 p.m.

Kaye's house

Bring a dish to share and BYOB.

Bring some rejection slips to burn and leave feeling renewed for 2009!

~ Joyce is back from her 10-day excursion to the Bahamas with "Singles Under Sail." Tropical drinks, anyone?

~ Photos from John Palisano's reading and signing on January 27 are up on the web! You can check them out here.

And now…on with the show…

1. Joyce opened us with a portion of Chapters 17 and 18 of Venus Ascending: "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."

2. Henderson 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."

3. Carol 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."

4. Yvonne 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."

5. Kaye 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."

This week's handouts

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.

This week's Inspirational Kick-Out!

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!

Quotes of the Night

"You're going to give us a report, too, for twenty-four dollars?"

-- Maria

"The sound of word is important, too."

-- Tom

"There's no such thing as a really hot sex scene with a guy named Murray."

-- Jerry

Pencils! Points: Important Announcements, January 13 Meeting Notes

2009-01-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hello, all! Happy 2009!

Important Announcements!

~ Special Pencils! Meeting: Join us this Tuesday, January 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the Norwalk Library in SoNo to hear John Palisano read from his latest work! See you there!

~ Dues: we've set dues at $24/year. If you attend three meetings per year, please send your dues to Carol by Jan. 31!

~ Snow Policy: It's that time of year again, but hey, we're almost to February…only four more meetings at risk! In the event of inclement weather and we need to cancel our Pencils! meeting for the evening, THE DECISION WILL BE MADE AT THE LATEST BY 4 P.M. ON THAT DAY, in which case, we will send out an e-mail to our distribution list. It will also be posted ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE WEBSITE NO LATER THAN 6 P.M.

~ We're BACK at Shop Rite as of February 10th, 2009!

~ Miss the 6^th Annual Christmas Fest at Carol's? Check out the pix here!

~ Have good news to share? Please send your announcements to the membership directly using the members address.

~ The Rejection Slip Burning is tentatively slated for Saturday, March 7, 2009! We'll confirm this date and the location in the coming weeks.

And now…on with the show! Pencils! Points for our first meeting of 2009.

Roger opened the night with another chapter—"Blonde Ambition"—from How My Retirement Went South.
Jerry was next with the beginnings of a great new short story, "Sin."
Kaye was up with part of a short story she's reworking from her Admit One project.

Well, that's all, folks! See you all in just a couple of days in SoNo!

-- Kaye

Pencils! Welcomes 2009 with Important Announcements!

2009-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

JANUARY 27 MEETING.

For the January 27 meeting, we'll be attending a SPECIAL EVENT at the NORWALK PUBLIC LIBRARY in South Norwalk to support member John Palisano 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.

THE EVENT RUNS FROM 6:30 to 8:30. Please join us! For more information, visit John's website here and click on the link at the right of the page.

NEW FOR 2009 -- MEMBERSHIP DUES.

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.

For 2009 and beyond, we're introducing membership dues for those who attend meetings.

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.

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.

Have a wonderful few days and I'll see you all on January 27!

Kaye

Pencils! Points: September 23, 2008

2008-10-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

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.

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." .....

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".....

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.

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." .....

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."

Announcement and Request- Jerry is working on the Pencils! website and is asking for suggestions from members of what we would like to have.

Book / Resource Recommendation- from Keith - "The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within" by Stephen Fry

Pencils! Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

2008-08-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

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:

1" margins
12-pt. Times New Roman font
Double-spaced
Page numbers (name of piece and your name on subsequent pages is optional, but encouraged)

Lon sells "Symphony..."

2008-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Tales Out of Miskatonic University bought Lon's piece, "Symphony for the Aligning Stars". Congratulations, Lon!

John's short story accepted to anthology!

2008-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

THE

OUTLAWS

HILL COUNTY

I'm delighted to report that my short story, "The Outlaws Of Hill County"
has been accepted into Graveside Tales' upcoming anthology,

HARVEST HILL,
to be released in time for
Halloween this year.

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.

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.

Just remember what all the kids

sing each year around this time:

"When the night gets long

And the day goes quick,

You better hide inside,

Or you might get sick,

Out come the Long Fellow,

Playing his tricks,

Sucking your soul,

Through your fingertips…"

Warm tidings

www.johnpalisano.com

Pencils! 5th Anniversary Soiree in Wonderland photos are up!

2008-08-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, folks,

...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!

You can view the pictures here:

http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/pencils%215thanniversarysoireeinwonderland

If the above link isn't working, just head to www.pencilswritingworkshop.com and visit The Pencils! Scrapbook page for a link. Happy perusing!

Keith's first chapter takes first place

2008-08-04T04:17:00.001-07:00

Our newest member, Keith, has just been notified that the first chapter of his novel, Bank Street, won the First Chapter Competition at Writer's Billboard. Here's the link where you can read it:

http://www.writersbillboard.net/firstchaptercomp.html

Congratulations, Keith!!

Soiree is on tap!

2008-07-16T19:41:00.001-07:00

PENCILS! 5^TH ANNIVERSARY SOIREE 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.

Walt Featured Flash, Interrogated...

2008-07-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

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 http://mysite.verizon.net/mysteryauthors/flash.html

He then interviewed himself. Check it out at the MysteryAuthors.com blog here: http://mysite.verizon.net/mysteryauthors/. Click on the Blog Link and scroll down to the Thursday, May 29, 2008 post entitled "The Muse Interrogates…er, Interviews the Author".

Congratulations, Walt! Best of luck with your continued moving and we hope to catch up with you soon!

Kathryn's work in McSweeney's, Farmhouse Magazine

2008-07-16T19:39:00.002-07:00

Hey gang,

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 McSweeney's Internet Tendency. You can read it here:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2008/3/19higgins.html

And, just recently, her piece "Painful skin condition afflicts girlfriends/wives of 'hot' guys" appears in Farmhouse Magazine's Summer 2008 Issue. Check that out here:
http://www.farmhousemagazine.com/summer2008-satire-higgins.html

Congratulations, Kathryn!

Vance graduates from Sacred Heart

2008-07-16T19:39:00.001-07:00

It's the moment we've been waiting for: Vance graduated from Sacred Heart University, Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a concentration in writing! The graduation exercises were held May 18.

Kaye new EIC of Pitkin Review

2008-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Kaye has been named Editor-in-Chief for the Fall 2008 Issue of Goddard College's Literary Magazine, the Pitkin Review. She's really excited—but, as usual, there's an overwhelming amount of work to be done.

"The Other Joyce" in Musings

2008-07-16T19:36:00.002-07:00

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, Musings. Congratulations!

Shirley in Musings

2008-07-16T19:36:00.001-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Shirley's poem, "The Avaricious Sea" was recently published in Norwalk Community College's literary magazine, Musings.

Congratulations, Shirley!

Pencils! Points: May 27 & July 8, 2008

2008-07-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, folks…long time no chat! (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…CHAT). 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!

Welcome Carol McManus' friend Barbara Smith. Barbara took a class with Carol, who will also be returning shortly.

DON'T FORGET THE PENCILS! 5^th ANNIVERSARY SOIREE IS SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2008. 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.

STAY TUNED: I've missed LOTS of announcements. They'll be filling up your inboxes very shortly!

In other news, MOUTH FULL OF BULLETS—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 www.mouthfullofbullets.com. Thanks, Jerry, for the heads up!

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.

OUR NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, JULY 22 AT SHOPRITE!

Pencils! Points: May 27, 2008

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."

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:

Tom: "stuff around the house". Let's hope Tom takes this idea quite a bit further. We all agreed it was hilarious!

Shirley: "burning letters".

Henderson: "space-time continuum".

Kay: "back home again in Indiana".

Jerry: "Good is not good enough". (Great flash piece! Send it out!)

Joyce: "Memorial Day Parade".

Claudia: "??".

Carol: "People who say "I just finished"/"I'm working on" are winners in life."

Kaye: "Water Wheel"

1. Shirley kicked us off with a reading of her poem, "The Avaricious Sea"—which was just recently published in Norwalk Community College's Musings. She didn't provide a copy, or I'd print some here.

2. Yvonne shared more of her environmental crisis novel, which also happens to be her thesis at Goddard College. "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."

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!"

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."

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."

Quotes of the Night

"That's it. Roll it up and smoke it."

--Jerry, on Claudia's poem

"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."

--Tom

"I didn't have a pen."

--Yvonne

Pencils! Points: July 8, 2008

An interesting meeting…not many readers, which gave us LOTS of time to discuss minutiae.

Some ideas on the table this meeting were:

~ 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;

~ 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.

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."

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…"

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".

Pencils! Points: May 13, 2008

2008-05-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCEMENTS

~ June 14^th is the Pencils! 5^th Anniversary Soiree in Wonderland. $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.

PLEASE LET US KNOW BY JUNE 1 IF YOU ARE COMING OR NOT. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR CATERER. In addition, we have to give him the money up front. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE PAY IN ADVANCE. You can bring it to the next Pencils! meeting, or just mail it to me.

You can make the check out to me; I’ll be cutting the check to the caterer.

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!

~ Kaye is back from Disney, and her project, Admit One Literary Theme Park, 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.

If you’re a Disney Fan and would like to receive one short story per month, contact Kaye.

~ This week’s handout was an article from the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Poets & Writers, “The Sadness they Carry on their Backs”, by Kris Babe, about short fiction writer Benjamin Percy and his new collection, Refresh, Refresh. 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.

~ Book recommendations for this month! Wanna great laugh and learn a bunch at the same time? Check out How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them--A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman.

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: 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

or at their website here: http://www.hownottowriteanovel.com/. Jerry just finished reading Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print 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:

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

Read a great writing book lately? Or any great book lately? Read anything that SUCKED? 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.

~ Yvonne 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.

Carol will be back at the May 27^th meeting to share more from Maui.

~ OUR NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, MAY 27. Come join us! With all this time, we’ve got plenty of room to workshop the hell out of things!

And now, on with the show!

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.

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.

1. Joyce was up first with “The Wellness Institute”, part of Venus Ascending: “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 Murray’s rejection. It’s foolish to accept his judgment, she told herself. He’s so flawed himself.”

2. Next was Kaye with a portion of a new story she’s working on, “Phantom Limbs”: She reminded herself that it was supposed 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 Earth Day is Every Day T-shirt—but that it didn’t. There were no ashes in that urn. There were no ashes in any of the urns that she delivered.”

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 no for the past three years, ever since she married him.”

4. Henderson finished us out for the evening with a poem, “Empty House”:

I know something about empty houses.

They are sad, tragic, dangerous, and spooky.

One sat back shielded by heavy growths

behind and iron fence which, when, on a dare,

we pressed our faces against it and stared,

left a stain more visible than the ghost that surely haunted there.

Quotes of the Night

“The pencil might be pushing a little bit…I can’t believe I said that.”

-- Tom

“Self-deprecation does not flatter you.”

-- Kaye

Jen nominated for SPJ awards

2008-04-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

Jen Connic has been named a finalist in the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists Connecticut Chapter's Excellence in Journalism Awards Competition!

She has been cited for work she did with WestportNow. 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).

The winners will be announced at a formal event on Thursday, May 22 at Fantasia in North Haven.

Awesome, Jen! If you'd like to check out her pieces and hear details from the gal herself, visit her blog at http://jenconnic.blogspot.com/2008/04/finalist-in-spj-connecticuts.html

Nick's latest column is available

2008-04-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

Nick's latest column in The Darien News Review is available at the following link.

http://www.dariennews-review.com/columnists/ci_9038737

Pencils! News: Our New Home!

2008-04-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm MORE THAN PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE Pencils! new home...the private conference room at Shop Rite in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Route 1. Please read full details below, and many thanks to Carol M and Joyce for putting this together.

OUR NEXT MEETING, APRIL 22, AND EVERY MEETING HERE ON OUT, WILL BE HELD AT 6:45 P.M. AT SHOP RITE ON ROUTE 1 IN NORWALK. We will still meet for all the original dates on the Pencils! calendar, the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, and, as usual, will not meet in December so we can all take time to enjoy the Holidays.

While the idea of meeting above a grocery store may seem a bit odd for a writer's group, Shop Rite offers us many advantages. For one thing: a conference room with a large table, plenty of chairs, and a door to close (no more screaming kids! No more rude Borders employees!) More than ample parking, convenient to Route 1, easy to find. We're finally going to be in a space at which we can do whatever we want to do. And best of all, we can have the room until 10 p.m. No more rushing. If we need the time, we take it!

The information below comes directly from Carol. PLEASE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE "NO COMPETING GROCERY STORE BAG" RULE. (Not that I've ever seen any of you with plastic bags from grocery stores, but, you know, let's just be super, super sure!) And get ready for some additional Pencils! magic. Just read below.

Happy writing! See you on April 22nd (this coming Tuesday!)

First Meeting at our New Location:

Shoprite in Norwalk

Connecticut Avenue

(across from Stop & Shop and same center as Barnes & Noble)

We will be meeting in the Community Room which is on the second floor

When you enter the store, turn right through the flower department and right again.

Walk past all the cashiers all and frozen food aisles all the way to the far end of the store

(on the far right if you are facing the store from the parking lot)

You will go through the double red doors into an employee area briefly.

As soon as you go through the doors, you will see the sign for the Community Room.

Turn right and either use the stairs or the elevator to the second floor.

The entrance to the Community Room is directly across from the elevator.

Meeting is 6:45 to 9:00 as usual (although we have more time if we want; we have to be out by 10)

Rules: Please do not bring any food or packages from competing locations (Stop & Shop, Stew Leonards, etc.)

You may bring drinks and of course, are welcome to purchase anything in the store and consume it during the meeting.

Please bring whatever creative outpourings you are ready to share (copies for everyone is appreciated).

We are also going to try something new by incorporating a portion of the meeting to listening to some audio break-out sessions that Carol McManus brought back from the Maui Writers Conference. Over the coming meetings, you will hear a mix of best-selling authors, editors, publishers and screenwriters talking about the craft of writing, how to pitch your work, and much, much more!

Pencils! Points: April 8, 2008

2008-04-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

MANY thanks to Jerry on this one. I could not attend!

Attendees: Al & Mary Ann, Henderson & Kay, Joyce, Jerry (& Carol at 9:00)

1. Henderson wrote an untitled piece (unentitled "A Piece") about Viagra and manhood.

"Brigham Young, the Mormon leader, had 27 wives back in the days when it was all right. He was known as a very vigorous man."

2. Joyce brought an update to a chapter from Venus Ascending.

"When the waiter served their drinks," Joe checked again. 'You can't have just one glass of wine?'

'Not tonight, Joe." Estelle read his disappointment. "Is being with the real me going to ruin your evening?'"

3. Al brought an old story up from the cellar. I don't have a copy, so I can't quote from it. Al was supposed to send you a 'clip' and Mary Ann was supposed to remind him. Did either of those things happen?

4. Carol arrived in the "nick" of time with a story called Bel Air Blues.
"Anyone reading this diary in the future will be confused and might wonder why my sleigh and eight reindeer are not in the picture. Christmas, 2007 is one that will go down in history."

Happy writing!

Kaye

News from Jen Connic...and a great video

2008-04-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Here's some news from Jen Connic. She tells it best, so here's what she wrote. Be sure to check this out if you've got a minute. It's a great video.

As you are probably aware, last Friday was the anniversary of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s assassination. We ran a story detailing his visit to
Paterson just eight days before his death. I tagged along for one of
the interviews, which was fascinating to me as a student of history,
and compiled a video including archival photos of King.
Here's the link to the video:
http://dng.northjersey.com/media_server/hn/2008/04/04mlk/04mlk.html

Jerry's piece now in Mouth Full of Bullets!

2008-04-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

Jerry's story "Egghead" -- a great little flash fiction piece he presented at Pencils! last year -- is now available in the March 2008 issue of Mouth Full of Bullets. For now it seems it's appearing only in the print issue, but I think after the print issue's had its run it will probably be available online.

You can check it out here:
http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com/Current%20Issue.htm

If you'd like to order the print edition in which Jerry's story appears, complete order info is here:
http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com/

Congratulations, Jerry! Great work!

All Things Girl picks up Kaye's "Confetti"

2008-04-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

All Things Girl has picked up Kaye's short story "Confetti"—all about paper dresses, a pissed off girl and a couple of matches—for its November and December issues; it will serialize the piece. ATG is an e-zine that launched in 2001, and their mission is to, as noted on their website (I don't want to plagiarize here, but they really put it best, so these are their words, not mine): "give women a place to showcase their stuff - their artwork, photography, poetry, prose, articles on health, reviews, thoughts on business, creative endeavours and so much more." Curious? Explore ATG at http://www.allthingsgirl.net/ …and stop back there in November and December to take in "Confetti".

Several members' work appears

2008-04-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

Several Pencils! members have recently had their work published in the brand-new publication for highlighting the work of Connecticut writers, Whatever Literary Journal:

Chris Emmerson Pace: "The Clutter of Things"
Lucinda Sands (Cindy): "Cowboys and Indians"
Vance Fazzino: "Paganini's Phantasma"
John Kildahl: "Peas in a Pod"
Sharon Butler: "Unloosed"
Joyce Fischman: "Bastille Day"
Kathryn Higgins: "Fear of Flipping" and "How to Collect the 100 Free Cell Phone Minutes You Receive in the Mail"

Nice work, everybody!

INFO ON PURCHASING/SUBMITTING:

This issue is now available for purchase; you can purchase the print edition for $12.99, or conveniently download it to your computer for just $5.00. Support the small press! To purchase, go here: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1825589

At the moment, duotrope.com reports Whatever is temporarily closed to submissions--and the mag's submissions page has not yet posted a new deadline. I'd bookmark their submissions page--http://www.whateverlit.com/submission_guidelines.htm
and check back, or keep checking duotrope.

I'll keep you guys posted and let you know when they re-open, as I'm on duotrope just about every day. Or, you can sign up for Whatever's newsletter by visiting here: http://www.whateverlit.com/whateverhappens.htm

Pencils! Points: March 25, 2008

2008-03-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, folks!

TODAY (March 26) IS ROBERT FROST’S BIRTHDAY!

First off: a terrific meeting at Al’s, honestly the most productive we’ve had in a long time. Great job everyone!

Pencils! is in transition! Along with our new public location—which is looking like it is going to be the Community Room at ShopRite in Norwalk—we’re going to up the ante a little bit with incorporating some time at the beginning of the meetings for discussion and writing tips. For the time being, our next meeting—APRIL 8—will be held at Al’s. Thanks for your patience! We’ll soon be in our new home!

Happy moving, Ann! Ann is relocating to Delray Beach, Fla, to be closer to her family. The March 25 meeting was her last, and she says she’ll miss all of us—and we’ll miss her, too. I have her new address if anyone would like it!

Happy moving, Lon! Sadly, also leaving us: Lon Prater. I believe he is moving out to Ohio (or somewhere west of here). He’ll still be on our mailing list, and here’s to hoping he’ll chime in once in awhile and visit us when he’s in town. As soon as he’s settled, let’s hope he sends us his new postal address.

Think you may have just penned a few pages rife with clichés? Here’s your chance to find out: head on over to http://www.clichesite.com/! They’ve got a huge list. You can search by topic, by alphabetical, or just see the whole damn list of close to 3000.

* SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*

The Alice in Wonderland’s Through the Looking Glass 5^th Anniversary Soiree is slated for Saturday, 3 p.m., JUNE 14^TH, at Al & Maryanne’s. This will be a very special event. Mark your calendars and watch your mailboxes for details—because of the nature of what we have planned, we will be having a VERY EARLY RSVP date.

This meeting’s hand-out was an article entitled “The Importance of Place” from the March/April Issue of Poets & Writers—it’s all about why writers pick where they do to create their art. It’s not available on line, but it’s a terrific piece. E-mail me at the Pencils! address with your snail-mail if you’re interested in a copy.

Upcoming Creative Writing Workshops:

…are being offered by Cindy Wolfe Boynton at Café Atlantique, 33 River Street, Milford. “Finding Your Voice on the Page” will be offered on Saturday, April 5, and “Writing Your Family History” will be offered on Saturday, June 7. Both events will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the cost is $99 for each, which includes hand-outs, writing pad and pen, continental breakfast and a choice of lunch. For more information, head on over to www.cindywolfeboynton.com.

And now…

ON WITH THE SHOW!

1. Henderson opened us up with more of The Eight-Fold Way. “They blended their skin to the dingy concrete and suddenly seemed to disappear from view. Charles watched their faint images as the two of them moved down the stairs, their two stunners seeming to float in the air, behind them.”

2. Ann wrote a poem for her landlady, which she shared with us. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the title, and there weren’t any copies. But it was a fitting tribute to someone that she’s going to miss very much.

3. Next up was Nick—who brought his very first piece of fiction (he’s never written fiction before!) He said the experience was rewarding and a big awakening for him. His first piece, “Dangerous Conditions”, was written for a specific publication, but he wanted suggestions for improvement so that it could be sent elsewhere if need be. “Cliff loved Amy, too, but the way seventeen year olds love lending their bodies to each other and wanting each other again and again, ignoring curfew times.” Nick also presented his next column for the Darien News: “The Entitlement Generation.”

4. Al brought us the second half of “The Easy Way Out”. I didn’t have copies or I’d put some in here!

5. Carol and Joyce stopped by after they’d been to the Small Press Editors Panel at Manhattanville College; they shared details of their enriching experience which featured speeches and a Q&A with editors from the literary journals Inkwell, Lumina and LitMag, as well as from the small presses Marsh Hawk Press and Slapering Hol Press. All three literary magazines are seeking submissions; a Google search on their names should turn up some more info on that and guidelines if you’re interested.

6. Claudia read her newest poem “Rush Hour”, which was very rich at its core. “Crow, circles high above, laughs, flies home.”

7. Kaye brought the first few pages of a new story, which right now has no title and actually is getting a major overhaul in terms of plot and characters. But just for the hell of it: “I don’t mind the house being Disney-fied, but I’m not into Small World, because when she has a little too much wine she puts that song on repeat, and there are dolls singing that hateful melody to the drone of my electric toothbrush, the pop of the toaster and the dribble of the coffee maker for weeks afterward.”

NEXT MEETING APRIL 8 AT AL’S 7 – 9:30 P.M.

John P hits it thrice!

2008-03-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

John P's short story, "The Marine", will appear in the upcoming werewolf anthology The Beast Within later this year. Previously he sold "Wings For Wheels" to Darkness on the Edge. He also sold "Tennatrick" to an as-yet-untitled anthology at the moment.

Kaye's "Candle Garden" slated for Pandora Ink Books

2008-03-20T17:11:00.001-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Pandora Ink Books will publish a limited edition, perfect-bound pressing of my short story, "Candle Garden"—a haunting story about a woman struggling with the loss of her children whose tryst with a wax artist leads to some…well, interesting outcomes.

Melissa Duckworth is a talented artist who carefully selects poetry and short fiction which inspires her; then she creates a three-dimensional book-art experience. "Candle Garden", with a limited edition of 50 copies (that's gotta make you feel famous, folks!—I'm good enough for limited edition??), will be a reproduction of the work she created around this story for an art installation; she acquired the rights to this story a couple of years ago, and she has invested much time in turning my story into a work of art.

Copies will run at $30.00 and the book is slated for release in September 2009; pre-orders are being taken now. Although 9/09 seems a long way off, her books are popular and many sell out in their pre-order phase. Support the small press! Her work is amazing and you won't be disappointed, I can promise you that. For information and for a link to order, please visit her website at http://www.myspace.com/pandoraink, or contact me and I'll direct you to her online catalog, which not only features the release of my book but several other wonderful projects as well (hint: start your Christmas shopping early)!

Walt's "Modern Love" in Short Fiction World

2008-03-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

I believe he sent this to all of you, but Walt's short story "Modern Love" is available now in Short Fiction World! Read it here: http://shortfictionworld.com/Content_Mgr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=40

Congratulations, Walt! For more news, visit his blog at:

http://allotropiclucubrations.blogspot.com

Kaye's "King of Bull" is now up!

2008-03-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I think you all get my newsletter anyway, but "King of Bull", which took 1st Place in the Toasted Cheese 2007 Dead of Winter Contest, is now available to read on the web, as it has been published in the e-zine's March Issue.

Here's the Link:

http://www.toasted-cheese.com/ezine/2008/8-1/schoonover.htm

Also, the story was mentioned on someone's blog!

http://technorati.com/posts/583BcbXnqs2OxMpw%2B8XreOM1QfCxJMlRX2VatR6W70w%3D

We've moved!

2008-03-19T04:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
We are no longer meeting at Borders Wilton.

The immediate details: there is no cause for alarm! Until we find a new public venue, we will be meeting at Al's, Carol's, or John Palisano's. All 3 are close to Route 1 in Norwalk. Our next meeting—March 25—will be held at Al's; we will CONTINUE to meet the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month, and we will send out an announcement designating our meeting spot for the next couple of months or so as soon as we get it locked down. In general, I feel—and so do the other seven people who gathered last night—that this is a positive step for Pencils!, that it is time for us to take the next step so we can continue to grow and foster our sense of community and art. We don't feel that this is anything that should be looked upon as negative.

Not to fear! Our next meeting will be TUESDAY, MARCH 25, AT AL'S at 7 p.m.!! Carol and John Palisano have also opened up their homes until we find a new place to meet. One additional note on meeting in people's homes: we will be treating this as though we are still meeting at a public place. In other words, just do whatever you've always done to prepare for meetings. We'll start promptly at 7, stop right at 9:30 or spill over until 10. We will not be making this into a "party" atmosphere because it's in someone's home; we are working writers, and we need to get work done!

We have formed "The Official Ad-Hoc Re-location/Location Committee". Committee members were simply whoever had showed up for the meeting, so don't feel bad if you weren't consulted. Members are: Dave, Jerry, Joyce, Matt, Claudia, Maria, Carol, Kaye, and Al (who wasn't there but, since we wanted to know if we could meet at his house for the next meeting, he was phoned in). We outlined criteria for a new location, and then drafted a long list of possibilities. Each member took a couple of locations and will make exploratory calls. The new meeting place, we decided, MUST meet the following criteria, and these were all based on things we DIDN'T like at Borders.

1. Good hours. We can now meet from 7 to 9:30 (hard stop at 9:30, if we have to go until 10, then we have time).

2. Privacy. We recognize that at times we are loud and either discuss or present material that may not be appropriate for a general audience. In addition, we do not want our meeting interrupted by customers.

3. Accessability. It should be not too far from anyone and relatively easy to get to.

4. Parking. There must be plenty of parking. Borders' parking was awful.

5. Cost. Is there a charge to meet there? If there is, can we absorb the cost? Is it a place where we must buy coffee/donuts to make the location more amenable to hosting us?

6. Ease. Is it comfortable to sit in? Does it have bathrooms that are decent? Do we feel at home there? This, too, will be a step up from where we were. Also, we shouldn't have to ask anyone to "set up". That system really didn't work well.

A number of suggestions—in fact, at least a dozen—were bandied about last night. So we've got a great starting point, and what's even more important, we've got the time to look. Al, Carol, and John P have graciously offered to host for as long as needed. The committee will do its research, and then we'll compile a list of the most viable options and narrow them down. My personal guess? The right place is going to end up in our laps.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me.
Happy writing, and see you on March 25!!

Pencils! Points: February 26, 2008

2008-03-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Another terrific meeting (and we only got rain instead of snow! The Gods smile upon us!)

Welcome back, Al! After a nearly two-year full hiatus, it’s great to see you back and reading. We hope to see you again soon.

We also got another surprise: Matt has returned! For those of you who don’t know Matt, he wrote a lot of good stuff and joined Pencils! back in its early days. Then his e-mails started bouncing back and I lost track of him. Wow, it was great to see him again! He’s got a website, www.ArtDepreciation.com, which is a really neat webcomic and definitely worth the time to check out. Welcome back, Matt. We hope you’ll find the time to join us again soon in the future.

Nice going, CAROL!

Carol is back—and she’s been busy. Her business, Y Wait 4 Success—Real Estate management, training, and coaching resources—has taken off since its inception just a couple of short months ago. The website looks really sharp. Check it out at www.ywait4success.com.

Announcements

~~ The Rejection Slip Party on Feb. 23 was an enormous success! Lon showed up with a bag full of slips, Jerry burned an entire book (which was a New York Times Bestseller but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck and wasn’t worthy of burning), Kaye got a special gift, Roger burned for his first time, John P had a great story about getting screwed (by the publishing industry, ahem)…and assorted other adventures! When the photos are up in the Pencils! Scrapbook, I’ll be sending out the link for all to enjoy. Stay tuned!

~~ Pencils! 5^th Anniversary Soiree in Wonderland has been slated for JUNE 14. (Please note it is NOT in July). We’re doing this in the hopes we’ll have some finer weather than we’ve had in the past. Mark your calendars now—details coming soon!

And now, on with the show.

1. Roger was up first with more of his book—actually, the Epilogue of his book—How My Retirement Went South. There was also a bunch of discussion about the differences between Epilogues and Afterwords. Anyone know? Please share. Anyway, from Roger’s book: “It was also the home of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s now defunct Heritage USA, a 2,300 acre Christian theme park of sorts. In its heyday, it attracted six million suckers a year, employed over 2,000 people, and earned more than $125 million annually.”

2. Carol M brought a piece she had written just that afternoon, called “Answers from Questions.” “I believe this new approach to achieving what I want in life is working in ways I never imagined. I am not there yet completely, but I am on the right course. I actually have those out-of-body moments when I realize my thoughts, my behaviors, my reactions, and my actions are different than they have been in the past.”

3. Joyce presented more of Venus Ascending! “Murray walked into the sun room to the syncopated caws and trill of the parrot, mackaw, mynah bird and love birds. He restocked their trays with fruits and nuts and refilled their water cups. Lady and Scooter followed him, adding a barking beat to the chorus.”

4. Al was back and brought his newest venture, “Easy Way Out.” Although he didn’t bring copies to read from, I do remember one really cool phrase: “Jackpot! The slot machine in my brain registered all 7’s.”

5. Jerry closed out our evening with a bit from Omniscience. “She had often thought of her life as a road trip, and as she listened to the cars on the freeway, she thought of how they were as different from each other as people. Each went through a unique series of turns to get to this highway where they would whoosh by her in an instant, each to get off on their own exits and continue through another unique series of turns.”

Quotes of the Night

“Don’t let the truth ruin a good story.”

-- Joyce

Kaye: Anything here is worth reading.

Jerry: Great! I’ll get out my driver’s license.

Al: …and then the Star of Baghdad could be the Star of Uranus!

Jerry: …and in between, she shops for books.

Kaye: Any book called The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands…I had to check it out, you know? Like they’re llamas or something.

Al: She’s a phone-y waitress.

Matt: You know, I’m outta here, listening to the bad puns all night.

Jerry: But you know she didn’t skill someone with her knees.

News from Lon on recent acheivements

2008-02-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

...this from Lon. I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm just forwarding it because it says it all and let's face it...I'm too lazy right now to put it in my own words!!

Happy writing!
Kaye

Here it is:

- Artist Scott Waddell ( www.scottwaddellfinearts.com ) touched base with me this weekend with exciting news about the painting he cast me as a whaler in. It is featured this month on the inside back cover advertisement of American Art Collector. Cavalier Galleries ( www.cavaliergalleries,com ) of Greenwich, CT have the painting as a part of their current show. The lady working there recognized me from the painting after a brief double take, and graciously allowed Shelley to take some pictures. From all reports, the painting is being very well received by the gallery's patrons. If I had 14 large, I'd pick it up myself, but for now I'm going to have to settle for a snapshot. See the attached file, if you're interested.

- I met my short story idol Howard Waldrop this weekend at Boskone; he's a soft-spoken living legend in short weird stories. He is writing the introduction to my friend (and collaborator) Josh Rountree's collection Can't Buy Me Faded Love which comes out in May from Wheatland Press ( www.wheatlandpress.com ), and you will hear more about that amazing book, I guarantee.

- FREE (which most of you know is my favorite four letter word) FICTION: None from me this time around, but check out cool stuff going on THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY at Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show ( http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=content&article=free_stories ) They are giving away four free stories from their web magazine so those on the fence about subscribing can see what all the fuss is about. Of particular interest, See "Tabloid Reporter to the Stars" by my friend and Writers of the Future buddy Eric James Stone and "Trill and the Beanstalk" by Edmund Schubert. Also from the FREE file: Sign up for Tor Books' newsletter ( http://www.tor-forge.com/NewsLetter.aspx ) and receive some free ebooks of cool novels like Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and Old Man's War by John Scalzi.

- My poem "Goodwill" appeared this month in CHOPPER 2, a local poetry journal. They sold out fast, but I was able to snag a copy before they did. Anyone interested in the second printing should give a shout to Helen at chopperjournal@gmail.com to find out details. I also recently sold a poem to the webzine Goblin Fruit ( http://www.goblinfruit.net ) for their Summer 2008 issue.

- On the fiction front, Frontier Cthulhu ( http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Cthulhu-Ancient-Horrors-Fiction/dp/1568822197 )is on the streets and has even been sighted in some big chain bookstores. The only review I've seen on the book so far is the Amazon reader review at the link above; it's a quite positive review from someone who is apparently a huge fan of all things Lovecraftian. Also, I sold what I think is one of my most poignant stories to Talebones! ( www.talebones.com ) Look for an email from me in the fall for information on how to get a copy for yourself.

- That's enough for now, thanks for reading!

Lon

PS Check out the up-to-the-minute updates on my writing at the recently revamped www.lonprater.com

Pencils! Points: February 19, 2008

2008-02-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Well, AT LAST! We weren't cancelled out! But, the wait was worth it. Even though this wasn't a normally scheduled meeting time, we still had ten people in attendance and were able to allot twenty minutes of time to each presenter—not too shabby! That said, on with the show:

Announcements

~ The "Oh! Sweet Rejection!" Burning Slip Dessert Party is still on track for February 23 (that's today, folks!) at 7:30 p.m. Despite yesterday's dumping, the roads and all should be fine tomorrow night. If we decide to change our minds, however, you will all be notified by e-mail and by any phone numbers that we have on file. As of right now, though, we're sure that we're going to go ahead with it.

What to bring: a dessert to share, something to drink…and rejection slips! No worries, if you don't have one, come anyway. Moral support is always an upper!

~ Pencils! new "Pre-text" program: is not yet up and running. Jerry is in charge (he'll basically be setting us up with a submission system and do all the disseminating of the stories, as well as scheduling which stories will be discussed at which meeting and who has read what so far) and we're also going to change the name. We'll keep you posted, so stay-tuned.

~ Believe it or not, THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY PARTY is…well, not too far away. While it may be hard to think of summer partying in this dreary crap, Maryanne and Kaye have already got some really exciting plans in place. Based on the feedback we got from the Pencils! survey, we know that everyone likes that particular party the way it is—so we're just going to one-up it a bit. Stay tuned for more information.

~ Even though we are coming to the end of winter, PLEASE BE SURE I HAVE YOUR UPDATED PHONE NUMBERS. A few I have don't work.

Meeting Update…

Here we go, folks!

1. Yvonne kicked off our first meeting of 2008 by reading a portion of her novel (for which I don't have a title): "After a brief tour of R&D, Melanie thanked them and left. As she walked towards her car, she thought that it sounded like an excellent opportunity, with good experience and a substantial salary hike. Suddenly, a premonition that she could not name came over her and chills ran down her spine."

2. Joyce was up next with more of Venus Ascending (refresher: the novel about Estelle. When we last left her, she was partying it up on New Year's Eve with a potential new beau). "Joe hobbled in late in the day carrying a carton of coffee containers, jelly doughnuts and box of aluminum foil. His eyes had a ruby cast, and he looked exhausted, but his voice sounded cheery. "Here's the one-man snack and cleanup squad." He put the carton on the floor, and winced as he stood up."

3. Shirley presented the first part of a NEW short story, "The Little Pink House": "The only pink house with a pink garage and a pink mailbox on Salteri Road belonged to Jenny and Gio./Jennie fastened her seat belt and uttered a sigh. "Gee, I hope Susie isn't too mad at us when she finds out we're gone. We did promise her we'd wait awhile."

4. Dave put us on a planet full of vampires with – well, an excerpt from Planet of Vampires: "It was that odd mix of fascination and contempt that only a warrior who has dehumanized an enemy for years and years of waiting for attacks in hot stinking trenches and cold silent-running assault vessels could fully contain."

5. Kaye took us to the Magic Kingdom with an excerpt from her short story "It's a Small World", which is part of her master's thesis: "There could be no denying that twelve-year-old Kevin Shagumbria was a brat…he demanded his laundry be done every Wednesday, refused to eat the food that was made for him, and regularly walked past adults who were smoking and told them how disagreeable their habits were."

6. And last but not least, Jerry showed us a little bit of what his new novel Omniscience is like: "He had known it would take time to get his life back together after the accident. He went through the first four stages of grief quickly. Denial ended the day he got the news, when he identified her body. Anger subsided quickly because there was no one to be angry at. And what little faith he'd had was shattered by Jenni's senseless death, so the bargaining stage was the shortest of all."

Quotes of the Night

"Yeah, and I know no disclaimers, but…"

-- Shirley

Dave: Or I thought maybe the Devil was going to show up—

Yvonne: The Devil does show up; wait until you read the rest of the story.

Nick's new film is out

2008-02-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

Nick loves to write, but he still loves the camera. Here's his latest music vid on youtube. Don't miss it...it's got lots of really great symbolism and imagery!

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zzH0u_hrE0

Walt hits home with "Face in the Tree"

2008-02-10T07:33:00.001-08:00

Walt's done it again...his story "Face in the Tree" is published at Southern Fried Weirdness Online! Check it out at

http://www.southernfriedweirdness.blogspot.com/.

Congratulations, Walt!

Kaye's "King of Bull" takes first in Toasted Cheese contest

2008-01-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm PLEASED to report that Kaye's story (here I go again, referring to myself in the third person), "King of Bull", took first place in the Toasted Cheese 2007 Dead of Winter Contest! The last time she won first place in a short story contest, she was 12. Perseverance pays off!

This was the second story she wrote for the contest -- the first one was "Crossing Guards", which she didn't submit because it made a disappointing show at the Pencils! meeting on November 27. So she came up with this second idea.

The story will be published in Toasted Cheese's March issue. Toasted Cheese is a great mag; check it out at www.toasted-cheese.com.

Kathryn scores internship!

2008-01-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

Kathryn has just been awarded an internship by Time, Inc. She'll be working in New York in the editorial department for Health.com this summer.

This is really quite an achievement. Congratulations, Kathryn! May this be the start of a fabulous new career!

Walt places piece in Every Day Fiction

2008-01-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

Walt's done it again! Every Day Fiction picked up a story for their Valentine's Day special. I'm not sure which story it was, so hopefully he'll chime in and then I can send this out again. But, CONGRATULATIONS, WALT!

Website Updates!

2008-01-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

The photos from the 5TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL are now up on the site, www.pencilswritingworkshop.com.

Some of the pix are really hilarious. You can check it out here: http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/5thannualchristmascocktail%21

If for some reason this link doesn't work, you can just go to Pencils! home page, hit Pencils! Scrapbook, and then click on '5th Annual Christmas Cocktail 2007!'

In addition, I took any websites I had for anyone and splashed them up on the front page of the site under our main profile to give you all a little more exposure. If you've got a website or blog that's not there, it's because I didn't know about it...so drop me a line and I'll add you! (Chris? Does this mean YOU?? I was pretty sure you had a blog.)

Happy writing and enjoy the site!

4th Annual Rejection Slip Burning slated for 2/23/08

2008-01-21T05:52:00.001-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again: REJECTION SLIP BURNING time! Here's some details so you can mark your calendars..."official" invitations will be out sometime this week!

The 4th Annual
"Oh Sweet Rejection" Slip Burning Dessert Party
Saturday, February 23, 2008
7:30 p.m.
at
Al & Maryanne's
(address provided on official invitation)
Norwalk
We'll provide some sweets, but you may bring something sweet to share if you like. BYOB and don't forget to bring every slip that really pissed you off!
Snow date: Saturday, March 1

Kaye's Quintuple Whammy

2008-01-21T05:26:00.000-08:00

All things considered, 2008 started off with a bang for Kaye. Here's what's going on:

"Wailing Station," which placed 2nd in Toasted Cheese's “Dead of Winter” Contest last year, has been picked up by the audio-serial Parade of Phantoms. This is truly exciting--they always have professional readers, and the stories on the other episodes are really top-notch. I'll let you know when "Wailing Station"'s available, but for now, do yourself a favor and check the mag out here:
http://paradeofphantoms.com/

A review of my story "Bad Enough", which was published last December in Susurrus Press' I Am This Meat anthology, appears here. I was pretty pleased with what he had to say:
http://thefix-online.com/reviews/i-am-this-meat/

Orlando Attractions Magazine printed a tip and a photo of mine in their Letters to the Editor section. The clip, in JPEG format, is what appears above. If you're a fan of Disney or any of Orlando's other major attractions, you should check it out at: http://www.attractionsmagazine.com/

The Taj Mahal Review published "Matchbox" in their December 2007 issue:
http://www.tajmahalreview.com/

"Glass Kill" appeared in Goddard College's journal The Pitkin Review, Spring 2008 issue. Now, here's something interesting: the editor sent Kaye a note assuming that the word she'd used in the story, "chourico", was misspelled, and shouldn't it be "chorizo"? Kaye replied, "no, the story is set in Fall River, Mass, where "chourico", because of the area's Portuguese influence, is spelled this way. "Chorizo" is the Spanish spelling." In fact...the meats are, indeed, prepared using different spices, so they don't even taste the same: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Chorizo. Despite all of this, the magazine prints -- you guessed it -- "chorizo"!

I honestly have to say that this is SUCH a major error I won't be submitting there again—this is the kind of stuff that undermines a writer's credibility. Besides, next time around they might just insist the Bronx Zoo is really in Manhattan...and these are MFA students? Hello? You can check out their Fall, 2007 (not the issue "Glass Kill" appeared in) at http://web.goddard.edu/pitkin/

Writing stuff on the horizon...

2008-01-21T04:55:00.000-08:00

Hi guys,

Here's a few things I've had forwarded to me by various people over the last month. I think Claudia may have sent me some news, too, regarding upcoming contests and events Pencils! members may be interested in, but I can't find that e-mail. Claudia, if you have it, can you re-send? Or maybe it was Vance? God, I'm a train-wreck...

Anyway, here's some stuff coming up. Take a gander:

The Vocabula
Well-Written Writing
Contest

Eligibility: The Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest is open to all.

Write 200 to 500 words of readable, well-written, even beautiful
writing. Send your entries to editor@vocabula.com. Along with your
submission, you must include your name, address, email address, and
$20 entry fee.

Contest Dates: Entries for the Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest
are accepted year-round. Each contest ends on May 31. The next contest
begins the following day.

Selection: We accept nonfiction submissions only. Entries are judged
on readability, beauty, and creativity -- in that order. Submissions
not meeting the word count requirements are disqualified.

Prizes: First prize is $200 and your choice of any three $40 Special
Offer books.

Second prize is $100 and your choice of any one $40 Special Offer book.

Winning entries will also be published in The Vocabula Review and may
be considered for publication in a forthcoming anthology.

Everyone who submits an entry will receive the PDF version of 101
Elegant Paragraphs, a $10 value.

Fees: There is a $20 entry fee.

Copyrights: The author retains the copyright to his or her writing.

Notification: Winners are announced every August 31. Winners are
notified by email.

Decisions: All decisions are final.

Privacy Policy: The Vocabula Review does not lease, lend, sell, or
share personal information collected.

Sponsored by The Vocabula Review. All rights reserved.

If you do not now subscribe to Vocabula, you may do so here.

You may send your entry fee through PayPal, or you may send a check
for $20, made out to Vocabula, to:

Vocabula
5A Holbrook Court
Rockport, MA 01966

~~~

CT Press Club Program
February 7, 2008

Self-Publishing Success

Self Publishing Success: From Manuscript to Mass Distribution

You Can Self-Publish Your Manuscript! Greetings!

Learn how to self-publish and market your book at the Self Publishing
Panel featuring four successful self published authors on February 7,
2008 at the Norwalk Inn in Norwalk.

Sincerely,

Patricia D'Ascoli

Self Publishing Success: From Manuscript to Mass Distribution

The Norwalk Inn
East Avenue
Norwalk, CT
February 7, 2008
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM Dinner and Informative Panel Discussion

Robert Crooke, Michele Turk, Stacy Lytwyn Maxwell and C.J. Golden,
all successful self-published authors, will share their
self-publishing know-how.

Learn how to make your book look completely professional, from
editing to cover design to quality of the printing. Learn how to
distribute your book (via Amazon and bookstores) and how to create a
marketing plan to get more publicity and to generate more sales -
something every author needs to know! RSVP for this Event NOW!
CT Press Club

Connecticut Press Club
P.O. Box 4099
Stamford, Connecticut 06907

pfdasc@aol.com
http://www.ctpressclub.com

$35 for CPC Members/$40 for non members. Reserve by contacting
Patricia D'Ascoli at (860) 354- 6488 or email pfdasc@aol.com.

~~~

Registration is open for the

2008 Nieman Conference

on Narrative Journalism!

Visit our Web site to register online and view our growing list of
speakers, including keynoters John Hockenberry, Sam Pollard, Sherry
Turkle, and the team of Dana Priest and Anne Hull. While you're there,
connect with other conference participants through our message boards.

To take advantage of our early-bird discount, register now. Don't
forget to make your hotel reservations at the same time to take
advantage of special conference rates offered by the Sheraton Boston.

Please forward this e-mail to all who have an interest in narrative
journalism.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard · One Francis Ave. ·
Cambridge, MA 02138 · 617.495.2237

John K's "Peas in a Pod" to appear...

2008-01-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

John Kildahl's story, "Peas in a Pod," was accepted for publication in the upcoming first issue of Whatever Literary Journal.

Congratulations, John!

Pencils! News: Jen's new design

2008-01-21T04:35:00.000-08:00

Hey gang,

As you know, Jen Connic has been busy in her position down at The Herald News in New Jersey. She reports they recently launched their new website. Check it out here:
www.myheraldnews.com.

Congratulations, Jen!

Walt's recent publishing forays...

2008-01-21T04:30:00.001-08:00

Walt sent some of this news to you late last month, but I'm reiterating it here in case some of you missed it!

First, the second volume of Cruising the Green of Second Avenue is now available from Wild Child Publishing. You can check it out here as an e-book you can download as a pdf file, at http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/content/view/426/125/

Walt writes:

Cocktail Reviews again gave the collection their five Champagne glasses, saying, "Volume II, allowed me to revisit everyone from Volume I. I slipped back into Jake's life easily, feeling as though I knew them all—good character development, an easy voice, and funny lines saw to that. Once again, a brilliant set of short stories that involve everyone in Jake's life. Here's hoping there is a Volume Three."

In addition, Walt's short story "Cable Window" was published in Bewildering Stories issue 271, and you can check that out here: ( http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue271/cable_window.html).

Congratulations, Walt!

John finishes 2007 with a bang!

2008-01-21T04:17:00.001-08:00

John Palisano got word that his story, "Wings for Wheels," will be included in the publication Darkness on the Edge. As he commented in his e-mail, "a very amazing way to finish off 2007"!

Congratulations, John!

Jerry's new website & "in print"!

2008-01-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

Hey, gang...

Well, here we are, catching up. I apologize for stuff going out that happened, like, seven weeks ago, but...no news is old news around here!

Jerry has a fabulous new website! Check it out at www.geraldrivard.com. Way back in December, his photo was featured in a Connecticut Post article on National Novel Writing Month. Unfortunately, the link to the story has expired (Kaye's bad 'cuz she waited too long). I was going to spend $2.95 for their archive to get the text, but then I realized it doesn't come with the photo. What a RIP! So, instead, I give you:

The lead:

Author: FRANK JULIANO
Date: December 9, 2007
Publication: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Article ID: 7679262

Think you accomplished a lot last month? Elizabeth Laden, Patti Woods and Brian LaVoie and 65 other area residents each wrote a complete, 50,000-word novel during November. They were among more than 100,000 writers from more than 70 nations participating in the annual National Novel Writing Month, which organizers claim is the largest writing competition in the world.

"It's all about getting to write, getting a pure train of thought...

AND...

The close-up of Jerry's photo.

Pretty swank, eh?

Pencils! Points: November 27, 2007

2007-12-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

First, a VERY special thank-you to all those Pencils! members who generously came out to Gibbs College to inspire young writers this past Tuesday night. Thank you Ann, Nick, Jerry, Roger, Carol, Judith, Vance, Joyce, Claudia, Shirley, and Dave, and thanks for being gracious if we ran out of time in getting to everyone's pieces—it was nice to spend a little extra time discussing everything, and also to allow our students to read their work!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

5^th Annual Christmas Cocktail this Saturday night, and we're expecting a GREAT turn-out! It'll be wonderful to see everyone there!

Finally, a congratulations to all for a productive and fun 2007. We'll be looking forward to 2008…while our next meeting isn't until the end of January, it'll be worth the wait!

And now…

…our final meeting round-up for 2007!

1. Vance kicked off the meeting with "Wind", a short piece to echo another he'd written called "Rain" last year: "But the animals knew, they always knew. In the field the horse of the plowman pulled his handler into a copse and stood still, refusing to move. No birds were flying. Chickens, the usual noisy barnyard denizens, now clutched quietly to the rafters in the hayloft."

2. Welcome back, Ann! She presented her poem "Something About You": "Set free, out of bounds where we now play;/Talking in simple rhythms, acute with/Familiar foreplay and dancing/Among one another's tongues."

3. Nick shared his Thanksgiving installment of the Darien News-Review column "From My Post Road Window" called "Thanksgiving Mantra": "For me, it wasn't conservative Christian bloggers, or religious apologists, or Freud or Jung or Esquire magazine that called the idea to mind. It was my need for a Thanksgiving Dinner table mantra…"I think Giuliani is the best candidate for the Republicans."/ "What melts wax hardens clay," say I, "and pass the creamed onions."

4. Chris (who just got published! More on this later) presented his short story "The Paradigm", which he has been working on since its last appearance at Pencils!: "It is often like this, she thinks, the way people are separated from each other in moments of passion. Years from now she will sit in that seat and look through the same scratched glass at her husband. They'll both sit to the side of the booth so that the scar does not obscure their view."

5. Tania, one of the English 102 students, read her poem "Seeing Through the Years": "I saw my mother today, a woman in her 30s/Hurrying off to work, coffee cup in one hand, cell phone on her ear,/Polished hands and shiny lips, rushing her children into the car."

6. Roger was up with another installment of "Crash Test Dummies" from his book How My Retirement Went South: "…someone was parked next to us. Not one spot over. Not two spots over. Directly next to us…with fifteen empty spaces on either side! At first I thought it was done maliciously…I figured that was probably not the case since most Charlotteans are generally kind, God-fearing people."

7. English 102 student Nicole presented her short story "The Things That Live in her Room". "Maybe my wife is right. Maybe my little angel inherited her fears and sixth sense from me. It's my fault she's always so scared and waits for me to tuck her in at night." In that same breath he thinks of it as being a blessing. He himself uses it in his profession, as a detective."

8. Jerry was up next with a piece of his latest novel, Omniscience. "I gotta move, Donna Mercury told herself as she walked toward the God Guy, who stood, as usual, outside her apartment building. It wasn't the first time she'd had that thought and it wouldn't be the last. The God Guy had never done anything that she perceived to be a threat. But still, he creeped her out."

9. Kaye was up last with a retelling of an urban legend for a contest, but she'd like everyone to know that on the basis of the feedback she got she's writing something completely different and came up with a new idea on the ride home. Still, here's something from "Crossing Guards": "It's an abandoned house with giant wisteria growing up through its broken windows, weed poking up through the rotting floors, and junk the owners left behind in every room. Like the moldy stuffed bunny in the upstairs closet under the light fixture with the shattered bulb."

Yvonne accepted to MFA program at Goddard

2007-12-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

GREAT news. Yvonne got word yesterday that she has been accepted to the MFA in Creative Writing program at Goddard College, in Plainfield, VT. She'll be going to her first residency to begin her studies January 3 - 12, 2008. (Kaye'll be up there, too!)

Congratulations, Yvonne! Their application process is lengthy and overwhelming. This is a true testament to her persistence and talent.

Yvonne received her undergraduate degree at Sarah Lawrence.

Arun's work to appear in Absolute Write newsletter

2007-12-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Arun's article, "Fifteen Tips on Interviewing an Expert for a Story" has been picked up by the Absolute Write newsletter, which has an 80,000-plus circulation. The article is slated to run the week of December 24.

Congratulations, Arun!

Chris' story to appear in Whatever Literary Journal

2007-12-04T20:33:00.001-08:00

Chris' short story "The Clutter of Things" has been picked up for Whatever Literary Journal's first issue! The issue is due out sometime early in 2008 -- we'll let you know when it's available.

Congratulations, Chris!

Walt's website and publishing news: his book due out from Wild Child Publishing soon!

2007-11-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

Walt's book, Cruising the Green of 2nd Avenue, is due out soon from Wild Child Publishing! Congratulations, Walt...and especially for getting picked up by an Independent Press, which is not easy, as these presses are highly selective with regard to what they'll risk in terms of publication.

Anyway, he's also got a great website now with more details -- this info comes from Jen Connic -- thanks, Jen! To check out Walt's website, visit
http://allotropiclucubrations.blogspot.com/

Congratulations, WALT!!

Pencils! Points: October 23, 2007

2007-11-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL RECEIVED INVITATIONS FOR THE CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1! Thanks to all those who have so far RSVP'd. Please remember to let us know if you're coming or not by November 27. Thanks.

Congratulations to all the Nanos out there! Jerry right now is doing very well at his word count. Kaye broke 50,000 today, but has to get it done by the end of the week (the book's not finished and will probably clock in around 65K) as she's got another book to get to an editor by Nov. 30 which needs clean-up. I know John P is out this year—got a little too much on his plate—and Judith, are you out there? I thought you were. My friend Rob Mayette is also doing well. Congratulations to all our first-timers, and best of luck.

Kaye taught allusion through Disney's Haunted Mansion at her English 102 class this past Tuesday and it was a success! Ricky at the Inside the Magic podcast shared the idea on this week's show, which was heard by 10,000 listeners, hopefully some of them English teachers. To check out Inside the Magic -- world's greatest Disney podcast -- check out show 136 here: http://www.distantcreations.com/insidethemagic/.
If you want to check it out after Sunday, November 18, the show gets moved to the archive. If you're a Disney fan, you simply should check out this show anyway. It's great stuff.

NOVEMBER 27 we will be meeting at GIBBS COLLEGE in NORWALK. I sent a prior e-mail with directions. Please make every effort to attend this meeting, as we are reaching out to the young writers of the future.

THANKS FOR RESPONDING TO THE SURVEYS! It's going to be helpful in determining how we can freshen things up over the next couple of years. I will share the results at the party, in a subsequent e-mail, and at the January meeting. Rest assured that all of the responses were anonymous -- it just shows up as numbers.

And now, on with the show:

1. Carol Becker read a poem first: "Tenth Anniversary": "I had so much to tell you…but I could not speak freely./…thirsty for the joys still waiting to be harvested in the autumn of my tentative life./Or is it winter?"

2. Joyce was up next with part of her novel Venus Ascending: "New Year's Eve December 31, 1953": "The blue taffeta was her color, the snug bodice was flattering and the full skirt made it easy to move. She thought of the excitement of her first date with Murray, and shook her head. She was older now. This was just Joe, who had been Audrey's neighbor for years."

3. Roger presented more of How My Retirement Went South: "When my mother was alive, I used to FedEx poppy seed roll to her in Florida because she couldn't find it down there." A vivid continuation of his adventures in North Carolina.

4. Nick was up next with a forthcoming Darien News-Review From My Post Road Window column installment entitled "A Matter of Taste": "I have excellent taste. I can tell when a sauce is blended correctly and is of the proper consistency. My sense of smell is well developed so I know wine. And a woman's motives."

5. Vance read "Nannyberry Tea": "…he had grafted fruit trees to produce the best varieties of the most tasty apples, pears, cherries, and plums. His strawberry fields in the summer were like fields of rubies. The flavor of those red jewels was indescribable."

6. Henderson closed out the meeting with more of "The Eight-Fold Way". "The President's image had just appeared on the red-line coded channel. There were streaks of gray in his straw-colored hair. The President's shirt ruffles hid his tentacles. Clean shaven, his face was lean but streaked with care-lines which were clearly visible especially since he was maintaining the light pink of Normal coloration."

Film of John's wins contest!

2007-11-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

This from John Palisano: he's won the trailer contest for Sarah Langan's book, The Missing. For those of you who don't know Langan, she's an up and coming horror writer and I met her at a reading down at KGB in New York City last summer, when The Keeper, her first book, was being released. Congratulations, JOHN!! Here's what he sent me, and what she posted on her website. Be sure to click on the link to see his work!

http://www.myspace.com/themissingcontest

The Missing Trailer Contest Winner is...
John Palisano!

Congratulations John! I loved all the entries, but the one that suits that works best as a trailer for The Missing is this one:

Well thought out, thematically related to the novel, artistic, and technically skilled. Thanks, John!

NOVEMBER 27 MEETING LOCATION CHANGE

2007-10-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

As you know, I'm teaching English 102 at Gibbs College in Norwalk on Tuesday nights with Chris Emmerson-Pace. Our students are working hard on their writing skills, and have really responded to the "feedback" format--we've managed to show them that criticism does not mean "you suck", but rather, "here's how you can improve"!

We thought it would be a WONDERFUL opportunity for our students to see a real writer's workshop in action, so the NOVEMBER 27 MEETING HAS BEEN MOVED TO GIBBS COLLEGE IN NORWALK. We'll have a nice, large -- QUIET -- space to meet in, and we'll invite the students to sit in on our circle and comment.

GIBBS COLLEGE is VERY easy to reach, and it's not that much further from our old meeting place at Barnes & Noble in Norwalk. Please consider joining us in inspiring young writers! Plan on arriving at 6:45, as usual, and we'll start at around 7:00.

Yvonne heads for new frontiers!

2007-10-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hi gang,

Several months ago Yvonne sat in a Pencils! meeting listening to others' fiction and thought to herself, "I can't be that creative" (she has always written stunning creative nonfiction). Well, she has happily proven herself wrong. She apparently has been hit with a fantastic story idea that has been literally keeping her up at night, and has several pages already.

Congratulations, Yvonne! We'll look forward to hearing your fiction and happy writing! (Don't you just WISH you had a story that kept you from sleeping??)

Happy writing!

Kaye

Jen Connic's latest web project...who wants to hear a good ghost story?

2007-10-27T15:45:00.002-07:00

Hey, folks...

Jen Connic's been busy scaring up a few ghost stories. Her video work is highlighted at North Jersey.com. Just follow this link and scroll down about halfway. The video link is on the right (you'll see her name there).

http://www.northjersey.com/dngmedia/media_server/tr/2007/10/31halloweenpage/index.html

Happy haunting and great job, Jen!

-- Kaye

Website Additions!

2007-10-27T15:45:00.001-07:00

...if you're as busy as I am, you probably don't have much time to check out what's new on our website. But if you're looking to procrastinate, here's all the new enhancements and additions which have just been completed. Check it out at www.pencilswritingworkshop.com!

On our homepage:
~ A link to National Novel Writing Month's website to make it easier to sign up! (Hint, hint...)
~ A brand new Pencils! Resource page, which lists the expertise our members (those of you who responded) have to offer.

On the Pencils! Scrapbook page:
~ Pencils & Pizza Holiday Party 2003
~ 1st Anniversary Tiki Bar Pool Party 2004
~ 2nd Anniversary Fiesta 2005
~ National Novel Writing Month 2005
~ Sleepy Hollow Field Trip 2007

Be sure to enjoy these photographic journeys down memory lane!

In other news:
~ Invitations to the CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL AT AL'S will be going out in both e-mail and snail-mail at the end of the week. Hope to see you all there!
~ The Pencils! Resource Guide booklet for 2008 is hot off the presses and will be available beginning December 1 at the Christmas party.

Lon's Work at Flashquake

2007-10-18T16:19:00.001-07:00

Lon's poem "A Romance (with Switchblades)" is now live as a part of Flashquake's fall 2007 issue. This is his third appearance there!

His poem is at the bottom of the Poetry table of contents here: http://www.flashquake.org/poetry/index.html

Here are links to the other poems they bought:

http://www.flashquake.org/contest2/fibs.html

http://www.flashquake.org/archive/vol5iss1/poetry/index.html

Happy writing!
-- Kaye

Pencils! Points: September 25 & October 9, 2007

2007-10-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

First off, I don’t think that anyone who tells you your master’s degree is “not that much work” is FULL OF IT!! I’ve been working my tail off. I’m super busy, but never been happier. Now I just need to get out of my 9-5 job, and life would be perfect!

Anyway, here’s to catching up on some Pencils! items: I’ve decided I’d combine the notes from the last two meetings since many of the announcements are going to be the same.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLEEPY HOLLOW is SATURDAY! Don’t forget, we’ll be meeting at 9 a.m. at the Barnes & Noble in NORWALK on Route 1. From there, we’ll pile into cars and head on down to Sleepy Hollow to Washington Irving’s Sunnyside. When we return to Norwalk, we’ll head on over to Nick’s bistro at 70 Main Street for a spot of lunch, for those of you who’d like to join us.

Please bring $12 for admission and additional cash for the gift shop and lunch, if applicable. We’re JUST AT 10 people, but I did not register us as a group because there’s usually a last-minute cancellation or someone doesn’t show up, and we don’t want to be stuck with the bill as the paying in advance is non-refundable. In addition, there are people who said they may come but aren’t sure yet. We’ll pay at the door and break ourselves into two smaller groups.

For anyone who’s driving, I think there MIGHT be a toll somewhere along the line, but I’m not sure. If there is one, it’ll be small.

I’ll bring plenty of directions to everywhere on Saturday morning. We’ll see you there!

PENCILS! 5^TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL will be held Saturday, December 1, 2007 at Al Maryanne’s in Norwalk. Watch your mail boxes: you’ll be getting the official invitations in the next week or so complete with details and what to bring! This fantastic gathering is not to be missed – and for our landmark 5^th holiday together, we’ve got at least one large and unusual surprise planned!

NANOWRIMO IS ALMOST HERE! Who’s gonna do it? Well, so far from Pencils!, it’s Kaye, Jerry, and John P. Wanna take a stab at writing 50,000 words in 30 days? Sign up at www.nanowrimo.org. Also, since there’s a CT: Shoreline and a CT: North, and several of us in “western” CT – the Danbury, etc., area – are over an hour from all those region’s meet-ups, we slated our own meet-ups and write-ins up Kaye’s way in the Danbury and New Milford area. We’ll be having a Kick-Off Meet-Up, three coffee shop write-ins, and a TGIO gathering. All the events are on Sunday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you’d like to attend one of those instead of traveling all the way to Milford or Hamden or out that way, gimmie a shout through NanoMail and I’ll put you on my invites list. We in Western CT are few but mighty!

NEW PROSPECTS! I’ve gotten five calls in the past two weeks with inquiries regarding Pencils!, as they’ve been seeing our listings in local newspapers. Please be aware that at the next couple of meetings, potential new members may be showing up. Make them feel welcome!

BOY I MISS ALL YOU GUYS!! I’ll be at the meeting on Tuesday, November 27, 2007—our last meeting for 2007 and just a few days from our Christmas Cocktail bash! To those of you I won’t see at Sleepy Hollow, I’ll see you all then. Until then, happy writing and keep checking your e-mail boxes!

Pencils! Points: September 25, 2007

Thanks so much to JOYCE for keeping track of everyone’s submissions and keeping me informed of what’s been happening at the meetings, and thanks so much to Vance and Carol for keeping tabs on things and to everyone in Pencils! to keep our meetings productive and healthy while I’m gone!

And now, on with the show of this week’s readings!

1. Jerry wrote the prompt: “In the hospital, I sat with her for an hour. She raised her head every few minutes to take a gasping breath, and at first I was fooled each time into thinking she would wake up. Then her brother came in, and we held each other and cried like men.”

2. Thomas was up with “Five Things You Shouldn’t Say in Church or Synagogue”: “…During the service, which was in Hebrew, I had plenty of time to think about what to say. As we left my fiancé at the time (now wife) greeted the rabbi, then it was my turn. I dug deep within and said, as rabbi turned to me, “I’m with her.” That was it. Then my small talk well ran completely dry. I shot my load. I had nothing in reserve.”

3. Joyce brought more of Venus Ascending, “The Christmas Party.” “Estelle had been living alone for almost two weeks. She’d been opening the windows a little each night and keeping herself warm under an extra blanket. The bracing sea air had deodorized the rank small of cigarettes and bird droppings, and infused her with energy and purpose.”

4. Carol Becker shared part of the first chapter of her novel Finding Rachel: “Twenty years earlier, the railroad brought Rachel and her family from New York City to Greenwood, Mississippi after spending two years sharing cramped quarters with cousins, also German immigrants led to believe the streets there were paved with gold. Cobblestones, yes, but certainly not gold.”

5. Nick brought in one of his Darien News-Review (I think it was pending) columns for his regular “From My Post Road Window” entitled “Entiende”: “Then she told me that almost every night when her driver brought her back to her hotel she would walk past a sea of desperate women and children. And she told me that…she saw a man who at first she thought a dog…his arms were gone above the elbow and his legs above his knees. He used all fours to move, slowly, in pain, not caring if a car would stop or not.”

6. Roger delivered another chapter—“Sumo Size Me”—from his book How My Retirement Went South. “Foodies that we are, Betty and I found it particularly hard to swallow the supermarkets and restaurants down South…having eaten at over a thousand restaurants in New York and hundreds more around the country and abroad. It shouldn’t surprise you then when I tell you that we ate at over one hundred restaurants during the two years that we lived in Charlotte.”

Pencils! Points: October 9, 2007

Thanks again, Joyce, for mailing me everybody’s stuff! Note: Henderson and Nick’s pieces—Henderson’s the introduction to the two factions in the Normal camp and Nick’s a poem comparing New York’s meat packing district then and now—were lost somewhere in transit, but we do have these others:

1. Judith announced that she was just “sick” of SHU, and boy, I’m sure several of us can understand that: sometimes, you’ve “just got to put the damn thing down!”. She decided to take a stab at something new. “To think that the ideas of Alan Greenspan and Charles Darwin combined right here in India to produce a system which trumped centuries of humble acceptance of life’s vicissitudes. Before my eyes was a display of aggressive behavior competing for scarce goods that would rival that of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on a Friday afternoon.”

2. Joyce presented more of Venus Ascending. “Her round body had the curve of an Art Nouveau lamp base; her skirt and jacket were filled with flowers in flowing forms of burnt orange and turquoise. Leah raised her head as high as her neck would stretch, her mercurochrome hair pressed toward the ceiling. “There’s a limit to how long you should suffer when you’ve made the wrong decision. I’m the kind of person who belongs in a house with shapely lines and exuberant patterns.”

3. Roger brought the rest of “Sumo Size Me.” “Now when it comes to “deli,” you have to admit New York City has no peers. so, to satisfy my urge, Betty and I decided to go to a recently opened “New York Deli” that earned high marks from a local reviewer.”

Pencils! Points: September 11, 2007

2007-10-08T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hello, folks! Rockin' meeting the other night! Here's the run-down for those of you who missed it.

BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS

~ FIELD TRIP TO SLEEPY HOLLOW: …and writer Washington Irving's homestead is slated for Saturday, October 20. Snail-mail and e-mail details will be sent out shortly; cost is $11/per person.

~ PENCILS! 5^TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL: Set for Saturday, December 1! Details to follow soon, so watch your mailboxes!

~ 2008 SCHEDULE is now posted on the Pencils! website.

~ NANOWRIMO IS COMING. It starts November 1. Check it out at www.nanowrimo.org.

~ RESOURCE BOOK: Don't forget to contribute your areas of expertise to our resource book! The print edition, which will contain contact information, will be available ONLY to Pencils! members. The page on our website will only contain your first name and your areas of expertise. We're looking right now at a January publication date.

~ PENCILS! PRE-TEXT: Look forward to this exciting new Pencils! feature in January!

~ Kaye will be in Walt Disney World from September 18 through September 23. See you all at the meeting on the 25^th!

We kicked off the meeting with some prompts, but not many of us had the opportunity to doing them, so we'll run the same prompt again for those of you who still want to take a shot at it. The prompt is, write 500 words or fewer containing the following:

"There was nothing left to see."

At the meeting, the following people shared their prompts:

1. Vance presented "Egyptian Illusion", about archaeologists and some pretty deeply-buried secrets at a dig site.

2. Carol Becker presented "Seeing in the Dark" about campers and a night in the Adirondack woods.

The reviewed readings:

1. Claudia opened us up with her poem "The Parting": "Drops now pounding/Tree boughs gyrate in backup harmony…/I embrace the turmoil/Storm is seceding…/I keep moving…"

2. Roger was next up with another chapter from How My Retirement Went South... "There was only one dealer in the entire city, so if you want a Mercedes, you're going to pay…dearly. Now take my Volkswagen. When I went shopping for it in New York, I had five different dealers in the area to compare prices with. In Charlotte, there were two—both owned by the same owner."

3. Joyce is submitting her story "Just Like a Man" to Whatever! Literary Magazine. "Since I was the one facing forward, I was the logical navigator, but I didn't have a clue. We were going through a black forest of masts and I had no idea where Semper Paratus was. I could only guide Frank past mooring lines and keep an eye open for his boat.

4. Welcome back, AL!! He brought in a couple of poems, one I can't remember the name of (shame on me, and it was a new one, too) and also an old Pencils! favorite, "Introspective Retrospect."

5. Carol McManus shared "On Maui Again" – a humorous essay about her experiences at the Maui Writer's Conference, which she attended over Labor Day Weekend. The whole thing spawned a brief discussion about the book business and authorship today.

6. Henderson was up next with part of his novel The Eight Fold Way. "You sit tight. I'll keep you informed. This may be just the break we need to find out who's behind these attacks."/Charles, the yellow green of concern moving in waves across his face, started at him, silent."

7. Kaye read her short story "Camouflage" which was really quite a mess but is definitely going to benefit from the help she got! "…he was the tree, she was the vine, and they had navigated their new landscape until the specter of her married roots had intruded."

Quotes of the Night

"I'm learning how to lie, I suppose."
--Carol Becker, on memoir

Henderson: When I hear a poem like that I wonder…how I missed it all.

Roger: Al went to the Keith Richards School of Life.

--on Al's poem, "Introspective Retrospect."

Join Us in Sleepy Hollow October 20

2007-10-08T19:45:00.001-07:00

...if you dare! We'll be taking a tour of Washington Irving's Sunnyside. Hope to see you all there!

Kaye's Newest Stuff

2007-10-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just got word that my story "Bad Enough" was accepted for inclusion in Susurrus Press' I Am This Meat anthology, due out in audio and online on Oct. 31st.

"Deconstructing Fireflies" will be out in the new Tyrannosaurus Press anthology (title TBA) this December or so.

In addition, I am a fiction editor on the staff at The Pitkin Review, Goddard College's literary journal. (I got this title back in July, but forgot to tell you all.)

The Incredible World of Lon...

2007-10-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

1) My falling-asleep-at-the-wheel poem "My Old Friend The Road" is now online at From the Asylum. Much better than usual pay for poetry too-- I can probably get TWO happy meals off this sale! And a Milkshake!!! :) Look under September 2007 at http://www.fromtheasylum.com/frameset.htm

2) This just in today-- A friend let me know that she's already received her copy of Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2007 (in stores tomorrow) and Yours Truly got an Honorable Mention nod in the back of it for my story "Even at the End, There was Gridlock" which appeared in Florida Horror last February. Want your own copy?
http://www.amazon.com/Florida-Horror-Tales-Sunshine-State/dp/097597274X

3) And last but not least, word from editor William Jones and the folks at Chaosium is that Frontier Cthulhu, in which my story "Something to Hold the Door Closed" appears alongside stories by some of the leading names in Lovecraftian fiction, will be shipping before Halloween. Pre-orders are being taken at http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=66&products_id=1137 so why not click on over and get your fill of "sleeping terrors and things long forgotten by humanity." A good read for horror and history fans alike, guaranteed.

I mentioned being cast as a 19th century whaler for a series of oil paintings a while back. Just received digital images of the first one and they are in my picasa album at the links below. I am amazed at the likeness! Anywho, here's the links, in case you wanted to see how the paintings turned out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lon.prater/JULSEP2007/photo#5112378891050312466

http://picasaweb.google.com/lon.prater/JULSEP2007/photo#5112378908230181666

Kathryn & Dave to present in Old Greenwich

2007-09-04T15:13:00.002-07:00

Hey gang!

Here's another reading coming up featuring Pencils! members Kathryn and Dave! It is on a Pencils! night, but if you'd rather do something different, I'm sure both of them would love to see some friendly faces in the audience!

Quoted from Leslie's "Just Words" e-mail:
Tuesday, September 11 at Arcadia Coffee in Old Greenwich, CT at 7 p.m. National Book Award finalist David Plante will read from his new novel, ABC (Pantheon Books) which explores the reaches and definitions of grief. Plante is the author of more than a dozen novels, including the acclaimed Francoeur trilogy: The Family, The Woods, and The Country. He is also the author of Difficult Women: A Memoir of Three, and of American Ghosts. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Paris Review. Local writers will share their work following this reading, including Kathryn Higgins of Darien, David Roberson of Greenwich and Katrina Dorsey of Stamford. The mic is open to writers of poetry, fiction and non-fiction but you must pre-register to read. This series is sponsored by Just Words Writer's Workshop, Just Books and Arcadia Coffee.

Mike's got new plans...

2007-09-04T15:13:00.001-07:00

Hi gang!

Direct from newly-minted teacher, Mike:

By way of an update, I just wanted to let you know I ended up accepting a better offer from Norwalk High School. That's not too far from the Pencils meeting place, so I may be able to get back to a meeting soon!

Lon's got another piece posted

2007-09-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Lon has a new short story just posted in the webmagazine Raven Electrick. It is called "New Lake Formed, Film at 11", and you can read it right here!

http://www.ravenelectrick.com/ssraven/newlakeformed.html

Happy writing!
-- Kaye

Pencils! Points: August 28, 2007

2007-09-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Terrific meeting, folks! This issue of Points is packed with information, so be sure to relax and enjoy it all with a cup of joe, glass of wine, or beer. Or Kool-Aid's okay too!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FIELD TRIP TO SLEEPY HOLLOW SLATED FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20

The Pencils! 2007 Field Trip to Washington Irving's Sunnyside, in Sleepy Hollow, NY, has been slated for SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20. At Sunnyside, we'll enjoy a guided tour of the writer's home. The cost will be $12 per person, unless we can guarantee a group of 10, and then it will cost $11 per person. Usually following the trip, we go out to a nice lunch either near the museum or back home near Norwalk.

Sleepy Hollow is not very far at all, and it's the perfect place to visit right at the height of October. This is a late-fall outing you won't want to miss! WATCH YOUR MAILBOXES FOR MORE DETAILS!

2008's MEETING & EVENTS SCHEDULE POSTED

I'm pleased to announce that the meeting and event dates for 2008 are now posted on our website, www.pencilswritingworkshop.com. Just go to our main page and you'll see the link on the far right.

You may notice on our new schedule that we're starting very late in January – the 4^th Tuesday in January, to be exact. I've been giving this a lot of thought, and there are a couple of reasons for this:

1. Although everyone's usually raring to get back to group after a crazy Holiday hiatus, the first January meeting's always a little sparse because people are still recovering from – well, the crazy Holiday hiatus. Although we have no Pencils! meetings in December, who's had time to write with all of that other stuff going on? Chances are you used the extra time to shop, clean, and party. Take our normal first meeting in January, light some candles, and write instead!

2. It makes for one less meeting threatened by bad weather. Fret not, though, about the lost meeting! If you look further down on the schedule, you'll see there are a couple of "extra" meetings in the months in which there are five Tuesdays.

T-SHIRTS

The Pencils! Writing Workshop T-shirts (see Leon model it, below!) were a big hit at this year's party. If you came to the party, you got one. If you weren't there, here's what I've got left:

XXL – 0 (The one I had has already been set aside)

XL - 2

L - 5

M - 3

S - 3

For some reason, the sizes run a little smaller than typical, so keep that in mind. If you receive your shirt and it's too small, we can up it.

If you'd like one, just e-mail me with your size and I'll set one aside with your name on it. I will bring them to BOTH the September meetings. If you live far away and no longer attend meetings and would like one, let me know and I can arrange to mail it.

What I have left is on a first-come, first-served basis; when I run out, I can order more, but I probably won't be able to do that until after the first of the New Year. Please e-mail me if you'd like one, and if I run out, you'll go into the "re-order" pile for early next year.

These T-shirts are free–my gift to all of you for making Pencils! what it is.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

PENCILS! 5^TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY COCKTAIL HOUR DECEMBER 1

I don't know about the rest of you but it feels like I just got done with the Holidays, doesn't it? This year's gathering has been slated for the evening of Saturday, December 1! It will be held either at Al's or Carol's – the jury's still out on that one! Plan on joining your fellow Pencils! members for some good cheer and surprises. We'll be doing our usual grab bag. Watch your snail-mail and e-mail boxes for details soon.

NEW PENCILS! FEATURES!

September's approaching. It's a time when many of us begin to turn over new leaves, begin new classes/semesters, begin to survey our accomplishments in 2007 and figure out how we're going to close out our year (not to scare anybody, but 2008 is just about four months away!) and begin a new one.

The dozen members at the Pencils! meeting on Tuesday August 28 got a lot accomplished in that department, so Pencils! is going to have some exciting new features!

1. New! PENCILS! PRE-TEXT. We've been doing very well with keeping to the state 3-to-5 page limit, and it's ensured that most everyone who wants to read gets a chance. Several times in the past couple of years we've talked about what to do if there's a longer piece that a member would like to present. This is our solution. Please note this is IN ADDITION to what we do at Pencils!. NOTHING ABOUT THE MEETING STRUCTURE OR HOW WE DO THINGS WILL CHANGE. THIS IS SIMPLY AN ADDITIONAL OPTION WE'RE CREATING FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NEED IT.

Starting in January 2008, any member may send a longer piece to our e-mail address with the following in the subject line (I'm NOT trying to be difficult or an ass, I just get a lot of mail through that account and would HATE to not realize it's a submission!):

For Group Read – Name – Title of Story

Although there is no "specified" page limit, use your judgment. I would suggest a ceiling of 15-20 pages maximum.

From there, I'll take the story and forward it to all the members of Pencils! with a meeting date at which we'll discuss it. Pencils! members then have the option of reading it and bringing their comments already prepared to the specified meeting. As a Pencils! member, also note you're not obligated to participate, but it would certainly be great if you could and contribute to the conversation.

Each member will be allowed 2 submissions per year – this way, everyone gets a chance, and this will also keep the longer pieces to a frequency we can handle. Of course, as always, any member can approach any other member at any time to exchange work outside of group and give each other feedback. Nothing's changed about that at all, and exchanges with other members directly don't count toward your 2 submissions.

Also note, there will only be one longer piece discussed per meeting so we have plenty of room and time for our usual agenda.

Again note: NOTHING ABOUT THE WAY THE MEETING IS RUN WILL CHANGE. Everything will stay the same EXCEPT when there's a longer story to discuss, we'll do that right at the beginning of the meeting. After we're done discussing the submitted story, we'll go on to the 3-5 pages just like usual!

…and yes, I know the word "pretext" really means "something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse" – which makes NO sense for what we're doing. So I stuck a hyphen in there. Why the hell not?

If you're concerned you'll forget all this, not to worry – it'll be sent out under separate cover at the beginning of the year.

Also keep in mind, too, that this will be an experiment. If it works well, we'll keep it. If we find it doesn't work for us, we'll just discontinue it.

2. New! RESOURCE DATABASE. Need to know what kind of wine would be best in a given dinner scene? How about whether or not an iron fence would have been around in the 1800s? Or how to tell the difference between and male and a female lobster? What type of tool you'd use for a woodcutting project? You'd be surprised how many Pencils! members could answer these questions, and more! We're our greatest resource, and yet how many of us know who to call?

Announcing the Pencils! Resource Database. Each member will be listed by name, and beneath it, a few areas in which he has some expertise. We will publish this in both print and electronic formats; the print edition, which will only go to Pencils! members, of course, will contain contact information (probably e-mail) for each member. The electronic version will simply be a list on our website.

We got going on listing ourselves at Tuesday night's meeting. What we've collected so far will be going out in e-mail shortly. To add yourself:

1. Hit "Reply."

2. Type Your Name

3. Type the list of subjects/topics you'd be willing to answer questions about

4. Click "Send"!

When I get everyone's information, I'll compile it all. Of course, if you don't wish to participate, you don't have to! We just all agree that it would be great to be able to have a question answered in an e-mail or phone call instead of having to look it up!

AND NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW:

At the top of the meeting we presented our responses to last meeting's prompt: "Who is the lucky person who gets garbage detail?" We had to write 500 words or less using that phrase as a basis or included somewhere in the text. What's always interesting about prompt responses…every single person's response is different.

Prompt Responses

1. Vance opened the meeting with his 375 word "Astan's Dinner": Satan throws an elegant meal and who's going to be the political figurehead that takes out the trash? "The hushed conversation among the guests was like the spilling of a thesaurus—each trying to find a word that would capture the essence of the dish. That was only the appetizer. What was to come?"

2. Arun presented "Gobbling Up the Garbage": a fun sci-fi outer-space creature feature. "Of course nobody on Earth knew about this. Nobody on the ship either. Not only had I found life on Mars, I was altering its biochemistry. Whatever happened to these critters in the future, they'd have me to blame—or thank. Some renegade astronaut, out for kicks."

3. Jerry read his untitled piece—another gritty mystery/suspense/crime! Unfortunately, there wasn't a copy since he wrote it by hand! I'm so bummed!

4. Henderson wrote a poem called "Man's Work" –nice philosophical bent. "After the first cells formed in the soupy ocean basin/and clustered together as a colony,/it soon became evident that all was not well./Who is the lucky cell ho gets the garbage detail?"

5. Beware the pissed off pastry chef! Claudia presented "Sweet Revenge." "Who is the lucky person who gets garbage detail? In order to answer this question, one must first understand what garbage is. Garbage is anything unwanted or unusable…She took delight and pride in the business she built by herself, a very successful pastry shop in the North End named Sweet Revenge.

6. Nick shared a little 428-word "Garbage Detail", an interesting reflection on the world today. "The theme, which New York magazine reported is carried through their college years, is "gay until graduation." Then off for a doctorate, a Nobel Prize, or a University chair. With all that grey matter spilling out, I wonder who is the lucky person to get garbage detail?"

7. Kaye was last up with a 466-word "The Unnamed". Which she doesn't know what it's about, and mostly she just played with what it would be like to try to write opening sentences with no verbs in the style of a recent Joyce Carol Oates story she read called "The Banshee." "Cabin, at the end of a weed-tangled dirt road. Bird feeder, crowned with a crude piece of thin metal sheeting."

To move forward with the regular Pencils! meeting:

1. Vance shared some good news! Back in 2005 (some members probably recall this), Vance workshopped a piece called "Flowers for Frank," which he sold shortly thereafter to a magazine called GreenPrints. The magazine paid him a generous $200 for the story, which Vance was expecting to see in print within a few months.

Well, just a couple of days ago, Vance FINALLY got to see his story in print in GreenPrints Autumn 2007 issue! Not only is the story in print, it's also on CD. The editor sent one to Vance and encouraged him to share it with local radio stations in the hopes of getting it on the air.

Vance read "Flowers for Frank" from his copy. "Early in October, 1980, almost every flower in the greenhouse came into bud at the same time: orchids, gardenias, camellias, stephanotis, and more. A few days later, they all bloomed. That was the day we found Dad sitting among the blossoms. He looked asleep, surrounded by so much beauty."

2. Next up was Joyce, who re-wrote a scene from her novel Venus Ascending. "The passage beamed to Estelle in a new, revealing clarity. She understood that even when she stood alone, the Lord would be her loving support. I'm a good person, she thought. I can massage people and relieve them of pain. I'm a woman of value, with or without a husband."

3. Welcome back, Dave! Dave had an extremely productive and rewarding summer in Manchester, New Hampshire, at the widely-acclaimed and well-respected Odyssey Writing Workshop. Scifipedia describes Odyssey as:

"Founded in 1996 by World Fantasy Award winning editor Jeanne Cavelos, the Odyssey Writing Workshop is one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. The workshop, held annually on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, runs for six weeks, and combines an intensive learning and writing experience with in-depth feedback on students' manuscripts. Guest lecturers come in once a week to add their own unique perspectives and provide feedback to student work. Also, one week of the course is taught by a writer-in-residence. Top authors, editors, and agents have taught at Odyssey, including George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Terry Brooks, Charles de Lint, Ben Bova, Elizabeth Hand, Patricia A. McKillip, John Crowley, Terry Bisson, Ellen Datlow, Donald Maass, Robert J. Sawyer, and Dan Simmons. Talented, enthusiastic students whose work is approaching publication quality come from all over the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. to focus on their writing in a supportive yet challenging environment. Over fifty percent of them go on to be published."

During the six-week live-in camp, Dave said the student met and had class, and two hours of critiquing. They turned in 6 stories over the course of the workshop; they were allowed to bring one, but had to write the remaining five while they were on-premises. Dave said it was "very intense, a lot of work" and the students were drilled on plot, characterization, and all the other basics. There were writers-in-residence, and even George Scithers, former editor of Weird Tales, teaching courses.

Dave described his experience as rewarding—and a lot like boot camp! "I thought I was going to get to see New Hampshire, but there was just too much work!" On the one weekend excursion – a Field Trip to Readercon (I think that's what it's called but I could be wrong) – he ran into Lon!

He talked about how much he learned.

He then shared a piece he wrote while he was there; it was specifically written for a Flash Fiction Slam. Although he didn't bring copies, the piece was called "I Was a Teenage Overmage" and poked fun at all of those gaming clichés.

Great to see you again, Dave!

4. With the time we had left over, we read Walt's piece that he e-mailed in response to the prompt—a crazy turn on today's marital situations when only one parent works and the other stays home. From "Working Woman's Wife": "Well," he said, scratching his ear, "I can cook and clean house and take care of Jamie, but I absolutely refuse to wear your nightgown to bed." Thanks for chiming in, Walt!

NEW PROMPT FOR NEXT TIME!

Those of us who did the prompt had so much fun, we decided to put forth another one:

500 words or fewer containing:

"There was nothing left to see."

Quotes

Vance: Well, the 23^rd Psalm everybody knows. It's like the National Anthem.

Jerry: In what country?

Pencils! Members Wed

2007-08-23T16:18:00.002-07:00

Al and Maryanne got married on August 18, 2007! Congratulations, guys!

Al says he hopes that he'll be able to return to Pencils! when we begin again in January.

Jerry's "Egghead" sold

2007-08-23T16:18:00.001-07:00

...remember that piece "Egghead" that Jerry had originally wrote for an Alfred Hitchcock magazine contest? Well, it's been SOLD to Mouth Full of Bullets and will appear in their March, 2008 Issue.

Jerry indicated to the editor that this story was very much inspired by Keith Harjes, a member who passed away early this year...Keith's birthday, incidentally, is August 27. Jerry has requested that in his bio that the story be dedicated to Keith when it appears in the issue.

Congratulations, Jerry!

News from Peter in the Philippines

2007-08-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

I got this note from Peter, and he wanted me to pass it on to all of you. If you've got a minute, be sure to pop on over and check out his site. Looks like he's been pretty busy even though he's half a world away -- and he's hoping already to make our rejection slip party this year!

Thank you for continuing to send me emails about
"Pencils"

I am in the Philippines, where I managed to bring
along enough materials to continue working on my book.
I have also added an immense amount of material to my
website/blog "Peter's New York"
(www.petersnewyork.com), of very unequal quality. (I
am proud, without reason, of course, of a piece I did
on the "National Public Service Academy," a project
being pushed by Hillary Clinton and Christopher Shays.

I am trying to update the site every day. Most of the
material consists of nonpartisan, issue-oriented
material. Politically I come down almost equally for
Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, the presidential
candidates on the extremities of the political spectra
of the major parties.

There's a chance I will return by the end of
September. Then I shall be glad to be able to see you
all again.

Peter

Pencils! Points: August 14, 2007

2007-08-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

First off, a VERY special thanks goes out to Vance, who ran the August 14 meeting when I couldn't be there. I heard you guys had an excellent time!! Although there's not much to report, I would like to announce that:

THERE'S A PROMPT!

Yes, Pencils! members, there is a PROMPT FOR THIS COMING TUESDAY'S MEETING! No excuses -- you've still got the weekend. All you have to do is write 500 words or less using the following sentence somewhere in the story:

"Who is the lucky person who gets garbage detail..."

We'll spend the first hour or so sharing and reading our pieces.

Happy writing...now sharpen those pencils and get busy!

(In case you're wondering, I'm going to do the prompt, too...)

-- Kaye

Where to find Lon's latest poetry on the web

2007-08-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Lon's been at it again. His poem, "A Romance (with switchblades)" will be appearing in next month's issue of Flashquake!

In addition, you can read his poem "Spliced" at http://www.theswordreview.com!

Mike gets his certification

2007-08-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail from Mike letting us know he hasn't "erased" us, but has spent most of the summer pursuing his teaching certification -- and he's succeeded! He's been hired as an English teacher in Bridgeport!

Congratulations, Mike! Our students need competent writers teaching them so we can all look forward to a brighter future!

Congratulations on a fabulous 4th Anniversary Party!

2007-08-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, Maties! It was pure mutinous fun down at Carol's house for the 4th Anniversary Party! Not only did we have a great big Clam Bake and Barbecue, we had boat races on the river, the anniversary cake, the unveiling of the Pencils! Writing Workshop T-shirts, and, of course...fake tattoos and lots of beer!

A special thanks to our gracious and generous hosts, Kevin and Carol McManus. They truly went above and beyond with providing the festive decorations, extra victuals, and a comfortable place for us to celebrate. In addition, Lon did a phenomenal job at captaining our boat race project!

Wanna see pix? Visit our Pencils! Scrapbook page!

Lon sells quantum physics and Frost!

2007-08-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Lon sold his poem, "The Roads Both Taken" (A quantum look at Robert Frost) to Star*Line, the magazine of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Congratulations, Lon!

Pencils! Points: July 24, 2007

2007-07-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PENCILS! PARTY ON SATURDAY IS RAIN OR SHINE. We will be outdoors if it doesn’t rain, indoors if it does. Okay, gang…Saturday is coming! Hope you all RSVP’d. I know I’ll be seeing quite a large number of you there! Kinda busy with stuff, so here’s the low-down on the meeting in case you missed it.

LEON!! WE’VE MISSED YOU!! IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!! We hope you’ll be able to find time to drop in again soon…this time with one of your poems/lyrics.

1. Judith was up first with SHU (we are back to the novel’s original title). “Dr. Grieg is going to be your new therapist, Sheila. Isn’t that nice? Why don’t you tell her why you are here?”/ “Because I put my baby in the microwave,” Sheila said flatly.”

2. Next up, Roger with Chapter 10 of How My Retirement Went South called “Health Careless.” “It was not unusual for her to spot prescription meds lying about unattended on cabinets in the hallways outside of the treatment rooms.”

3. Nick presented “The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers,” an essay about his time living in London and meeting Prince Charles. “I realized then that “His Royal Highness would like to greet you” because his attendants thought I was someone else.”

4. Joyce shared more of Venus Ascending: “Estelle remembered her mother decorating the room when she moved in after Poppa died. The sewing machine had hummed as she’d worked her way through her loss.”

5. Newcomer Claudia shared a short called “The Dead End Street,” which had an interesting twist at the end. “I’m not afraid,” he said out loud. He repeated this a second time, just in case the ghosts that he did not believe in did not hear him the first time.”

6. Vance was up last with a story called “Careful” (I think that was the title—he didn’t bring copies, but he did it, he said, ‘just so people like Kaye wouldn’t read ahead.”) It’s just as well, because that way I can’t blow the ending. But, hey, something must have been in the air—three pieces with twist endings this week!

Walt's New Words Are Out

2007-07-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

I just received an advance copy of Lunch Hour Stories featuring Walt’s piece “Big Willa and a Push Toward the Edge.” Congratulations, Walt! Keep up the good work!

NEW Literary Journal for Connecticut Writers!

2007-07-15T10:45:00.001-07:00

Attention Connecticut Writers: Whatever Literary Journal wants your work!

Former Pencils! member Tamela J. Ritter and a team of some others are launching a new literary journal, Whatever Literary Journal, early next year; their submission deadline is October 1, 2007, and all Connecticut writers are welcome to submit. Tamela has enjoyed a successful career as the editor of Musings and the book, It Happened at the Green Room, published by her group, Writers on the Rocks, through BookSource. That book can also be ordered on Amazon.com.

For more about the magazine and its guidelines for submission, visit: www.whateverlit.com. Support the small press!

Pencils! Points: July 10, 2007

2007-07-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello again, all! As Jerry pointed out, there will be nothing in your inboxes for weeks…and then you get a flood! Well, anyway, at least all the news is good…

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PARTY ON: Please RSVP yes or no to The Pencils! 4^th Annual Pirates of Five Mile River Anniversary Party! You can do this by e-mailing Carol McManus. Games and plenty of surprises…there's a lot of you attending so far. It's going to be a great afternoon!

NEW LITERARY JOURNAL: I've already sent out an e-mail regarding Tammy's new magazine, Whatever Literary Journal. They're soliciting submissions from Connecticut Writers. If you were at the meeting, you received a printed packet with the submissions guidelines I got from the website. Consider submitting!

SUBMISSIONS WORKSHOP: It's that time…many of you have requested that we hold our Submissions Workshop again—a "how-to" of getting your work out to markets. The last time we did it was in 2004, and not only have we gotten an influx of new members, there's several of you who said you'd be interested in attending a second time. I can run this as a lecture, a seminar, or just a discussion with question and answer, and I'D LIKE TO PRESENT THIS SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER. Suggestions and thoughts welcome! Want to do it at someone's house on a Pencils! off-night during the week? Want to make it a weekend with lunch? How about a Friday night thing? GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK, GANG!!

SUBMIT, SUBMIT, SUBMIT: Who wants to think about February? Well, the only reason I am is because that's when we have our ANNUAL REJECTION SLIP PARTY. This is your reminder: SUBMIT, SUBMIT, SUBMIT now! That way you'll have something to burn…or not…by then…

NEW PRESS RELEASES: New press releases with updated website and contact information will be going out this week/early next week to the local papers.

THE CHILDREN'S SECTION: The next time we meet in Borders, we may be in a different spot in the store, hopefully to the art section or something of similar size. The children's section, which is adjacent to where we meet, is just too distracting (and that's all I'm going to say).

Finally, WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!! Carol, Claudia, Nick…Maria, I know you've been here only once before…WELCOME. We hope you liked what you saw and you'll come again.

We had great attendance this week, but with only five readers, which gave us plenty of time to discuss everyone's work in more depth. Special thanks for keeping within our suggested page/space limit! It's workin'!! Keep it up, folks!!!

1. Kaye kicked off the meeting with a flash fiction piece called "Sandstories," which she had written for an assignment for class up at Goddard but is now going to send out because, why the hell not? "He reaches into his cooler for a cold pineapple juice. He watches as the sea reclaims the seagull, the crab, the panicked fish, and the pelican. And he smiles. Because tomorrow, he will begin again."

2. Newcomer Nick was next; he presented a piece called "(Negative) Sex" (which initially had been part of something larger). "The next day Richie saw the hickey on my neck and asked me if I touched her tits. I lied and told him that I did. Neither of us had touched a breast before and neither of us did that summer in 1959. But we talked about it a lot."

3. Roger—welcome back, you've been gone forever!—brought us another chapter in his book How My Retirement Went South called "Hazy, Hot and Humid." "Every time we checked the seven-day forecast on The Weather Channel, it was like watching a rerun—"Highs in the 90s with lows in the 80s and afternoon boomers."

4. Joyce read Chapter 10 of her novel Venus Ascending. "Estelle looked with hope at the priest who had baptized her, blessed her at her confirmation and communion ceremonies, and bound her with Murray in marriage. His face had crinkled over the years, and his back was bent, but his eyes were as caring as ever."

5. Maria—her second meeting—presented a short piece called "Flowers for My Edna." "Bath time found Edna kneeling at the tub, soaping up washcloths as she scrubbed and sang away the dirt and grime of the day. Then we'd snuggle up to her sample shape waiting to hear our bedtime story."

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT

Roger: (To Joyce): You don't deserve [a copy]. You were late. It's not like you got out of work late, or anything!

Kaye: We're discussing the significance of the word 'tit' in 1959.

Roger: See what you missed, Tom?

Jerry: (looking at cell phone): Burgeoning…to grow or develop quickly, flourish.

Kaye: Jesus Christ, you have a dictionary on your phone?

Tom: And this is ONLY the beginning!

Pencils! Points: June 26, 2007

2007-07-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

Well, I'm back from Goddard-Land, and as I noted in an earlier mailing, it was quite the ride. I think I've learned more about how to view, improve on, and see my own work in one week than I have in the last three years combined. And I TOTALLY enjoyed the Pencils! July 24 meeting. It was great to be back among all of you.

At any rate, MANY THANKS TO JOYCE for running what sounded like a terrific meeting!! And to all the others who helped. And now, this week's edition of PENCILS! POINTS.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE NEED TO HAVE A COUNT ON THE PENCILS! 4^TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY AT CAROL'S so she can give the caterers a count. THE RESPONSE FROM ALL OF YOU HAS BEEN GREAT!! If you haven't RSVP'd either way (yes or no) yet, please do. And I encourage everyone to come! We've made it four years, and we've got some surprises in store.

Former Pencils! member Tammy Ritter has started a new literary journal, Whatever Literary Journal. Let's all support her efforts and send in our stuff! She's given me flyers with more information, which I'll hand out at tomorrow's meeting. Meantime, here's a link to the mag's website: www.whateverlit.com. Congratulations, Tammy! Be sure to spread word of her new publication to other writers you might know outside Pencils! and refer them to the magazine's website for submission guidelines. Best of luck to all those who submit!

And now…on with the show. Unfortunately, I'm not sure of the order in which things were presented, but here's the low-down!

1. Joyce presented Chapter 9 from her novel Venus Ascending. "She looks like a wounded bird," Murray thought, wanting to shelter her and make her well. "I'll be here for you," he promised."

2. Judith was up with more of her novel, which has been retitled: Noblesse Oblige. "On a weekend in September, the project made its debut. Danni and his volunteers manned the truck, passing out containers of gourmet food to a group of vagrants who lived on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world."

3. Henderson—whom I believe is on vacation now for the rest of July, so we'll look forward to seeing him again in August!—was up with more of The Eight-Fold Way. "His long lean hawkish face and bare arms were ablaze with patriotic feelings and ripples of concern for the nation's safety. The patterns almost concealed his prominent nose."

4. Gerry re-worked his short story "The Plan," and brought it in to share the re-writes. "He could even smell her perfume, sweet and fresh as the flowers at their wedding. And he could see their future together, a cozy little bungalow in Hawaii. Just Angela, the sun, the sand, the sea, and an insurance check with six fat zeroes left of the decimal point."

5. Sharon brought another piece, "Calla Lilies." "I'm sorry for your loss," he had said on the phone when I first called to make arrangements. But he wasn't, of course. I was certain of that. His words had no more feeling than if he had read a line from the Yellow Pages."

6. Carol was at it again with a humorous piece she wrote in reaction to an ad featuring the former Wonder Woman.

Happy writing! Hope to see you all at the Tuesday, July 24 meeting!

Vance's "Specks of Dust" in Horizon Literary Magazine

2007-06-18T16:50:00.002-07:00

Vance's piece "Specks of Dust," which he presented recently at Pencils!, has been picked up by Horizons, Sacred Heart's Literary Magazine. You can check it out here:

http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages10526_horizon_literary_magazine.cfm

Congratulations, Vance!

Keith's 2nd Piece appears in Mouth Full of Bullets

2007-06-18T16:50:00.001-07:00

Many of you knew Keith Harjes, who passed away in January. For those of you who didn't know him, he was an active and passionate Pencils! member.

Before Keith passed away, two of his stories were accepted for publication in Mouth Full of Bullets. "Killer Traffic" was slated for the June issue and it is now available to read. Please take a moment to visit the link below and read!

http://mouthfullofbullets.com/4.1fKillerTraffic-KeithWHarjes.htm

Vance's article to appear in Sicilia Parra

2007-06-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

More News from Vance's corner of the universe....

I'll let him tell you in his words. We're all familiar with Giacomo from Vance's novel; it would be GREAT to read about the real person!

Arba Sicula is a non-profit International Organization that promotes the Language and Culture of Sicily. It is part of The Modern Language Department at St. John's University in New York. They produce a bi-annual news letter, Sicilia Parra (Sicily Speaks) and have accepted for publication an article I have written on the 17th century sculptor, Giacomo Serpotta. It should be in print fairly soon.

Congratulations again, Vance!

Walt places in Military History Online

2007-06-18T16:48:00.002-07:00

Walt, who moved to Cambridge just a few short months ago, reports that he's writing like mad and has sold a couple of things since he's left (WORD TO MEMBERS: SEND OUT YOUR CRAP!!!)

One of his articles, "The War That Never Happened," sold to Military History Online, and is available to read at www.militaryhistoryonline.com. I'll let him tell you what it's all about:

"I thought you might find a piece on the Irish invasion of Canada interesting. "The War That Never Happened" is an astounding, little-known bit of history. Interesting part of this story is why the U.S. government approved an illicit army of immigrants invading our neighbor to the north. There may be lessons to be learned about trusting too much in politicians' promises, the tenuousness of international relations and the wisdom of unilateral invasions."

Keep on truckin', Walt. Proof positive that Pencils! don't have to be here to keep the spirit alive!

Walt in Mouth Full of Bullets

2007-06-18T16:48:00.001-07:00

Walt's also been featured in the June 2007 issue of Mouth Full of Bullets. His Flash Fiction piece, "Not My Wife," is a great quick read!

Check it out at http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com.

Great job, Walt! Keep writing!

Walt is Crusing the Green...

2007-06-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

More good news...

Walt's stories from Cruising the Green of Second Avenue--many of which were workshopped at both Pencils! and Truth & Lies (the old Danbury group, ca. 2003) are being read by Wild Child Publishing's e-books group. And Nina Bayer at Lunch Hour Books will get one of them out in print at the end of July.

Way to go, Walt!

Pencils! Points: June 12, 2007

2007-06-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

GREAT MEETING! And now, on with the show!

Announcements:

Welcome first-timer Maria! Let's hope she returns and feels confident enough to share in future!

Reading policy reminder: We never know from meeting to meeting how many readers we'll have. In an effort to ensure that everyone gets a chance to read, please come prepared to limit your reading to either FIVE DOUBLE-SPACED PAGES or TWO AND A HALF SINGLE-SPACED PAGES. You may, however, bring more—as was the case this week, we had time for more—in case we have too few readers, in which case, we'll be happy to read and comment on as much as time allows. Please keep in mind we're only stressing this in an effort to keep things even. Thanks!

THE PENCILS! FOURTH ANNIVERSARY PIRATES OF FIVE-MILE RIVER PARTY IS ON-TARGET FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 28. This year's committee—Lon, Carol, Kaye, and Jen—got the details down and snail-mail invitations will be going out this week. I do not have addresses for several of you, so once they go out in the mail I'll be sending out the details via e-mail as well. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS YEAR WE'LL REQUIRE AN RSVP OF EITHER YES OR NO, AND IF YOUR ANSWER IS YES, YOU MUST STICK TO IT! This is because each person will be paying for either a full-out Clambake and American-Style BBQ, so we'll be stuck paying for no-shows. As always, significant others and family members are welcome. WATCH YOUR MAILS FOR DETAILS!

And now, on with the show:

After several disclaimers, SHIRLEY opened the meeting! It was good to hear her work after such a long hiatus. She presented a piece called "The Kindest Cut": "There was a thunder of 124 pairs of loafers and saddle shoes stomping on the polished wooden floor of the gym."
Joyce brought us up-to-date on the latest installment of Venus Ascending, her novel. I don't have a copy, but one neat phrase was "news that she couldn't keep her marriage together." Nice way of stating all of the feelings of failure that comes with divorce; good work!
Jerry entertained us with another clever two-hundre-and-fifty-worder for the Alfred Hitchcock magazine contest. "The corpse seemed to grin in the moonlight, but Murdoch grinned back at the briefcase clutched so possessively to the old man's chest."
Kaye presented one of her acceptance letters from Goddard—that came with a bumper sticker. Great marketing idea!
Lon was back with a short piece of his "Working Late." "Irwin broke off, flattening out his voice and his sadness as only a man surrounded by men can do. Sean looked away, his eyes misting."
Judith has put in an overhaul on the opening chapter of SHU, and it's a great improvement!

"Is that bread?" Molly asked.

"No, stupid. This isn't bread. It's what's called The Loaf, the dinner people in SHU get," the guard answered, "when they're bad."

Henderson closed us out with more of "The Eight-Fold Way." "I am myself outraged at what has happened," said Professor Alberte, head of the Political Science department at Normal University. He was fanning himself with a piece of paper…"What's wrong with the air conditioning?"

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT

Tom: If you use betraying, then you don't have to say 'he betrayed.' Two for one!

Jen (to Kaye): If it were one of your stories, she'd burn down the school at the end.

Judith's Artwork

2007-06-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Judith, who recently had a show of her work running down in Greenwich, gave Kaye a piece of her artwork as a graduation gift. Kaye thought it was so lovely she'd post it so those of you who didn't get a chance to attend her show could get an idea of the kind of work she does.

Attached is a jpeg of the painting. The inscription at the bottom says, "For Kaye, who sees everything."

Kaye accepted to Goddard College's MFA in Creative Writing program

2007-06-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Kaye has been accepted to the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. She leaves Friday, June 22, and will be returning Monday, July 2. It looks like it's going to be a rewarding and fulfilling residency...she's heard through the grapevine it's a lot like being at a writer's retreat. Following that, all of the work she'll be doing will be on her own, through the exchange of packets with her mentors and professors.

For more information on Goddard's programs, visit www.goddard.edu.

Arun's scripts featured at Montreal Festival

2007-06-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Great news for Arun! Two of his short scripts will premiere at the Montreal Fringe Festival this weekend, June 16 & 17. One will be produced as a play, the other as an animated film. When Arun reported this, that was the plan. In his own words:

"Now I know how scriptwriters feel. It's like taking your baby out into the world, and then someone says, 'Thanks for bringing the kid up so it can walk and talk. I'll take over now.'"

Great job, Arun!

Kaye's Recent Links

2007-06-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

One of my stories, "Candle Garden," is now in the June 2007 edition of The Taj Mahal Review. Copies are expensive, but you can at least look at the publication here:

www.tajmahalreview.com/subs.htm

In addition, people have asked if they could have a copy of or read my graduation speech. I posted it on my website:

www.kristipetersen.net

and then scroll down to "NEWS." It's under that heading, and the link is pretty big.

For those of you who wanted to read it, ENJOY!!

Happy writing!