A humorous story by a Waterford West man which details the attempts of a larrikin to cope with pandemic lockdown has been included in a prestigious statewide collection.
The State Library of Queensland selected Quiz by Barry O’Farrell to be part of its forthcoming pandemic-themed anthology called Queensland Memory.
Mr O’Farrell has previously had his short stories published in print and globally online.
A Logan resident, retiree, actor and hobby writer, he said he was gratified by the unexpected recognition of his writing.
“This was completely out of the blue,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“I assumed any recognition would involve complex procedures of nomination and review.
“To have been recognised purely on merit is rare.”
Mr O’Farrell is president of the Creative Writers R Us group which meets monthly and has 20 members.
The group’s members include a nurse, wildlife carer, accountant, primary producer and a musician.
At the group’s monthly meetings each member reads out a recent effort, which can be any genre — humor, romance, mystery, poetry, science fiction, experimental, alternative history, philosophy and travel.
Constructive appraisal and encouragement is then supplied by the other members.
The meetings also include information on how to structure stories, including advice on what to include, what not to include and how to come up with plot lines.
A presentation a recent meeting included information on the different ways of preparing scripts for theatre, film and animation.
“We try to cover as many aspects of writing as possible in order to broaden members’ knowledge and options,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“We keep our members in the loop regarding writing contests as well as details of publishers who are open to submissions.
“Every member has the opportunity to trade writing tips with experienced, published authors.”
Members, many of whom have won competitions, tell others about new competitions as well as local and Internet information and leads.
Mr O’Farrell said everyone who wants to write is welcome to attend the meetings.
“Just bring a pen, paper and something you have written,” Mr O’Farrell said.
Creative Writers R Us meets on the first Saturday each month at 9am at the Logan Central Library in Wilbur Street at Logan Central.
Information on the group can be obtained from 0423 139 221 or cwrubarry@gmail.com.
