Main Line Writers

Name: August Main Line Writers Group meeting - Critique
Start: 2014-08-20T23:00:00Z
Location: Michael's Restaurant

August Main Line Writers Group meeting - Critique

Aug 20, 2014 · 7:00 PM
Michael's Restaurant

The AUGUST Main Line Writers Group meeting is a special DOUBLE MEETING - Critique and Building Community!

First, learn about Building Community with Story Slams. Writing storis is one thing, telling stories in front of a live audience is another platform for writers. Jim will cover: literary cross training, networking/socializing, and platform building. Jim Breslin is the founder of the West Chester and Delco Story slams and author of the recently released Shoplandia, a humorous novel about the working lives of show hosts, producers and crew of a home shopping channel.

Then, critique! Get constructive feedback on your current writing projects by other members of the group.

You don't have to bring anything to the group if you don't wish to do so. You can participate by offering feedback on those who do bring pieces for critique and are welcomed to do so.

If you do wish to have a piece critiqued, please follow these guidelines: - Bring a piece or excerpt from a piece approximately 5 pages long - Please bring ten copies, double spaced and typed - If you would like to distribute it ahead of time, please contact Gary at [masked]. We often need to break into smaller groups to ensure that all pieces get a reasonable amount of time for reading and reviewing. If you send it to me, I will ensure that it gets to people who have indicated that they intend to come to the meeting.

To get both parts of the evening in, we will start at 7 pm sharp.

Our meeting place is Michael's Restaurant Deli in King of Prussia, just north of The King of Prussia Mall on Rt 202. The address is 130 Town Center Road in King of Prussia,[masked]-3265. The meeting officially starts at 7:00 pm but many of us come early (around 6) to eat and socialize a bit - but you can order your meal at any time during the meeting. We use a private room and the acoustics are great. You'll have no problem hearing our speakers or each other.

Just a reminder that you can order a scrumptious meal at Michael's off their extensive menu. We don't get charged for the great room, but Michaels does have the expectation that attendees will order a meal. It is a fair expectation and the meals are very reasonably priced.

Mark your calendar for every third Wednesday of the month. Feel free to tell others and bring a friend or two.

As usual, any questions, please contact me, Gary Zenker, at[masked] or [masked]. We are all looking forward to seeing you there.

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Gary Buehler, S.

Even though I don't always agree, I appreciate the critique group's well meant comments and will consider them all and try my best to use what I can to improve my story.

1 · August 21, 2014
John H.

I just ordered Jim's book (Shoplandia) from Amazon... sounds fun

1 · August 21, 2014
Cathy S.

My first time. So great to see such a big and diverse group. Loved the info on story slam. Looking forward to bringing work for critique which is always welcome .

1 · August 20, 2014
Bill M.

Double treat tonight: a wonderful speaker and critique night. It was a lot of fun - as always.

1 · August 20, 2014
Gary Z.

Awesome group and many first-timers this month! Welcome. It;s always interesting and fun to read the talented work of other writers. Sarah, your four pages makes us want to read the rest!

1 · August 20, 2014
- Gary Z.
  
  And Herb! Good work!
  
  0 · August 20, 2014
Elizabeth S.

Great to see everyone.

1 · August 20, 2014
Ruth B.

Sorry, cannot make it tonight . Grandmotherly duties. But I have been writing. Hoping to bring a sample to next critique night. Have fun tonight.

0 · August 20, 2014
Jim B.

Looking forward to speaking with the Main Line Group Wednesday night!

1 · August 19, 2014
bob s.

I was looking forward to this meeting, but something's come up and I have to pass. See you next month. Congrats to Sue Reilly, Phil Giunta & Stu Roth on their new anthology. I can't wait to read it.

3 · August 5, 2014
Ruth B.

I am looking forward to the 8/20 meeting, as I have missed the last two. See you all then!

1 · August 1, 2014

28 went

Gary Z.

Founder, facilitator, Organizer,

Event Host
Ruth B.
Judy D.
Carol M.
Jim B.
Paul

Co-Organizer
Brian M.
craig b.
Evan H.
Joan H.
Beverly S.
Irina
Gerri L.
Walter L.

Poet Extraordinaire
Kathy
Ellie V. Searl - P. +1
Marian B.
Penny H.
Jeanette H.
Cathy S.
Roz L.
Susanna R.

Treasurer, Co-Organizer
John H.
Elizabeth S.
Herb F.
Greta H.
Steve P.
Gary Buehler, S.
Bill M.
A former member
A former member
A former member
A former member
+1 guest

Main Line Writers

King of Prussia, PA

Founded Nov 19, 2009

About us…

Member Dues

$55.00/year - optional

voluntary

This money helps us:

Provide supplies or equipment
Improve Meetups
Membership dues pay meals for presenters (and on rare instances compensate presenters), MeetUp, web site hosting, signage, fliers, name tags, batteries for the sound system, the sound system and other needed supplies to run the group

+ more

Details

Organizers:

, , , and 1 more…

Contact

We're about:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Hi everyone and welcome.

PLEASE READ THIS COMPLETE INTRODUCTION. IT WILL ANSWER MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

Thanks for your interest. I hope you will take the time to check out our group.

2017 MARKS OUR EIGHTH YEAR OF CONTINUOUS OPERATION! Look over our past meeting topics for an idea of what we have done so far. Check out what people have said about the group and the meetings.

You can also find a smattering of photos from our previous meetings and if you visit the files section, you even can find a recording of our May 2010 presentation.

Gary Zenker serves as the primary moderator. He is also active in the Brandywine Valley Writers Group currently held at Ryan's Pub in the borough of West Chester and also moderates the Wilmington Writers Group held at Kenzie's Brew Pub in Chadds Ford, PA. Both are also on Meetup so if they are geographically convenient, please check out those groups, as well.

This group belongs to the members, so please attend and express your opinion on what you would like the group to do next. In fact, the attending members generally consider a range of topics for the program months and decide by voting what will be covered in subsequent votes...another great reason to join us in person!

MEETING TIME AND LOCATION

We meet monthly on the third Monday of the month in King of Prussia, PA at Peppers Restaurant just north of the King of Prussia Mall. The address is: 239 Town Center Rd, King of Prussia, PA 19406. The meeting officially starts at 7 pm and the programming begins around 7:30 pm but many people show up as early as 6 pm to eat and socialize. Meetings typically go on until 9 but some people stay a bit longer for more socializing. They kick us out at 10 pm.

We have a great private room that is well lit and our serving staff is fantastic. You are expected to buy your meal...it's how we get such a great room. Peppers offers a selection of four meals: one chicken, one meat, one past and one salad. the meal includes appetizer, the meal and vegetable or substitute, unlimited softdrinks and dessert. The service is great. The meal is $15 plus tip and gratuity (total $19). Please don't expect you can just avoid this: it is a requirement of attendance and our getting the great room.

GROUP PROGRAMMING

Our programming alternates between critique and presentations designed to help writers better their craft and assist with getting published. Every other month, we host guest speakers who are published writers or experts in some area related to writing and publishing. Even those guests who come to present on a specific genre should be of interest to most of the group, as much of the core information applies across genre. On occasion, our guests lead group writing exercises.

WRITING CRITIQUE

Our membership has expressed interest in having frequent opportunities for critique, so we hold regular critique sessions every other month. You bring 8 copies of five pages (or so, but no more than six) of typed content for critique to the group. A paghe refers to one side of a piece of paper. It can be a complete piece or an excerpt of a longer piece. But if you don't have work for that purpose or aren't ready, no worries: you can learn a lot from the critique process on others' work. Bring a pen and be prepared to read and discuss your thoughts on the others' work.

We sometimes hold an additional critique on a different time and at a different location on the months we don't do the regular critique (and sometimes even on the months we do). Members MUST RSVP in advance of the meeting and submit up to 15 pages type written electronically AND agree to critique the other submissions BEFORE attending the special meeting. Check the calendar...these are generally announced as they occur (as opposed to the regular meetings which are already programmed into the calendar). They also fill quickly.

OTHER PROGRAMS

The group sponsors public readings from the members and group friends, held at different locations in the area. It's a great opportunity to do a short reading (10 minutes or less) for a friendly audience.

OUR WEB SITE - www.MainLineWritersGroup.com

Our other repository for information on the group, photos, etc. Accessible to everyone, including those who are not part of MeetUp. A great opportunity to give yourself more exposure as a writer. NOTE: some of the information on the site may lag. Content on the Meetup site is always the most up-to-date.

OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

Check out Main Line Writers Group on Facebook. Lots of writer-related information there.

UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE: VOICES OF THE MAIN LINE WRITERS GROUP - THE BOOK

Our first group publishing project, Voices of the Main Line Writers, was released in Fall 2013 and our launch party was held on October 27, 2013 at Nestology in the King of Prussia Mall. The book was released on the White Lightning Publications imprint and is available on Amazon as both a printed paperback and a kindle ebook. Go buy a copy and leave a review on Amazon, GoodReads and any other place that you can.

HIDDEN TREASURES: MORE VOICES OF THE MAIN LINE WRITERS - THE OTHER BOOK

Our second collection is currently underway. You can get more details on the web site www.MainLineWritersGroup.com.

WRITING CONTEST

Every so often, the group sponsors a writing contest for paid members. Entries are free and the entire group membership selects the top three submissions as winners for each contest. Details are sent out by email just prior to the submission period and are also available on our web site www.MainLineWritersGroup.com.

GROUP MEMBERSHIP

The Main Line Writers Group is membership based. You are welcome to be a member of the Meetup group and get ongoing information about the meetings without any cost to you. You can continue to receive these notices for as long as you like.

When you attend in-person meetings, you will be asked to contribute to defray the costs of running those meetings.

You are invited to try out your first meeting for $10 ($12 by credit card). If you decide it does and want to attend again, membership is $50 for the year ($55 by credit card) (less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks nd less than $5 a meeting). Fees help me pay for the various expenses of the group. If you pay your annual membership the night of your first meeting, your meeting payment will be credited to the $50 annual membership. You can pay your membership at the group meeting or through the meetup site. If you choose to pay the meeting fee, on your next attendance you will be expected to either again pay the meeting or the membership fee. Please bring exact change and pay for the meeting before it begins.

RSVP YOUR ATTENDANCE

It helps tremendously if I know ahead of time how many people will be attending. In the case of heavy attendance, we sometimes need to rearrange the table setup. I like to have pre-printed name tags available for you. If you can, RSVP at least 48 hours in advance. Also if you find you won't be coming after RSVPing YES, please go into the system and change your RSVP status. Throwing away hand-out materials and name tags is also throwing away money.

LEAVING THE GROUP

If there comes a time when you want to leave the group, you need to do that yourself. You signed up and you control your Meetup account. Feel free to edit your membership on your end. Please don't send me notes asking me to do it for you. I manage the group, not your individual memberships.

GROUP TRUST

Trust is a key component and core value of the group. Writers are presenting their work in various stages of development to get feedback and direction for moving forward. As such, concepts presented and discussions on work-in-progress should not be shared by participating group members with anyone outside the members who had the discussion. Nor should participants view another author's work as an opportunity to use for their own work. While ideas themselves cannot be copyrighted, violating the trust within the group means that writers will no longer feel safe bringing their work to critique and rob the group of it's core goal and power to help authors. Mutual respect is important for a successful group where are get value from it.

PLEASE JOIN US!

I really hope to have you join us. We have a lot to offer AND a lot to learn from YOUR involvement.

Gary Zenker

MainLineWritersGroup@gmail.com

Our Sponsors

Gasch Printing

Offering full color/B&W book printing for print-on-demand orders
WritersBloxx

Smashes writers block and makes storytelling a party game.

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August Main Line Writers Group meeting - Critique

28 went

Founder, facilitator, Organizer,

Event Host

Co-Organizer

Poet Extraordinaire

Ellie V. Searl - P. +1

Treasurer, Co-Organizer

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