Monday News

The Art Of Creative Writing

A course that provides instruction and inspiration to get you started and to continue developing your writing skills. Whatever your interest in writing or your own personal style, you will meet and support other writers in their journey, stretch your writing wings and discover opportunities for publishing. Guided by Fern Phillips. Bring a piece of your writing to the first class, as well as a notebook and pen.

Location Seniors on the Bow Centre

Day/Time: Fri, 2:00 pm

Session 1: Sept 7, Sept 21, Oct 5, Oct 19, Nov 2, Nov16, Dec 7, Dec 21

Cost: $16 for guests and $8 for members.

Free Fall Fridays

Join us each Friday from 10am until noon. Free for AWCS Members and first-time non-members. $10 fee thereafter. Refreshments provided. Please contact Mary Kurucz for more information, or to confirm upcoming dates and times.

mary.k@shaw.ca

(403) 210-2295

Prose Critique Group

Drop-in Fees: Members: $2 | Non-Members: $5

Receiving feedback on your writing from your peers can be a valuable asset to new writers. The AWCS Prose Critique Group meets twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. If you would like to be involved, contact Rick Borger at raborger@telus.net

-OR-

Would you like to start your own critique group? Contact us for more information.

Upcoming Courses and Workshops

A Novel Idea

June 26 (10 weeks)

Writing Memorable Settings

July 28

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

August 11

Finding Your Muse

July 14 (6 weeks)

Introduction to Creative Writing

July 5 (8 weeks)

Flash Fiction

September 22

For more info on courses, workshops and online registration, go to www.alexandrawriters.org

Open Mics at Owl’s Nest Books

Join AWCS the last Wednesday of the month – September to April – in the coziness of Owl’s Nest Books, for some fun and entertainment with our new monthly open mic events. Support and encourage fellow writers. Read from works in progress or newly published works. Become a face in local literary circles.  EVERYONE WELCOME!

Upcoming Dates: September 26, 2012 | 7-8:30pm

AWCS Annual General Meeting

Saturday, August 25, 2012 | 1pm-3pm | Venue: TBD

AWCS members, join us at the Annual General Meeting in August to see what we’ve been up to, have your questions answered and see what’s new for the coming year.

Also, elect your 2012/13 Board of Directors.

For more information on membership, summer and fall courses, and online registration, go to www.alexandrawriters.org

Do you have some news you'd like to share? An event, or an upcoming publication? Drop us a line at awcswriterscorner@gmail.com

Feedback & Critique

Part 3: Critique Partners -- Worth their weight in gold-pressed latinum


Every writer has an ideal reader in mind. This reader understands your work, appreciates your style, and enjoys your stories. But what if this reader, could do more than merely read?


Imagine a reader willing to point out weak spots and mercilessly take you to task. A reader able to frame criticism in a practical way. A reader who will compliment, but never coddle. They'll know when to lend a sympathetic ear and when to suggest that you pull your head out of your butt. Over time, they'll learn exactly which parts of your brain to poke in order to stimulate your creative mojo.  Imagine someone who believes in your work enough to rip it to shreds, and still leaves you feeling inspired. A good critique partner will do exactly that, and all they'll ask is that you return the favour.


Some benefits of having one or two (we're open minded here at Writer's Corner) serious crit partners are...

• A more detailed dissection and analysis of your work
• Deep trust allowing for honesty that might otherwise be seen as brutal
• Reduces the risk of getting overwhelmed by too many contradicting opinions
• Constant support of someone who 'gets' you
• Intimate knowledge of your partner's creative process allows for critiques and discussions that are more focused and constructive
• Easier accommodation of novel-length manuscripts or longer short stories, multi-draft reviews etc.
• Flexible time commitments
• It's free (unless you count the wine)

How does one find a critique partner? Honestly, it's not easy. It's not a relationship that can be forced. A good crit partner is the holy grail, a golden-tailed unicorn in human skin. The most effective way to stage your hunt -- um, search -- is to cultivate relationships with other writers. This elusive creature is usually someone you become acquainted with as a writer first, and a friend second. Take classes. Join a writing group. Attend readings and lectures. If you admire a person's work, say so. If someone is looking for a reader, raise your hand. Only keep in mind that these things start small. Begin with exchanging just a few pages. You'll know fairly quickly if the necessary chemistry and commitment is there.




Your crit partner isn't necessarily the only person with whom you share your work. You might also belong to a larger writing group. At some point you might seek a professional manuscript review from someone who doesn't know you at all. That said, your crit partner is likely the first and last reader. They'll see a project through with you to the end. Hopefully, you'll be able to help them as much as they help you. 


The symbiosis between critique partners is a pretty magical thing. It produces better writing, and more stable writers. It's a relationship worth nourishing. Though difficult to identify and track, once you find your unicorn, you'll wonder how you ever got by on your own.

Student Reading & Open Mic

AWCS invites you to their spring semester student reading and open mic event.

When: Thursday, June 21 @ 7pm

Where: Owl's Nest Books 815 - 49th Avenue SW

Share your work, and have some fun. All are welcome!

What Will Grow

For our current theme of  What Will Grow

Bloom

By Jamal Ali

The lifeless silence of winter’s outdoors

where mortals bundle up in free servitude

marches on to the drumbeats of springtime.

Springtime’s harbinger, the red-breasted robin

delights our attentive ear with its cheery carol.

Awakened from our wintry slumber, we spring into life

in that vernal season of growth. Returning from Hades,

Persephone the maiden of spring becomes our leader

in the blooming umbrella of life.

Prolific spring enkindles my imagination,

the miracle of writing enables me to see and experience

that which the naked eye cannot. It was in the spring of 2003

that I discovered my passion for writing – I took an Introductory

Creative Writing Course at the Alexandra Writers Centre in Calgary.

My appreciation for the mundane blooms in springtime.

I marvel at the sight of varying hares in the neighbourhood.

A serenading rainfall at nighttime soothes my slumber.

The sweet scent of freshly cut grass delights my nostrils.

I take pleasure in the planting of peonies, delphiniums,

violets and daisies. A refreshing walk in the daylight hours

after a rainfall, an exuberant feeling brought about by the greenery

of the landscape and the air’s fragrance.

Spring is the season of surprises. Witnessing the extraordinary enriches

my growth. May 26, 2012: With amazement, I stared at a flock of Canada

geese flying in a V-shaped formation in a northerly direction while walking to

the nearby Market Mall. May 27, 2012: My encounter with a white-tailed deer

in my neighbourhood during a leisurely morning walk.

Spring, the mother of life. Cradled in your arms, I bloom like a flower.

Stay with me spring, Stay with me spring.

Please don’t go away.

  

Monday News

Spring Semester Student Reading

Thursday, June 21, 2012, 7pm @ Owl's Nest Books

Our students have been working hard this semester and now is their moment in the spotlight. Come down to Owl's Nest Books and see how far they've come. 

Wine and refreshments.

Possible open mic to follow, so bring something to read just in case.

Free Fall Fridays

Join us each Friday from 10am until noon. Free for AWCS Members and first-time non-members. $10 fee thereafter. Refreshments provided. Please contact Mary Kurucz for more information, or to confirm upcoming dates and times.

mary.k@shaw.ca

(403) 210-2295

Reality is Optional Kids' Writing Club (RIO)

Need a place that understands you? Join RIO, a youth led, adult mentored creative writing club with guest speakers, writing game and more. Come out and play with your words — all you need is a notebook and pen.

Meetings are held the second and last Monday of every month from September to June, 5:30 pm-6:30 pm at the AWCS. Ages 17 and under.

Learn more at www.realityisoptional.weebly.com.

Prose Critique Group

Drop-in Fees: Members: $2 | Non-Members: $5

Receiving feedback on your writing from your peers can be a valuable asset to new writers. The AWCS Prose Critique Group meets twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. If you would like to be involved, contact Rick Borger at raborger@telus.net

-OR-

Would you like to start your own critique group? Contact us for more information.

Open Mics at Owl’s Nest Books

Join AWCS the last Wednesday of the month – September to April – in the coziness of Owl’s Nest Books, for some fun and entertainment with our new monthly open mic events. Support and encourage fellow writers. Read from works in progress or newly published works. Become a face in local literary circles.  EVERYONE WELCOME!

Upcoming Dates: September 26, 2012 | 7-8:30pm

AWCS Annual General Meeting

Saturday, August 25, 2012 | 1pm-3pm | Venue: TBD

AWCS members, join us at the Annual General Meeting in August to see what we’ve been up to, have your questions answered and see what’s new for the coming year.

Also, elect your 2012/13 Board of Directors.

For more information on membership, summer and fall courses, and online registration, go to www.alexandrawriters.org

Do you have some news you'd like to share? An event, or an upcoming publication? Drop us a line at awcswriterscorner@gmail.com

What Will Grow

For our current theme of  What Will Grow


What Will Grow
By: Louise Innes


Tentative Spring steps forward, toddler-like she falters into a blanket of white snow and slowly pulling herself to standing, she shakily begins again her sally forth to summer.

On a warm afternoon in April, I step into my sun-kissed yard. Tiny green shoots puncture the cold black earth, plump red promises of blowsy peony blooms, thrust skyward, and the branches of the large crab apple tree shimmer in a chill breeze, pregnant with pale pink blossom. Hardy shrubs and small trees unfurl tiny, lime green flags along their bare stems and twigs and in between the decorative bunting for this celebration of renewal, the eye begins to pick up the gaps and spaces left by the death of winter.

Bare stems within which the sap will no longer rise, the Chinook side of shrubs wind burnt and frosted to a bone dry skeleton, and bare dark earth, barren and empty where once a beloved iris or bleeding heart once thrived.

There follows the gardeners mourning and regret. The bitter twists of goodbye, even as a guilty stash of garden center receipts clutter the back corner of the kitchen counter.

Turning back towards the house I take in the grass, a carpet of sunshine reflecting back towards the sky. Here is life! Racing forward to flower in a sea of yellow heads. Running to seed with ease as nodding clocks and floating parachutes, taking to the breeze can attest.

Dandelions will grow in this quixotic, cold climate, on a rough ridge of dry prairie soil shadowed by a city. I make the conscious decision to embrace this life force and enjoy the splashy colour of summer gifted so prematurely in the seasons without rancour.

If you have a poem, or some prose (500 words or less) you'd like to share, even if it doesn't fit the theme, we'd love to see it. Send your submission to awcswriterscorner@gmail.com

Fleas & Tics: Peculiar Habits of Writers

An ongoing series exploring weird and wonderful writerly behaviour

Obsessive Compulsive Correctors


Ever notice, when dweebling about your social media, that writers are compelled to amend their posts for the express purpose of correcting typos and auto-correct blunders?


I'm not talking about your blog, or a platform you use specifically to promote yourself as a writer. I'm talking about the place where you spew random absurdities at people who aren't listening. Or looking, I suppose.


I'm talking about Twitter and Facebook, where vowels are a sometimes thing, and the title of 'friend' is conferred with overreaching abandon.


The internet is a giant fishbowl, where anyone can point and laugh at our spelling errors and missing words. Even so, I'd wager most of us do it in private chat too, with people we actually know, who are actual friends, who really extra don't care because they've been matching our wine intake glass for glass.


Do minor mistakes in these types of forums matter? Most of us are too polite to call someone out over a typo. It's considered bad form. No one likes a pedantic troll who scuttles through the web, flaming folks over their spilling and gamer. So why are we obsessed with fixing, and explaining, our own tiny errors?


This is my theory. The compulsion doesn't stem from a fear of being judged incompetent by others. I think it's intrinsic. We can't abide falling short of our own standards for precision. As writers, words are our thing. Using them to clearly communicate is sort of our raison d'être. We have to do it correctly, even when it doesn't matter, because it ALWAYS matters. Even when no one is looking.




Share your amusing observations* of writers in their various habitats at awcswriterscorner@gmail.com Put FLEAS & TICS in the subject line.


*Generalities, please. Don't single anyone out. Do make it funny or dark, but don't be a meanie.

Monday News

Free Fall Fridays

Join us each Friday from 10am until noon. Free for AWCS Members and first-time non-members. $10 fee thereafter. Refreshments provided. Please contact Mary Kurucz for more information, or to confirm upcoming dates and times.

mary.k@shaw.ca

(403) 210-2295

Reality is Optional Kids' Writing Club (RIO)

Need a place that understands you? Join RIO, a youth led, adult mentored creative writing club with guest speakers, writing game and more. Come out and play with your words — all you need is a notebook and pen.

Meetings are held the second and last Monday of every month from September to June, 5:30 pm-6:30 pm at the AWCS. Ages 17 and under.

Learn more at www.realityisoptional.weebly.com.

Prose Critique Group

Drop-in Fees: Members: $2 | Non-Members: $5

Receiving feedback on your writing from your peers can be a valuable asset to new writers. The AWCS Prose Critique Group meets twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. If you would like to be involved, contact Rick Borger at raborger@telus.net

-OR-

Would you like to start your own critique group? Contact us for more information.

Open Mics at Owl’s Nest Books

Join AWCS the last Wednesday of the month – September to April – in the coziness of Owl’s Nest Books, for some fun and entertainment with our new monthly open mic events. Support and encourage fellow writers. Read from works in progress or newly published works. Become a face in local literary circles.  EVERYONE WELCOME!

Upcoming Dates: September 26, 2012 | 7-8:30pm

AWCS Annual General Meeting

Saturday, August 25, 2012 | 1pm-3pm | Venue: TBD

AWCS members, join us at the Annual General Meeting in August to see what we’ve been up to, have your questions answered and see what’s new for the coming year.

Also, elect your 2012/13 Board of Directors.

For more information on membership, summer and fall courses, and online registration, go to www.alexandrawriters.org

Do you have some news you'd like to share? An event, or an upcoming publication? Drop us a line at awcswriterscorner@gmail.com

What Will Grow

A story for our current theme of  What Will Grow


Gertie

By Doreen Vanderstoop

Ever since Gerhart Grunwald was a baby, his family had called him Gertie. Though he was much too young to explain such a thing, Gertie liked certainty. He observed the world like someone determined to find the best route through a mine field. On the refrigerator, his mother posted poems and notes to inspire the family to be good, successful people. The poem written by Robert Fulghum was Gertie’s favourite. Now that Gertie was going to the big school, he asked his mother to read Mr. Fulghum’s words over and over. Not all of them made sense to him but he understood enough to realize that everything he needed to know to survive outside the protective walls of his home he would learn in kindergarten.

Gertie liked his teacher immediately. Besides great height, she had long brown hair that flowed and shone like melted chocolate in the September sunlight streaming through the window. She showed all her teeth when she smiled so he was sure she meant it. After the bell, Miss Baker sat all the children in a circle, welcomed each of them by turn and introduced them to the group. When she said, “Welcome, Gerhart. It is a pleasure to have you in my class,” he piped up proudly, “My name is Gertie, Miss Baker.” “Well, then,” she said, with all her teeth showing, “then we must all call you Gertie, if that is what you wish.” From the corner of his eye, Gertie noticed a boy named Tommy shoot a hand to his mouth to stifle a cough.

At recess, Tommy ran up to Gertie and shouted, “Girlie Gertie, Girlie Gertie,” and then he ran away laughing. When Gertie mentioned this to his mother, he learned that ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.’

Over the months, Gertie was watchful of Tommy. Gertie saw him horde the best Lego pieces for himself and even tuck some in his pocket. When the snow came and they played fox and geese in the playground, Tommy always stepped off the trampled paths. And when he tagged, he tagged very hard. Before snack time, Tommy swept his hands under the tap so quickly that Gertie doubted they’d even gotten wet. His cubby was filled with bits of paper and old plastic snack bags with one gummy worm or a couple fish crackers left in them. Tommy called Melissa Hendricks a sissy when her tooth came out and she cried. On Valentine’s Day, Melissa’s mother had to take back one of the two cupcakes that Tommy snatched from the tray.

Gertie worried about Tommy. And though he was much too young to explain such a thing, Gertie worried about the uncertainty of a world where people didn’t think twice about breaking Mr. Fulghum’s rules.

In the spring, Miss Baker gave all the children a Styrofoam cup with a bit of soil in which to plant a seed. They tended them with care, keeping them moist and in the light. All except Tommy. The day after planting, he knocked his over so that soil and seed tumbled out onto the window ledge and he had to sweep it back in before Miss Baker saw. Sometimes he let it dry out and other times it looked like a mud milk shake.

One morning, a squeal went up from the cluster of children at the window ledge. The seeds had sprouted and tiny gangly stems lifted their heads toward the window as if to catch their first glimpse of the outside world. All but Tommy’s.

Gertie watched Tommy’s face, which betrayed not a bit of upset at his lifeless mud stained cup. And Gertie thought, maybe nobody knows how or why the roots go down and the plant goes up, but somebody knows just when they shouldn’t.

Doreen is a longtime freelance features writer who finally broke free from objectivity. Her writing has been published on the CBC website and she was named a finalist in the Writers Union of Canada 2011 postcard story contest.

If you have a poem, or some prose (500 words or less) you'd like to share, even if it doesn't fit the theme, we'd love to see it. Send your submission to awcswriterscorner@gmail.com