MARCH 15, 2018

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Amy Clites, Katherine Flotz, Caren Von See, Hardershan Valia, Sharon Buckman, Al Koch, Amy Brailey, Bob Philpot

GUESTS PRESENT:

Cynthia Wilson

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the March l, 2018 minutes was first given by KATHERINE FLOTZ and seconded by SHARON BUCKMAN.

LITERARY NEWS:

CYNTHIA WILSON (our newest guest) stated she is presently writing a novel, based on a true story, entitled Life in a Comatose Day.

SHARON BUCKMAN brought two copies of her newly published book entitled, Beyond the Canopy, a sequel to her first book, Canopy of Leaves.

KATHERINE FLOTZ stated she will be speaking at the Pines Village on April 20^th concerning her novel Pebble in my Shoe.

EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION:

AMY CLITES gave a wonderful presentation concerning the best way to write a screenplay using the “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet.”  She stated that Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, had written a total of 75 screenplays and was probably the best in his field by using his “Beat Sheet.”  This is a three-act screenplay structure broken into 15 specific beats, with each beat corresponding to specific page numbers.  Amy used photo pages from the “Wizard of Oz” to explain and demonstrate examples of the 15 beats.  She also stated that this format could be used for writing novels as well.  The presentation was followed by various questions from the members.

READINGS:

AMY CLITES read the second part of her screenplay proposal entitled, “Salam, a Dance.”  This part of her very suspenseful story began with a man, woman and child standing motionless in the dark corner of their bedroom as several uniformed men surround the bed they had been sleeping on.  They are discovered when the baby cries.  The story ends with two of the uniformed men surrounding the woman, a gunshot is heard and then a scream.

CAREN VON SEE read four pages of the first chapter of her novel, My Treasure Chest.  The story begins with Sara meeting her soon-to-be husband, as she is waitressing in a family-owned restaurant.  After meeting this nice looking Italian man he asks her to “share some wine” with him after she got off work.  She accepted and the romance began as they went to a bar around the corner and talked until two a.m.

HARDERSHAN VALIA read his beautiful  eight stanza poem entitled, “Ode to Lake Michigan.” The poem tells of Lake Michigan’s beginning and its natural progression and of “nature’s destructive force.”  The poem ends with four lines from the last stanza, “Then the faces of fossil treasures, Dancing under the moonlit sky, Speak to you in wonder of Nature’s rule, The Vulnerability of life.”

AL KOCH brought his two page comical memoir  entitled, “X-rays for Fun and Profit.”  The memoir tells of all the various times that “X-rays” played a part of his life while growing up in Whiting, In.  Beginning with all the Superman, x-ray vision, movies, to the “powers of evil” that were conquered with x-rays and finally ending with how many times he put his feet into the x-ray machines to check for proper fits.

AMY BRAILEY continued with one of her story prompts (meant for her students to finish.)  The title of this story, “Disappearances,” begins with Roxanne slipping quietly out of her house to go exploring into the forest, despite all the resent disappearances.  She accidently meets up with her friend Mason who tries to get her to return to her grandparents’ house.  When she refuses they travel deeper into the woods and Mason confesses he saw their friend, Leliana, being captured.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN

March 1, 2018

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Michael Bednarczyk, Amy Clites, Al Koch, Bob Philpot, Katherine Flotz, Rebecca Juergens, Amy Brailey, Ruthann Craczyk, Caren Von See, Hayley Hardin, Hardarshan Valia 

EDUCATION PROGRAM: 

"Online Editing Tools"

REBECCA  JUERGENS  opened the program by passing out a few pages about Online Editing Tools (tips and trick for editing programs) available via Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and AutoCrit. Rebecca also shared a few of the pages offered via Grammarly: 1. Online Profile, and 2. Weekly Email Reports. She provided the list of the five step process for setting one’s writing parameters in MS Word and recommended the following books:  The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White; The Chicago Manual of Style—The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers; and Stephen King on Writing, which Rebecca highly  recommended.

A brief discussion followed with members expressing opinions on their preferred program.

READINGS:

AMY CLITES read two pages of her powerful screen play “Salan A Dance, written in Tetra Lela.” None of the characters said a single word, but their movement, and attention on the bed, which was the focal point of the stage, represented safety and a refuge. The description of the scene built in intensity with every written word. The pictures and emotions were incredibly strong.

MICHAEL BEDNARCZYK read the lines from his children’s book, which he has temporarily named, "The Rainbow Painter." Colors were vividly relayed through the travels of Painter Porcupine the animal characters in his story. Once all his colors were collected and stored in jars, he was finally able to paint his rainbow.

AL KOCH’S shared his article called, “Thoughts.” Al pondered why it is that people do not understand how thoughts are formed through the electro-chemical reaction within the brain. What we do know; however, is that thoughts come through the arrangement of ideas, which result in the process called thinking. The input for this process is driven by our senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings. Via this process, we pass along knowledge learned through experiences. Al recommended that we talk, listen, and should be good to one another by celebrating, appreciating and sharing the personal thoughtful gifts each of us has within our heart and mind.

KATHERINE FLOTZ With US immigration's laws being reconsidered these days, Katherine shared memories about her grandmother’s visit to America. She came to the State in 1958 after the birth of her grandson, Peter. Katherine told of the struggles they went through, which ultimately made them seek the help of a Senator in North Dakota. The Senator introduced a bill, which was ultimately signed into law when Dwight D. Eisenhower sighed the bill. Their grandmother was able to live in the US for fifteen years and taught her grandchildren German as their first language.

CAREN VON SEE used the following W.O.H. group page prompt for this story:“You’ve been able to read minds since you turned seven. Mostly you watch people’s thoughts passively and undetected, but one day someone talks back.”

This short story is titled, "One Day Someone Talked Back.” The story, which follows, is a conversation between two individuals. One who is clairaudient and the other, who is clairsentient. Neither of which is agreeable to being in the other’s head.

AMY BRAILEY read two short stories, “Mind Games”, and “The Chase.” Both stories will eventually become part of her book of prompts to help instructors teach children how to write in school.

Mind Games – (also based on the same W.O.H  group page prompt that Caren Von See used. See above.)  This is a story about lessons a young man learned in life – The first lesson starts with the young man celebrating his seventh birthday when d he learns that his family is moving. The second lesson comes when he learns about the cruelty of how his “so-called” friends perceive him. When a new student joins their class, opinions are instantly formed and they read each other’s minds.

The Chase– is a tale of revenge, Kara, and Oliver who are trying to escape the wrath of Charles Bagheera. Oliver, when he sees, Bagheera’s taillights, thinks and suggests that they are out of danger. Kara disagrees. As it turns out, Oliver’s father not only double crossed Bagheera, but was also involved in a betrayal and the murder of a girl whom Bagheera cared about.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted:

CAREN VON SEE