January 7th, 2026

 

I must be getting old. It seems like just last week we held our writer’s group meeting at the Nokomis Firehouse Training Room. Wait a minute, it was last week, but I didn’t have time to sit down and write this blog until today, Jan 17^th. Sorry if you were looking to read it sooner. I hope to do better in the coming weeks.

We started off with a discussion about using timelines as we write. Most of us do, in one form or another. I use an Excel spreadsheet, as do several others. Other spreadsheet programs work just as well. 3X5 cards work well; if you so choose, any note-taking program will also work. The least reliable is the memory method of keeping track of the story arc and times. But if you have a good memory and are not easily distracted, go for it! Remember, keeping your story on track is a must. If the reader can’t follow the story arc or finds glaring errors in your timeline, they will put your book back on the shelf and not look for your name on the author’s page again.

Opening up the reading portion of the meeting, Ernie Ovitz read an offering from Linda Ovitz. Linda jotted down some interesting recollections of our own, Peter Frickel. Some of you were not privileged to know Peter. He, along with Don Westerfield and Rod Digruttolo, was among the early members of our group. I’m breaking my own rule and printing the entire piece as Ernie gave us.

Linda’s recollections of Peter Frickel

January 17, 2023

 

Soft spoken…orator’s voice—makes me want to listen. Graphic

writing…feeling and visualizing his words—gracious in every sense of the word, whether speaking casually as a friend or reading his words.

 

Body language - thoughtful. Acknowledging the other person always. Walks in

his “garden” bringing peace to his thoughts. Adventurous. Wishing I had heard more of his stories about Africa.

 

Wine connoisseur. Always knew what went with which food.

 

Discernment. When it came to eating. Same as my E.G., Peter enjoyed really delicious dishes and let you know it.

 

Conservative … voiced opinions on current U.S. policies—never seemed

“worked up.” But, very true to what he believed and not afraid to state it. Good

listening skills. Would pick out things said by others and use it as a topic of

conversation.

 

Concerns for others ideas and feelings, supportive. Finding the right words to

show his for others thoughts.

 

Loving. You could always see it in his eyes for Barbara. Her achievements and

knowledge were a source of great pride. His sons … so extremely proud of them.

 

Grandchildren … instant smile and thoughts all over his face—in complete awe of their inquisitiveness and energy.

 

Lucy … our dog who loved Peter and him speaking to her in French—

mesmerized her and me listening in. So gentle.

 

Love, Linda

 

 

Thank you, Linda. Those of us who knew him miss his spot-on suggestions and satire.

 

 

Don Westerfield brings insightful poetry to our group regularly, and tonight was no exception. Listening as he read, Shadow Song, I felt a twang in my chest as his words brought back memories of my own past. As he embarked on a journey to A Place Called Loneliness, I traveled with him, realizing that one can stand in a crowd and still suffer the pangs of loneliness.

 

Dennis Cathcart is a world traveler and an expert on tropical plants like bromeliads. How did he establish his reputation? Well, we heard the first chapter of his newest work, entitled The Woman Who Changed Everything. The opening chapter tells of the first encounter the world of exotic plants had with Linda Cathcart, Dennis’s wife of only five days. And that was only the beginning, even as we know Linda today.

 

 

Memoir writing can be a ticklish task. While listening to Bob Miller read an essay that may well be a prelude to his actual memoir. I realized he has made a good start. He knows things he wants to write about in the memoir; he simply has to tell the story. Leave behind the good times and bad times, but tell your story in a way that someone who reads it gets to know you.

 

 

Bruce Haedrich took the floor and read what might be a prologue to his latest work, Nadia. The summary describes a futuristic world that may well be evolving in the near future. Humanoid robots are being developed by a host of manufacturers to supplement the single-task machines now used in manufacturing. As builders tout the need for tireless workers, stress safety concerns, and seek to reduce costs, they turn to machines rather than humans to perform repetitive tasks. Bruce’s work looks at what might happen as man tries to replace humans.

 

If you enjoy reading Hiaku, Scott Anderson is your source. Tonight, we heard Scott read 14 of the verses he’s penned recently. These little three-line verses, with as few as six words, tell a story describing a multitude of things we see in our world. The blanket of fog, an image in a mirror, a bird stalking its prey. The world, the heavens, and Scott’s imagination are revealed.

 

From the fertile mind of Danny Spurlock, we hear a story of a suspicious husband, a take-charge wife, and an online book order. When a book entitled The Art of Embalming is delivered, and the husband asks his wife if she ordered it, her response of “I’ll take care of it” sets off a chain of events only a writer could think of.

 

In our daily routine, it is not unusual for us to encounter someone who appears to act differently from what we expect of those around us. Beth Socha brought us two poems depicting people who seem different, some might even say odd. In Rascal, a young man who danced to a different music, he and his girlfriend set up housekeeping in the desolate woods. With a new baby, what would happen when winter set in? As Beth read, Linda, The Galloping Horse, we could see and hear the girl’s footsteps as she galloped up and down the street, pretending to be a horse. In her mind, she was.

 

It was a great meeting; we heard some amazing work, and we look forward to the next one, 6:30 PM Wednesday, January 21st, at the Nokomis Firehouse. Until then, READ, Read, read and read some more, then WRITE, Write, write, and keep on writing.

December 3rd, 2025

 

Another year is drawing to a close, and our next meeting will be the final gathering for 2025. Traditionally, we take up a collection and present it to the Nokomis Fire Department as a gesture of appreciation for allowing us to meet in their training room twice a month throughout the year. We also encourage members to bring a significant other or a guest to join us in a potluck goodies snackfest. All leftovers will be donated to the firehouse staff.

 

On December 17^th, we will enjoy an evening with conversation, stories, idea-sharing, and readings. If you have a favorite Holiday Story, share it with us as well. Oh, BTW, all calories are suspended for the evening.

 

Tonight’s meeting began with a roundtable on what’s happening in our writing lives. Dennis Cathcart mentioned keeping a timeline of events to keep his writing in perspective. A number of our writers do this, including yours truly. A timeline helps keep the action and events in a story flowing. Even a short time span can get complicated when a lot of action is happening, especially when numerous characters are involved. Take a look at the action in your household on a hectic day. Your spouse is in the kitchen preparing to cook something; you are in the bedroom, changing clothes; a child is on the patio watching a pet in the backyard; and a neighbor is mowing his lawn next door. What can happen?1.  

1.      Your foot gets caught in the shorts you are putting on, you lose your balance, and you stumble towards the nightstand bearing your spouse’s grandmother’s Tiffany Lamp, worth thousands of dollars. You yell; your spouse looks toward the bedroom door.

2.      Whoosh, flames leap from the frying pan of warming oil on the stove. Where is the fire extinguisher your spouse just had checked at the hardware store? Your spouse yells.

3.      The pet outside sees a squirrel and bursts into a sprint in pursuit. Both animals are on a collision course with your neighbor’s riding mower. The pet howls.

4.      Your child recognizes the potential danger that the pet could be hurt or killed by the mower and joins the pursuit. The child yells

5.      Your neighbor is yawning, with both eyes closed, when the two furry creatures and a child burst through the row of peonies you planted along the property line.

You have to solve all these issues. What happens next, in what order, can you keep it all straight in your head? Did you plan ahead? Are you 'pantsing' it, or do you have an outline or a timeline? What is the most important event? Is the situation tragic or comedic? Are you telling it in real-time, or is this a flashback? Would a timeline help? A timeline might help in any writing situation. Fiction, Memoir, Technical, Short Story or Novel. 

You don’t want to have a character listening to a radio broadcast in 1915 on a commercial broadcast station that weren't established until 1920. Could you hear a radio broadcast in 1899? Things move fast in history; do your research and build a timeline. Accuracy establishes your credibility.

 THINK ABOUT IT

Of the nine attending writers tonight, six wished to share some of their work with us. Scott Anderson is on a mission to write Haiku. He is not slogging along at an excruciating pace; instead, the muse has him fully enveloped, as he races toward an expanding goal at blazing speed. Tonight, he graced us with fifteen gems, including one accepted for publication. We wonder at how descriptive so few words can be.

 

Some years ago, Roberta Molaro set out to write a story with a working title of The Reluctant Heiress. Somehow, she got sidetracked. Now that she has become involved with our little group, she has resurrected the story and shares it with us. A young woman, now 21 years old, is confronted by her parents with the fact that she was adopted as an infant. Why did they wait so long to tell her? How did they tell her? Roberta is working to present her story in a unique way and receives a multitude of suggestions with each reading.

 

Gary Conkol shines as a technical writer, but he has ventured into fiction since joining us at the firehouse. Drawing on much of his knowledge from the tech world, he brings us a story about a group of techno experts calling themselves the Emerging New Age Technology Assisted Utopia, or “ENATAU”. The group has solved the problem of traveling at speeds slower than the speed of light. With that problem solved, they established a colony on Mars and plan to expand throughout the universe. Fun, ain’t it? – We look forward to more with each reading.

 

Those of you who follow the blog and/or attend our meetings know that Bruce Haedrich has a rich imagination, as shown in his latest endeavor, Nadia. Beginning her life as a humanoid robot, Nadia has evolved into a new lifeform known as a “Terestrial.” Nadia is learning the ways of the humans. The new lifeforms find themselves hunted by humanoid robots employed by governments to eliminate the terestrials. An underground movement has formed, mainly in rural areas worldwide, to protect the terrestrial population, which is growing exponentially. As in many Sci-Fi stories of the past, Bruce’s Nadia seems to reflect on current political movements in government today. Look for Bruce’s publications online and in print.

 

IT’S HERE – STRATEGIC DECEPTION, by Ursula Wong, has been launched and is available on Amazon. A prolific writer, Ursula has finally allowed her latest book to join her published works. From the wilds of Peru to the boiling turmoil of Soviet Union-occupied Lithuania, her books encompass the world. Now, in independent Lithuania, she follows Grace Urban as she chases Soviet bloc criminals through a maze of lies and deception to save the world from their treachery. Thank you, Ursula. BUT WAIT A MINUTE, there’s more coming. Ursula is working on a new Grace Urban adventure with a working title of Deception Protocol. More good stuff is on the way; stay tuned.

 

Dennis Cathcart is a world-traveler and expert on Bromeliads, among many other plants and reptiles. As the owner and CEO of Tropiflora in Bradenton, he has traveled and lectured in many venues and over 25 countries. Tonight, he gave us a glimpse of standing on the edge of the world in Argentina. Having published two books about his adventures as a Snake Hunter, he is turning his attention to writing about his travels around the world with his lovely wife, Linda. – We look forward to hearing these stories as he begins a new era in his writing.

Well, that was a fascinating journey, beginning our trip with a taste of Japan in the Hiaku of Scott Anderson, visiting a young woman shocked to find out she was adopted, a trip to the red planet, standing alongside a new species of human, then looking into the world of spies and subterfuge, as we end up on the Edge of the World in Argentina. What a way to go.

Our next meeting will be on December 17^th, beginning at 6:30 PM. Join us if you can, and I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Until we meet again, READ, Read, and read some more, then WRITE, Write, and write more. Then bring it to a meeting and share it with the world.