National League of American Pen Women—Denver Branch
November 3, 2018
I. Ruthy called the meeting to order at 10:23 am.
II. Members in Attendance: Ray Coburn, Andrea Antico, Carol Ehrlich, Diane Chambers, Ruthy Wexler, Kelly Ann Compton, Karen Gonzales, Kay Taylor
III. No guests in attendance.
IV. Inspirational Reading: Ruthy read several quotes of hope and inspiration.
V. Approval of Minutes: Ray will re-send the minutes to the October meeting. We will look them over next month.
VI. Treasurer Reports: September and October Treasurer Reports were approved.
VII. Committee Reports:
a. No Membership or Website reports
b. Tapestry: DPS will encourage schools to do a peace project for the Tapestry for Peace. Ruthy passed out the proposed letter. Kelly Ann wondered about sending out copies of the DVD to schools interested; Ray suggested getting the DVD onto YouTube; Diane thought the Tapestry committee was going to meet (Tapestry committee = Diane, Ray, Carol, Ruthy) to discuss how to get the word out about the Peace Tapestry Contest and to decide to whom to address the letters. Ray suggested possibly no sending letters out, but advertise, etc. The Tapestry committee agreed to meet following our meeting today.
VIII. Old Business: December meeting: We will hold this at Cathy Wield’s house on December 8th, 10:30 am. Kelly Ann will send all the information out about this; Diane will make the numbers for the white elephant book exchange.
IX. New Business: Craft Fair at Windsor Gardens: Nov. 16 & 17. Kelly will send an e-mail out about set-up, etc.; One purpose for our participation is to get the word out about Pen Women. Kay will sign up for a two-hour slot 11:00-1:00 (Morning of the 17th). Karen can work a Friday afternoon slot. Karen offered to possibly sell some books by the company that published her story. Ruthy will be doing portraits; Carol will consider doing “instant poems”; Ray could put the poems into a graphic design; We need a small shelving unit (Ray offered one) to give us more space; For advertising, Karen suggested Mile-HighontheCheap.com and Andrea suggested Nextdoor.com; Ruthy will send an e-mail to people asking if they would like to sell something. Kelly will have Christmas stockings for sale along with her books.
X. Announcements:
a. An artist from India has her work being displayed in the Elois-May Library.
b. Ray says that Douglas County and Aurora libraries are willing to do book fairs specifically for Pen Women, both require a fee.
c. Ray will be doing a presentation/class on Nerf toys at Parker Library—date to be determined.
XI. Meeting ended at 10:55 am.
Following the meeting, our speaker, Matthew Taylor, gave a marvelous interactive presentation titled “The Irresistible Power of Storytelling. Some of the highlights included:
a. Why stories work: CPR—Connect, Persuade, Recall
b. How stories work: Build on memory—Sensory, Working memory, Long-term memory
c. It is critical to know what it is you want your audience to “get”—know for yourself what your story is about.
d. Structure: Freytag’s Pyramid—Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Denouement—In the exposition, some insightful moment happens relatively soon; the Denouement/Resolution often leaves you with hope
e. Rule of 3—3 act structure; Something happens, It happens again; It happens a third time with a twist
f. Definit3eion of Story by Peter Guber— “A story is a vehicle that allows you to put the facts in an emotional context.”
g. Story is tiny pockets of information—1st you have to identify the facts; In books, the over story is made up of tiny pockets of information
h. If you want people to know who you are, you must show them through story
i. Four things people look for to follow another person—Trust, Compassion, Stability, Hope
j. Story has power!
k. Simple things stories need—Names, names, names (people, places, etc.); How you feel (moments of reflection), Descriptions
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Ann Compton, Secretary