Next Meeting: Thursday, 19 February, at 6:30 p.m.
at the Tustin Marketplace Corner Bakery (13652 Jamboree Road, Irvine)
Article about blogging
Since many of us have blogs or are thinking about blogs as keystones for “author platforms”, I thought I’d pass on this post, which delves into the issue from a wider perspective than most I’ve seen on the topic. An excerpt:
“Tweets share; blogs provide meaning and substance; facebook fan pages offer social interaction and feedback; videos and podcasts offer new ways of connecting with readers and new dimensions to their experience of you.
“But here’s the thing.
“There has to be a point.
“There has to be a larger meaning that people can buy into, and engage with, and return to. That improves their lives in some way. Makes the world a better place.
“This is the great, amazing thing about a blog, an author platform: it’s the chance to go beyond yourself, to express your values and idealism and Do Something Truly Cool.”
17 Feb meeting notes; 24 Feb reading list
17 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Eleven people attended: Burt (read three chapters from Madness of March), Casey, Glenda, JoAnne, John D. (read the opening chapter of The Age of Arthur), Jonathan, Kermit, Lance, Maddie, Shari and Stace.
News & Notes
We’ll gather at Irvine’s Paradise Perks (15475 Jeffrey Road, at Irvine Center Drive) for our 24 Feb and 3 Mar meetings. We’ll try the place for two weeks, then decide whether we want to stay. Our Borders in Tustin is slated to shut down. The café breathed its last on 17 Feb; the clearance sale starts on the 19th.
The new group website at purefictionleague.org is now active. Stace has worked hard to bring up the site, and it’s already far better than what we had with Multiply. Stace and Lance are administrators; John D. volunteered to be one of the two editors. You can subscribe to the blog either by entering your email address or by following the RSS feed. If you’d like us to link to your website or blog, send us your URL. If you want to contribute to the blog, you’ll need to sign up for a free WordPress account, then contact Stace or Lance for additional instructions.
24 FEBRUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
Kermit (2/17)
Stace (2/17)
Glenda (2/17)
Melodye (2/3)
Casey (2/17)
Marianna (2/10)
Shari (2/17)
Julia (2/10)
Rosie (2/10)
Jonathan (2/17)
JoAnne (2/17)
Maddie (2/17)
Lance (2/17)
Burt (2/17)
John D. (2/17)
Borders declares bankruptcy
Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning. As part of its reorganization plan, Borders plans to close 193 stores across the U.S.
Store #450, 2493 Park Avenue in Tustin, is on the list.
The company has not yet released the schedule for these closings, but it will have to move quickly in order to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the year.
The complete list is available at Scribd.
10 Feb meeting notes; 17 Feb reading list
10 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Twelve people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda, JoAnne (read a short sketch, "Super Bowl Vegas"), John D., Jonathan, Julia, Lance (read four revised chapters from Identity), Maddie (read two chapters from Hit Me), Marianna, Rosie and Stace.
News & Notes
The application has been turned in to the HeritagePark branch of OC Public Library in Irvine (14361 Yale Av.). It’s available Wednesdays 7-9PM starting 4 May except for the fourth Wednesday of each month (an exception that may be temporary).
Jonathan scouted Paradise Perks (15475 Jeffrey Road, Irvine) and reports that it’s large, writing-group friendly and available on Thursdays. If we decide to move there, we need to release our hold on the library. The only we can tell if Paradise Perks is for us, however, is to try it. Accordingly, we will hold our 24 Feb meeting at Paradise Perks. We’ll try the place for two weeks, then decide whether we want to stay.
The new group website at purefictionleague.org proceeds apace and should soon be ready for show-and-tell. Stace has worked hard to bring up the site, and it’s already far better than what we have with Multiply.
17 FEBRUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
Kermit (2/3)
Stace (2/10)
Glenda (2/10)
Melodye (2/3)
Casey (2/10)
Marianna (2/10)
Shari (2/3)
Burt (2/10)
Julia (2/10)
John D. (2/10)
Rosie (2/10)
Jonathan (2/10)
JoAnne (2/10)
Maddie (2/10)
Lance (2/10)
3 Feb meeting notes; 10 Feb reading list
3 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Thirteen people packed the table: Burt, Casey, Glenda, John D., Jonathan (read a revamped chapter from Eyes Like Gods), Julia, Kermit, Lance, Maddie, Melodye, Rosie (read the opening chapter of On Thin Ice), Shari and Stace.
News & Notes
Because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Borders’ imminent bankruptcy filing, we agreed it was time to find an alternate home for PFL. Options are not thick on the ground. City-owned meeting facilities, when available, charge rent; community- and church-based meeting rooms generally require a resident or parishioner to be part of the group. OC Public Library branches generally have free meeting rooms, but they’re popular, especially in the evenings. The best option we’ve found is the Heritage Park branch of OCPL in Irvine (14361 Yale Av.). It’s available Wednesdays 7-9PM starting in May except for the fourth Wednesday of each month (an exception that may be temporary). The PFL members voted to grab the space while we can and look further for a venue to fill in on the fourth Wednesday.
The current Multiply website does not allow for the reasonable addition of more resources for PFL members. Lance and Stace proposed obtaining the domain purefictionleague.org and hosting a site in WordPress, a popular and powerful blogging and content-management platform that offers free hosting. Registering and maintaining the domain will cost $25 a year, which the members can reimburse through donations. The members approved this plan. The new site should be open for business soon.
10 FEBRUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
JoAnne (1/27)
Kermit (2/3)
Stace (2/3)
Glenda (2/3)
Melodye (2/3)
Casey (2/3)
Marianna (1/27)
Maddie (2/3)
Shari (2/3)
Burt (2/3)
Julia (2/3)
Lance (2/3)
John D. (2/3)
Rosie (2/3)
Jonathan (2/3)
27 Jan meeting notes; 3 Feb reading list
27 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Eleven people attended: Burt, Casey, Joanne, John D., Jonathan, Julia (read two chapters from White Russian), Lance (read two chapters from Identity), Marianna, Melodye, Rosie and Stace.
3 FEBRUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
JoAnne (1/27)
Kermit (1/13)
Stace (1/27)
Glenda (1/20)
Melodye (1/27)
Casey (1/27)
Marianna (1/27)
Rosie (1/27)
Maddie (1/20)
Jonathan (1/27)
Shari (1/20)
Burt (1/27)
Julia (1/27)
Lance (1/27)
John D. (1/27)
20 Jan meeting notes; 27 Jan reading list
20 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Eleven people attended: Burt (read three chapters from Madness of March), Glenda, Joanne, Jonathan, Lance, Maddie, Melodye, Rosie, Shari (read two chapters from Lost in Dance), Stace, and long-time-gone former PFL member John D.
News and Notes
The February issue of Glamour includes an article about Dear Bully, the nonfiction anthology to which Melodye is a contributor. Melissa Walker’s blog has an unauthorized preview.
The Write Environment — a DVD series featuring hour-long interviews with leading screenwriters such as Joss Whedon and Damon Lindelof — airs on KCET at 10PM Wednesdays and 11PM Saturdays. The companion blog includes interview excerpts and additional material.
27 JANUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
JoAnne (1/20)
Kermit (1/13)
Stace (1/20)
Glenda (1/20)
Melodye (1/20)
Julia (1/13)
Casey (1/6)
Marianna (1/6)
Rosie (1/20)
Maddie (1/20)
Jonathan (1/20)
Lance (1/20)
Shari (1/20)
Burt (1/20)
13 Jan meeting notes; 20 Jan reading list
13 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Ten people joined the comfy-chair reading circle: Burt, Joanne, Jonathan (read a revised chapter from Eyes Like Gods), Julia, Kermit, Lance (read 4.5 chapters from Identity), Maddie (read a chapter from Hit Me), Rosie, Shari and Stace.
News and Notes
T. Jefferson Parker will speak at the next Pen on Fire Writers’ Salon, 7-9PM on 18 Jan at the Scape Gallery, 2859 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. Tickets are $20, which covers admission and nosh. These events sell out, so register in advance.
Maddie recomends The Write Environment, a DVD series featuring hour-long interviews with leading screenwriters such as Joss Whedon and Damon Lindelof. While the focus is screenwriting, the interviewees tackle topics that apply to writing for print, such as character-building and plotting.
18 JANUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
JoAnne (1/13)
Denise (12/2)
Kermit (1/13)
Stace (1/13)
Glenda (1/6)
Melodye (1/6)
Julia (1/13)
Casey (1/6)
Marianna (1/6)
Shari (1/13)
Rosie (1/13)
Burt (1/13)
Maddie (1/13)
Jonathan (1/13)
Lance (1/13)
6 Jan meeting notes; 13 Jan reading list
6 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Twelve attendees to start the new year: Burt (read three chapters of Madness of March), Casey, Glenda, Joanne, Julia, Lance (read three chapters from Identity), Maddie, Marianna, Melodye, Rosie, Shari and Stace.
News and Notes
T. Jefferson Parker will speak at the next Pen on Fire Writers’ Salon, 7-9PM on 18 Jan at the Scape Gallery, 2859 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. Tickets are $20, which covers admission and nosh. These events sell out, so register in advance.
13 JANUARY READING LIST
Please review this list for accuracy. If you discover any mistakes or omissions, please let us know in advance of the meeting.
JoAnne (1/6)
Denise (12/2)
Kermit (11/18)
Stace (1/6)
Glenda (1/6)
Maddie (1/6)
Melodye (1/6)
Julia (1/6)
Casey (1/6)
Marianna (1/6)
Shari (1/6)
Jonathan (12/2)
Rosie (1/6)
Burt (1/6)
Lance (1/6)
Pure Fiction League 