Posted on by Louella Lester

What I Saw and Thought About on My Way to Writing Group

I decided to take photos with my iPhone as I walked to writing group on Thursday evening. It’s that time of the year where the weather is all over the place, not sure if it wants to warmup for good or get cold again. So the ground was a bit icy and I had to watch my step.

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I don’t have to watch my step so much when I’m at writing group because we’ve been together for a long time and everyone is pretty forgiving, even when I blab too much. I passed this shiny new condo building half way to the meeting and it got me reflecting about past members.

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I’m bad with dates, but Ahniko (she and I are the only originals in the group) says we started in April 2003. We had been involved in a group that met monthly, but we wanted to meet more often so we started our own group. Currently, there are four of us: Ahniko, Heather, Kelly, and me. People have come and gone, some moving away or deciding they had no time, etc. Past members include: Cynara, Gloria, Harvey, Helen, Jamie, Jocelyn 1, Jocelyn 2, Kevin, Letty, Marika, Rachel, Rick, Sherry, Sue, and I’m sure I missed someone (please don’t take it personally if I did).

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We meet twice a month at a coffee shop or restaurant because we don’t want people to get caught up in making snacks or cleaning their homes to prepare for the meetings. We yap a bit, order food or drinks, and then get to it. We each bring enough copies for the members and we take turns reading our pieces while the others listen and jot comments. Then we critique in a positive useful way: share what we liked, ask questions, point out where we may have been a bit confused, etc. Then we move on to the next person.

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We have supported one another over the years. Encouraged. Cajoled. Applauded. Commiserated. Attended readings. We share books and resources. We go on writing retreats. We have days at the library. We have days for submitting writing. We help each other out. Yay, for our writing group!

Here are more photos I took when I stopped along the way to writing group. I might use some of them for writing prompts.

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Like this little camper trailer. Can you imagine the adventures it’s been on?

 

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Or the this doomed house. Think of all the people who have lived there over the years.

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This portable toilet must have been around.

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This guy had me wondering why so often I see people without mitts in Winnipeg during the winter.

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And this is the one shot I took on my way home from writing group. It was just a bit too cold for me to keep my mitts off.

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10 Replies to “What I Saw and Thought About on My Way to Writing Group”

  1. Fantastic use of negative space and subtle colour in some of these. And I too would love to have a writing group like that. Though I do have a small group of three that meets a couple of times a week to actually write together, only not now in the quarantine. I was thinking of asking them if they’d like to still write together (at the same time) and check in with each for coffee and chat now and then on Skype. Will you have some kind of virtual meeting with yours for the duration?

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    1. Thanks😊. A lot of writers I know are doing thing like setting up fb video writing times. You log on and they give prompts, etc. And my writing group might use Zoom next week. It’s good to stay connected in some way. Skype would work, too. Once we used it when a group member was away for a few months. You should do that with your group.

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  3. I enjoyed reading about the inner workings of this writing group that I’ve heard you refer to for so many years. So great that you support one another in this way.

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  4. Hello Louella, read your blog early morning before getting to my writting. I wish i had the same kind of group here…. I love the travel of your thoughts mingled with the photos of your travel in the streets, I was there with you.
    I went to germany and Poland in January on the tracks of my dad’s prisonner journey during second world war. i was about to give up the writting and knew this journey could give me the energy to continue it. My elder son came with me at the begining and it was a fantastic trip. I wrotte there and decided to continue the writting. Harder than writting a theater play though, technically especially, but I keep going. I check regularly for writting groups… maybe someday….

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    1. Valerie,
      It’s always great to hear from you. I’m glad you are still looking for information about your father and want to continue writing about it. I remember your stories involving him. It’s nice you were traveling with your son, too. I wish you could find a writing group, I do so appreciate mine. Maybe you if you contacted some local writing organization you could make some connections.
      Take care, Louella

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  5. I like the patterns the tire tracks make. I also think about the past lives of doomed houses, so sad. Your writing group sounds great! Wish I had something comparable (although I don’t know for what)!

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