Gamlingay & District Writers’ Group

What an inspiring meeting we had this month! Lots of great stories and lots of enthusiasm. The group is really starting to gel.

1. Introductions
We had one new member this month – Sarah who joined us for the first time. After a career of business writing, she is now hoping to do something more creative – and already has a novel under her belt!

2. Review of Targets
Still no formal targets – but we seem to be getting on well enough without them for now. Emma continues to make progress with her novel, which is good news.

3. Competition News
Details were distributed of several forthcoming fiction competitions. If anyone is wanting to find a specific type of competition to enter, for example horror or flash fiction (stories of 100 to 400 words) or novels, let me know and I’ll see what I can find.

Someone has to win these things, so it might as well be one of us!

4. Other News
The Chair brought along some free copies of The Writer magazine for members to take away and review. If the magazine is thought to be helpful, the group could consider obtaining a subscription.

A reminder regarding the event to be held on Friday 13th March – there is a talk by a Mills & Boon author at Weston Village Hall, located in Maiden Street, Weston, SG4 7AA.

The event is due to start at 11am, and Louise Allen will give a talk for about 40 minutes, followed by a question and answer session. The event should finish at about 12.15. There is a very good pub in the centre of the village called The Red Lion, if any of us feel like having lunch afterwards.

I know that some of us are already planning to go, but if you find you can unexpectedly make it, the organiser has said that it’s fine to come along.

5. Discussion of Work
We had such a variety of stories this month – all of them so good that I think they’re worth a mention.

* Jackie made her debut with the very funny, ‘I was only trying to help’.

* Emrys ventured successfully into the genre of children’s stories with ‘A Doggy Tale’.

* Sarah had written an atmospheric piece on a helicopter trip that didn’t go according to plan.

* Emma brought a clever update on the ‘Red Riding Hood’ story.

* Valerie wrote a very topical story about a rescued koala

* Will entertained us with a romantic tale set against the backdrop of a bush fire.

* The Chair wrote a tale about the doings of the nefarious Max Cady.

Stanley unfortunately couldn’t be with us this month, but his ‘Newspaper Story’ was very well received.

Well done everyone – it does take serious discipline and hard work to buckle down and write something as there always seem to be a million easier things to do than to sit down and get on with the job.

6. Break
The break gives a good opportunity to get to know the other members and find out more about their writing activities. Writing can be a solitary business, so it can be helpful to speak to others who are in the same position.

7. Aims for the coming month
Everyone is aiming to produce something for the next meeting on April 7th. The theme is, “Three Wishes - what will you wish for? Perhaps you’d better be careful in case they come true!”

However, if anyone is working on something not connected with the theme, as ever, they are welcome to submit that instead. It would be helpful if we could circulate our work a week in advance of the meeting to allow for reading time.

Can we also remember to put our names on our stories (the Chair is the main culprit here) to avoid confusion.

8. Any Other Business?
**IMPORTANT** The next meeting will be held at a new venue. Will has kindly volunteered to host April’s meeting. Please contact me if you need the details.

The feasibility of using a hall above Potton Library is currently being investigated, and in the meantime we are very grateful to members for continuing to host the meetings.

See you all next month! Happy writing!!

Tracey