Club Notes: Shawano Area Writers

The Shawano Area Writers met Thursday, June 17, in a conference room at the Shawano County Library.

Dennis Vickers, president, started the meeting with the reading of the minutes from the May 20 meeting from Secretary Barb King.

Next, Treasurer John Mutter reported on the club’s finances. He began with the report on the student writing contest. Fiona Hoffman was thrilled with the $2,000 scholarship she had won, which she will use as she attends Eastern Arizona University to pursue a degree in writing. Mutter delivered certificates and cash to 22 students in Bonduel, Shawano, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, and Menominee Indian High School. The finance report was approved and seconded.

Next on the agenda was the discussion of writing workshops before our meetings. Trudy Bosman suggested we investigate the community classes and see if we could be scheduled in. It was also suggested to contact NWTC.

Accomplishments were then discussed. Mutter had two short stories published during the pandemic. The story “The Blue Dog” was published in the fall 2020 issue of the Rosebud magazine. The other story, “The Wind Giveth,” was published in Woods Reader magazine.

Trudy Bosman self-published a children’s picture book entitled “Butterflies in the Room.” It’s the true story of a teacher who brought monarch butterfly chrysalises into his classroom and showed the students’ reactions.

Then the readings began. Lee Pulaski videotaped each reading to be put on the Writers’ Facebook site.

King started the readings by reading Chapter 1 from her book “The Children in the Garden.” It’s present day and Jillian awakes from the same nightmare she has had every night for three years. The nightmare where her police officer husband is shot at a domestic violence call. He dies in her arms. The only problem is that it isn’t just a bad dream, it happened, and Jillian doesn’t know how to get on with life.

Manny Moreleda became interested in writing when he was asked to speak about prayer and culture as experienced in his native Thailand at a Koinonia retreat when he was 62. A bookmark with a poem on it sparked an interest in writing rhyming poetry. Moreleda shared the preface to his book “Poems of a Neophyte Poet and His Memoirs.” Moreleda explained he calls himself a neophyte poet because he has had limited knowledge in poetry. His ideas come from inspiration, imagination, happenings and life experiences.

Wendy Goerl read a possible prologue to her Godsealed trilogy. Demetrius was deep in his daily prayers when he feels the need to look in a master armor book. As he discovers the armor he was led to, Demetrius is shown, in his mind, the path to find The Chosen One. He feels the need to tell the leader, only to find that the leader is golfing. So, he tells the next in charge. As their minds touch, they see children and the path to the Chosen One. Goerl describes this book as life as we know it, except for the Order of the Sacred Blade, who keep the armor that keeps them alive.

Trudy Bosman took the Wednesday prompt from the Writer’s Digest website. The prompt was “in the name of… “ Trudy wrote a poem entitled “In the Name of Family”. Trudy wrote that no matter how you acquired your last name — occupation, choice, adoption or marriage — you are all family just the same.

Mutter read his published short story, “The Wind Giveth.” The wind had brought down a lot of trees in his back forty acres, mostly aspen and maple. March 3, 2017, he loaded his chainsaw on his hand-pulled otter sled and headed out over the snow. The first day he produced 68 blocks of wood. The next day he got 59 pieces more. The snow melted so he was unable to bring in the wood. Then March 15, 2017, it snowed again, and John was able to bring back two face core from the fallen maple trees in his back forty. John admitted it’s a lot of work, but he likes to physically challenge himself.

Lee Pulaski is currently working on a supernatural series. Three friends go up to Three Lakes when the grandmother of one of the friends dies and he inherits her house. The man finds out that his grandmother was into witchcraft and he’s supposed to carry it on. Another friend, Adam, a Navajo, has the secret that he is a skinwalker. Adam was 14 when it first happened. He remembers what he became, what he killed and what he ate. Anger triggers him.

After the readings, Vickers announced that the next meeting would be 10 a.m. July 15 at a downstairs conference room in the Shawano County Library.

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