Minutes! 9-25-12

Here are the minutes from today's meeting:

• We read Chapter 8 of Glenn's novel. Discussion ensued.
• We also decided that we are all going to RESPOND VIA THE GOOGLE GROUP regarding the second half of Glenn's chapter.
• We read some of Becky's flash pieces. Discussion ensued.
• We read some of Jane's flash pieces. Discussion ensued.
• Shall we all go to The Minus Times release party at The Whistler on Thursday?
• Legs McNeil reads from his book about the history of punk at Late Bar on October 2nd.
• Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 9th at 7:30 p.m. Becky's apartment.

See you there!

Minutes! 9-11-12

'Twas a small meeting today, but that's alright. Here's what you missed:

• We discussed MFA programs. (Becky has an the MFA issue of Poets & Writers, and she highly recommends it if you're looking into MFA programs. Lots of useful info!)
• We read Rachel's poem. Discussion ensued. 
• We want to have a Mary Shelley story-telling party in October! This would involve us all writing scary stories, getting dressed up, and reading our stories to each other! Who knows? One of us may end up writing the next Frankenstein. Possible dates for this party: October 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th. Let me know what would work best for you!
• Literary things going on in Chicago! Both Junot Diaz AND Irvine Welsh have readings in the city tomorrow (September 12th). On September 27th The Whistler is hosting a release party for Featherproof Books' collected The Minus Times. Could be fun/good networking. Anyone want to go?
• Our next regular meeting will be September 25th at Becky's apartment, 7:30 p.m. Submit stuff! Be there!

That's about it for now. Have a good two weeks full of writing and happy times. 

Minutes! 8-28-12

Look at me, updating this blog like an adult! Here's what you missed:

• We read Chapter 7 of Glenn's novel. Discussion ensued.
• We read the story "Bryce" from Becky's blog. Discussion ensued.
• We read Gena's poem "Why Lingerie is Important." Discussion ensued.
• We read the beginning of Raphael's sci-fi story. Discussion ensued.
• Becky mentioned that we should all possibly submit to The Proof.
• Becky mentioned that we should all possibly enter Bookkus Publishing's first short story contest. (Also--Bookkus Publishing just seems like a really neat publishing format.) 

Now that Summer is drawing to a close, we're going to start meeting twice a month again. Our next meeting will be September 11th at 7:30 p.m. at Becky's. See you all there!

Minutes! 6-4-12

Happy June everyone! Here's what you missed:

• Glenn rejoined us and we read a short story of his. Discussion ensued. Interesting thought--is it ok to have one half of a story be written in a slow, introspective manner and the second half be written in a quick, plot-heavy manner? Does it make the story too unbalanced?
• We read Gena's poems. Discussion ensued. Interesting thought--are stanzas always necessary?
• We read Chapter 5 of Becky's novel. Discussion ensued. Interesting thought--are there any good techniques to help keep your narrative voice and your characters' voices separate? 
• Gena suggested we might take a field trip to the Music Box Theater to see a special showing of the National Theater's production of Frankenstein. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Danny Boyle, this is sure to be a literary treat. Wow, I just grossed myself out by writing that. So cheesy. At any rate, it should be lots of fun. Anyone up for it?
• We are DEFINITELY taking a field trip to Printer's Row Lit Fest this Sunday! We'll probably meet there around noon. A facebook event page will be created.
• Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 19th at 7:30 p.m. at Becky's.

That's all for now. See you next time!

Minutes! 5-22-12

Oh man, it was quite the tiny, tangential meeting this evening! But lots of fun. Here's what you missed:

• We read two pieces of Jane's flash fiction. Discussion ensued. Interesting ideas: can a flash piece be a good beginning for a longer story? Does shaking someone's hand feel like a boob?
• We decided Jane should write a book of short stories that are descriptions of body parts until she cobbles together a sort of Frankenstein person.
• Gena recommended The Book of Beginnings and Endings. It's exactly what it sounds like--just the beginnings and endings of stories.
• We read the second half of Chapter 4 of Becky's novel. Discussion ensued. Interesting idea: does using a brand name in your story make it too dated? 
• Becky now has a year's subscription to Writer's Digest, so if you want to borrow an issue or something, let her know.
• Gena started a blog in which she will write a letter to you if you give her a topic. Check it out!
• Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 5th, 7:30 p.m. at Becky's apartment. 

That's all for now. See you next time! 

Minutes! 5-8-12

Here's what happened in the world of DWChitown:

• Rachel described what it was like to be in a creative writing MFA program. Very helpful!
• We read two of Rachel's poems. Discussion ensued. Interesting topic - narrative poem vs. poems about one object/person/thing.
• We read Raphael's play. Discussion ensued. Interesting topic - the information garnered from seeing a play written down vs. seeing it performed. 
• We read the first chapter of Gena's romance novel. Discussion ensued. Interesting topic - writing a parody that still fits into the genre that it's parodying, such as Shaun of the Dead.
• We read the first part of Felipe's short story. Discussion ensued. Interesting topic - even if you intend for a detail about a character to be treated nonchalantly, will your audience treat it that way? 
• We did not have time to read Chapter 4, Pt. 1 of Becky's novel. But Felipe had already read it, so he gave notes, and Gena gave notes about the parts that she had read. This is a good time to mention that online feedback is fun! We should email each other our thoughts, especially when it comes to longer stories.
• Gena suggested that we have a party sometime and/or several parties where we get drunk and read plays aloud. Several others expressed interest. Hopefully Gena will be emailing us about that sometime in the not-too-distant future.
• The Northwestern University library is having a book sale this week! 
• Raphael is in a play called After the Quake, based on the short stories of Haruki Murakami. We should all go see it when it starts!
• Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 22nd at Becky's apartment. 

It's nice that we can have another meeting before Memorial Day. Hope to see you all then!

Minutes! 4-24-12

Another tiny meeting this evening. Y'all better come next time or I'll start to get worried! (I have no idea why I chose to say "y'all" there.) Anyway, here are the minutes:

• We read Chapter 7 of Glenn's story. Discussion ensued.
• We also discussed the end of Chapter 6 of Glenn's story. (For real, people, we need to start commenting online.)
• We read Chapter 3 of Becky's story. Discussion ensued.
• We read Leta's story. She joined us on G+, and discussion ensued.
• Becky informed the group that Chicago-based Wildclaw Theatre is hosting a radio play contest called "Deathscribe." They are looking for 10-minute horror radio plays; their favorites will be produced live and turned into a podcast. The deadline is July 31st. Full details can be found on their website. 
• Our next meeting will be May 8th at 7:30 p.m. at Becky's.

That's about it. Maybe if the weather is nice enough next time we can hold the meeting on Becky's deck...

See you there!