WRiTE CLUB Returns to the Coffee Shop

Writer Gold: I don’t want to startle any of you, but we’re being watched.

Writer Green: *looking around* Really? By who? Is it that stud yoga instructor from next door?

Writer Gold: Well, I guess watched isn’t the right word.  Maybe…read?  Definitely observed.

Writer Red:  What the heck are you talking about?

Writer Gold:  It’s difficult to explain.

Writer Blue: You’re a writer, surely you can find the words.  

Writer Gold:  You’re right…okay…here goes…the readers of DL’s blog are watching and listening to us right now.

Writer Green: So, it’s not the yoga stud?

Writer Red:  What do you mean the readers of DL’s blog are watching us?  You mean DL Hammons?  The blogger?

Writer Gold:  *nods head*

Writer Blue: How can they be watching us?  Do you mean he’s set up some sort of web-cam feed in here?  Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?

Writer Gold:  It’s not a web-cam.  His readers can’t actually see us, but they know every move that we make and every word that we say.

Writer Green: *whispering* Even this?

Writer Gold:  Even that.

Writer Red:  How is that even possible?

Writer Gold:  I told you it was hard to explain.  Suffice it to say that our little critique group is the focus of his blog post today.

Writer Blue: Are you trying to say that we are all imaginary characters?

Writer Red:  Oh, that would be so awesome if it were true because then I wouldn’t have to pay that imaginary electric bill I got in the mail this morning.

Writer Gold:  What are you doing Green?

Writer Green: I just felt my makeup needed a little touching up, that’s all.  Is this like being on TV?  You know how they say it adds ten pounds.

Writer Gold:  I told you…they can’t actually see us.  DL has never really described us to his readers.  He prefers them to use their own imagination.

Writer Red:  You might want to re-think that cheese cake though.

Writer Blue: And why is it Gold that you know all about this?  Has DL peeked in on us before?

Writer Gold: Yes he has…numerous times.  I’ve just recently became aware of what’s going on.

Writer Blue: Why you?

Writer Gold: I can’t really say.  Maybe it’s because -- out of the four of us I’m the one closest in temperament to him.

Writer Red:  Then he must be conceded as well?

Writer Gold: There’s no need to be hurtful.

Writer Green: Well that concludes Red’s contribution to the discussion.

Writer Blue: Why today?  Why is DL looking in on us today?

Writer Gold: My guess…because we were talking about WRiTE CLUB.

Writer Red:  So, we’re a promotional tool?

Writer Gold: That’s one way to look at it.

Writer Blue: I’m not sure how I feel about this.

Writer Green: I say we just go on doing what we were doing and discuss WRiTE CLUB like we were.  We shouldn’t let the fact that our behavior is being observed by another writer change what we would normally do.

Writer Red: For once, Green makes sense.  Screw it…let’s talk about WRiTE CLUB.

Writer Gold:  That’s the spirit.  So, where were we?

Writer Blue: Talking about the changes for this year.

Writer Red: Okay…ummmm…*clears throat*… I think they’re good.

Writer Gold:  Really?  They’re good?  That’s all you have to say? And you sound like a robot.

Writer Red: What? I mean…I like the shortened season, I like having the submissions pre-screened…and I really like the chance of winning a gift card by just voting.  What’s not to like?

Writer Blue: What about the one and done?  In the previous versions if you lost a bout you always had the chance of getting picked to fight again, but that won’t happen this year. What if the two stongest pieces of writing are matched against one another in the very first round, isn’t it a shame that the loser won’t have a chance to come back?

Writer Red: First off, having a second shot was something that I think ticked off a lot of people before.  Why should someone get a second bite at the apple when there were plenty of other writers waiting for their first bite?  And besides, if I know DL…he has something up his sleeve to address that possibility.

Writer Green: Point of order!

Writer Blue: Green, this is a critique group…not the appellate court.

Writer Green: I was one of those who got selected for a second bout in the first year and I ended up losing again.  Getting picked again isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Writer Gold:  You know what really gets me?  Mrs. DL.  This year she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer, undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, is in the midst of undergoing chemo, and she STILL wants to be part of this for him.  In my book, that goes beyond support!

Writer Red, Writer Blue, and Writer Green: *chorus of amens*

Writer Gold:  DL did streamline the submission process for her though.  What do you think of the compressed time for receiving entries this year?

Writer Blue: I understand the necessity of it, but it’s got to cut down on the number of people who get to enter the contest.  It’s so hard to get the word out to everyone in just a month…the blogosphere is so massive.

Writer Green:  I’ve talked about it several times on my blog.

Writer Red: Ditto.

*uncomfortable silence*

Writer Red: Why is it that I feel like we should break into a dance or something?