Club Newsletter, Wyong Toastmasters; September, 2016
Since May I’ve been involved
with the North Arm Cove Writers, who have been together since 1997.
The group meets at the same
time each month. After the meeting’s opening where general business concerns
are looked at, people are invited to share. In May, for example, one lady said
how she’d seen on QI that “there are 923 exceptions to the rule I-before-E”,
which prompted another chap to explain that it was “more a convention than an
actual rule.”
Then comes the bout of ‘slam
writing’, where we simply write whatever we wish for two minutes then share
that round the table. You’d be surprised what some people can do in just two
minutes. This is followed by that month’s lesson which will vary in topic-
already since May, we have looked at writing mysteries, comedy writing, rhyming
poetry and children’s writing. Exercise from the previous month is shared, and
the quality is always admirable.
They’re a good bunch, with
some interesting characters. There’s a (very funny!) bush poet, brilliant at
Clarence Town the other week, who can churn out poems like you wouldn’t
believe. The NACW secretary is simultaneously the secretary for the Fellowship
of Australian Writers and writes the North Arm Cove News, bringing a wealth of
skills to the fore. And another chap is an artist who has also published a
couple of fantasy novels as well. Networking is encouraged too, with a
successful BBQ with visitors from Port Stephens held in July that is set to be
reciprocated in November.
NACW is a long-running and
industrious group of fellow-minded individuals who encourage each other to keep
striving towards their goals. About to enter its third decade of operation, it
shows no sign of winding down. I hope to be a member for some time yet.
