Welcome to the Writers CAFE, the place for:

• C – conversation
• A – answers
• F – friends and fun
• E – engagement

If you missed one of our dynamic sessions, watch the replay here. Maybe you want a second helping because the meeting was so good. No problem. All Writers CAFE sessions are recorded and posted here. Click on the desired week/topic and hit play. Bring your own beverage (BYOB). Enjoy!

Upcoming topics:

• 6.13.23
  • Book question: Discuss covers, front/back matter, pages 1-16 – An epigraph such as the one by Ursula Le Guin in The Puma Years reflects the theme, sets the context, highlights the subject, or something similar for the book. What do you think Le Guin’s quotation tells us about Laura Coleman’s story?

• • Member story feedback session: Vern Schmitz – “Cloquet Warmth” – Download the chosen story from this page as soon as possible, read it two or three times, and prepare to discuss the member’s work using our standard feedback form.

• 6.20.23 (Book Study)
  • Book discussion on pages 1-16 – In a traditional memoir, the reader expects to see change in the author from the start of the book to the end. How would you describe Laura Coleman based on pages 1-16?

•  6.27.23
  • Book question for pages 17-35 – What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages. Coleman’s first experience with Wayra is a frightening one for her. How does Coleman describe what she’s feeling? Does she show or tell the fear? Identify passages that prove your point.
  • Topic for discussion – Do you read outside the memoir genre? If so, what do you read? What is your purpose in reading other genres? What do you gain? Do you write in other genres besides memoir? Tell us about your non-memoir reading and writing habits.

• 7.11.23
  • Book question for pages 35-76 – What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages. Coleman’s first experience with Wayra is a frightening one for her. How does Coleman describe what she’s feeling? Does she show or tell the fear? Identify passages that prove your point.
  • Member story feedback session: “Hiking and Spelunking in Mexico” by Jackie Raymond

• 7.18.23 (Master Class)
  • Book question for pages 76-94 – What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages. Taste is one of the most difficult senses to describe, especially when readers have not experienced something similar. On page 83, Coleman describes chewing coca leaves for the first time. How does she make her experience understandable? How do you describe taste?

•  7.25.23
  • Book question for pages 94-112 – What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages.
  • Discussion question: How do you decide when it’s time to write? What determines your writing topic?

• 8.8.23
  • Book question for pages 113-130: What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages. Guide us to text that supports your claim. Coleman ends part one (pages 109-123) with the volunteers’ efforts to save the park from the fire. How does she portray the drama of this fire? What does she do writing-wise to create this tension? Point to specific passages and techniques she uses to support your thoughts.

• • Member story feedback session: “The High Dive” by Dave Godin – Download the chosen story from this page as soon as possible, read it two or three times, and prepare to discuss the member’s work using our standard feedback form.

• 8.15.23
  • Book question for pages 131-151 – What changes do you see Coleman experiencing in this section? Point to specific passages. Guide us to text that supports your claim. How does Coleman continue to personify the animals and the jungle in The Puma Years?

•  8.22.23
  • Book question: Pages 151-192 – How do you see Laura Coleman change in this section of The Puma Years? Identify specific passages to prove your point. Search out similes and metaphors Coleman uses in this section and share ones you find effective. At the bottom of page 176 and twice on page 176, Coleman calls attention to a pebble Sammie picks up and plays with during their conversation. Is this detail necessary? What does this detail accomplish in the text?
  • CAFE topic question: Do you know when you are most creative? Are you a writing lark of the early morning, a late-night owl, or somewhere in between? Do you try to save your most creative time for writing, or do you write whenever your schedule permits? Tell us about it.

• 9.12.23
  • Book question:
  • CAFE group feedback session

• 9.19.23
  • Book question: 

• 9.26.23 – Session Recap and Review

In our first Writers CAFE session each month, we will choose one member’s story for feedback from the Life Writers community. This is a great way to improve your writing and editing skills and learn how to give constructive feedback to your fellow members.

If you’d like to submit a story of less than 1,000 words (that’s roughly four double-spaced pages and not one word more), submit your entry in the comments section below.

Use a standard twelve-point font (Cambria, Times New Roman, etc.), double space your text, put your name on your story, and include page numbers.

You can upload an MS Word or Adobe PDF document, preferably a Word document.

One story will be selected at random one week in advance of the feedback session.

Download the chosen story at least four or five days before the feedback session, read it two or three times, and prepare to discuss the member’s work using our standard feedback form.

Also, if you have a topic you’d like discussed at our Writers CAFE, submit your idea here.

If you have a process or tool that works well for you that you’d like to share with other Life Writers, please submit your idea here.