Author: ralphcuellar

Ralph Cuellar lives in Oregon, and loves nature and politics, and is usually in conflict over both. He is a writer and has played around with software and hardware a little too much in his life, so he left that world behind after a little dance.

PROMPT: A TIP ON DIALOGUE

March 18, 2019. The prompt for Monday’s meeting was taken from the book titled, The Pocket Muse – ideas and inspirations for writing, by Monica Wood.

A Tip on Dialogue

When writing dialogue, every once in a while allow a character to jump to a conclusion. Conversational leaps add momentum to a scene and force you to get to the main conflict between the characters. The following dialogue is fine, but stuck in a holding pattern:

Donny opened the door to the landlord.
“What do you want?”
“I’ve got some items to go over with you,”
Mr. Leadbetter said. “It won’t take a minute.”
“It better not.”
Mr. Leadbetter edged into the kitchen. “To be honest,
I’ve had a few complaints about your habits.”
“My habits? Like what?”
“Like playing music after midnight, things like that.
Leaving trash in the hall. That sort of thing.”
“I don’t do that. That’s all Carter in 4B.”
Mr. Leadbetter glanced at his list. “I’ve also got some
complaints about the parrot you keep on the balcony. It
scares the neighbors.”
“So what? I signed an ironclad lease.”

If you open this same sequence by having Donny jump to a conclusion, in this case a correct one, the scene opens with a little moire spark:

Donny opened the door to the landlord.
“What do you want?”
“I’ve got some items to go over with you,” Mr.
Leadbetter said. “It won’t take a minute.”
“If this is about Junie-Bell’s screaming,
you can just forget it. There isn’t a word in my lease
about parrots scaring the neighbors.”

 

Advertisements

PROMPT: TWO PROMPT OPTIONS

Prompts from Monday’s meeting, 3/11/19:

  • List six reasons to like mosquitos 🙂

 

  • Have you ever disturbed something that then had unpleasant consequences? Perhaps the phrase “opened a can of worms” would apply.

 

PROMPT: UH-OH…

March 4, 2019.  The prompt for Monday’s meeting was taken from the book titled, UH-OH Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door, by Robert Fulghum.

“UH-OH” is not in any dictionary or thesaurus, and is seldom seen in written form. Yet most of us utter that sound everyday. And have used it all our lives.

“UH-oh” is one of the first expressions a baby learns.

“UH-oh,” or something like it, has been used as long as people have existed. And it may be the first thing Adam said to Eve after he bit into the apple. She knew exactly what he meant, too.

 

Write about a “Uh-Oh” moment, real or imagined.

 

February 18, 2019. MONDAY MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE FOREST GROVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Feb. 18, 2019 – Due to the The Senior Center being closed for the Presidents Day holiday, the Monday morning meeting of Writers in the Grove will be held at the Forest Grove United Methodist Church in the library room, starting at the regular 9am time.

The church is located on the corner of 17th and Cedar in Forest Grove.

We very much appreciate the generosity of the church in letting the group meet there.

 

PROMPT: A TIP ON STYLE

Feb. 4, 2019.  The prompt for Monday’s meeting was taken from the book titled, The Pocket Muse – ideas and inspirations for writing, by Monica Wood.

A Tip on Style

Colors can be delivered as similes that
suggest something about the character’s
inner life. Your reader will receive a
character in a red shirt a little differently
if that shirt is described as the color of
spilled wine or fresh liver or SpaghettiOs.
A person’s skin can be the color of dead
leaves or dust or mud or newborn mice or
cocoa or cantaloupe or cream or plums or maize …

Write a character description using colors to imply or suggest internal aspects of the character as a way to lead the reader in developing a more rounded picture of who the character is.

 

JANUARY 21,2018: MONDAY MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE HOME OF PARKS AND PAULA ADAMS

The Forest Grove Senior Center will be closed for observance of Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, January 21st, so the weekly meeting will be hosted by Parks and Paula Adams at their home in Forest Grove at the regular time of 9am.

Afterwards there will be a short pot-luck gathering. Most people bring a small snack or some food or drink item to share. Hope to see you there!

YOUR PASSION

This prompt for this week came from a blog posting by Susan S:

Seminars over the years have given the same advice in millions of different ways, but the gist of the hours of speeches boil down to “finding your passion.” Once that passion is discovered, there is no end to the fantastic things that you can accomplish.
Out digging in the garden I discovered a root vegetable that found his passion.

carrot

It seems that this carrot not only found his hidden ability, he took that ability and over-achieved his goals.
It can be said that my carrots have a hard time containing themselves. I think that maybe this one deserves an A (from beta-carotene) for spectacular growth along with biotin, vitamin B6, vitamin K and potassium.
If a vegetable can do it, what are YOU waiting for?

The prompt is to write about your passion.

NEWS UPDATE

The following was submitted by Writers in the Grove member, Bev Walker.

News Update

5 Jan 2019
A month or so ago I read a piece I’d written, titled “The Artist”, at the weekly meeting of the Senior Center Writers group. It was about my mother’s low opinion of people who take up such an occupation, and my deep desire to do just that. It was prefaced with a sub-heading of, “(Did) Your mother ever spit on a hanky and then wipe your face with it? Yeah, well…,” which met with agreeing laughter.

A few days before, I’d asked the same question of a group of people where I live with the same reaction, and the comment, “They all did that!” Well, this is an update.

The twenty-eighth of Dec, (or so) I woke early and surfing around found a morning news magazine show just ending. The reporter said, “And here’s a final note. Scientists have now verified the discovery of the best stain remover in all the world. You’ll never guess what it is. Your mother’s spit!” That’s right! All those times my mama spit on a hanky and wiped your face with it she was using the best stain remover known to man! All this time I’m thinking ‘Hanky spit! Disease! Bacteria! Germs!’ Turns out it was good for you.