FAWNS NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER 2009
Fellowship of Australian Writers – North Shore Branch
Web : http://sites.google.com/site/fawnorthshoreregional/ Email : fawnorthshore@gmail.com
(C/- The Secretary, 35 Eyre Street, Smithfield 2164)
Meetings held 1pm on the third Sunday of each month at Willow Park, 25 Edgeworth David Avenue, Hornsby
President: Jan Foster
Vice President Richard Brookton
Secretary: Maria Encarnacao
Treasurer: Dorothy Walker
Editor: Jany Garland
Some words from our President:-
Today the FAWNS 2009 anthology is available from our treasurer, Dorothy. The cost is $10 and for your money, you’ll have 62 pages of quality writing from the members of FAWNS.
We’ve renamed it NORTHERN LIGHTS because we certainly are literary luminaries based in Sydney’s north.
Today also, I’ll be giving a short workshop on Finding Your Voice, after which we’ll have afternoon tea, then split into our two groups as usual.
Don’t forget that membership dues for 2010 are due before 31st December and we’re asking you to pay Dorothy by the end of the November meeting.
Keep on writing. Jan Foster
“The best time for planning a book is when you are doing the dishes.”
Agatha Christie
Jan’s September writing prompt:
No prizes for guessing which movie this quote is from:
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she has to walk into mine!”
Humphrey Bogart, of Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca”. I watched it recently with my two sons, who both claimed they’d seen everything worth seeing, until I challenged them to watch this one.
They were charmed by how many sayings from common parlance are quotes from “Casablanca”.
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
“Play it again, Sam” (a misquote, there’s no ‘again’) and the closing line of the movie,
“I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Dorothy’s writing prompt:-
Aside from blue eyes and being one who gets people on side, some weeks are less than memorable and some are those we prefer to forget. The last few have been like this.
There are, of course, options: one can
complain (too tired), go into details
(too boring), joke about it (don’t feel like that about it). So all I can say about the last few weeks is; “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”
When do old people start giving good advice? When they can no longer give bad example!
Cheers from Sylvia Kelen
A good word is as soon said as a bad one. The unspoken word never does harm. Anon
& The so-called Wicked Bible, published in 1631 in England, reads:
“Thou shalt commit adultery”.
The printers forgot that all-important “not”. They were fined.
(Reader’s Digest – February 2009)
"The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts
and reason writes." André Gide
PROMPT by Richard Brookton (August 2009)
Bertrand Russell (Five disparate quotes juxtaposed to form a whole).
Three passions, simple but over-whelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.
Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible. Thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and com-fortable habit. Thought is great and swift and free. The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
WRITER’S PROMPTS:-
From my soapbox
OR
A sight to behold
Don't sweat the petty things.
Don't pet the sweaty things.
Choice of Words: This applies above all in the choice of words. English is a difficult language to write well, partly because it has such a large vocabulary. As a result of centuries of native development and of contact with other cultures, it has words to express many fine shades of meaning.
To use it well, the writer must be aware not just of the meaning of words, but of the associations they have. These associ-ations are what leave an impression upon the reader’s mind: Consider, for instance, the different impact upon a reader of being told that his attitude is “obstinate”, “unco-operative”, reserved”, “hesitant”, “reluctant”, “unwilling”, “adamant”, “pig-headed”, “resolute, “firm” or “persistent”.
Any of these words could, in different cir-cumstances or from different points of view, be applied to the same set of facts, but observe what a wide range of feelings they cover. A writer will convey the exact shade of meaning intended only if the writer is aware of the accepted sense of words. This awareness comes most of all from wide, observant reading and frequent consultation of a good dictionary. Other compilations such as Roget’s Thesaurus, Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms and Fowler’s Modern English Usage are also helpful.
(Continued next Newsletter
A few sincere words from the Editor:-
MyThanks go to all the FAWNS members who kept me in touch and informed during my recent sojourn in hospital after I broke my (other) leg. An extra cuddle goes to Jan and Allan Foster. During a month’s rehabilitation at Mt Wilga, I really appreciated receiving members’ visits and telephone calls. Hope-fully, the bone-graft I had wasn’t from an athlete! Otherwise the rest of me won’t be able to keep up and I’ll be left spinning in even more ever-increasing circles!!
Keep going for it … Jany G.
