April 8th Meeting Report "Pitch to me"

We met for practice pitches this week. It was a fun meeting that, for those of us who went through the pitching gauntlet, involved pitching a half dozen times to other members posing as editors and agents.

Every person I pitched to looked for slightly different things and gave different advice, but the core items (Present yourself well, tell me what you write and why I would want to publish it, who is your audience and how will you reach them?) were the same. I learned a lot!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Preparations for our conference are going well.

HWG member Andres Fragoso will be starting a critique group that will meet Saturday afternoon at the Tipsy Cafe near Sunset. Stay tuned for further details.

BRAGS:

Congratulations to Martin Greening on the publication of his magazine's first issue! The first issue of Azure Keep Quarterly  features articles from two Henderson Writer's Group members.

Congratulations to Andres Fragoso on his poem "Listen" being chosen as poem of the day on April 2nd.

Congratulations to Toni Pacini on her poem "Waiting for Remarkable" being selected to be read at the upcoming Poetry Showcase at the Henderson Senior Center.

Congratulations to Jo Wilkins on her publishing company Ink and Quill signing a contract to publish the memoir of Vital.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

"Go my child, and publish."

WRITING TIP:

Stereotypes—Boring! If everything remains the same what is there to write about? From the dumb blond to all tissues being a Kleenex, stereotyping your characters and props can flatten your story. There is nothing wrong with calling a tissue a Kleenex, but every blond in your story should be someone different. Remember how surprised the audience was when in the vintage TV show the voluptuous blond receptionist turned out to be the smartest person in the radio stations office. Remember—Variety is the spice of life (and the life of your story).

UPCOMING MEETINGS:

We'll be practicing pitches at our next meeting Monday at the Coffee House (and if you'd like to read a bio or one page synopsis and hear feedback, you're welcome to). Practicing pitching your book is so helpful! If you're attending the conference you'll want to come next week.


POETRY:

Since April is National Poetry Month I am pleased to share three poems with you, written by members of our writers' group:

Who Are You Now?

by Barbara Botch

The beauty of the sunrise is surpassed only 

by the brilliance of the sunset. 

You can never lose touch with who you are 

when you allow the sea to call you by name. 

There’s a sort of arrogance that arouses in me 

when I spend time with the sea. 

A sense of freedom flows with the melody of the waves 

as I sink into a silence that speaks only to me. 

No longer lonely to who I am, 

I die to the old~ with the red moon as my witness. 

And as the sparkling dancing diamonds grace the water 

I welcome the new. 

Only listen~ 

The brilliance of the sunset is surpassed only 

by the beauty of the sunrise. 

Who are you now? 

Waiting for Remarkable

by Toni Pacini


I have lived a life that for the most part is not worth commenting on. I want that one remarkable thing to happen, that one unbelievable stroke of genius to come to me, that one moment that makes all the difference.

When I'm in a – social circle – and all the remarkable people are talking about their remarkable lives, I have to make it up. I tell stories. I write stories. Fortunately I don't believe my stories. I just make them up and tell them in a clever way to compensate for my lack of remarkable. My common-ness.

As a child, I knew wonder and awe. I expected greatness. I just believed. I don't know why? But I knew remarkable was coming. I felt certain that I would collide with something awesome just around the next corner. I would not have been completely surprised, had I discovered that I could fly.

As a girl, I believed it would simply be revealed to me in time, that soon I would discover that I was a gifted pianist, a prophet of Nostradamus proportions, a scientist or a mathematician.

As a young woman, I began to doubt, so in an effort to maintain the dream, I attached my upcoming remarkable experience to another. Prince Charming or maybe a White Knight would come. I would be remarkable to him, and his love for me would make me remarkable to others. He would come.

The woman grew weary of dreams. As a woman I did even try to believe. Survival became my focus. All the rest was fairy tales and folklore, an old wives tale told in the midst of a storm to distract the children from their fears. As a woman I accepted that some people are remarkable and some people simply are not.

I realized that I could study the music of the greats, but I would not be one of them. I could memorize the work of Einstein and yet not grasp the meaning.

No. It's not outside of me. It can't be learned or taught. It can't be borrowed or bought. It cannot even be sought. It is, or it is not.

Now I start my waning years. I face the sum of women's fears. Now like a child and young girl pass, I find the wheels of life reverse, and I believe again what I knew first. So I am waiting again for remarkable, and isn't it a treat, to learn that it's remarkable, the circle to complete.

Life is remarkable.

A Mothers Request

by Jo Wilkins

Daughters—Daughters, I am blessed with four

And I know the Lord will give me more.

I love each daughter in her own way.

Yet in my prayers I silently say—

Oh, as patient as I try to be

I have just one problem, can’t You see?

Lord please listen as I try to pray

And send me another child to stay.

But could I make one simple request?

Can we make it different than the rest?

Help me be patient until it’s done.

Oh, but next time, can’t we have a son?

(Written Sept. 1978. David Vincent Wilkins was born July 30, 1980)

CALENDAR:

April 2013 Sun       Mon      Tues      Wed           Thur           Fri                 Sat
	1 Coffee House Henderson 6:30-8:30	2	3	4	5	6
7	8 Lutheran Community Church 6:30-8:30	9	10	11	12	13
14	15 THE COFFEE HOUSE in Henderson 6:30-8:30	16	17	18 Writer's Conference	19 Writer's Conference	20 Writer's Conference
21	22 Lutheran Community Church 6:30-8:30	23	24 West side meeting Skinny Dugans 6:30 p.m.	25	26	27
28	29 THE COFFEE HOUSE in Henderson 6:30-8:30	30	May 1	2	3	4
5	6 The Coffee House in Henderson 6:30-8:30	7	8	9	10	11

Have a great week!

Editor- Jenny Ballif