November 2021 Newsletter



November 2021 Newsletter








Next Meeting:

Wednesday, November 10

6:30 to 8:30 PM

McCallum Room, 4th floor

Frisco Public Library

6101 Frisco Square Blvd.

Frisco, TX 75034




Meetings will be a hybrid in-person/Zoom meeting. Mark your calendar for November 10 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






November Meeting Talk Topic





In November, Linda Baten Johnson will be sharing more tips on creating characters during the fifteen-minute topic time. Please download the items on characters from the critique site, so you can play with the rest of the group.





NaNoWriMo





November means NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month. If you want to join the Write Club’s accountability group, just go to the website, log in, and set your goal for new written words for the month. Most aren’t trying to write a novel in a month, but intend to use this month to record our daily word count on a new project. As with the national organization, our mini-version helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in our group, and encourage fellow members.





Successes





Ariel Slick has been invited to send two chapters of her manuscript to an agent she met at DFW.con. Hooray!

Linda Baten Johnson’s A Christmas Card for Krista was released on October 25. If you have a kindle unlimited account, you may download and read for free. Remember to post a review.

Jennifer Evans hopes to have copies of her children’s book, Follow the Green Frog by the end of November. It is the story about the Forest Bathing tradition. She shared some of it with us at Write Club.





Write 4 Kids





Info from our own Becky Michael, a facilitator for the group:


We're still meeting online, on Google Meet (they don't need a gmail account) on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00. I send the link address out to the mailing list right before the meeting. I also send out a request for manuscripts a few days before that. If they want to be added to the mailing list, it's helpful if they mention learning about it through Write Club. I've had a few contacts during the past year that seemed suspect or a little "off." You can include my email address: beckyrossmichael@gmail.com.





Free Contest of the Month





I found this one on the Reedsy website. We’ve featured poetry in the past couple of issues. This one is for the mystery writers in the group. Here’s an idea—combine participation in the Write Club’s NaNoWriMo accountability group with a submission for a huge prize.



Sponsored by Minotaur Books, the Tony Hillerman Prize is awarded for the best first mystery set in the Southwest. The winner receives a contract for publication of the novel and $10,000.


TONY HILLERMAN PRIZE - Minotaur Books - Home (macmillan.com)

HOW TO ENTER: The entry period for the Contest begins at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on June 21, 2020 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on January 2, 2021 (the "Entry Period"). To enter the Contest, entrants must submit a manuscript of a fictional work written by the entrant ("Manuscript") that complies with the following submission guidelines: (a) the Manuscript must be written in English and must be book length (approximately 60,000 words or 220 pages, using standard margins of approximately one inch and standard 10 or 12 point typeface style, or longer); (b) murder or another serious crime or crimes must be at the heart of the story contained in the Manuscript and the story should focus on the solving of the crime(s) rather than the details of such crime(s); (c) the story’s primary setting must be one or more of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and/or Utah; and (d) the Manuscript must comply with all requirements set forth in these Official Rules, including the Submission Guidelines set forth on the website. Sponsor’s determination as to whether an entrant’s Manuscript complies with these Official Rules will be final and binding. .





Presentation Format for Members Presenting Work for Critique:





Critiquing Instructions for Members

Documents to be presented and critiqued during meetings:

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

    • Include the following items in your document:

    • 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 the document with edits/comments to Jennifer who will forward them to the author, or

    • Critiquer can print out the document and share comments during the meeting.

If you would like your document to be critiqued/edited but not presented during meetings:

  • Send your document to Jennifer Evans at dallaswestie@gmail.com prior to the meeting.

  • Include the title of the document and your email address in the headline of the document.

  • Limit your document to 2,500 words for time constraints.

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

  2. Critiquers may download and add edits/comments (in track changes) to the document and forward the document back to the writer (if the writer provides their email address)

  3. If the writer doesn’t provide an email address, critiques may send the document to Jennifer, and she will post the critiqued document to the Google folder

Ask the author what they are specifically looking for in a critique:

  • Grammar, spelling, word choice

  • The overall structure of the story

  • Scenes that might seem flat

  • Character development

Avoid commenting on writing style, opinion, and your personal preference.





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

Backup Facebook administrator: Ari Frick