November meeting Report – Rosemary
October Meeting Report – Rosemary
We had a good meeting, still small in number and with one member unable to attend because of sickness but we had the pleasure of Don’s wife, Jacqueline as valued guest, who made additional and worthy contributions to the discussions.
There were four stories to send off to Sallyann for judgement. Alan then read out some favourite pieces of his previous writing, which we all enjoyed. The next meeting might have to be moved because too many people will be unable to attend on the 4th Nov. Rosemary will sort out the booking.
September Meeting report – Rosemary.
We had a good meeting with just four of us and three interesting and true stories and a few extra contributions from Don, including poems he has written in French! Now, that’s a challenge.
It was good to be back in the library at Charmouth.
The stories were sent to Sallyann who judged with her usual wisdom and helpful comments. Congratulations to Rosemary who won the trophy for her true tale of being thrown onto a train in Peru. (You can read it on our September winner’s page!)
The next meeting is on October 7th, 2pm at the library and the theme is ‘Scary Story’ including these words: triple, testament, triangle, tepid. (Thanks to Alan for the suggestion)
July Meeting report – Rosemary
After a couple of months’ hiatus, Saturday’s meeting was a very informal one held at Jo’s flat because we had been unsure if the meeting was going to happen so had not booked the library. Thanks a lot to Jo for having us! As it happened, we had a very enjoyable meeting, though we missed those who could not be there because of family commitments. We especially thought of Alan and Shirley at this time of Shirley’s illness.
Because we had been unsure as to whether we were meeting, Rosemary had accepted and sent the stories for this month to Sallyann for judgment for the trophy, so we were able to award it to Joy for her story, ‘The Mistake’ at the June meeting instead a month late. Well done, Joy! We read out all four stories submitted and agreed that they were all enjoyable. Sallyann’s critique on them was considered and discussed with interest. Her comments are always helpful and worth considering, though some said that they still chose to write as they wished, anyway! Thanks to Sallyann for her helpful encouragement to the group.
It was lovely to have as a guest and honorary member, Don’s wife Jacqueline, who is always supportive and it was good to have her input.
After a brief discussion it was decided that we should continue to meet at Charmouth Library from September 2nd, and the first Saturday of each month thereafter unless otherwise notified.
Looking forward to meeting again after the summer break.
April Meeting report – Alan (edited)
Saturday’s meeting was lively as usual but without Joy as she wasn’t feeling well. We missed you, Joy.
There was a printed version of Charmouth Central’s Newsletter in the library room so I pointed out the piece about the JCWG and Rosemary’s Granny poem. Though the editor of the piece had reformatted her work slightly and Rosemary didn’t think it flowed quite as intended, we all agreed that it didn’t detract from the brilliance of the poem…
Our group is cheaper than other groups that meet in the library and we are happy to keep it that way, being a very friendly and supportive bunch. We just need a few more regular members to go forward. If anybody is interested, please make contact. The information is on this JCWG Website.
Everyone read out their stories for the April assignment and the use of historical characters in new situations was well-followed, with some brilliant, if contrived, tales. Well done everybody; great imagination.
March meeting – Alan’s report
We had a really good meeting today, in my opinion. All the stories were inventive, entertaining and different, so it’ll be extra hard for Sallyann to pick a winner methinks!
Great work… all of you. They will be sent on to Sallyann for her perusal and comments.
We were all glad to see Joy back today, were very pleased that she is on the mend, but were a little disappointed that she hadn’t felt able to write one of her mesmerising stories to tell us. We all really enjoy listening to her ‘true’ tales and hope she feel up to writing for the April meeting. We also wish Don well and were glad he was able to make the meeting.
Karen gave us a fantastic story today, which had us all enthralled. It will make a good book so we all agreed that she should expand on it and use her skills to come up with a Best Seller.
Rosemary, as usual wrote something that kept us guessing, interested and amused all the way to the end. Brilliant, if a little long, although oddly, it didn’t seem that long!
(Rosemary (website manager) adds that Alan’s excellent story (he can’t write about his own!) also kept us enthralled and agrees that it will be hard for Sallyann to pick a winner. They will all go on the website before the end of the month.)
Subject for April is: Pick a name from the past – fictional or real – and compose a fictional story that has this person involved. For example; Charles Darwin… perhaps you were a crew member on The Beagle and spotted something ‘important’ and then paid off to keep quiet! Or maybe you caught the cricket ball when W G Grace batted a six into the crowd and discovered something extraordinary about the ball… Use your imagination and come up with a blinder.
April’s meeting is just three weeks away, Saturday the 1st so get writing!
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February – Alan’s report
There were just three of us at the library yesterday, but with five individual stories thanks to Joy and Karen sending theirs via attending members.
Regardless, the meeting was fun… and thanks to Joy for the chocolates. Get well soon, Joy, and hope to see you in March.
I will send the five stories on to Sallyann for appraisal and comments. Rosemary has the trophy after her January Crime/Horror masterpiece in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was chosen as best story of the month.
For the next assignment: Write a story or poem, fiction or fact, any genre that contains all of the following randomly chosen words… (not necessarily in this order):
Escape
Inculpable (an adjective meaning Not Guilty or Free of Blame)
Death’s-Head Moth
Loop
Genuine
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January – Alan’s report
Firstly I have to say our thoughts go out to Joy who missed this month’s meeting due to being unwell. Get better soon, Joy, and we’ll see you in February.
Yesterday’s meeting was good although only three active members and Jo were present. Karen sent her story in to be read out and entered into the mix for the Trophy.
The four stories based on waving at a train leaving the station were mixed and thoroughly enjoyable, in my opinion. I’ve send them on to Sallyann for her comments.
Next month’s assignment wasn’t discussed but I did mention something to Don in a previous email. That was Being in The Right Place at the Right Time. So let’s use that as a theme for the next set of stories: Any subject, any genre, around a thousand words in length. Enjoy the writing.
Next meeting Saturday February 4th in Charmouth library.
Next month’s meeting will either be on the 4th or the 11th March, depending which is best for most members. Keep a look out for the latest updates when it is confirmed.
Jurassic Coast Writers 