Writers club meets at Tanyard

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista
The Village Lake Writers and Poets group sits down to discuss a few pieces of writing at the Tanyard Creek pavilion.
Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista The Village Lake Writers and Poets group sits down to discuss a few pieces of writing at the Tanyard Creek pavilion.

The Village on the Lake Writers and Poets had their first post-pandemic in-person meetup last Wednesday, using the natural setting at Tanyard Creek to discuss the value of seasons, weather and natural backdrops in writing.

Donna Hanson, the club's co-director, said she wants to build the club post-pandemic and she'd like for it to, eventually, become a resource for local writers and students.

"This is going to be just sort of a hub for everybody," she said.

Anyone interested in joining or learning more about the club can look up the Village on the Lakes Writers and Poets Facebook page or email [email protected].

The meet went great, she said, noting she was extremely pleased with the weather.

The club read a few selections highlighting the use of weather and season to better characterize scenes before doing a set of leaf prints with crayons and pastels to spark further thought on the topic. Each of the present writers also wrote a brief piece focused on the concept.

"Now that I'm retired, I get to go and color with my friends," Hanson said.

Writers, in general, tend to be very social and benefit a great deal from getting together to gather feedback, see one another's work and kick ideas and concepts around, she added.

One writer, Debra DeVilbiss, said she was happy to make it to this meeting.

It's always nice to meet up with everyone, she said, and the exercise was helpful.

"I thought it was really a different way to open up a different channel in my brain and turn it into words," she said.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista
Debra DeVilbis, left, foreground, works on a leaf print across from Linda Strain while Gail Cowdin takes a seat. The Village Lake Writers and Poets used the simple art pieces to spark a short writing exercise.
Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Debra DeVilbis, left, foreground, works on a leaf print across from Linda Strain while Gail Cowdin takes a seat. The Village Lake Writers and Poets used the simple art pieces to spark a short writing exercise.