Just Write

SCRIBE: Leah W

BUSINESS:

• Reviewed prior meeting notes
• Reviewed dates of summer meetings in July and August
• Muhammad shared info about convention in Atlantic City.
• Info received from Craig Newman, past speaker to the writing group.  Expect e-mail.

EDUCATION:  Leah provided a hand-out dealing with competition in the market when writing a book proposal.

OTHER MATTERS:  Discussion on knowing the difference between an untapped market and a "just not-there" market.  Also, if there is no market yet, how to use examples of other authors who took the very first steps in their specific market.

IN-MEETING WRITING:  "Seven days ago--------------, but now nobody will talk to me"

WRITING SUBMISSIONS: 

• Bill:  "Cape May" - more revisions, but in fthe uture, he will add ideas from prior drafts.
• Andrea:"God and His Ant" - she will be placing this up on her own blog when compleed.  Waiting to hear about story she submitted to a contest in "Writer's Digest"
• Leah: feedback and ideas on what to do before submitting script/ contacting churches and finding out if plays get copyrighted.

 NEXT MEETING:  Education: Andrea

ATENDEES:  Muhammad M, Gwynne S, Bill M, Joann L, Leah W, Christine J(first time)

SCRIBE:  Leah W

BUSINESS:

• Reviewed prior meeting notes
• Reminder to check blog for new admissions and electronic copies
• Discussed idea that 2 people be prepared for education in case the first is not there
• Muhammad explained he will be doing geneology/kinship charts
• Discussed how historical events fit with story line and characters

EDUCATION:  Joanne provided writer's magazines for member's use. Discussed articles that fit with people's style and ideas that could be used for future education.

 WRITING SUBMISSIONS:

• Bill: "Seal" story
• Chris: shared memoir of time as a child

NEXT MEETING::

• Education: Andrea or Leah
• Writing submissions: Bill and Andrea (or Leah)

New this week at the Logan Library:

Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors by Bill Bryson

A useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language most commonly encountered by editors and writers.  Covering spelling, capitalization, plurals, hyphens, abbreviations, and foreign names and phrases, Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors is an indispensable companion for all who care enough about our language not to maul, misuse, or contort it.

This dictionary is an essential guide to the wonderfully disordered thing that is the English language. As Bill Bryson notes, it will provide you with “the answers to all those points of written usage that you kind of know or ought to know but can’t quite remember.”

MAY 14, 2008

ATENDEES:  Joan Romeo, Bill Merritt, Catherine Sampson, Leah Webb, Muhammad Maruf, Joanne Laughlin, Gwynne Schaeffer

SCRIBE:  Leah Webb

BUSINESS: 

• Pictures from prior meeting reviewed - will be placed on blog.
• Newly completed brochures distributed to members.
• Meeting notes will be held for approval at next meeting before placing on blog.
• David Warren's book, Promised Land, PA;  Terror Has a New Home is available at the Logan Library.  Take a look.
• Notes, etc from all prior meetings will be archived on the blog.
• Members are encourage to place articles, etc. of interest on the blog.

 EDUCATION:  Gwynne shared a book called A Writers Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher.

IN MEETING WRITING SAMPLES:  None

WRITING SUBMISSIONS:

• Bill Merritt submitted Cape May. He is deciding if it should be prose or poetry.  Will redo it for next meeting.
• Gwynne has resubmitted her Jamal story for publication.

 OTHER MATTERS:

• Joanne has backlogged copies of writing magazines she will share.
• Author recommendation: Stephenie Meyer/ an American J.D. Rollins.
• Discussion of pros/cons of only reading authors that are of the same style you write.

 NEXT MEETING:

• Education:  Andrea (2nd part of editing)
• Writing submissions: Bill and Andrea
• In-meeting topic: Catherine

Catherine Sampson and Gwynne Scheffer attended the Rutgers-Camden hosted its 20^th annual Spring Writers’ Conference on April 12, 2008. It was a day of readings and workshops featuring poets, novelists and many other accomplished writers including Rutgers’ MFA faculty.

Some highlights from two sessions:

• Literary Magazine publisher, Painted Bride Quarterly, www.pbq.drexel.edu, is a 35 year old, not-for-profit publisher with two offices in Philadelphia (housed at Drexel) and New York (NYU). The co-editors, Kathleen Volk Miller & Marion Wrenn were both very entertaining as well as informative on the topic of publishing and literary portals.
• Creative Non-fiction with Jane Bernstein was a learning experience in critiquing writing.  Writers submitted work in advance of the conference which was distributed prior to the conference to the registrants to read in advance of the session. Jane gave an overview of creative non-fiction and some tips.  We were provided a few ground rules before the open critique of each writer's work.  It was amazing to listen as participants provided perspectives and input on the works of these aspiring authors.

This free conference was an extremely valuable experience and we would recommend it for writers at all levels.

Recommended Reading from Gwynne Scheffer:  A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer within You by Ralph Fletcher

About ten years ago I worked as a professional developer on school reform initiatives in Baltimore, MD.  We pulled on a variety of resources to share with elementary school teachers to help improve student performance in literacy.  Recently while organizing my professional bookcase Ralph Fletcher’s A Writer’s Notebook nearly jumped off the shelf as the title caught my eye.  As an aspiring writer I am always open to new ideas and strategies to improve my craft but I never imagined I would be engaging a book geared towards elementary school children.  “A writer’s notebook is different from any journal you’ve ever kept before…A writer’s notebook gives you a place to live like a writer…”  It’s a helpful tool for capturing the thoughts, ideas, and dreams of middle-aged, grey-haired writers too!

April 23, 2008 "Just Write" Meeting Notes

Attendees: Bill Merritt, Andrea Gadson, Jo Ann Laughlin, Joan Romeo

New Member: Dave Warren

Scribe: Joan Romeo

Facilitator: Andrea Gadson

Welcome to new member Dave! We are very happy to have you as part of the group, and we look forward to your contributions. Dave is a published author who writes fiction for young adults.

Educational Segment

Anne Wodnick, Branch Manager, spent the first part of the meeting showing the group how to use the Blog.

Some tips:

Notify Anne at awodnick@gcls.org when you want to submit a post; this will alert Anne that there is a post that needs her approval as Blog Administrator.

When posting on the Blog, use your name or initial to indicate you as the author of the post.

See Blog handout for access instructions.

Critique Segment

The group critiqued a writing sample from Bill Merritt, entitled, "Cape May....my summer utopia."

Bill would like to continue working on this piece and will bring it back again to the next meeting.

The group also critiqued a writing sample from Dave, entitled, "Jest".  Dave also shared some tips on how to submit a query letter.

Upcoming Event:

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 10, 2008. Anne Wodnick has booked author, John Bond. John attended the Circle of Authors conference attended by Anne and has agreed to be a guest speaker for our first meeting in September. Specific information about this upcoming workshop will be available at a later date.

Next Meeting, May 14th, @7pm

Education:    Andrea Gadson

Writing Submission:     Bill Merritt

                                          Andrea Gadson

Meeting notes submitted by:  Joan Romeo

More than 60 of the nation's top writers will gather in Philadelphia for the second Philadelphia Book Festival, the Free Library's annual celebration of reading and literacy.

The festival -- held Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, at the Parkway Central Library, 19th and Vine streets offers two days of award-winning writers and poets in a lively atmosphere that combines stimulating book talks and celebrity signings with an eclectic blend of live music, children's entertainment, a new gaming gallery for all ages to enjoy, and a street fair with more than 80 literary exhibitors! The festival is a fun, free event that connects booklovers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

For more information visit  http://libwww.freelibrary.org/bookfestival/

New at the library this week: 

Dialogue:  Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue by Gloria Kempton

How do some writers craft conversation so authentic, it feels like they've been eavesdropping? What's the secret behind getting characters to talk to each other? How can writers make their dialogue sing?

Answers to all of these questions and more can be found in Gloria Kempton's in-depth look at this crucial component of fiction. Readers will learn how to create dialogue that sizzles, with tips on:
* Creating dialogue for specific genres
* Bringing characters to life with revealing dialogue
* Identifying and fixing common dialogue problems

Each chapter features numerous examples of successful dialogue drawn from bestselling novels, and chapter-ending exercises help readers apply the lessons learned.  This is one of four in the Write Great Fiction series by Writer’s Digest Books.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with The Society for Poets of Southern New Jersey on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 7 PM at the Logan Library.  Bring a poem you wrote, a poem you need help with, and/or a poem by your favorite poet that you would like to share.  Society members will conduct a short poetry writing workshop.  All will be invited to participate in a poetry reading.

Advance registration is requested.  To register or to get more information, call the Logan Library at 856-241-0202.