By Carla Ryan
Special to The PREVIEW
The Writing Hands Organization of Pagosa Springs (WHOOPS) has been meeting at the Ruby M. Sisson Library for the past several months. At the meeting on Nov. 22, those in attendance, and based on feedback from other group members, decided to pause the meetings temporarily and take a break during the holidays.
The group will reconvene at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the library and continue doing so on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. A “closed” Facebook group has also been created so WHOOPS members can connect with one another between meetings.
The members also discussed the format they wished to pursue in the future. This will be primarily a critique group where feedback will be offered to those who request it. Members are encouraged to bring pieces of their current work(s) to share/read with the group at each meeting, whether its fiction, nonfiction, poetry or another writing project. In this way, members will have the opportunity to glean different perspectives, make corrections and improve their writing skills. Other topics will also be discussed as time permits.
WHOOPS is open to all genres and skill levels, and is for those who have a desire to strengthen their talents and network with other like-minded individuals. Members of the group share ideas, learn technical aspects of writing, experiment with different writing exercises and offer critiques. Occasionally, published authors are invited to present ideas to develop writing skills and so members can learn about writing as a full-time career.
Carla Ryan is the contact person for the group. For information about recent meetings, call her at (303) 358-0069 or email carlamryan@gmail.com.
