Third Thursday Review

It was a fun, business-oriented meeting last night that saw two new members sit in and a third return after a seven-year absence. All the details for those not in attendance or needing a refresher:

We welcomed Crystal, who works in fantasy and mystery, and Bill, who writes children's books. We also welcomed back David Friske, who, well, who's been away awhile...

Before we got to the critiques:

• Brian put in a request for bio information to put on this blog (I'll have more on this today or tomorrow).
• I conducted a quick primer on common editing mistakes (the full body of which will be posted here in the next few days should you want a copy).

We finished by critiquing novel selections from Zack and Billy, plus Montana's resubmitted poem. We also worked over memoir slices from Sandy and Cynthia, who finally returned after a long illness (welcome back, Cynthia!).

Next meeting, when we'll be just down the hall, we'll be reviewing fiction from Brian and Zack, plus the ongoing memoirs of Sandy, Cynthia, and Jerri Lynn. Brian will moderate a discussion on overcoming writing fears (related to his recent post) and Alison will tell us what she learned from the Jon Katz seminar at LARAC.

The group will also be experimenting with a new submission format to help offset the costs incurred by our novelists. Zack will submit his April 1 chapter through email. General comments can be forwarded to the author (i.e., "I liked it," "Great ending!" etc.), while more in-depth edits can be printed out and scrawled upon. Other writers will continue to submit hard copies. Just a reminder: PLEASE BRING 12 COPIES from now on as the GFWG is growing in leaps and bounds.

Should make next meeting in the small room a bit cramped. Maybe a sweat box. Good thing we like each other...

Well, looking forward to getting to know some of you better. See you then!