Ottawa Romance Writers Association...

I went to a meeting of the Ottawa Romance Writers Association today, because a friend of mine was speaking. We met first for lunch at Milestones on Baxter Road, and had a good time talking about Buffy and Torchwood and other important matters. I was in ORWA for years and was on their executive, but it was long enough ago that they've mostly forgotten me, or remember me as the friend of Jo Beverley's who was into Lord of the Rings. Which is cool, actually.

The talk was about conveying emotion in writing - how less is more, how metaphor and viewpoint can be used to create greater emotional impact on the reader than any kind of overemphasis will do. I was amused (but not surprised) that my friend's chosen selections for her print-outs involved three of my four favourite authors or sources: Dorothy Dunnett's Checkmate, a Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel, and Casablanca. The other citation was from a Laura Kinsale novel I haven't read. And the poetry chosen? Two other favourites: "Ars Poetica" by Archibald McLeish and "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Auden.

When I think about it, this is not surprising. A friend is a friend because of shared taste, among other things.

As with all such meetings, it got me thinking about my own writing, and reflecting that I'd like to rejoin the group even if just for the psychological boost. They're holding a conference later on in September. I'd like to go; can't afford it. Next time.