Mon | June 26, 2006
chat
We had the online chat, last Tuesday, June 20th. Chee-Ming, Jen Tsuei, John Ming Lee, and I chatted for about an hour and a half in a Yahoo conference room.
Posted by Lily at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
Sun | June 25, 2006
Jun 25 meeting
date: Sunday, Jun 25
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: Tsz Fong, Chee-Ming Hung, David Chan, Lily Huang
The New York Public Library was closed due to the Gay Pride Parade. We watched the parade for awhile from the front steps and witnessed the Starbucks float and the Flaggots, and Queer Asians gainst War. Then we went to to David Chan's office (thanks!) in the Grace building. I have looked at that building a million times because it is the most striking from Bryant Park. Apparently it was building of the year in 2003. Anyway we chatted and then wrote and then read and discussed. Til next month!
Posted by Lily at 06:34 PM
Sun | May 21, 2006
May 21 meeting & SAWCC festival
date: Sunday, May 21
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: Tsz Fong, John Ming Lee, Chee-Ming Hung, Lily Huang
We talked about the SAWCC festival. Tsz and I went to the panels entitled "The Business of Writing" and "Making a Writing Life"
highlights from Writing Life:
What I got from this was impressions what a freelancer reporter must be like, what an academic/ professor must be like. I thought this was the better panel and yet I couldn't say now what it was about. I missed the first hour, so I didn't hear the autobiographies they said of themselves at the beginning.
highlights from Business of Writing:
Ayesha Pande, the agent there, conveniently outlined the "steps" you must take before getting an agent:
- create a body of work, MFA optional
- establish a publishing history
- write a collection of stories and a novel
- get an agent
- read acknowledgments of books you can position yourself next to, find the name of the agent there.
- online research
Then the panel discussion hovered around the publishing company and book covers. Surprisingly, Barnes and Noble can have a say in about the cover of a book. Mostly it is up to the publisher and author (or the agent speaking on behalf of the author).
We wrote for an hour, then Chee-Ming and I read.
Posted by Lily at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
Wed | April 26, 2006
Apr 23 meeting
date: Sunday, April 23
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: Tsz Fong, Charles Kim, Lily Huang, Chee-Ming Hung
"Are you going to write up a report?" said Tsz.
"I always write something," I said, half-muttering the last words. It happens if you start to think before finishing the sentence.
And now I am trying to remember what we talked about... one of the topics was endings.
- A list of endings:
- hollywood ending: protag overcomes adversity
- surprise: a twist, an epiphany
- sequel: hint of what will be in the next book or chapter
- "years later": flashforward to what happens eventually
- floating: the characters will continue on in this situation forever
Posted by Lily at 10:10 AM
Thu | March 16, 2006
Mar 14 meeting
date: Tuesday, March 14th
time: 7:00 pm
place: Space Cafe, 32nd St by 5th Av, northeast corner
attendees: Lily Huang, John Ming Lee
We hung out and chatted about the non-participating members (i.e., people who are on the yahoo group but have never come to a meeting).
Posted by Lily at 12:45 PM
Tue | February 14, 2006
Feb 11 meeting
date: Saturday, February 11
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: Lily Huang, Nina Huang, Tsz Fong, Charles Kim
After a late start, we had a writing session, and then Tsz and Charles read. I worked on a rewrite of a scene from Catcher in the Rye for homework. This inspired a discussion about serial killers.
Posted by Lily at 10:50 AM
Fri | January 20, 2006
Jan 15 meeting
date: Sunday, January 15
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: Chee-Ming Hung, Charles Kim, Shalene Monahan, John Ming Lee, Tsz Fong, Lily Huang, Andrew Wu
The NYPL was given a chance at redemption and it translated beautifully. It will definitely be a site for future meetings. There were no new prompts, but I brought old agendas whose prompts constituted a variety of ideas.
Posted by Lily at 10:00 AM
Tue | December 13, 2005
Dec 11 meeting
date: Sunday, December 11
time: 1:00 pm
place: New York Public Library, 5th Av. and 41st St.
attendees: none!
This was the meeting that never happened. I arrived at the library to find it cordoned off from the bottom of the stairs, with a line of people on either end. It was a lot of stout figures in long coats and well-structured hats, with white invitations in their hands.
I left immediately, figuring people probably had my number. Apologies to anyone who might have shown up, confused.
Posted by Lily at 01:30 PM
Sat | December 03, 2005
Small Press Book Fair
date: Saturday, December 3
time: 1:30 pm
place: Small Press Center (20 W. 44th St)
attendees: James, Chee-Ming, Nina
We had a little informal meeting of the minds at the Small Press Book Fair. Speakers discussed the ingredients to getting published (passionate writing and networking), how to get a literary agent, and what NOT to do (introduce yourself as the next Dan Brown/Faulkner/Shakespeare etc). We discussed our writing ambitions, practices and trades of choice.
Good information from the organized event, but great to get to know new faces! Thank you, come again!
Posted by Nina at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)
Thu | December 01, 2005
Nov 30 meeting
date: Wednesday, November 30
time: 6:30 pm
place: Space Cafe, 32nd St by 5th Av, northeast corner
attendees: Lily Huang
This was sad-- no one showed. But then it wasn't sad-- I spend much time alone and this was merely more. It was like other nights that I sit there and write. Space Cafe is a good place to be alone and write-- is perhaps the best writers' cafe in that sense in Manhattan.
I stayed for an hour and wrote a sketch of an immigrant couple and their Thanksgiving. Then I darted down to KGB, and caught a reading.
Posted by Lily at 10:48 AM
Mon | November 14, 2005
Nov 12 meeting
date: Saturday, November 12
time: 3 pm
place: Oms, 156 East 45th btw Lex and 3rd
attendees: Lily Huang, Nina Huang, Heru Mafudi
At Oms, the dark wooden seats tuck under the tables.
"Everything is so compact," said Nina.
"Asians don't like to take up space," I said.
She wrote a rant about customer service. Heru wrote a eulogy to Anaikin Skywalker from the point of view of Luke. I tried to finish my cupcake story from the previous meeting.
Posted by Lily at 03:44 PM
Mon | October 31, 2005
Oct 29 meeting
date: Saturday, October 29
time: 3 pm
place: Cupcake Cafe, 18th Street
attendees: Heru Mafudi, Tsz Fong, Lily Huang
71 Irving Place was packed so at about 3:15 we went vagabonding. Hopefully, no one showed up late and missed us.
We landed at the Cupcake Cafe on 18th Street, which charges three fifty for a beautiful fistful of sugar and fat, and is contiguous with a children's bookstore.
Posted by Lily at 11:09 AM
Sun | October 16, 2005
Oct 15 meeting
date: Saturday, October 15
time: 3 pm
place: World Wide Plaza, 50th/49th and 8th/9th.
attendees: Nina Huang, Shalene Monihan, Heru Mafudi, Dan Choi, Lily Huang
It rained for eight days straight and cleared out precisely in time for this meeting. The following occurred: hanging out, writing, sharing. Talking about writing. Good times.
Posted by Lily at 09:08 PM
Fri | September 16, 2005
Sept 15 meeting
date: Thursday, September 15
time: 7 pm
place: Space Cafe, 32nd St. by 5th Av.
attendees: Ariko Ikehara, Lily Huang, Shalene Monihan, Nina Huang
Space Cafe is a better location than our old haunt Koryodang, because it is quieter. The drinks, it was resoundingly noted, were no less expensive. We chatted for awhile and then wrote, and then discussed. In some ways this was a seminal meeting because it was the first meeting after the Asian Writing Club multi-user blog was created. It was also the first meeting after I gave out some of the responsibilities associated with running the club to active members.
Posted by Lily at 01:44 PM
Mon | August 22, 2005
Aug 14 meeting
date: August 14, 2005
time: 2 pm
place: Central Park
attendees: Dan Choi, Ariko Ikehara, John Ming Lee, Lily Huang
We had just settled down to write when it started raining, hurricane style. After running here and there from the rain, alternately taking shelter under awnings and moving during lulls, we wound up in a public space several blocks down, in a building with a giant spiderman on the inside of the glass facade.
Posted by Lily at 08:52 PM
