AAG President - conversation

“The tedious part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter, the fleshy, in summer.  I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood.”  ~John Burroughs   

If you spent the winter that never seemed to end developing lots of bone and sinew, then it is time to add the tissues and blood. While in the process of editing and re-editing older non-fiction short stories, I was reminded that, like the seasons, a writer’s life is a continuous process. We can always improve that which we have improved. I came across two quotes that are worth sharing.

“Stylebooks are useful – to teach writers how to occasionally break the rules. Raymond Chandler had it right: When I split an infinitive, damn it, I split it so it stays split.”’ James Popkin

Style should be the servant of clarity and understanding – supportive, but unobtrusive, so that the reader doesn’t really know it’s there.’  Susan Dentzer 

We are at the halfway point in the year. Our speakers have been excellent. At our last meeting, we not only had an outstanding speaker, but he also paid for all of our meals! I learned that The Tuscan Italian Grill may have closed. Stay informed as we look for a new place to meet on July 8. The next event on the AAG calendar is the Virginia Highlands Festival, August 1 - 10. Jack Rose is taking reservations. Send your requested date(s) and check to AAG, PO Box 803, Abingdon, VA 24212 The cost is $25.00 for weekends, and $15.00 for weekdays. There are new guidelines that will be posted separately. Please note that if you sign up for two weekends you are required to take a weekday also. Our next business meeting will be September 9 from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Washington County Library in Abingdon, VA

Sincerely,

Claudia Ware, AAG President