February 28, 2009
Back in mid-December I did a search for face-to-face writing groups in Maryland and came across a list on the Maryland Writers’ website. I sent off e-mails to several different coordinators of writing groups that are close enough for me to attend, or otherwise seemed like something I could do. I got one back from a nice lady named Rachel and have settled into that group well (we share 10 pages and meet once a month at Starbucks), but today I got a facebook message from the head of Charm City Writers asking if my e-mail had changed, because she’d evidently tried to e-mail me and had it bounce. My e-mail hadn’t changed and I don’t know why it bounced, but I got the following e-mail shortly after I told her so.
Thanks for your interest and patience! I’m in the process of re-organizing Charm City Writers and would be happy to include you.
The likely structure of our group will be that we meet on Sundays, every two weeks, alternating between poetry and prose, for two hours. If you’re not interested in poetry, you simply skip that meeting and come once every four weeks. At least once a year we will stage a reading in which group members can participate. I’m also working on a publication that will include participants’ work.
To help cover admin expenses, each member pays $60 for six months, by check or cash, in advance of the first meeting.
Please let me know if this works for you. You can weigh in on whether you prefer Sundays at 9:30-11:30,12:30-2:30, 1:30-3:30, or some other time. I’ll be sending out another email soon confirming the details for new group members
… and oh does that ever so not work for me. I’m looking for a writing group — mostly looking for encouragement and feedback. Maybe even a bit of social networking. What I’m not looking for is to pay $10 a month, $60 at a time before I even get a chance to see whether or not I even like the group, with no real guarantee that it’s not a scam. I don’t even know what the structure is like — with my other group, my actual group I should say, we send out 10 pages once a month, and spend a few hours talking about everyone’s piece, taking turns. We meet at Starbucks, and there certainly aren’t any “administrative fees.”
And why would I want to do a reading? I’m a writer, I want to sell books — I don’t want to be judged on my oration.
What’s more, I’m supposed to pay you administrative fees when it takes from December 16 until February 28 — that’s over two months — to get back to a simple fees? Not exactly stellar administration.
Thanks, I think I’ll pass. Especially since I’m not interested in being published by a local thing… and since I write neither poetry nor short fiction, it’s even less likely that I would be.
But honestly. You want me to pay $60 up front to be in a writing group that meets once a month? And that only covers half the year? Heck, early sign-ups for the local convention was only $48! And that’s 3 days and involves actual useful information and networking at much higher levels.
Filed by Cally at February 28th, 2009 as Tags: charm city writers, payment, writing group
No comments on this post yet
February 27, 2009
On Fridays, I only have one class: Civil Procedure. So for lunch, instead of grabbing a quick piece of pizza or sub from one of the places around the university, I take the long way home and stop at the mall for lunch. Fridays I need to wind down from a long, stressful week of law school and studying, and it’s the first time in usually five or six days when I don’t have a deadline looming over me. Which means it’s usually the first time in awhile where I have the free time to do what I want to do.
I almost always pick up a book from the Barnes and Noble across the street and head to Chili’s to read it over lunch. Sometimes I take my laptop and catch up on a TV show I missed, or read an e-book, or buy more than one book one week and take the extra with me the next, but one thing is always the same: for the 1-3 hours it takes me to watch the show or read the book, it’s all about a story.
Today, I picked up Kelley Armstrong’s Made to be Broken. For some reason I didn’t think it was due out until March (I may have been confusing it with Carrie Vaughn’s new book), so when I saw it on one of the “new in paperback” kiosk thingies, I was really excited, and even though I’d already picked up Jenna Black’s new The Devil’s Due, I grabbed this book too.
They’re both new books in series that I’ve read, but I’ve been waiting for the sequel to Exit Strategy for aaages, which is a little weird because it’s not my usual genre: that is, I read sci-fi, fantasy, and urban fantasy almost exclusively, and Made to be Broken and Exit Strategy are both straight-up thrillers about a Canadian hitwoman. They’re extremely well-done, though, and the author also writes an excellent paranormal series: Women of the Otherworld.
I really enjoyed Made to be Broken, though I don’t have much to say about it except that I still love how none of the characters are stereotypical in the least, and that the only thing I didn’t like about the book was how the “title phrase” was handled. “Made to be Broken” was what the narrator, Nadia, indicates that people in the towns where certain murdered teens died said about the dead girls — because they were pretty young things who dressed like sluts or what not, they were somehow destined to be abused. The narrator was really bothered by the phrase, emotionally, but what bugged me about it is that it’s not the kind of thing I would ever expect to hear in dialog from small-town people trash-talking a girl they disapproved of — it’s too poetic. As a title, it’s great. But as something I’m supposed to believe people came up with to say, or even what the narrator expected people to say, it didn’t quite pan out for me… so when I saw the title in the text, I was taken out of the story because it felt inserted for the purpose of clarifying the title… and not part of the story itself.
But as far as complaints go, that’s pretty minor, right? Now I just hope that the sales will justify a book three, because Ms. Armstrong is only contracted for two and I really, really, really want to see how the relationships between these characters grow and expand… and I’m equally interested in seeing Nadia come to better understand (and accept) herself.
Filed by Cally at February 27th, 2009 as Tags: chili's, kelley armstrong, made to be broken, review
No comments on this post yet
There has been a lot on the news lately about the concerts and speeches that President Obama has been having, and yesterday my mother made a comment along the lines of how she wished the President would stop grandstanding and start doing something. To which I replied – what would you have him do, Mom? The bill already passed, and I’m not sure that it’s really the President’s job to get in there and facilitate its movement through the senate; it’s not as though he is a member of congress, after all, able to stand on the floor and be involved in that process – his job is to sign the bill. He did that – and he undoubtedly worked very hard to get the bill passed, one way of doing so is to advertise on the television about the perks of the bill and another way is to make speeches to the legislators.
So what are you complaining about, Mom?
Would you prefer he be flying to and fro across the world, politicking at high levels with OPEC, or poking his nose into the Palestine issues? With our economy the way it is, and public (national as well as global) opinion so deeply opposed to American interference in other countries’ business, I can’t be upset that he’s staying in the States and trying to keep morale up… and what’s more, I don’t think it’s fair of people to attack him for not accomplishing anything. The bill was passed, and the country is still optimistic.
On a similar note, my mother also complained about the current First Lady being involved in fashion and People magazine, etc – to which I replied, would you prefer she be grandstanding at Congress and pretending that she has a role in the actual government? Because frankly, I’m content with her being a fashion icon. Better that then her using her husband’s popularity to support her own soapbox, like some First Ladies I could name.
Filed by Cally at February 27th, 2009 as Tags: legislation, mom, obama
1 person has commented on this post
February 26, 2009
still testing cross-posting
Filed by Cally at February 26th, 2009 as
No comments on this post yet