New Writing Group at Derfelt Senior Center

A new writing group is starting up in Las Vegas at Derfelt Senior Center! The group is open to writers of all genres. Come prepared to write something and contribute to a writing-related discussion.

Details:
Group meets every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. 
Derfelt Senior Center
3343 W. Washington Ave.
(In Lorenzi Park)

If you have questions or need more info, just leave a comment below.

Just Write Group Meetings Discontinued

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." --Orson Wells

After an interesting eight years, I've decided to stop facilitating my weekly writing group.

When I started the group in 2002 at the Northwest Senior Center (a City of Las Vegas center that is now closed), I had a partner: my mom. We planned a six-week class, but the writers who showed up during that first meeting captivated us. They inspired us. And so we stayed.

Over the next eight years, we moved from being a class to being a group. We lost some members; some moved, some drifted away, and some passed away, including my mom.

In 2008, the Just Write Group moved to the Derfelt Senior Center at Lorenzi Park after the Northwest Center closed. It's been a bumpy few years since then. Like so many Las Vegans, I've had to focus more on work than on soul-enriching activities. Late last year, I put the group on hiatus, hoping it would be temporary, but this week I decided it was time to end the Just Write Group.

While I am going to miss the weekly meetings (honestly, who else other than a group of writers cares about apostrophe abuse?), I will be posting prompts, links to interesting articles about writing, and the occasional observation about the writing life. I welcome ideas and guest posts from JWG members. Who knows? Perhaps cyberspace will expand our little group.

One thing hasn't changed since that summer day in 2002: the writers I know still captivate me, inspire me, and encourage me to be a better writer. For all that, I thank each and every writer who has been a part of our group.

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Photo courtesy of Stephen Nakatani

Writing Group Cancelled Until March 18, 2009

The Just Write group for writers will not be meeting tomorrow, March 4, 2009, or next week, March 11, 2009. Our regular meetings will resume on March 18, 2009. I apologize for the cancellation and look forward to seeing everyone on the 18th!

Writing Group Meeting Dates for December

The Just Write Writing Group will meet as usual this week, Wednesday, December 17, 2008. We'll be on break for the holidays on December 24 and December 31. Regular meetings will resume on January 7, 2009. If you're a Las Vegas writer who would like more information about our writing group, please e-mail me.

Happy Holidays!

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Photo courtesy of Lynne Lancaster at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1119760

No Writing Group Meeting 11-26-08

The Just Write Writing Group (formerly known as the Northwest Writers’ Group) will not be meeting tomorrow, November 26, 2008, since it’s the day before Thanksgiving. We’ll be back next week, December 3, 2008, at our usual time, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

If you’re a Las Vegas writer and would like to know more about our writing group, please feel free to contact me for more details.
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Photo courtesy of Angel Norris at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/302338

Writing Group on Pause

I'm taking off for a road trip to Texas, so the writing group will be on hiatus until November 5, 2008.
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Photo courtesy of Randa Clay at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/443536

Writing Group Meetings Resume September 3, 2008

Now that the Northwest Senior Center is closed, I don’t know what to call my writing group--we were the Northwest Writers' Group. Shall we copy Prince and be “The Group Formerly Known As…”? Maybe we could have one of our artistic members design a symbol for us.

Whatever we call the group, our meetings will resume on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Derfelt Senior Center, 3343 Washington.

When I spoke to Amy, she said she’d had calls from people who said I had gone incommunicado – my apologies to anyone who was wondering where in the Sam Hill I had disappeared to.

I haven’t been to Derfelt yet to check out our new digs, although I’m very familiar with Lorenzi Park and the surrounding area. I had planned on driving over there before we resumed meeting, but I have to confess that I’m grieving over the Northwest Senior Center (which makes it hard to work up enthusiasm about the new place, honestly, although on the plus side it is much closer to my house).

And on that note, I’ll close with some pictures I took at Northwest after I heard they were shutting us down:

Northwest Senior Center Closing

Attention all Northwest Writers' Group members past and present: We received sad news yesterday from Amy at the Northwest Senior Center here in Las Vegas. Due to budget cuts, the center will be closing on May 30. I haven’t read anything about how many senior centers may be closing, or any other particulars on the impending budget cuts—I admit that these days I avoid the news because it’s rarely anything good.

Our group has spent six terrific years at the center; I can’t deny that I’m very saddened by the news we’ve lost our home. This session I was planning on collecting poems for a chapbook, but I am now considering collecting stories about our writing group and our years at the center instead.

You can bet I’ll be taking lots of pictures during our remaining time at the center. It’s a beautiful little building, a converted house that epitomizes hominess. I’ve watched the ash trees in the courtyard grow into lovely tall trees, and every spring a mockingbird makes her nest in the ceiling supports of a building out in back. I’ve always wanted to go play the bocce court; I guess my time is running out!

We hope to be relocating our group to the Derfelt Center after our usual summer break. As soon as I have more information, I’ll post it.

Life is a series of farewells; only the circumstances should surprise us. –Jessamyn West