05-26-2009, 04:33 AM
Hi, my name is Cynthia. I am interested in starting up an informal writer's group every other Saturday in the mid-morning. You don't have to be a writer to join. You just have to like "talking story" on paper. You can write anything -- memoirs, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc.
I don't want to be your writing teacher, or group leader. We will all have equal clout. We are all there to teach each other, from our own collective experiences, whether we are seasoned writers or newbies.
We can meet, have some coffee, take turns reading our story, and then group members can offer up suggestions for improving the story in a friendly, productive way. Depending on what the group wants, we can have outside professional writers visit once in a while, or you can come up with your own ideas to enhance the group.
I am 52 and just started writing again after 30 years. I have a BA in Journalism, and wrote for print media in my early twenties. I was also a proofreader for a large oil company in Los Angeles. For the past 25 years I've been a legal assistant until December. The economy has forced me to get out of my comfort zone and begin reinventing myself as a freelancer while I look for another legal job in Hilo.
I belonged to a memoir writer's group in the mainland for about 5 years. Writing about our own loves, losses, and triumphs was compelling, and it brought us together in a very satisfying way. Two of my writing compadres, who had no prior writing experience, published a book apiece -- one about his experiences in a reform school in the 1950s in Brownsville, Texas. The other published a book about his anti-war efforts in the 60s.
Our group met every other Saturday at different member's homes, but if you are not comfortable with that, I know of a venue that will allow meetings on weekends in Nanawale. There may be a very minimal rental fee.
I know there are other writer's groups out there in Hilo or Volcano, but wanted to have one locally in Pahoa, if anyone is willing to participate. Please let me know via private e-mail if you want to join.
I look forward to hearing your ideas. Thanks for letting me share.
-Cyn
I don't want to be your writing teacher, or group leader. We will all have equal clout. We are all there to teach each other, from our own collective experiences, whether we are seasoned writers or newbies.
We can meet, have some coffee, take turns reading our story, and then group members can offer up suggestions for improving the story in a friendly, productive way. Depending on what the group wants, we can have outside professional writers visit once in a while, or you can come up with your own ideas to enhance the group.
I am 52 and just started writing again after 30 years. I have a BA in Journalism, and wrote for print media in my early twenties. I was also a proofreader for a large oil company in Los Angeles. For the past 25 years I've been a legal assistant until December. The economy has forced me to get out of my comfort zone and begin reinventing myself as a freelancer while I look for another legal job in Hilo.
I belonged to a memoir writer's group in the mainland for about 5 years. Writing about our own loves, losses, and triumphs was compelling, and it brought us together in a very satisfying way. Two of my writing compadres, who had no prior writing experience, published a book apiece -- one about his experiences in a reform school in the 1950s in Brownsville, Texas. The other published a book about his anti-war efforts in the 60s.
Our group met every other Saturday at different member's homes, but if you are not comfortable with that, I know of a venue that will allow meetings on weekends in Nanawale. There may be a very minimal rental fee.
I know there are other writer's groups out there in Hilo or Volcano, but wanted to have one locally in Pahoa, if anyone is willing to participate. Please let me know via private e-mail if you want to join.
I look forward to hearing your ideas. Thanks for letting me share.
-Cyn
] FWIW, as you shared yours. Mine hasn't been worth much to me, at all. I can teach Chaucer in the original and read Finnegans Wake, so I'm well up on abilities that don't pay -- and would like to find an endeavor that does.