WOWO 13 October 2022

Members of Write-on are still recovering from the realisation that we have received almost 1,950 views for our Culture Night 2022 event on YouTube. With a bit of encouragement and by spending the word far and wide, we have no doubt that we will hit the 2,000 mark before too long. Well done to everyone who contributed!

This week’s meeting features new writing from Frank Fahy, Elizabeth Hannon, Joanne Dowling and James Conway.

New Writing

Short Story: A Father’s Love by Frank Fahy

Extract from Novel – Chapter 1 (Revised) by Joanne Dowling

Memoir: Uncle Jim by Elizabeth Hannon

Poem: Romany by James Conway

Discussion: Naming of Parts (1942) by Henry Reed – presented by Jutta Rosen

We also have a feature whereby members can discuss Stories, Poems, Songs, Magazine Articles that left an impression on them. We will investigate these works to find out what makes them special and why they stood out in people’s memories. All in all, it will be a lively session and we hope to have as many members as possible in attendance.

WOWO 6 October 2022

After a full list of entries for Mug of the Month last week, our writers are drawing breath for the new challenge, which is due on October 23. The Words for October are: MISS and LEAD – lots of ambiguity here to spur the imagination!

Is this why our list of contributions for this week’s Whats On Write-On is shorter than usual? Two prose texts and a poem are included, with a mystery item called ‘Extras’ to whet our appetites and raise our expectations for the night.

Congratulations to Celia Scully, winner of MOTM September 2022 with her stringent, graphic yet tender poem on ‘Childbirth’. Well done!

And congratulations to all contributors to our Culture Night 2022 Video, which has achieved over 1800 viewings (Wednesday morning). A wonderful result, and no end in sight!

WOWO 6 October 2022

Prose Almost Human James Conway

Poem Untitled Poem Seamus Keogh

Short Story Papa’s Mystery Frank Fahy

Extras Extra items will appear on the night Various Authors

Looking forward to a lively session!

WOWO 29 September 2022

Welcome to our first session after last Friday’s Culture Night. We can expect the Write-On Video, which showed examples of our work and introduced many of our members, to be an informal topic of comment and discussion in this night’s meeting. The number of viewings and likes (937 and 62 resp. at 8.30pm Wednesday 28th) are also an exciting issue, and an interim result that we can already be proud of.

In addition, last Friday saw the launch of our Anthology 2023 and Seamus Keogh’s collection of poetry, ‘Sisters’, and judging by the posted comments, sales of both can be expected to rise after the airing they received. Congratulations!

A main item on tonight’s agenda is the first Mug of the Month competition after the summer break, and with eleven entries we anticipate neck-to-neck voting! Will there be a clear winner?! Below is the list of poems and texts.

The subject of haikus was broached last week and will be continued this Thursday. And Brian Ó hÚrdail’s ‘Steppes Around Astana’, held over from two weeks ago, will, we hope, finally be presented!

We look forward to an exciting session!

Mug of the Month:

1 Barlach’s Hovering Angel Jutta Rosen

2 Dismantling a Dream Frank Fahy

3 Childbirth Celia Scully

4 False Teeth James Conway

5 Break the Mould Brian Ó hÚrdail

6 Food for Thought Anne McManus

7 Future Child Elizabeth Hannon

8 Leaving Cert Points Anne Murray

9 Meghan Geraldine Warren

10 Out of Control Mary Rose Tobin

11 The Can Can Seamus Keogh

Further topics/texts:

Haikus Various haikus Elisabeth, Nolaig, Jutta, Brian et al

Non-fiction Steppes around Astana Brian Ó hÚrdail

Enjoy yourselves!

WOWO 22 September 2022

This week promises a colourful session with a mix of different genres: novel, short story, poem, non-fiction.

The subject of Haikus came up on the Write-On WhatsApp recently, and there will be a discussion about this type of poem, which, hopefully, will inspire our members to produce examples for future meetings.

The highlight these days is the upcoming Culture Night on Friday, 23 September, when a 2-hour video will present our group and examples of our work. The link for the film, which can be seen on YouTube is:

https://youtu.be/uANjPB5H_wg Make sure not to miss it, and to send the link to all your friends!

And not to forget Mug of the Month. The closing date for this month’s entries is the coming Sunday 25 September. If you haven’t yet written your fifty words, you still have a few days’ time! All contributions will be presented next week, after which excitement will mount as votes for the winner are taken. The words to be included are CAN and MOULD, and entries should be sent to annemurraypost@anne-murray

Novel extract: A Normal Couple Jutta Rosen

Story: Draft Short Story – untitled Frank Fahy

Poem: Stars Tara Lane

Non-fiction: Steppes Around Astana Brian Ó hÚrdail

Non-fiction: Fado, Fado Brian Ó hÚrdail

Discussion: Haikus Frank Fahy

Update: Write-on Culture Night, Friday 23 September 2022 Frank Fahy

Trailer: Write-on Culture Night Event

WOWO 15 September 2022

Write-On moves back into full gear this week with a fine list of poems, stories and non-fiction submitted by members old and new.

In addition, the deadline for Mug of the Month is drawing near – 25 September – so that we can expect feverish creative activity around the words CAN and MOULD in the coming week! A text of only 50 words, title not included, to be sent to annemurraypost@yahoo.ie, as text or in Powerpoint. Good luck and have fun!

Here are our items for this Thursday’s Zoom meeting:

Story: Cornucopia – The Horn of Plenty Brian Ó hÚrdail

Story: Draft Short Story – untitled Frank Fahy

Poem: Looking Closer James Conway

Poem: Simple Prayer 1 Celia Scully

Poem: Night-time Reflection Seamus Keogh

Poem: Memories Seamus Keogh

Non-fiction: Covid-19 Letter Tara Lane

Non-fiction: Fado, Fado Brian Ó hÚrdail

Update: Write-On Culture Night Friday 23 September 2022 Frank Fahy

Looking forward to an inspiring and rewarding session!

WOWO 1 September 2022

Please note that this week’s session will start at 7:30pm and not at the usual time of 7:00pm. This is due to circumstances beyond our control. Our weekly Thursday sessions will commence at 7:00pm for the remainder of the season.

Welcome back everyone to our new season of Write-on sessions. Last Thursday we held our AGM and we are pleased to announce that the group is in a healthy state. Donations from members are helping us to plan our publishing programmes for 2023/24 and we have a steady stream of new members who are most welcome. They keep the group lively and fresh with new ideas, new styles of writing and an enthusiasm to learn from our established members.

The emphasis of our first session will focus on new members. We are hoping that they will accept the various challenges that Write-on presents for them. In the first instance, we would like the new members to acquaint themselves with PowerPoint presentations. It would be a huge help to Anne Murray and Frank if more people could present their work using PowerPoint.

The unseen and added benefit of manicuring your work in this fashion means that more care and attention is given to the written word. The authors must discipline themselves to read what they have written, to edit what they have written, and to present it in a thoughtful and correct way. There is no point in writing the first thing that comes into one’s head, slapping it down on a page, and expecting others to polish the work up to an acceptable standard. Members, old and new, must take care of their own material, respect it, and present it with care and a good deal of thought.

To help people to get to grips with the PowerPoint programme, there is a new series of tutorials available on this website under the heading TUTORIALS. By watching and experimenting with the hints and tips given in Tutorials 1-5, members will become familiar with the magic that can be created using PowerPoint. It is very important that all members have the most up-to-date PowerPoint package, otherwise the features will not work.

So, treat yourself! Get up-to-date and avail of the help that you will receive from your friends and colleagues in Write-on.

Frank Fahy
 WOWO (What’s On Write-on)1 September 2022
01Welcome New MembersAll members
02Introduction to published Write-on booksMary Rose Tobin
03A Quick Look at PowerPoint TutorialsFrank Fahy
04The making of Pecking OrderFrank Fahy
05Poem: Coat RackTara Lane
06Non-fiction: When I Get Older…Brian Thomas Ó hÚrdail
07Poem: Memories Seamus Keogh
08Poetry Book: Of Dandelions and Crooked Lines –– a celebration of published bookCelia Scully
09Write-on Culture Night 2022 –– update on preparations for even on 23 SeptemberFrank Fahy

Write-on Anthology 2023 now available

Great news for Write-on members and the general public! The Hardback and Paperback versions of our Write-on Anthology 2023 are now available to order from Amazon. The KINDLE edition can be downloaded to your device in an instant! With 320+ pages, the Anthology is the biggest book ever produced by the Write-on group. We have 27 authors and there is something for everyone to enjoy in this publication. We cater for every interest – short stories, poems, songs, memoirs, mug of the month competitions, and challenges. There is a special section on writings about Christmas which would make this Anthology a very welcome gift for the festive season. Order your copy from Amazon now. Details are below.

WOWO May 19, 2022

MEMORY LANE 2019 POEMS AND SHORT STORIES

With Frank taking a sabbatical to recover from Covid, the programme this week will be presented by Mary Rose, Anne Murray and Jutta. And with one exception, we’ve dipped into the history of Write-On for past contributions which are well worth a second showing. The result, we expect, will bring back happy memories for those who read the stories or poems in the past, while more recent members can discover what treasures they missed by joining the group so late! Needless to say, there are hundreds of stories and poems waiting to be reissued in this manner in the coming weeks.

At the same time, we are eager to receive new scripts, so keep writing and sending in your offerings! Please email them to Mary Rose, Anne Murray or Jutta – for details of addresses see the WriteOn WhatsApp group.

Jutta will be reading the continuation of her novel, A Normal Couple, which has been on the agenda in the past few weeks. The War has begun, and the wedding date is due ten days later. What will happen?!

Next week will bring us MOTM – the closing date is next Sunday, 22 May, and the key words are BREEZE and BLOCK. We look forward to a rich crop of entries!

Presentations:

Poem The Currandy Cake by Frank Fahy

Poem My Happiest Memories by Frank Fahy

Poem What If by Geraldine Warren

Story Johnny the F-Word R.I.P. by Geraldine Warren

Story The Intrusion by Mary Rose Toibin

Story An Inconvenient Time by Frank Fahy

Story A Normal Couple. Sept 1-5, 1939 by Jutta Rosen