Ten people joined us online this month and eight in-person (including two new members!) for Joshua Williamson’s excellent talk on writing, getting published, beginnings middles and ends, graphic novels (of course), and so much more. You’ll find notes at https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/22/you-too-can-write-a-novel-graphic-novel-comic-memoir-mini-book-talk-with-joshua-williamson/
Many thanks to our online members for their patience (and helpful chat comments) when the computer shut down on us. And apologies to those who were kept waiting outside during the panic.
Library News
Upcoming library events that might be of interest include:
- Summer reading party, Friday June 23, 6-8pm, all ages
- Voices in Verse, Hybrid or zoom, Saturdays June 24, July 29, Aug 26, registration required
- Telling your story, online via zoom, Friday July 14, 10-11am, registration required
- Library Appy Hour, learn to use the apps, Thursday July 20, 3:30-5:00pm
- Taste of Oregon Ice Cream Tasting, Bethany Annex, Thursday July 26, 6:30-7:30pm registration required
Contest Results
After Joshua’s talk, we moved on to contest news, and Mary reminded us how truly amazing all the contest entries were this month. Which is not to say that un-amazing writers shouldn’t enter; rather what this tells us is that all of us are capable of amazing writing, and all of us SHOULD enter the monthly contests. This month’s was particularly inspiring, and you can find a table of entries at: https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/contests/may-2023-contest-page/may-2023-entries-voting-page/ (password SoundsMay23) If you haven’t read them yet, you really ought to. And if you wrote one of the entries, don’t forget to check back for comments. The entries receiving the most votes were:
- Song of Synesthesia BY Lyndsay Docherty
- Strange Piano BY Jean Harkin
- Astute Annelids BY Peter Letts
The other entries (alphabetical by title):
- Host’s Entry: Sketches of Spain BY Mary Baylor
- A Day in My Life BY Karin Krafft
- Delights of Income Tax Prep BY Michael Fryer
- Ethereal Waves BY Judy Beaston
- I Love to Sing BY Jessie Collins
- I Think I’ll Pass BY Steve Cooper
- In the Key of Life BY Robin Layne
- Mosquito Mixed Tape BY David Fryer
- Smetana, Jones, and Zappa! BY Gary Romans
- Song of Time BY Ragni Jayanthi
- Sounds of Day BY Sheila Deeth
Upcoming contests can be found at https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/contests/upcoming-contests/ (password SoundsMay23). Word limits 1,200, any genre, any style, just don’t deliberately offend people. Entries go to contest @ portlandwritersmill . org (remove spaces), and the deadline is always the end of the first Sunday of the month.
June’s Ezine/Contest
Theme is Lost and/or Found
This might open the way for a wide range of genres, from mystery to
romance to family life to philosophical to true-story to poetic whimsy – and
there’s plenty of room for humor, drama, danger, and picnics. Lost on a hike?
Found a ring in the sand? Plus the ‘and/or’ might have a purpose. Write a
tale/essay/poem that goes from lost to found (or the reverse) OR focuses
completely on the LOST side OR the FOUND side as the key element of some
situation. Entries accepted NOW and deadline is Sunday, June 4th
July’s Ezine/Contest
Theme is “I thought my generation was very lucky until…”
Hmm… What kind of lucky? you might ask. Well, ask it and then write
about what is revealed. There are so many ways to massage this theme. Let it
take root and then branch out. Grab one of the blossoms and write your story,
essay or poem TODAY. Entries accepted between June 5th and
Sunday, July 2nd
AUGUST –If
These Walls Could Talk
Almost everyone has a story in them about momentous events happening in a
particular setting, perhaps revisited after many years have passed. Consider,
too, that there are really spooky places where murders have taken place, etc.
Our host is thinking about the old ‘Genius Loci’, the notion of the ‘Spirit of
place’—how every building is a consequence of its time and location. In
particular, a cherished place seems to have a unique character, an energy field
emanating from its layers of history, from its particular place in creation.
(Contest coordinator’s note: for more background on ‘genius loci’ check out
Wikipedia)
SEPTEMBER – watch this page: https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/contests/upcoming-contests/
Anthology Reminder
Remember, September’s contest deadline (end of the first Sunday) is the same as the deadline for our annual anthology, which is open to all Writers’ Mill members. The anthology title will be chosen after we receive your entries, so feel free to send us anything you’d like to see published – contest entries, entries you didn’t finish in time, chapters from a story you’re working on, essays inspired by current events, random poems, or whatever, or whatever. And, as always, don’t deliberately offend. The rules are:
- No more than 5 entries per person
- No more than 5,000 words in total per person
- We’re happy to be second, third, or fourth publisher, as long as you have the rights, but please let us know if your entry has been published elsewhere
- We’re not happy to have you suddenly back out and send the entry elsewhere after we’ve edited it and included it in choosing a title! So… submission implies you give us the right to publish! (That’s the only right we ask for – one-time publication. You can publish it elsewhere, submit the novel the chapter came from to a big-five publisher, whatever you choose, later.)
- Your entries will be “very lightly” edited – for typos, formatting, name changes, tense changes, can’t tell who’s speaking, etc – and you will be given the opportunity to accept or reject the corrections.
Sheila will give a presentation on editing in September, and will include more information about our need for anthology volunteers – editors, image gatherers, compilers/readers, titlers/cover designers, etc.
Critique
This month’s critique turned out to be even more different than we planned for, and it worked remarkably well. Basically we had given you a collection of questions, both “positive” and “thinking deeper,” when we sent out the chapter. Robin, leading the critique, invited everyone in turn to speak, and the result covered so many topics, so clearly and so well, that we really didn’t need (or have time for) further questions.
- Characters: Several members said how much they
like the characters in the story
- They’re realistic and relatable
- They change over the course of the chapters we’ve read
- They remind us of people we know, while staying consistently in their own time period.
- They’re unique, not cardboard cutouts
- Side characters are real as well as the main characters
- Historical facts: Several members mentioned
particularly
- Facts and details were given very naturally, no sense of being data-dumped-on
- Facts were accurate
- Dialog was accurate to the time-period too
- Interests of the characters felt real for the time-period
- Musical references and preferences were great
- The beginnings of national identity and pride were well-drawn
- Location: The fact that it’s set in Portland, during the parade, with suffragettes made this chapter very enticing. This could be a good “cold open” opening scene (see Joshua’s talk) to draw readers in, with the story then going back to the younger childhood of the character.
- Humor: We loved the humor of the piece. Everyone had a different favorite line.
- Focus: Things that the author focused our attention
on worked particularly well.
- The chapter has a nice focus on the transitional stage between girl and woman
- Details and events are often echoed in the present day – guns, social change, etc
- Dialog: Time period jargon and local jargon are all convincing (Matthew does his research really well!)
- Genre: We all agree that it’s historical fiction
- Maybe YA, but how does that work when it starts with the characters much younger?
- Adult, but same question
- Why do we have to tie it down, or… maybe when it’s finished it will tie itself down, or…
- Maybe use the “cold open” idea; open with this scene, then go back to when she was younger…
Matthew confessed that he has fallen behind on his schedule (haven’t we all?). He has the general plot worked out but is still filling in details. The story will progress to WWI and a few years beyond.
If you have further comments on Matthew’s piece, please email them to critiques @ portlandwritersmill . org or send them in reply to this email.
Call for Volunteers
If you think you could lead a critique in a similar way to this – just give an introduction, make sure the author’s questions (if any) are addressed, and go round the real and virtual rooms giving everyone a chance to speak – please email critiques @ portlandwritersmill . org (remove spaces) or reply to this email, and your name will be added to the list. You’re always welcome to refuse at any time, but we need a bigger pool of volunteers (i.e. more than just Matthew, Robin and Sheila!)
Remember, all these email addresses are on the website at: https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/contact-us/
And don’t forget to think about the anthology. You can help by starting to send in your entries now; and think about whether you might have artwork or photos we can use; would you be willing to edit, or maybe just read and organize the entries when they’re in; can you help come up with a title, theme and cover? Etc.
Upcoming meetings
Next meeting is June 18th, Father’s Day, when Jan Underwood will talk about short stories, climate fiction, magic realism, and more.
On July 16, Erik Mertz will return to talk about short stories, endings, monsters, threats etc. Some of you may remember how fascinating he was last time he joined us.
August 20, Sheila will talk about editing and looking more seriously for anthology volunteers – not just editors, but people to choose what order the entries appear in, artists to deal with asking for and collecting images from our members, someone to think about a title, a cover, a back-cover blurb… all that wonderful stuff, so be there and see what you can do and/or learn to do.
And remember, contests deadlines are the first Sunday of the month, meetings are on the third Sundays, and the anthology submission deadline is the end of the first Sunday of September. Send contest entries to contest @ portlandwritersmill . org and anthology entries to anthology @ portlandwritersmill . org (remove spaces)