My Writing Endeavours Part Five

Walking is high on my agenda © *image Gretchen Bernet-Ward*

U3A WRITERS COLLECTIVE HOMEWORK 2026
TOPIC: “Friends are the family you choose for yourself”
TITLE: Loyal to the End
REAL CHARACTERS: Kay, My family
FONT: Times New Roman 12pt
SPACING: 1.15
WORDCOUNT: 422
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WordPress is overhauling my website and adjusted my settings but I hope it does not detract from my short story. The prompt for this particular week is a tricky one but I went for a blend of faction this time. It will be the last story in my Writers Collective homework series.

How did I meet my best buddy, my loyal, honest, faithful friend Kay who was always there no matter what the occasion, good times, bad times and inbetween? No, not a devoted dog or cute cat, not even a talking parrot. Certainly not my mobile phone. However, my Sunbeam sandwich press comes fairly close.

Well, I guess my all-time faithful friend found me. She was stoic, went along with some pretty hairy ideas and we treated her like part of the family which meant a bit of rough and tumble.

My kids loved her, she went with us everywhere, in all weathers, never showy, always patient and only once in all the years I knew her did she refuse a trip to go on a car ferry. I guessed she didn’t want to drive on a sandy beach. It was understandable given the heat, lack of water and possibility of bogging.
Naturally none of us wanted to start shovelling sand on our holidays.

Sadly, Kay became ill after a health scare. Well, we knew she was failing but a dangerous petrol leak necessitated the local fire brigade to come with sirens and flashing lights to pour the equivalent of ten bags of kitty litter into her engine.

Yes, dear Kay was a Suzuki Swift 4-door sedan, made in Japan, bright white duco, warm brown seats, cassette player, sturdy carpet and a generous boot. I could wax lyrical on her capabilities and where she travelled without complaint but needless to say things were breaking down and she had to be scraped.

It was a sad day, I washed her down, vacuumed the mats and cleared her out.
I left the spare tyre and tool kit in the boot and I hoped they were passed on.
I was given $100 cash by the scrap metal merchant and felt like Judas.

The merchant took the keys I had owned for many years and drove her towards the tow truck tray. He did not expect her to have such power, she was always good at taking off. I tried not to snivel but my heart was sad for several days.

In fact, I still miss her because so many wonderful family events involved Kay and her four wheels getting us there on time and in one piece. I don’t own a car now, not because I don’t want to drive, after Covid-19 the traffic went crazy, parking became a nightmare and the price of petrol skyrocketed.
I prefer to let bus drivers do all the work. 📚

💗 © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2026

Driving off into the sunset – Ipswich Highway Queensland
Image © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2025

My Writing Endeavours Part One

Perhaps you have read my previous posts about The U3A Writers Collective (Brisbane) 2026 but whether or not, I will now proceed to post my classroom endeavours once a week (or when the mood takes me) for your perusal, critique, enjoyment or just plain ‘Goodness me, I can write better than that!’
Since I do not activate a Comments Section, you will have to say your critique out loud to your partner, family, cat, dog, budgerigar, nextdoor neighbour or other writers in your group. As long as you keep writing!
So far I have attended February through to April 2026 and currently in Term Two coming to grips with being the incumbent Convenor/Tutor.
This position changes to someone else each term, and while not prestigious nor a paid position, it is a position to take seriously.
I suggest different writing methods, attending author events, entering short story competitions and keeping our classroom offerings to at least 300 words so everyone gets a chance to read.
I am tossing around introducing well-known authors books and styles for inspiration. Also Ekphrastic Method and Pomodoro Method but currently it may be a bridge too far.
Each week a different person chooses the Word Of The Week which we all have to write about then read out to The Collective.
Some members prefer to email their short stories ahead of meeting but most read out in class.
We are not very stringent with critiquing others work. Too sensitive, too shy, too lacking in confidence? Don’t want to offend? Maybe none but possibly all of these reasons. We really do have to overcome this otherwise we are just choosing a writing prompt word and reading nice short stories to each other each week.
By the way Captain James Cook is the man in my photograph, he sailed in the Endeavour and did a lot of charting, plotting and writing. He was not the first person to ‘discover’ Australia but he sailed widely and spun a good yarn.

THE WRITERS COLLECTIVE HOMEWORK MARCH 2026
THEME WORD: Bounty
TITLE: ‘A Good Haul’
CHARACTERS: William, Emily
DRAFT: Version Two
FONT: Times New Roman
WORDCOUNT: 343
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Every year William and his family attended The Royal Queensland Exhibition Show, colloquially known as Ekka. It was show-time when rural farmers came to town bringing their abundant produce and prize-winning animals to parade before thousands of city folk. It was always fun when a cow or horse kicked up its hooves and galloped towards the nearest exit.
William’s thoughts swirled. Many things would grab his attention like scary rides, food stalls, toffee apples and fairy floss, the prize-winning cakes, vigorous woodchopping, farming equipment, the dogs and bird judging, the baby animal pen and show-stopping events in the main arena.
However, this year was different. William was now a teenager and he didn’t want to attend the Ekka with his family. He had asked classmate Emily if she would like to go with him. She said yes, so now he was a bundle of pre-Ekka nerves.
Also William was unsure if his pocket money would stretch enough to cover food for two. Could he afford his all-time favourite licorice from the Showbag Pavilion? In his opinion it was the best item in the whole of the Ekka.
He waited at the main gates for an hour because he had caught the bus too early and was relieved when Emily was dropped off by her older brother, eliminating an interrogation by her father.
“Hi Em,” he blushed.
Miraculously Emily was loaded with cash. “We can buy anything we want,” she laughed, eyes sparkling.
The quantity they accumulated was impressive by any standards and only after walking through every corrugated iron shed, eyeing every produce stall, did they stop to rest in the grandstand to reveal toys and devour sugary treats.
They shared hotdogs for lunch and drank Coca-Cola, regretting it later when bile rose in their throats on the spinning Cyclone.
William declined a ride home, scared he would be sick in their car.
Emily looked green but before she got into the vehicle she handed him a licorice showbag. The bounty had lost its attraction but her smile said there would be other days.

💗 © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2026

Writers Collective Read Write Review

Those of you who follow my blog (thank you!) will notice that I haven’t posted for a few weeks. Not because I don’t have anything to say, quite the opposite. I have been attending a U3A group The Writers Collective in the city. There’s always something nice about the city vibe and the building is old and mellow. It is also convenient for my bus travel. Gone is my car, replaced by City Council bus timetables and the jostle for a seat. Thank goodness for air-conditioning!

Anyway, I joined The Writers Collective to see what the format was all about and if it would be helpful for my writing: a young adult novel. There is no formal format. Each week we select a prompt word to write about or bring our latest composition. We can either email or read our work to the group in class for feedback and comments. There can also be general literary discussion, time permitting.

Currently we are a thoughtful group of eight novice writers which fluctuates each session and will no doubt change in the following months. Based on the Queensland school term, interested writers can ask to join but often The Collective is fully booked. As you will know from the title, a collective means everyone gets a turn at being the facilitator/convenor, a task which means sending and receiving emails, doing a bit of admin and prompting the group to choose a Word of the Week to creatively write about in any genre, format or style.

The Word of the Week prompt can result in some very different styles and stories. It is a good memory jog for novice writers, and often the beginning of a whole new story. My subconscious goes into overdrive and when I start to write some pretty unexpected short stories flow from my keyboard. Note: I will eventually post them on my blog. In the ‘classroom’ we The Collective read our work aloud as well as send by emails to keep in touch. When our group meets, some writers use their electronic devices but I usually print my stories out on good old white A4 paper. It’s smaller, lighter, no recharge, and I can quickly jot notes in the margin or write down the prompt for the next week.

I have been voted the next Convenor for Term Two. I will be introducing some of my quick writing exercises to stimulate our spontaneity – this is currently under wraps. It will also be informative to talk about why we write, writing organisations, writing competitions, reviewing, flash fiction, publishers, submitting a manuscript to a publisher, attending author talks and writers festivals and generally immersing ourselves in the literary world. For end-of-term we will discuss books and our favourite authors and have our regular lunch together in the nearby café. Consider starting your own Writers Collective and get those words written down!

Say No to AI
Real Writers Forever!

♥ © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2026

Do Writers Groups Work?

Recently I joined a new Writers Collective. Ten Brisbane writers signed up and eight turned up on the first day. We were a quiet group, hesitant to speak up or indeed read out our work.

I read out my biography and reading/writing background, for what it’s worth not a long document, but it would have been nice if a structure had been decided prior to our first meeting. I guess we have to feel our way into a comfortable situation where everyone can read and share their work, give feedback, and perhaps do a quick (possibly themed) writing exercise in class. This can often turn into a longer piece in the comfort of one’s own home.

In a group, I would also like to talk about our favourite authors and how they inspire us to write. Perhaps sharing tips from those group members who have been published.

The following are my suggestions, bearing in mind that I have not organised a writers group, although I have attended one or two over the years. This one is shaping up to be good.

My Notes: I enjoyed our first group meeting. We were all a bit quiet but I am hoping that will change.

With regard to initial email questions from the group convenor, I forgot to speak up and say I had written a response to them so here they are:

No.1: Personally I don’t think The Collective is suited to self-organising sessions, we probably do need to develop an inclusive structure so everyone has a turn at offering their work, thoughts, opinions, etc, and give polite critiques.

No.2: I think it’s good to develop a more structured approach, e.g. each person has Comment time, Reading aloud time, Feedback time, etc.

No.3: Sharing writing styles, where we write (desk, park, café) and who sees/proofreads our manuscripts?

No.4: Why do we write? I would like to share the groups future goals; online presence, hopes for publishing, family only, personal?

No.5: Immersion https://australianauthors.com.au/
Read lots of similar books if seeking ideas and publication. Writing routines: Do you allocate time to write, re-reading, editing, following current trends, attending author events? Importantly, are we taking our own writing seriously?

No.6: What do we know about publishing? Do we have contacts in the book world, e.g. proof-reader, line edit, hybrid deals? Also do you have a beta reader in mind? This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting your book out there.

Disclaimer: Because I have only written short stories and I am only half-way through a YA Medieval novel (doing extensive research) I am not a well-seasoned writer and I have not been published but I have blogged for several years and won a couple of writing competitions for kudos rather than prize money.

If you have blogged about your own successful writers group, please send me a link! Whether it be notes, blogging, social media, emails or a special book for someone or yourself. Whatever the format, reading and writing is the you-time of your life. Always keep writing. I promise I will.