Ooops, last night there was one of the WWWPs missing in action. A bad cold had kept her home, overdosing on zinc.
Since Tammy was the one who was MIA, and since she is our resident Grammar *itch, we all scrambled to fill in for her. Where do those commas belong? How about that apostrophe--what is the most accepted placement? We did our best, but fell short. Not only did we miss her deft touch, we missed her writing voice.
I had seen a grammar pen, and mentioned it to my fellow WWWPs, but since no one believed me, I'm including a link. It vibrates when an error is made, which--in our group--led to some wild digression.
As writers, when something is missing, we know it. Succintness. A strong ending. A hook at the beginning. When we get the story down, then we can attend to the missing components.
Last night, except for Tammy, nothing was missing. Apparently Elvis had not left the building. Lynn shared a story she had written quite a while ago about a trip with "Elvis," which proved that a good storyteller's stories have great bones, no matter how ancient the story is.
Linda brought a story about the WWWPs. In not many words, she had captured the flavor and the evolution of our group.
And Beth...Beth has written a story that is honest and raw, exposing her vulnerability. She took a Chicken Soup theme and has condensed it down it its very essence.
Tammy, you had better be over your cold in two weeks. You had better get off your butt and join us. We missed you. When a piece is missing, there's a void...a void that a vibrating pen could not fill.
A vibrating pen, you say? How many speeds? Holy rabbit habit!
ReplyDeleteThat's odd. The name "Rabbit" came up last night...;)
Deleteha ha, I'm going to call you Alice. You neglected to mention your wonderful prose.
ReplyDeleteAlice with the red pen? I'd be honored, but I'm no Alice.
DeleteI'd make errors just to see the pen vibrate...I'm easily amused.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. However, I think I'd normally make enough mistakes without having to make them on purpose. I'd see plenty of vibration...
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ReplyDeleteLOL Y'all have way too much fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYour group probably ties with us, I imagine, when it comes to fun.
DeleteYAY, you forgot your hilarious piece from that night... which I KNOW is going to get accepted. Thanks for all your help and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteLynn--I am sure your Elvis story will make it into NYMB's "Celebrity Encounters." The bit about the car's roof getting shredded was particularly funny.
DeleteAh...a void that only Tammy's butt can fill. Hopefully, that hole will be plugged at your next meeting.
ReplyDeleteI really must wear my glasses more often, or be more attentive. I misread the end of your second sentence as "...and snort crack." That is all I dare say on this post, since soon I will be exceeding my ellipses quota.
Fortunately for our group, we need nothing--no illegal drugs, no liquor, no tobacco of any kind--to have a rollicking good time.
DeleteWe do lots of snorting. But it's all due to explosive laughter.
I am SO upset to hear you discussed vibrating pens without me. And can you appreciate the restraint I am showing when it comes to Val's comment? Thank you, though, for making me laugh so hard I can hardly type. It's not quite like a WWWP meeting, but it's better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we often need restraint when it comes to Val.
DeleteHopefully that hole will be plugged up later this month. We are a five-legged beast, and when one of our legs is missing, we only limp along...
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ReplyDeleteWe did flounder a bit grammatically without out resident tushie!
ReplyDelete