Sunday, December 15, 2013

Notes from December 2013

The Portsmouth Writers Salon has canceled its meetings for December 2013. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!




Until next time.

Keep Writing,


Portsmouth Writers Salon 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Notes from November 24, 2013 (Brrr!)

The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to the members. 
We skipped the writing prompt this evening. 

Of interest P.W.S. member Tammi Truax has two new books out:
Until next time.

Keep Writing,


Portsmouth Writers Salon 

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Notes from Sunday, October 27, 2013


The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to the ten members. 

Until next time.

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Notes from September 22, 2013


The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to the members. 

We skipped tonight's writing prompt. 

We are deeply saddened that one of our members will no longer be with us, and we wish this person the best, and we look forward to seeing their stories published. 

It has been decided NOT to open up our writing group to more members (including the three people on the waitlist) until we have fewer than 8 members. 

Many if not all of us have the goal of polishing our work(s) for publication and with our current nine that we mean we each get 6 times total to share our work with the group over a year. (*Note We are not saying that we want ANYONE else to leave! We love our group! It’s a wonderful group of gals and guys who provide meaningful/useful feedback to each others writing. *)

For those on the waitlist or those looking for a writing group that meets at Portsmouth Book and Bar:

Darby Tench, local author, and former UNH Italian Professor who studied with Umberto Eco runs a writing workshop group that meets every Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 PM at Book and Bar and is currently seeking more members as they have three members. 


Until next time.

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Notes from Sunday, September 8, 2013


The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to the ten members. 

Our writing prompt for tonight's meeting was, “Connie was sitting in the rocking chair near the fireplace, smoking a cigarette” from Dancing After Hours by Andre Dubus. 

“Don't quit. It's very easy to quit during the first 10 years. Nobody cares whether you write or not, and it's very hard to write when nobody cares one way or the other. You can't get fired if you don't write, and most of the time you don't get rewarded if you do. But don't quit.” 
― Andre Dubus






Some links relevant to discussions at our meeting this evening:



Until next time.

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon 

Monday, August 26, 2013

Notes from August 25, 2013


The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to the ten members. 

Our writing prompt for tonight's meeting was, “Nina unlocked the door with difficulty that stopped this side of panic.” from Guided Tours of Hell by Francine Prose.  


The following is an excerpt from an interview with Zadie Smith from June 28, 2013, published in the London Evening Standard. 

Most dear to her is the community of writers in her life, which begins with her husband. She met Laird at Cambridge but only married him eight years later, at their college chapel. ‘It’s an incredible friendship,’ she says. ‘We never expected to get married, but it’s very useful to be married to your friend.’ They edit one another’s work, a habit that goes back to university days. Does this never cause tensions? ‘As I’ve got older, I’ve maybe got a little more sensitive,’ she concedes. ‘I’m trying to write a short story while feeding this kid, so my attention is maybe not so focused. I give him the first draft, and I do get a little touchy when I get it back with yellow highlighter pen all over it.’ Still, she does the same for him. ‘We both have the attitude: “Do you want to make a fool of yourself in front of me, or in front of x amount of people?”  

Until next time. 

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Notes from August 11, 2013



The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to those present and those not present who mentioned interest.

Our writing prompt for tonight's meeting was, “The thing that worries me is having to stay in this dreadful place for the rest of my life.” from The BFG by Roald Dahl. 

13 Writing Tips by Chuck Palahniuk 

“I love short stories because I believe they are the way we live. They are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice.” 
Andre Dubus

Until next time. 

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Notes from July 28, 2013



The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to those present and those not present who mentioned interest.

Our writing prompt for tonight's meeting was, “When the pickles are cool she labels them as she always does with the name and the date and carries them down the cellar stairs.  The cellar is the old kind, with stone walls and a dirt floor.” from Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood. 


“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” 

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 




Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Notes from Sunday, July 14, 2013



The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to those present and those not present who mentioned interest.

“I went into my house and set coffee to cooking, and remembering how Roark Bradford liked it, I doubled the dosage, two heaping tablespoons for each cup and two heaping for the pot. I cracked an egg and cupped out the yolk and dropped shells and white into the pot, for I know nothing that polishes coffee and makes it shine like that.

The air was still very cold, and a cold night was coming, so that the brew, rising from cold water to a rolling boil, gave the good smell that competes successfully with other good smells.

My guest was satisfied, and he warmed his hands against the plastic cup. "By your license, you’re a stranger here,” he said. “How do you come to know about coffee?”

"I learned on Bourbon Street from giants in the earth,” I said. “But they would have asked the bean of darker roast, and they would have liked a little chicory for bite." - John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

“It isn’t easy to understand exactly what she is saying, for one doesn’t know whether she is speaking ironically or seriously, it’s mostly serious, but sounds ironic. - “Stop interpreting everything!” said K.” 

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” 


Until next time. 

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Ongoing Literary Stuff #PortsmouthNH

Hello Fellow Writers, Readers, and Book Lovers, 


If you know of a local area listing that isn't shown here, please email PortsmouthWritersSalon@gmail.com, and it will be listed. 
This list may be found under pages on the sidebar on the right of this website.  








Ongoing Writing Groups in Portsmouth, NH
Creative Writing Group #1
Meets 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 6:30 PM 
Portsmouth Public Library 
Bi-monthly meeting of the Creative Writing Group #1
No Fee. 

Writers of all levels and genres are welcome to join. 
Open to the public - Looking for new members! 
    
     Contact: Kathleen Slover   
     Phone: 603-433-9013
     Email: mcslover_2000@yahoo.com


Creative Writing Group #2
Meets 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 6:30 PM 
Portsmouth Public Library Location: MacLeod Board Room
Bi-monthly meeting of the Creative Writing Group #1, sponsored by the library. 
No Fee. 

Writers of all levels and genres are welcome to join. 
Open to the public - Looking for new members! 

Contact: Cerl Eagling 
     Phone:  None Listed 
     Email: ceagling@aol.com


Memoir Writing Group 
Memoir Writing Group meets twice a month from 10-Noon. 
Portsmouth Public Library Location: MacLeod Board Room
No Fee. 

  Group is full and not accepting new members at this time.  

Please leave your name at the Front Desk of the Library if you are interested in joining. 

Contact: Sherry Evans
Phone: 603-766-1703



Portsmouth Writers Salon
2nd and 4th Sundays from 7-9 PM 
Portsmouth Book & Bar
No Fee. 

Group is full and not accepting new members at this time.

There is a waiting list for this group. 
To join the waiting list, please contact portsmouthwriterssalon@gmail.com. 


Crime/Thrillers/Suspense/Mystery Writers Group
Every other Wednesday from 6:30-8:00 PM
Rye Public Library
No Fee.
Contact: Joy Seymour
joy@jeseymour.com to get on the mailing list 
Pen Central Writing Workshops
Writing workshops at RiverRun Bookstore with a focus on Fiction, 
Nonfiction and Poetry 

Contact: Rebecca Dawson Webb 



Ongoing Book Groups in Portsmouth, NH

  Fiction Book Group 
Meets Mondays at 1 PM MacLeod Board Room
     Meets Mondays at 7 PM Hilton Garden Room 
Portsmouth Public Library 
Monthly fiction book group, sponsored by the library.  

Contact: Sherry Evans
603-766-1703




Nonfiction Book Group
Meets 1st Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM
Portsmouth Public Library - Hilton Garden Room 
Monthly nonfiction book group 

Contact: Sean Moundas


Poetry Collective 
Meets alternating Thursdays 7-9 PM
At Sheafe Street Books 

Contact: Ken 
Phone: (603) 498-4696

Classics Book Group 
Meets the third Monday of every month 7-9 PM
At RiverRun Bookstore 

Contact: Tom Holbrook 
Phone: (603) 431-2100 


Essays Book Group
Meets Third Tuesday of every month 7-9 PM
At Portsmouth Book and Bar
*starting July 16, 2013,*

Contact: Tamara J. Collins


Epic Nerdpurr Book Group
Meets one Sunday a month 7-9 PM 
At RiverRun Bookstore

Contact: Liberty Hardy
Phone: (603) 431-2100 





Other Ongoing Groups and Open Mics

Hoot Night at Cafe Espresso 
1st Wednesday of the month 7-9 PM 
At CafĂ© Espresso 

Contact: Poet Laureate Program 
Email: Info@pplp.org 


Beat Night Poetry
3rd Thursday of the month – 7-9PM
At the Press Room 

Contact: The Pressroom 
Email:  603-431-5186 


Writers Night Out
1st Monday of every month 7-9 PM
at the Common Man 

Contact: John Herman

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Notes from Sunday, June 23, 2013


The Portsmouth Writers Salon had a wonderful meeting this evening. Meeting minutes were emailed out to those present and those not present who mentioned interest.

“Can a story be good only if it produces an effect? If the effect is a bad one, but intended, has the story done its job? Is it then a good story? If the story produces an effect other than the intended one, is it then a bad story? Can a story be said to produce an effect at all? Can a story actually do anything at all? ” 

There is a service called Flourish Editing that for 4 cents a word provides copyediting feedback,  here is the website: http://www.flourishediting.com/According to their website on Mondays, they offer a free critique on up to 750 words. 
There is a book called Writing Begins with the Breathe by Laraine Herring that one of our members recommends. 

Until next time. 

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon

Monday, June 10, 2013

Notes from Sunday, June 9, 2013



The meeting was canceled due to sick Director. 

You know when your sick and you feel wretched and your body aches and you are bound to spend the beautiful day that you had planned to be at the beach reading and swimming in bed? Well, I do. Not fun. 

Anyway, well I was homesick I finally got to watch the Silver Linings Playbook and I highly recommend it. 



Until next time.

Keep Writing,

Portsmouth Writers Salon