The Fiction Focus Group of Cobb County
Marketing Opportunity: Here’s something none of us have looked at since sometime in 2007, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep up with—the What We’re Interested In page at Donald Maass, which looks to be updated at least once a month. They’re only one agency, but they’re an A-list one that has good insight on what is considered “fresh and new” out there, and what other agencies may be looking for as well.
◊
December FFG
Downhome Soiree and General Holiday Hobnob: Tuesday, 12/30/2008, at Sylvia’s house, 6:30 PM until. Directions have been sent by Email; if you didn’t receive them, give me or Syl a holler.
Agenda: Whatever we darn well want; no critiques were handed out last month. Seems we are on a roll. Sylvia will have bread and a pot of soup on hand, plus wine and beer. Feel free to bring something if you so desire, especially snacks or desserts, or a favorite beverage. Or simply show up, and throw down. 
◊
November FFG
Critiquefest: 11/25/2008. (Thanksgiving lands on Thursday, the 27th.)
Agenda: No submissions.
ETA Meeting report: Attendees—Cathi, Jennie, Teresa, and Stephe. Any critiques and all the Blue Shirts were a no-show, so it was rollicking fun and laughs until we closed the place down. It took years off, I tell you.
◊
October FFG
Critiquefest: 10/28/2008. You know the time, you know the place.
Agenda: No submissions handed out at the last meeting. If none are received by E-mail, no problem. This month’s fest is still on, so be there or be Δ. (I didn’t have a square. Leave me alone!)
Our Sylvia is safely back from China!
Good vibes out to Jennie’s mom, who was ailing last month.
ETA Meeting report: Attendees–Jeff, Jennie, Sylvia, Teresa, and Stephe. And boy, was it a free for all about what we’re writing, land maps for your stories, China, experiences with post offices, Walmart, bridges and killer bees, Sophie’s Ladder, French philosopher Michel Henry and radical subjectivity, there are Romans still in Rome, and what to do when you’ve stalled out at night in an airplane (somehow paralleled with what to do when you’re stalled out on a story). What didn’t we talk about? 
◊
September FFG
Critiquefest: 9/30/2008, Borders Book Store, 7P until…
Agenda:
• “Body’s Shoppe” and “Dungeon #2″ — Cathi. (These are two more additional scenes for Halsig Book 1, and Mrs. O needs the same type of feedback as last time. How is the atmosphere/setting, characters, pacing, dialogue and humor, etc.)
Attendees: Cathi, Jeff, Stephe, Teresa, Bill, and Darrell.
◊
August FFG
Critiquefest: 8/26/08, Borders Book Store @ 7P.
Agenda:
• Wonder and the Liberation of the Mind, Deep Thinking On The Internet, and eight other short-short essays — Jeff. (These are tentative posts slated for Jeff’s new website/blog-in-progress, so he needs ideas and views on how they’ll work for that purpose rather than the usual critique. Are they interesting? Clear? Too long or too short? Et cetera.)
• Halsig Book 1, new scene — Cathi. (See Cathi’s e-mail on what she’s needing from us in terms of feedback on this submission.)
And perhaps that nice young man we met in July, Kevin Howard, will sit in and see what we’re about. I find his website and mission quite interesting.
ETA: Attendees Sylvia, Stephe, Darrell, Teresa, Jeff, Jennie, and Cathi.
Thanks to some good humorous writing, Cathi’s new scene made us get a little “a head” of ourselves. And Jeff’s essays were so varied and thought-provoking, at times we found ourselves debating the subjects at hand more than critiquing them for his new blog, Sophie’s Ladder. Ha!
◊
July FFG
Fiction Focus Fest: 7/29/08, at Borders Book Store, same Bat Time, same Bat channel, same Bat station.
Agenda: TBD. No submissions handed out in June. If none are received by e-mail, the meeting will be on fiction focus, stories in progress, monthly news, and whatever the heck else we want. So there.
◊
June FFG
Funfest: 6/24/08, at Los Bravos Restaurant instead of the usual haunt, @ 7P. (Directions have been e-mailed by Cathi.)
No agenda! No submissions were exchanged or e-mailed for the June meeting, so this “critiquefest” will simply morph into a literary, writerly-advising, networky, philosophizing, tall-tale-telling, no-way! sharing, how-do-I-solve-this-story-problem Big Fest with good food at a great restaurant. And booze. Or something like that.
With no rude or irritating behavior lest ye be smacketh down.
See you there!
◊
May FFG
Critiquefest: 5/27/08
Critiqued:
• I’ll Be Seeing You (science fiction short story) — Stephe (e-mailed)
ATTENDEES: Teresa, Cathi, Jennie, Stephe
NOTES: Sylvia wasn’t in attendance as she, husband, and their young tour group was busy taking the Chinese countryside by storm. The epicenter of the earthquake was hundreds of miles away from them; they are all safe. Blog links to their travels to come…
Darrell, too, wasn’t at the meeting as he is on his honeymoon. We’ll see him in June.
Jeff and wife Mary Ann had to take an emergency trip to Tulsa, so we’ll see him next month. He insisted that we still have a good time, and critique with utter abandonment and completely without regard for anyone’s feelings or heart (HUGE tongue in cheek). And of course we did. LOL!
Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right. ” Henry Ford
◊
APRIL FFG
Critiquefest: 4/29/08
Agenda:
• Untitled China book, We Were Where When and The Black Road sections — Sylvia (e-mailed)
Members absent in March still have all the submissions they’ve held over, so those will be critiqued as well.
Not in attendance: Will K.
FFG Soiree! Friday, 4/11/08, at Will/Bill’s place. Official time 7P, but feel free to show up as early as 4P. Jennie’s handout on Critiquing First Drafts (handed out in March) is the main topic, but other long-winded discussions, ridiculous claims, dinner at a local pub, and just cutting up and having fun won’t be far behind, especially if there’s beer. Or wine. Or… Y’all know that, I’m sure. Directions to Bill’s house forthcoming by email. (Soiree update: Jeff will not be attending, but he has a good reason—his and the wife’s anniversary! And a happy wife on her wedding anniversary means a happy husband indeed. I’m just sayin’. Congratulations, Jeff and Mary Ann, from all of us to you.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Teresa!
◊
MARCH FFG
Critiquefest: 3/25/08
Agenda:
• Rob Hood, chapters 12.5 & 19 (heldover from March) — Will K.
• EXO Purgatories, chapter 4 — Stephe
• Antonius, Act 1 (new, screenplay) — Jeff
Sylvia will not be able to attend; she’s still in Mississippi, thanks to Old Man Winter. Darrell also has to bow out, due to an unexpected job event. But he’d rather be with us, of course.
*NOTE: Another installment of Sylvia’s China book may be forthcoming in April. Stay tuned.
“Hardly anybody ever writes anything nice about introverts. Extroverts rule. This is rather odd when you realise that about nineteen writers out of twenty are introverts. We are being taught to be ashamed of not being ‘outgoing.’ But a writer’s job is ingoing.” — Ursula K. LeGuin (Thanks to Joyce at the Dragon Writing Prompts blog for this quote.)
◊
FEBRUARY FFG
Critiquefest: 2/26/08
Held over until March:
• Rob Hood, chapters 12.5 (don’t ask) and 19 — Will K.
Critiqued:
• EXO Purgatories, chapter 3 (formerly the lame-O StarHunters) — Stephe
Jeff couldn’t attend due to his son’s show; we hope he had a good time, and that his son broke a leg! Will couldn’t attend due to storm damage to a relative’s roof; he was up on that roof, effecting repairs (we certainly hope HE DIDN’T break a leg).
Cathi read the rewritten first chapter of her YA novel to us for a cold critique, as an agent is interested in seeing sample pages. Of course, everyone was in stitches. Good job, Mrs. O!
Winston Churchill once said, “Writing a hook is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him about to the public.” Thanks for the quote, Sylvia.
Discussion questions 2-4, from January, and our favorite poems, are still on the table. Unless they were discussed at the FFG soiree at La Parilla…?
◊
JANUARY FFG
Critiquefest: 1/29/08
Agenda:
• An Ordinary Evil, final section (screenplay) — Teresa
• Rob Hood, Chapter 18 (supernatural novel) —Will O.
• Starhunters (LAME working title, shut up), Chapters 1 and 2 (sci-fi novella) — Stephe
ATTENDEES: all! All good!
Question #1 discussed only… out of time!
***Sylvia’s Questions for Discussion:
1. The 5 most significant books you’ve read 2. What important book have you NOT read? 3. What, upon re-reading, was disappointing? 4. What book would you be sure to read to your child, or have your child read?
AND… bring in copies of one poem that has most affected you.
See y’all on Tuesday.
