Pure Fiction League

24 SEPTEMBER MEETING NOTES

Eleven people attended: Casey, Glenda, Jo (read a chapter from Moonspell), JoAnne, Lance, Lisa W., Maddie, Marianna (read two chapters from Red Snow, Gold Clouds), Mark H., Rosie and Shari.

News and Notes

Our first discussion of How Not to Write a Novel will happen during our 1 October meeting, with Rosie leading. It will take up the first reading slot of the evening (50 minutes). Please make sure you finish Part I of the book by then so you can say scintillating, clever things about it.

The 22 September LIT UP! was a great success, with sixteen audience members enjoying readings by Ted Parvin, Janis Thomas and H.R. Knight. The next LIT UP! will take place on 20 October at Kean Coffee. Get the event flyers here: 1-up and 2-up.
1 OCTOBER READING LIST

Maddie (9/24)
Glenda (9/24)
Rosie (9/24)
Burt (9/17)
JoAnne (9/24)
Lisa W. (9/24)
Ava (9/10)
Lance (9/24)
Mark H. (9/24)
Casey (9/24)
Donna (9/17)
Shari (9/24)
Jo (9/24)
Marianna (9/24)

20 AUGUST MEETING NOTES

Eight people attended an abbreviated meeting: Burt, Casey, Glenda, Lance (read two chapters from the Fake reboot), Lisa W., Maddie, Rosie, and potential new member Ava, a writer of short stories and memoir who’s new to Orange County.

News and Notes

The 18 August LIT UP! drew in 18-19 people to listen to YA romance writer Jessi Kirby and NYT bestselling paranormal-romance author Susan Squires. Congratulations again to Maddie, who once again herded the cats into another successful event!

We’ll try this again: next meeting (27 Aug), we’ll vote for which writing-related book we’ll start reading in September. Nominated books:

• How Not to Write a Novel, by Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman
• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, by Alexandra Sokoloff
• Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc, by Dara Marks
• How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript, by James Scott Bell
• Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method, by Stuart Horwitz

If you have personal experience with any of these, please share it with us so we can make a more informed decision. Please follow the above links to the Amazon product pages, look at the book descriptions, do the “Look Inside” if it’s available, and come ready to decide on a book on the 20th.
27 AUGUST READING LIST

Shari (7/9)
Maddie (8/20)
JoAnne (8/13)
John M. (7/23)
Glenda (8/20)
Casey (8/20)
Marianna (8/13)
Donna (8/6)
Lisa W. (8/20)
Rosie (8/20)
Jo (8/13)
Burt (8/20)
Lance (8/20)
Steve J. (6/18)
Mark H. (6/25)

13 AUGUST MEETING NOTES

Ten people attended: Burt (read two chapters from It All Ends on 101, formerly Murder on the 101), Casey, Glenda, Jo (read a chapter from Moonspell), JoAnne, Lance, Lisa W., Maddie, Marianna and Rosie (read two revised chapters from On Thin Ice).

News and Notes

The next LIT UP! is happening on 18 August at Kean Coffee in Tustin. It will feature YA romance writer Jessi Kirby and NYT bestselling paranormal-romance author Susan Squires. Find more details on the LIT UP! Facebook page.

Next meeting (20 Aug), we’ll be voting for which writing-related book we’ll start reading in September. Nominated books:

• How Not to Write a Novel, by Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman
• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, by Alexandra Sokoloff
• Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc, by Dara Marks
• How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript, by James Scott Bell
• Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method, by Stuart Horwitz

If you have personal experience with any of these, please share it with us so we can make a more informed decision. Please follow the above links to the Amazon product pages, look at the book descriptions, do the “Look Inside” if it’s available, and come ready to decide on a book on the 20th.
20 AUGUST READING LIST

Shari (7/9)
Maddie (8/13)
JoAnne (8/13)
Steve J. (6/18)
Mark H. (6/25)
John M. (7/23)
Glenda (8/13)
Casey (8/13)
Marianna (8/13)
Donna (8/6)
Lance (8/13)
Lisa W. (8/13)
Rosie (8/13)
Jo (8/13)
Burt (8/13)

23 JULY MEETING NOTES

Eight people attended: Burt, Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Donna (read a chapter from Running with Hounds…and an English Degree), JoAnne, John M., Lance (read two chapters from the Fake reboot), Maddie and Rosie.

News and Notes

We once again discussed the idea of reading a writing-related book, and the assembled members agreed it was a good idea. When we did this in the past, we’d pick a book and set aside one reading slot (50 minutes) per month to discuss a certain number of chapters; discussion leadership circulates among members. We’ll take nominations for books over the next two meetings, then select the one we’ll begin discussing in September. The list of the last few books we read is available here. Qualifications:

• The book is widely available online or in bookstores;
• The author is/was a working writer who wrote things other than books about writing;
• The subject should be applicable to a wide range of genres; and,
• The book should be practical rather than theoretical.

Books nominated so far:

• How Not to Write a Novel, by Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman
• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, by Alexandra Sokoloff

The 21 July LIT UP! was a success, drawing eighteen audience members to an otherwise empty Kean Coffee. Debra Marshall, Christopher Noxon, and PFL’s own Steve Jackson shared excerpts from their latest works. The next LIT UP! will be held on 18 August at Kean Coffee in Tustin. Find more details on the LIT UP! Facebook page.

30 JULY READING LIST

Rosie (7/23)
Shari (7/9)
Maddie (7/23)
JoAnne (7/23)
Jo (7/16)
Steve J. (6/18)
Mark H. (6/25)
Burt (7/23)
Marianna (7/9)
John M. (7/23)
Glenda (7/16)
Casey (7/23)
Donna (7/23)
Lance (7/23)