Critique Morning (Sharing The Minutes of My Writer's Group)

In the early hours of Friday morning the sun strained to shine through a low lying cloud. Cars buzzed along the streets with their headlights peering through the mist. The first autumn leaves fluttered to the damp pavement and Sharon's new coffee maker was bubbling. It seems Corey (whose morning hair looked much like a gorse bush) spotted the shiny apparatus and—always attracted to new gadgets—decided to make the coffee.

Present: (in order of appearance)

Sharon (Freelance writer and domestic engineer)
Ruth (Poet and "mother" of many)
Jane Rumph(Author and specialist in Extreme Adventures)
Marilyn Woody(Author, counselor, and our fearless critique group President)

Tardy: Brenda (Aspiring author, speaker, and businesswoman)
(Note: Brenda's arrival created quite a ruckus and the conversation had to be put on hold until everyone calmed down.)


Missing:

Colleen (Freelance Writer)
Deanne (Singer/Songwriter)
Debby (Fantasy novelist)
Debbie Wong (Author, Popular Vocalist, Speaker)
Pat Stockett-Johnston (Prolific writer-wins the most articles published award)
Sandra Schoger Foster (famous author)
Yvonne (Biker Babe) Responsible for political briefings
Sharon Norris Elliott (Author, Speaker, Educator)


The morning started off with Sharon sharing that she submitted her Halloween book to Mary McNeil of Cook Publishing this month. Her article, "When God Rode a Dirt Bike" article is presently at Today's Christian Woman Magazine for consideration.

Next we discussed what it takes to self-publish, with Jane explaining what it means to lay-out a book, and defining the term PDF file for us. We also touched on the topic of how to send illustrations to a self publisher. From there the topic went to Madonna and what we thought about her. Following--a discussion was launched about whether or not we should judge people. The general consensus was YES.

Ruth gave us some insights on the challenges of being an efficient mom/mother-in-law and staying out of trouble.

Marilyn announced that she is READY TO WRITE, after being off duty for a while. She also is still knee deep in Arleta’s manuscripts.

Speaking of the challenge it is (as busy women) to get to our writing, it is good to set small attainable daily goals. For example, just 30 to 45 minutes per day. (Sharon was able to submit her Halloween Book to Cook this month by setting small daily goals. One day the goal was only to get the page numbers on the manuscript. Another day was just getting the envelope and self addressed envelope printed. It’s amazing how something gradually DOES GET DONE, with just one step at a time. Remember the story—the tortoise and the hare? Be a tortoise and you will get there!

And...Jane’s book came out! The one she wrote for Mr. Daughtery (spelling) who shared about God’s role in building a Christian school. The book is published by TATE publishing and it looks great. It would have looked better with Jane’s name on the front! Congratulations Jane!

We also ate a lot of walnuts and peanuts and everyone caught glimpses of Corey, who was packing up his bedroom in boxes and “taking breaks” on the computer. (Last day home 11/5)

We missed you all! Next month we’ll be at Marilyn’s sister’s home in Pasadena. How fun it will be to gather in December for a special Christmas Critique!

Sharon P.