From the Branches
Lyle Meeres | CARTA ’ s Inkblots Chair
The Inkblots Writing Group
In Red Deer , about four years ago following a Central Alberta Retired Teachers ’ Association event , a group of retired teachers were chatting when someone said , “ You know , we should start a writing group .” The result : the active writing group of CARTA was born .
The group needed a name and one member jokingly suggested “ The Inkblots .” After the laughter settled down , the group agreed , and the Inkblots became an organization . At first , all members were retired teachers , but soon the writing group was open to anyone .
For a time , members met in homes , but soon the writers found a suitable location at a city library . Attendance settled at about seven to ten people . The group met every other week , for two hours .
Each meeting included readings by members . Initially , members agreed to restrict feedback to positive comments , with the intention of eventually broadening the range to include suggestions . The initial positive focus made for comfortable and pleasant exchanges , and soon members were requesting specific assistance such as “ How should I organize my autobiography ?”
The group tried writing from single word starters , but soon turned to quotations from books . We also tried writing from actual incidents ; following that , some members chose to focus on memoir writing . At times , the group wrote for ten minutes on an assigned topic , hoping to discover a theme to develop .
Since writers should be readers , a book review was included each meeting . At one point , the Inkblots
Central Alberta Retired Teachers ’ Association
read Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert as the basis for a hot discussion .
The group posted writing displays in the hospital and in a care facility . Eventually , Inkblots decided to assemble an anthology of writing for children . The book was titled In Other Worlds . Stories were grouped into three reading levels . One hundred and seventy-five copies were ordered and over half were sold before delivery . One member , Barbara
Gregory , used stories from the book as part of a writing workshop in classrooms . The book was a tremendous hit . The Inkblots assembled a poetry chapbook for sale and now have an anthology of prose ready for publication . There are plans to produce a second anthology for children this fall . Writing activates the mind to search for the best expression . Once the writer has a draft , it is time to test it out on a group of sample readers . The vibrant Inkblots are well-suited to meet this need .
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When Lyle Meeres started school in Regina , he would tell himself stories as he walked to and from school . “ Now ,” he says , “ I ’ m ancient , and I still want to be a writer . Some days I give it a try . I write stories , some essays , and really bad poetry .” news & views SUMMER 2021 | 13