Thursday, September 16, 2004

Writing Group Turnout

Last night was the first meeting of the new writer's group. Four of us turned up. I was first. Joseph, a youngish Scottish guy was second. Daisy, a woman from Seattle was next. And Mike, the South African fellow, was a half hour late. They seem like a good group. We're a motley bunch, but I think it will work.

Daisy sat and immediately brought out an agenda and format that her writer's group had used in Seattle. It seemed a little "control freak," but I'm sure she was just a little nervous. In the end, she seemed like the most serious of the other three, with my seriousness being assumed. She's intelligent and well-spoken and a bit granola like most Seattle girls are, a quality which sounds derogitory, but is really not.

Joseph looked like a bit of a mess when I saw him wandering around. I was secretly hoping that he was not one of the group people. But he turned out to be a nice guy. Humble, even-tempered, wants to write, wants encouragement. He has ideas about the group, but we had to ask him about them. I hope he stays.

Mike seemed great in his e-mails, but he's a bit of a mess. He said he wanted to be around people who were not like the people he normally hung out with in the pub - losers who have no direction in life. He seemed a little loosened up on arrival, drank three "pints" (we don't really have pints here, that's an English thing) and then asked us if we'd like to go for a beer when it was over - we declined. So he drinks a bit. He also uses the word "fuck" in almost every sentence. I wouldn't mind if he dropped out. We'll see what happens.

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