September 2022 Newsletter



September 2022 Newsletter








Next Meeting:

Wednesday, September 14

6:30 to 8:30 PM

McCallum Room, 2nd Floor

Frisco Public Library

6101 Frisco Square Blvd.

Frisco, TX 75034





Mark your calendar for September 14 at 6:30-8:30 PM. Please note that we will be meeting in the McCallum Room on the 2nd floor. 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






Presentation Topics for July Meeting in Addition to Critiques & Officer Nominations





As you requested, here’s the information about our upcoming presentations:

Both July and August will feature speakers addressing the topic How to Find and Work with an Editor. This topic was requested by 88% of the members in the survey. Because of the high demand of the membership two people will offer information on the subject.

July’s Topic: “How to Find and Work with Editors – Part 1” – Jeanette Smith

August’s Topic: “How to Find and Work with Editors – Part 2” by

Thanks to Jennifer Evans who presented How to Find and Work with Editors – Part 2 at our August meeting.

Bill Etter has set up a lending library for writing craft books. Take advantage.

Advanced Reader Copies of newly published books are available at different times during the year.

Officer nominations and elections

  • September: new officers take over

Information about the positions of the officers:

  • President: Organizes agendas and facilitates meetings

  • Secretary: Writes and distributes news regarding club

  • VP of Critiquing: Organizes critiquing sessions

  • VP of Media: Updates website and social media content

  • VP of Membership: Manages member distribution list and nametags (Do you have any concerns about adding this position?)

  • any other positions you recommend?

SURVEY RESULTS:

Presentation Topics (% Very or Extremely Interested):

88% Find Editors (Jeanette volunteered to present)

77% Write a Book Blurb

71% Market a Book

69% Build a Budget for Publishing

63% How to Self-Publish

56% Create an Outline (Kevin C volunteered to present)

56% How to Publish Traditionally

53% Overcome Writer's Block

44% Self-Edit Your Writing

41% Build a Writing Habit

38% Write a Query Letter

38% Find an Agent

38% Develop Ideas for Writing

25% How to Do Revisions for Pantsers

Other Topics Suggested:

Forming a Critique Group (Linda volunteered to present)

Write a Memoir

Find a Cover Artist

Satisfaction with Group Aspects (% Somewhat or Very Satisfied):

100% Meeting Location

100% Email Updates

88% Meeting Facilitation

88% Meeting Agendas

88% Presentations

81% Meeting Days & Times

81% Meeting Duration

77% Critiquing Sessions

77% Newsletter

71% Website

71% Social Media

Suggestions for Improvement:

Could we meet more than once a month?

Could we have more time for critiquing?

Include contact information in the newsletter for people willing to do critiquing outside of meetings

Include short writing exercises in more of our meetings

Analyze writing examples to see what makes them compelling





Register now for the 2022 DFWCon!





DFWCon: The Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference – October 8-9, 2022 Hurst Conference Center


The 2022 DFW Writers Conference is set. We’re live and in person at the Hurst Conference Center October 8&9. Registration is open, and you can sign up here right now! Unlike everything else on the planet, we’ve held the line on prices, and there’s an early bird discount if you register by May 31. There are even discounted hotel rooms for attendees if you hurry.


Classes

This year’s conference will feature twin tracks – one on the craft of writing: editing, generating ideas, structure and more. Our business track will have sessions on developing your pitch and working with editors, lawyers and accountants on what comes after you sign that big contract.


Keynote, Gong Show and Saturday Night

We’ll be announcing a great Keynote speaker soon, but you know we’ll have your favorites like the Gong Show Query Competition, and we’ll get together on Saturday night where you can mix, mingle, meet and greet, and all the other things we introverted writers love to do. Seriously, come out. It’s fun.


Write Club

This year, we’re glad to have DL Hammons’ Write Club competition involved again and he’ll announce the winner onsite. You could win a free registration for the 2023 DFWCon! Write Club signups open July 1.


Agents & Editors

And, of course, we’ll have agents and editors. We’re reaching out to some of the top agents and editors to take pitches and share secrets during DFWCon. Every registration includes one free pitch session, and you’ll have the opportunity to purchase additional pitches if you’d like.





Successes






BIG NEWS: The Write Club has two of the three Frisco Library Flash Fiction winners for 2022. You will be able to hear the authors reading their stories on the Frisco Library website soon.

Jay Ingram’s story is titled Helicopter.

Donna Anderson’s story is titled The Soldier. Donna calls it a Twilight-Zone-type fiction.

Jeanette Smith was recently published in the University of California Stanislaus State literary magazine called Penumbra. She’s on page 58. Here's the link:

http://www.penumbraonline.org/uploads/1/3/2/0/132009318/penumbra_2022.pdf





Writing Hints from The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression





Clothing choices are individual and project an image of one’s personality. When creating unique emotional body language, think about how a character’s clothing can be utilized to reveal their insecurities or vanities and show feelings of self-worth.


Be wary of showing emotion too readily through the act of crying. In real life, it takes a lot to reach a tearful state and so it should be the same for our characters.


A ticking clock can ramp up the emotions in any scene. As the character hurries to complete a task or meet a need, mistakes caused by rushing open the door for a richer emotional ride.





Contests Without Entry Fees





These three contests were listed in Reedsy. One for those who write for children, one for those who love to travel—nonfiction people, and one for those who write with an economy of words. Enjoy.


Funny Festival Stories for Children

C.A.A.B Publishing

Write us a short story about the festive period. We want tales about silly snowmen, naughty elves, and hilarious stories that would make Santa go HO! HO! HO! Entries should be around 1,000 words or less and must be sent as a Word Document with no pictures.

Top prize $40

Entry requirements Fee: FREE

Deadline: August 31, 2022

National Geographic Traveller Travel Writing Competition

National Geographic

Do you have a way with words? Love to regale your friends and family with tales from your travels? If that’s a yes, then our Travel Writing Competition is just the thing for you. For your chance to win, simply write no more than 500 words on an inspiring travel experience, which could be anything from mountaineering in Patagonia to a hike in Pembrokeshire.

Top prize: Luxury expedition cruise to Greenland for two people.

Entry requirements Fee: FREE

Deadline: July 23, 2022

Six Word Wonder Contest

Six Word Wonder

To win, write a six-word story, poem, memoir, or joke. Free to enter, with the chance to get your tiny creation published, and you crowned as the Six Word Wonder - winning $100. Last year's contest had over 3,300 entries, with over 100 short-listed. Every writer gets six free entries to play with.

Top prize $100

Additional prizes Publication in next book in the Six Word Wonder series

Entry requirements Fee: FREE

Deadline: November 30, 2022





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