C.S
Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were members of a writers’ group called “The
Inklings.” I would have loved to have heard what they had to say about each
other’s work during their weekly meetings.
“Really
JR, can’t you find a better name for your Hobbit than ‘Fred’?”
“Well
C.S., how about Fr…Fr…Frodo?”
There
are several writers’ groups in the Rochester area and I cherish my writing
friends in our group. We’re a varied
bunch - from a playwright to spinners of the fantastic; folks who write historical fiction to young adult books;
non-fiction to short stories. Quite a
few years ago we wrote a “Round Robin” story that featured time travel and a
larger than life gypsy in a coffee shop. One person started the story and passed it on
to the next writer. He or she added more and passed it on until the last writer
had to pull the whole thing together. We had so many laughs doing that story,
we decided it was time to write another.
After
drawing numbers, lucky Number # 1 set the scene and passed it on to Writer #2
who carried the story a bit further. This proceeded through all ten of us until
we completed quite a yarn. Most writers have at least a vague plot before they
write, although some create a character and just follow where it leads. With
our Round Robin, we had no idea where we were going and no one had any control
over where it went because no one knew what the next writer would do.
In
short, it was great fun and we ended up with quite a tale. Starting with my next
post on Friday April 5th, I will publish each “chapter” every week
for ten weeks here on Wordspinner. I
hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. Until then...
