As you know, we are having a critique on August 17th, 7-7:30 p.m. Here is how it will go:

By July 31, please e-mail everyone in the group (e-mails above) whatever you want critiqued. It does not have to be a finished, polished draft. If you want the group to focus on anything specific, let us know about that when you send it.

Read everyone’s pieces before the August 17th and think of things you can say about them (I will be posting some tips about critiquing in the near future).

On the day of the meeting, we will read out pieces aloud just like  we usually do, only after each person reads, we will have a discussion time where we go over  the piece and try to inspire and help the person for revisions.

Afterwards, we will have a prompt as usual.

Because critiques can seem scary, we plan to have at least one surprise to make it fun. I hope you all can make it.

(If it is your first time coming to Word Pirates, you don’t have to worry about all this. Just come and see what it is like.)

Hey, Word Pirates. How are you?
We had a great meeting last night. For those who couldn’t be there, here is the prompt:

Listen to Sarah Vowell read this “list” essay about her experiences. Now you write a list essay. Think of it as a series of connected memories. An example would be remembering five misconceptions you had about sex as a teenager and listing those, while tying it together under one theme about how you have changed and grown. The great thing about a list essay is that it has the succinct and entertaining quality of a bulleted list without the boring repetitiveness of an actual list. It’s a bit hard to explain, so if you want to discuss it more, please e-mail us. Hearing Vowell’s really helps. She rocks.
ALSO: REMINDER!

Our next meeting, on Aug. 17, will be a special critiquing session. We will send you more information by e-mail. However, please get ready to send the whole group your writing via e-mail by July 31. Word Pirates are smart and insightful. And nice! This should be a productive and fun session.

Hey Word Pirates,

How are we liking being monthly? Is seems like forever since a Word Pirate’s meeting!

So I’m just reminding you of next week’s meeting, July 20 at 7-7:30 p.m. AFAIK, only Noelani and Leona aren’t going to be able to make it. Remember to bring a pen and paper.

Also, we are going to do a critique for the August 17th meeting, which we will explain in detail next week. Ideally, we would like you to bring enough copies of what you want critiqued for the July 20 meeting (there are 10 members, so 10 copies). However, if you would rather just get it to everyone by e-mail, that’s fine.

BTW, Leona is going to be reading at Soho’s on August 15th at 6:30 p.m. There may be spaces left for other Word Pirates to sign up and read if they are interested. (Good practice!)

See you at the meeting.

~ Joy