Present: Peter M, Simona, Nathan, Sarah, Hillary, Keith, Peter H, Liz

Apologies: Alan, Heather 

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:  

1. Peter M. thanked all those who have paid their membership fee and nudged everyone else to pay if they have not.  

2. Upon Peter’s invitation to turn the December meeting into a social gathering outside the usual gathering place, the group unanimously accepted. Peter, as the host, will provide the entertainment (a literary game) and agreed to accept any contributions to the snacks table. Reading will be allowed if very short.  

3. The WWC Event subcommittee relayed to the wider group that no event will be organised in 2023 and that 2/3 will be planned in the new year. Venues currently considered: Lionsheart Bookshop and Fiery Bird. The group suggested to the subcommittee to also consider Guildford Book Festival and the Woking Library.  

NEWS 

1. Out of the Ordinary Poetry Pamphlet launch: This even will take place on the 2^nd of December via Zoom, and everyone is encouraged to join.  

2. Lionsheart Poetry night, 25 of November: Liz has kindly organised with the owner of the bookshop for 4 of the WWC readers to take part in this event. Should anyone else want to join in they would be more than welcome.  

3. The Reading Group’s book assignment, Freefall by William Golding, was found to be very good, poetic, and very well written by a troubled soul. A recommended book for novelists.  

4. Liz’s poem about the two contrasting cultural centres of Woking (Lightbox and Fiery Bird) will be published in the Woking News and Mail. Well done, Liz.  

READINGS 

Tricia’s piece was in line with the given homework (‘Recovery’) and took us through the attempt of Griff to stabilise someone having a seizure, by placing them in the Recovery Position. Hillary noted that Tricia’s expertise came through really well in the piece. The twist at the end was noticed and praised by both Peter and Sarah. Simona noted that the piece had a good pace and was very gripping.  

Nathan also engaged with the given homework in the form of a poem and a haiku. His poem, ‘Without’, weaved the theme of recovery after the loss of a loved one and his haiku, ‘Recovery’, answers the questions asked in the poem. Hillary said the rhyming in the poem as being ‘cheeky’ and Keith mentioned that it reminded him of ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles. The ‘Nile’ metaphor in the poem required some explanation which Nathan explained as the ‘Nile’ being seen as the river of life. Peter commented that the poem has a very strong rhythm with very short lines which gives a sense of motion. Peter also noted that using a poem and a haiku as a device is very good idea as it makes both more attractive. Liz enjoyed the simplicity of it.  

Peter M, the only rowing poet in a determined radius, delighted the group with a rowing poem, ‘The Vet’s Head’, which he plans to read at Heather’s Pamphlet Launch. Keith asked if the poem was inspired by George Orwell while Hillary noted that the poem is excellent, very entertaining. Tricia said the poem is pacey, with a lot of rhythm and stated that the intro is quite useful.  

Keith announced that he has finally started work on his novel and he brought a piece of a chapter to read to the group, inspired by a trip had had undertaken in Korea. The group had plenty of feedback to offer. Simona mentioned that the personality of the characters comes through strongly when Keith reads the piece but not so much without a strong performance narrator, and that leaning into some stereotypes may help in writing. Tricia countered that there is a fine line between leaving into stereotypes and being disrespectful, point which Simona conceded. Clarification about the nature of the novel was requested and Keith confirmed that the novel will be mostly fiction inspired by his journey through life. Tricia found the piece humorous, and Peter H noted that it was very self-contained while Hillary mentioned that it may fit well with other short chapters. Keith also mentioned that he has not yet decided if he would like to write his novel in third or first person to which Hillary mentioned that it may be easy for him to decide if he were to write the same piece in third person as well.  

Simona read a piece of prose which she intends to use in her novel either in its entirety or broken up in pieces and scattered across. Without much explanation, she hoped that the group could dig through the abstract meanings and glimpse at what or who the narrator may be. The piece generated some confusion, but Hillary and Sarah were able to identify the narrator and offered some suggestions that would emphasise ‘otherness’.  

Peter H read a piece in contrast to the given homework, named ‘Breaking’. Simona was impressed by Peter’s ability to keep the story humorous while staying true to the pathos. Sarah and Tricia both agreed that the story was very relatable and in a way bewildering in its amusement and poignancy. Keith compared Peter’s piece to the narrative of a successful sitcom. Peter M asked for clarification on whether one of the characters gains lucidity but Peter H confirms that this to remain open to interpretation.  

Sarah’s two stories, named ‘Bus Stop encounters 1 and 2’, were very relatable snippets of the narrator’s life and as such very well received. Peter H suggested that collating these encounters may be a good idea. Hillary agreed that these were lovely pen portraits of ordinary people. Tricia suggested that some of the other pieces Sarah has written in the past fall in this category and she could collate these as pen portraits, not necessarily as ‘Bus Stop Encounters’.   

Hillary’s story named ‘Tuesday is Bin Day’, a Halloween themed short story followed the protagonist through what would appear to be a normal day, on a day when unsettling events could and would occur leading to a mysterious climax. Tricia noted that the build-up of suspense was very good, and Liz thought the piece was beautifully imagined. Sarah noted how using certain constructs such as the ‘neighbourhood messaging group’ captured the day-to-day life of living in a community very well.  

Liz returned to working on her memoir and found a piece (‘Notes on a holiday ‘) she had written long ago that she considered including. Her second piece was complementary to the first one, in that it described the scenery of the travels. Tricia enjoyed the first piece and noted that Liz has a way of making audiences be in there in the story through recounting real, vivid experiences. For the second piece, Tricia noted that some descriptions could be used in her memoir. Hillary said that descriptions of landscape are difficult to write engagingly as most landscape is not sufficiently different form a landscape known. Simona noted that without context the imagery is hard to evoke but she enjoyed the authenticity of the first piece. Peter M suggested using original metaphors if describing landscape as it would make the images stand out.  

THE DECEMBER MEETING WILL NOT TAKE PLACE.  

Our next meeting will be held on January 18^th, 2024 

Jobs for January meeting:  

Chairperson: Keith 

Minutes: Heather 

Milk and biscuits: Sarah 

Wine: Tricia 

Homework: Springtime