February 2022 Newsletter



February 2022 Newsletter








Next Meeting:

Wednesday, February 9

6:30 to 8:30 PM

McCallum Room, 4th floor

Frisco Public Library

6101 Frisco Square Blvd.

Frisco, TX 75034

Zoom Link




Mark your calendar for February 9 at 6:30-8:30 PM. Look forward to seeing you then!

All are welcome to attend Write Club meetings….no formal invitation needed. Write Club meeting information can be found on the Frisco Library web site and on the club's Facebook page (Frisco Write Club). Additionally, every month, in advance of the meeting, Rich Blazevich (richblazevich@gmail.com) will send an invitation by email to the active members.


Anybody who has attended a Write Club meeting is automatically subscribed to our newsletters. At the top of each newsletter is a notice of our next meeting.





Our Website: FriscoWriteClub.org


Please visit our website, run by Kevin Mann, for updates and announcements.






Our Facebook Page: Frisco Write Club | Groups | Facebook






February Meeting





Arrive early to check out a book or two from the Write Club’s lending library on the craft of writing. See Bill Etter for details.





Contests Without Entry Fees





FICTION CONTEST


Current Contest | On the Premises


ARRIVAL

For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which… IN THE FIRST SENTENCE… one or more characters arrive at a location and find something unexpected.

You are NOT required to use this opening template, but you can if you want:

When ___character(s)___ arrived at ___location___, the last thing ___pronoun___ expected to find was…


GENRE RULES: No fiction aimed at readers younger than 12, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. Other than that, we’ll take anything from the most super-realistic literary drama to crazy farces (real-world or otherwise) to any variant of science fiction or fantasy you can imagine. Read our past issues and you’ll see.

Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern US time, FRIDAY, March 4, 2022.

One entry per author. There is no fee for entering this contest.


Remember to take all identifying information out of your story! Tell us who you are in the space provided in the web form cover letter you get when you click on the “submit” button, NOT in your story! No headers, no bylines… just the story.



NONFICTION CONTEST

Chicken Soup for the Soul

We want holiday stories that share your traditions and memories of normal times — pre-pandemic. We want your holiday stories that share how your traditions and celebrations changed because of the pandemic. We all hope that by the time we are reading our 2022 edition that the pandemic will be completely behind us. But maybe some of the changes you made will become the way things will stay for years to come. Please remember to make sure your submissions are "Santa safe" so we don't spoil the magic for our precocious readers!


Here are some suggestions but don't let these limit you. We know you can think of many more.

• New holiday traditions started — and to be continued?

• Thanksgiving — holiday fun, disasters, and family bonding

• Hanukkah — all by itself or incorporated into your Christmas tradition

• Kwanzaa — traditions and celebrations

• Boxing Day — traditions and celebrations

• The weeks leading up to Christmas — anticipation, energy, the kids

• Using technology, Zoom or FaceTime gatherings instead of meeting in-person

• Decorating — oh, how we love to do that!

• Undecorating — oh, how we hate to do that!!

• Shopping and finding the perfect gift

• Shopping on-line only — hits and misses!

• Staying home instead of traveling

• Holiday humor — things that went wrong

• Holidays through the eyes of the children

• Around the table — eat, eat, eat and be merry

• Family reunions

• Unique gifts, creativity, the best gift you ever gave or received

• Unique gifts, creativity — the worst gift you ever gave or received!

• Regifting

• Happy New Year!

• Holiday miracles, amazing coincidences, answered prayers

• Gratitude, counting your blessings

• Forgiveness and how you used it during the holidays

• Family dynamics — milestones, tender moments, epiphanies

• What you learned during the holidays


A few guidelines for you and some general information:


All stories and poems need to be true — we do not publish fiction. Stories should be no longer than 1,200 words. Please write in the first person about something that happened to you or someone close to you. Every part of your story must be true. No "composite characters." But yes, you can use a pen name, if necessary, to protect yourself or someone else.


If your story was already published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it. We will not publish it again. If you submitted a story to one of our previous Chicken Soup for the Soul book titles and we did not publish it, please submit it to us again if you think it will fit in this title.


Please remember, we no longer publish "as told to" stories. Write your story or poem in the first person. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published and the approximate exposure it received in the "Comments" section of the submission form.

Deadline is May 1, 2022





Successes





Ariel Slick’s new book, The Royals of Sea and Song, launched on February 1. We can encourage others by posting positive reviews.





Presentation Format for Members Presenting Work for Critique:





  1. Writers: Send your document to Jennifer Evans at dallaswestie@gmail.com prior to the meeting which include the following:

    • title of your document

    • your name

    • your email address (optional)

    • Add line numbers to your document (Go to Layout, then Line Numbers, then Continuous)

    • Limit your document to 500 words (approx. 2 pages) for time constraints. Each reader will be given 10 minutes to present and receive feedback.

  2. Jennifer will post documents to this Google Drive folder.

  3. Critiquers may download documents, make comments, and provide feedback during the meeting.

  4. Critiquers may send comments to writers who provide their email address.

  5. If the writer doesn’t provide an email address, critiquers may send edited doc to Jennifer who will forward to author.

  6. Find additional information about critiques on our website.





Blogs from Our Members





President: Rich Blazevich

Secretary, Newsletter: Linda Baten Johnson

Vice President, Social Media: Kevin Mann (this role includes Write Club web page, Google Docs and Facebook)

Vice President, Critiques: Jennifer Evans

Presidents Emeritus: Gary Thornberry, Fergal O'Donnell

*Other contributors: Zoom meetings: Donna Anderson, Facebook administrator: Ari Frick