It was three of the four – Annie, Linda and Rob – who, at the last meeting, heard Tony's news that he has had a proposal for a book on mental health accepted and that the publisher will issue it in hardback and e-book formats. Brilliant, Tony, well done.
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Tony read a short story called My Manager's a Psychopath that was greeted warmly. Annie has noticed that many of Tony's short stories have links with water – canals and rivers – and wondered if there is any significance in this. She suggested that this could be the theme for an anthology. She complimented Tony on his work and offered an alternative ending for him to consider.
Linda recognised that Tony's esoteric style means that he breaks some of the 'rules' of creative writing but generally she approved of his choices where they broke the conventions. Her summary was that, "it's a cracking story that needs tightening up a bit."
Rob echoed Linda's comments about Tony's style that always reminds him (Rob) of Garrison Keillor's 'voice' in Lake Wobegone Days. He praised its "charming cadence and rhythm". Luckily – and surprisingly for our group – nobody suggested that this was tautologous.
The question of the evening was whether the sentence: "I wonder where they go." should have ended with a question mark. Here is the answer according to GrammarBook.com in Rule 3a pertaining to question marks:
Rule 3a. Avoid the common trap of using question marks with indirect questions, which are statements that contain questions. Use a period after an indirect question.
Incorrect: I wonder if he would go with me?
Correct:
I wonder if he would go with me.
OR
I wonder: Would he go with me?
Correct:
I wonder if he would go with me.
OR
I wonder: Would he go with me?
So it appears that the answer is no.
