"Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
September Meeting
Last month our turnout for the meeting was low because we are in a period of transition and we are still struggling to get used to the new time frame. We used to host the meeting at night but it seemed like this conflicted with family/dinner time for most folks so we moved the time of the meeting to 3 pm eastern. The meeting day is still the second Monday of the month.
In the August meeting we talked about poetry and the fact that it seems that almost anyone can write a poem. The Eden Lit Lesson for the month was on writing Limericks. These short, often bawdy, poems are rarely thought of as serious poetry but as we discovered they take a certain amount of skill to write. I published all of the previous lessons on our forum, in an easily accessible format for club members as a reference. All lessons have the heading: #EdenLit Lessons and an easy way to search for the lessons is to type the heading into the search engine. We have, so far, looked at First, Second, and Third Person Narrative as well as the lesson on limericks. Through September I will post further lessons on how to combine narrative styles in a piece, as well as a short lesson on common grammar mistakes. I will also give a short introduction to oral interpretation of poetry, or "How To Read A Poem."
Our meeting this month is scheduled for September 10, 2012 at 3pm EST. We are inviting both writers and readers to join us. We will be discussing the work the members have posted as well as a bit more about poetry as a whole. We will be picking a new guided topic for the month as well as generally discussing the club itself.
In the August meeting we talked about poetry and the fact that it seems that almost anyone can write a poem. The Eden Lit Lesson for the month was on writing Limericks. These short, often bawdy, poems are rarely thought of as serious poetry but as we discovered they take a certain amount of skill to write. I published all of the previous lessons on our forum, in an easily accessible format for club members as a reference. All lessons have the heading: #EdenLit Lessons and an easy way to search for the lessons is to type the heading into the search engine. We have, so far, looked at First, Second, and Third Person Narrative as well as the lesson on limericks. Through September I will post further lessons on how to combine narrative styles in a piece, as well as a short lesson on common grammar mistakes. I will also give a short introduction to oral interpretation of poetry, or "How To Read A Poem."
Our meeting this month is scheduled for September 10, 2012 at 3pm EST. We are inviting both writers and readers to join us. We will be discussing the work the members have posted as well as a bit more about poetry as a whole. We will be picking a new guided topic for the month as well as generally discussing the club itself.
Featured Writer- SneakersAndPearls
Last month I wrote a generic sort of beginning to a story and challenged the writers to finish the story. Unfortunately, this time of year is super busy for most of us and the response was a bit slow. Still it did allow one writer to really stand out and her take on the unusual theme was a pleasure to read. SneakersAndPearls really took the story start and made it her own, spinning a tale that was both a pleasure to read and relevant to most of us at this time of year!
The story start was purposefully generic and vague:
I am not really sure how I got here. I woke up this morning and realized that my world had begun to revolve around these rituals I felt compelled to perform. I made my coffee, ate a bowl of cereal, greeted the family, and then sat down at my desk and logged in. I can't say that I am unhappy with my life, it's just that it's not what I pictured when I was younger. I wanted my life to mean something, to be too exciting for words! Now, I am just happy if excitement gets bored waiting for me to log off and finds someone else's life to rearrange. Still, in those quiet moments when the world is sleeping I dream.
Here's an excerpt from SneakersAndPearl's story entitled Barefoot:
“I don't know, I guess I'm kind of bored. I mean, I love my life, but my imagination has been going wild. I feel like I need to do something, but not sure what.”
She hummed and drummed her fingers on the table. “Well, being a housewife and stay-at-home-mom can take it out of you.”
I whirled to face her. “There is nothing wrong with what I do! I chose this life! I wanted it! It was what was best for me and my family at the time. Do you know how hard it is? To dedicate your life to other people? Can you possibly understand the work or the rewards, Little Miss Career Woman?”
“Hey, hey!” Susan said, throwing her hands up in surrender. “I wasn't being sarcastic, Ella. I know what you do is hard. I've never questioned your choice, as you've never questioned mine. Wow, you really are wound up today. What's going on?”
“Oh, I don't know,” I said, sinking down in the adjoining chair. “I feel restless, I guess. Nothing is really wrong, but for some reason I just feel like doing something crazy and different.”
“That doesn't sound like you,” she said. “But for the sake of argument, how crazy are we talking here?”
“I don't know. Something fun and exciting. Maybe tightrope walking lessons.”
Susan laughed and stood up. “I'll get the mugs.” She poured the coffee and brought the cups back to the table. “Tightrope walking, huh? How about something just as fun but more realistic.”
“I'm listening.”
“I take belly dancing on Wednesdays. There's a beginner class on Mondays. I'll go with you.”
“Belly dancing?” I questioned. “Like hip shaking, midriffs and sex? That kind of belly dancing?”
Susan laughed and slapped her hands on the table. “Well, sort of, I guess. Think of it this way. It's dancing. It improves your balance, posture, and grace, not to mention the extra calories you burn.”
“Did you just call me fat?”
To read more of this excellent piece join us on our forum "Eden Lit". Although SneakersAndPearls is new to the club we are hoping she will share some more of her excellent work with us in the future! Congratulations and Encore!
The story start was purposefully generic and vague:
I am not really sure how I got here. I woke up this morning and realized that my world had begun to revolve around these rituals I felt compelled to perform. I made my coffee, ate a bowl of cereal, greeted the family, and then sat down at my desk and logged in. I can't say that I am unhappy with my life, it's just that it's not what I pictured when I was younger. I wanted my life to mean something, to be too exciting for words! Now, I am just happy if excitement gets bored waiting for me to log off and finds someone else's life to rearrange. Still, in those quiet moments when the world is sleeping I dream.
Here's an excerpt from SneakersAndPearl's story entitled Barefoot:
“I don't know, I guess I'm kind of bored. I mean, I love my life, but my imagination has been going wild. I feel like I need to do something, but not sure what.”
She hummed and drummed her fingers on the table. “Well, being a housewife and stay-at-home-mom can take it out of you.”
I whirled to face her. “There is nothing wrong with what I do! I chose this life! I wanted it! It was what was best for me and my family at the time. Do you know how hard it is? To dedicate your life to other people? Can you possibly understand the work or the rewards, Little Miss Career Woman?”
“Hey, hey!” Susan said, throwing her hands up in surrender. “I wasn't being sarcastic, Ella. I know what you do is hard. I've never questioned your choice, as you've never questioned mine. Wow, you really are wound up today. What's going on?”
“Oh, I don't know,” I said, sinking down in the adjoining chair. “I feel restless, I guess. Nothing is really wrong, but for some reason I just feel like doing something crazy and different.”
“That doesn't sound like you,” she said. “But for the sake of argument, how crazy are we talking here?”
“I don't know. Something fun and exciting. Maybe tightrope walking lessons.”
Susan laughed and stood up. “I'll get the mugs.” She poured the coffee and brought the cups back to the table. “Tightrope walking, huh? How about something just as fun but more realistic.”
“I'm listening.”
“I take belly dancing on Wednesdays. There's a beginner class on Mondays. I'll go with you.”
“Belly dancing?” I questioned. “Like hip shaking, midriffs and sex? That kind of belly dancing?”
Susan laughed and slapped her hands on the table. “Well, sort of, I guess. Think of it this way. It's dancing. It improves your balance, posture, and grace, not to mention the extra calories you burn.”
“Did you just call me fat?”
To read more of this excellent piece join us on our forum "Eden Lit". Although SneakersAndPearls is new to the club we are hoping she will share some more of her excellent work with us in the future! Congratulations and Encore!
Great Job SneakersandPearls!!!