In the first part of the meeting, we discussed the old and new club business. Nutz and Boltz will be on Monday, 9/16 at 6:30 at Braum’s on South Broadway. Next month, on October 7, we will have a special “Spooky Story” sharing time and a book-selling opportunity. BOD will be on the 2nd.
Louise then read from her book, which is not yet published, tentatively called “Waiting for Paul,” and stressed the importance of believable characters in your writings. Her book is about a thirteen-year-old boy during the Civil War who is waiting for his father to come home.
She emphasizes that the “character” has to be “rich” in personality and character. You must get the reader to like them and care that they win. She told about a book that won a Pulitzer Prize that gave a graphic description of African Americans coming from the South to the northern cities and what they went through on their journey with vivid and believable characters.
Other advice includes:
- Making sure your main character has a flaw.
- Always end your story with hope.
- Reveal the character’s personality slowly.
- Keep moving the story along.
- Have a satisfying ending.
Here are the hand-outs she gave us and some more pictures of the meeting: 
