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:
- 2.14.23 – Practice Feedback Session
- Book question:
- Just by reading the front/back covers, caveat emptor, and preface, how would you describe Mary Karr’s writing voice? Point to passages that lead you to that conclusion.
- Book question:
- 2.28.23 – Experiences with Life Writers Read & Celebrate
- Book question:
- What do you think of Mary Karr’s list of reasons not to write a memoir on pages 28-29 in The Art of Memoir? Do you have other reasons you’d add?
- Book question:
- 3.14.23 – Your method of zipping the reader into your skin (page 78)
- Book question:
- How do you interpret Mary Karr’s chapter six, “Sacred Carnality”? Do you agree with the necessity of “physical clarity” in your stories? How do you accomplish this?
- Book question:
- 3.28.23 – Using Scene Cards with Eve Wile
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- Learn more about creating scene cards that contain questions you should ask yourself about each scene. This is a tool Eve incorporated into her writing process with great success, one that helps her flush out stories, organize her writing, and ensure she wasn’t just recounting events.
- Book question:
- In the last full paragraph on page 124, Karr talks about her first drafts starting with information, which later get herded “into a remembered or living scene.” What do you attempt to accomplish in your first draft of a story?
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- 4.11.23 – Take Stock of Where You Are with Your Writing Goals
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- Book question – focus on chapters 15-17, pages 147-161
- In chapter seventeen, page 151, Karr says, “False choices based on who you wish you were will result in places where the voice goes awry or the details chosen ring false.” Do you have trouble writing the truth when it makes you look bad? How do you confront that resistance?
- Discussion question
- We are about halfway through the spring session, so it’s a good time to take stock of where you are with your writing. Ask yourself questions such as these:
- Have I written as much as I intended this session?
- What have I learned and applied that’s been valuable to me?
- Where have I struggled? What can I do differently in April and May?
- What else have I learned, implemented, decided, etc., that’s helping me fulfill my writing intentions?
- We are about halfway through the spring session, so it’s a good time to take stock of where you are with your writing. Ask yourself questions such as these:
- Book question – focus on chapters 15-17, pages 147-161
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- 4.25.23 – Writing Pain
- Book discussion – chapter 23- end of the book
- Pages 221-226 – more than 300 books, most memoirs, Karr recommends reading
- How many of these books have you read? Does one book stand out in your memory? Why?
- What book from this list might you read next? Why?
- Pages 221-226 – more than 300 books, most memoirs, Karr recommends reading
- Discussion question
- Our life stories include pain. How do you approach writing about pain? What is your process in writing painful situations? How do you take care of yourself when reliving pain on the page?
- Book discussion – chapter 23- end of the book
- 5.16.23 – Book Discussion
- 5.23.23 – Spring Session Recap and Review
If you have a topic you’d like discussed at our Writers CAFE, submit your idea here.
If you’d like to share a process or something that works well for you, please submit your idea here.