Next Meeting 3-12-13!

Sorry I've been so terrible at blogging lately. We've had a series of small meetings, canceled meetings, meetings where we didn't talk about writing, etc. Well, my friends, Spring is upon us. Time to get back on track! Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 12th at 7:30 p.m. It's at Becky's apartment, as usual. Submit stuff. Be there.

In other literary news:

The Creative Chicago Expo is tomorrow and Saturday (March 1-2) at the Chicago Cultural Center. There are panels and speakers related to writing and many other art forms, and it's free. I think I'm going to attend some talks. There are also vendors. Sounds fun.

The next Dollhouse Reading Series is Saturday, March 16th, so keep that in mind if you want to hear some excellent poetry in a random person's house. It's fun.

And...that's all I can think of right now. See you next time!

Minutes! 1-8-13

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't post for the last meeting. I honestly thought I had. Apparently my brain decided to trick me. Anyway, here are the minutes for this week:

• We read a scene from Tanise's play. Discussion ensued.
• We read a scene from Dan's play. Discussion ensued.
• I brought up an idea for a writing exercise, which is this: in the latest issue of McSweeney's they performed an experiment in translations. They'd give an already published, non-English story to an author who would translate it into English. Then they'd give that author's translation to another author, who would translate it into a different language. Then they'd give that translation to yet another author, who would translate it back into English a second time, and so on. I propose that we do this ourselves, on a much smaller scale. I speak enough French to do this, and I know Felipe speaks fluent Spanish. (Does anyone else speak other languages?) I have a book of flash fiction stories, so let's say I take one and translate it into French. Then I'll email my translation to one of you, and you'll translate it back into English. (If you don't understand French, you can always stick it into google translate to get an idea of what it means and then polish it into better English.) Then you send your translation to Felipe, and he'll translate it into Spanish. And so on. We could do this in the two weeks between our next two meetings, and then we could read them aloud when we're all done to see the differences. Does that sound fun to people? Let me know.
• Our next meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 22nd at Becky's apartment, 7:30 p.m. See you there!

Minutes! 12-4-12

Another tiny meeting! Just me and Felipe and Raphael. Have people's schedules changed? Would another night of the week work better now? Let me know. Here's what you missed:

• We read a rewrite of Chapter 2 of Becky's novel. Discussion ensued.
• Raphael read some of his automatic writing. Discussion ensued.
• We all wrote little stories based on this prompt: "She has her headphones in." (We tried to ask Lindsey for a prompt, but she had her headphones in. So that's how that happened.)
• There is a Pop-Up Book Fair at the Empty Bottle this Sunday from 2-7 p.m. Who wants to check out some local publishers and go Christmas shopping with me? The event is free with RSVP. Click the link for more info. (I think I already invited you all on Facebook.)
• The next Dollhouse Reading Series is on December 15th. Anyone want to go hear some poetry?
• I thought I mentioned this a million years ago, but apparently I didn't. I am a terrible person. At any rate, our very own Rachel Hinton was published in the Denver Quarterly this year! Congratulate her. For real.
• Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 18th at 7:30 p.m. at my place. The usual. We can have a little holiday shindig if you'd like. 

And that's about it. See you all soon! 

Minutes! 11-20-12

Sorry for the lack of posts. The last few meetings have sort of failed for various reasons. We had a lovely little meeting tonight, though. Here's what you missed:

• We have a new member, Tanise! (Shame on the rest of you for not showing up to meet her!) (Just kidding.) We read a scene from one of her plays. Discussion ensued.
• We workshopped a new play that Raphael is working on. Discussion ensued.
• We read some of Becky's blog stories. Discussion ensued.
• Tanise mentioned the Stockyards Theatre Project's Play for Keeps program, where women can learn to write plays.
• Raphael mentioned the Mystery Build art contest, which sounds really awesome, even though it has nothing to do with writing. 
• The next Dollhouse Reading Series is Saturday, December 15th. I totally want to go. I don't know about you guys...

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 4th at 7:30 p.m. at Becky's. (How is it already December?!) See you then. 

Minutes! 10-9-12

Hey everyone! Here's what you missed:

• We spent a great deal of time reading and discussing Becky's stories that she's submitting to grad schools. She is sorry that she took up so much time.
• We read two of Jane's stories. Discussion ensued.
• We had a hilarious discussion about whether or not certain literary devices are "douchey." 
• The Dollhouse Reading Series is this Friday! Let's all go hear some poetry, shall we? 
• Our Mary Shelley Story-Telling Party will take place on Thursday, October 18th at 7:30 p.m.! We're going to celebrate Halloween in a literary way. Write a short scary story/poem/play/song/whatever and bring it to Becky's apartment to read. If you want, you can also bring a short piece that was written by an author you enjoy. Candles to create a spooky atmosphere will be provided. BYOB. Costumes are perfectly acceptable. And who knows? Maybe one of us will write the next Frankenstein.
• Our next regular meeting will be Tuesday, October 23rd at 7:30 p.m. The usual.

Annnnnd now I've just been sitting and eating food and laughing for several hours so I'm REALLY HYPER. I'm going to channel this energy into doing the dishes. See you next time!

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.