Tips of the Hat & Tips for Writers

It's been two months since my last FWA blog post. Although I've written direct emails to all the NE Florida writers on my list I thought it was time to post online again. As I sat down at my iMac to create this post my mind pulled up one of Willie Nelson's poignant songs, Funny How Times Slips Away. I'm sure you've heard it many times, but I Googled the lyrics and the first stanza seems to have been written for our time in the coronavirus bubble.

Hello there, my it's been a long time.

How am I doing? Well, I guess that I'm doing fine.

It's been so long now, but it seems now it was only yesterday.

Ain't it funny how time slips away.

That's enough maudlin introspection, let's get down to the writing business. The pandemic has closed libraries and prevented our FWA writers groups from meeting since February. In response, we had two Zoom presentations in June—one by Charlene Edge on memoir writing, and one by Jane Wood telling us how to market our books to schools. Both were excellent workshops and well attended.

You'll be happy to know I've scheduled another Zoom meeting for this month, and two more in August.

Some of you may remember Kristin Durfee, who presented a workshop on firearms at the Ponte Vedra Writers group several years ago. I invited Kristin to return and she has agreed to present a new workshop on plotting the novel. Register for Kristin's Zoom presentation, "A Novel Approach: Plotting Your Way to Success," which will be presented live on Saturday, July 18 at 10:30 a.m.

Kristin, who is the author of the Four Corners Trilogy as well as many short stories, describes the workshop this way:
"Plot like a pro and get that novel finished! Learn systematic tips and tricks to set yourself up for success. Attendees will learn how to incorporate outlining in their writing, what research can and should be done prior to starting your story, and some troubleshooting techniques to help if you get stuck. The presentation should leave you with a good framework for how to tackle and complete that first draft."

Here's the invitation to register for this meeting:

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Jul 18, 2020 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vc-qoqj8qHNSQt6468SY-Qni1H_sN7OSv
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

And as I mentioned above, in August we'll have two more Zoom meetings, both focusing on marketing; one using Facebook groups and the other using Amazon ads. Watch this space for more information.

I've heard from a few people who have used their time productively. A tip of the hat to:

• Ponte Vedra Beach writer Ken Overman. His new book, Intrusions, When God Shows Up in Your Life Unexpectedly has been picked up by CrossLink Publishing, a top U.S. traditional Christian publisher. The book will be out in about 7 months. Congratulations Ken.
• I also heard from Richard and Lucy Lipari, who decided to use their home alone time to jointly write a mystery novel. Rich wrote to tell me, "We decided to purchase Scrivener when the virus began and we knew we would be homebound. We learned about this software from meetings we attended in Ponte Vedra, and decided to give it a try. We found the program very user friendly and a great organizer. Since we had absolutely no distractions, we started jointly writing a mystery using the program. We began as pantsers but as we were going along, we evolved into plotters. Happy to report, since March we wrote over 75,000 words, 45 chapters, 275 pages. We’re excited now, as we know how the mystery will resolve, and it’s just a matter of writing it down." The novel is titled The Genghis Code. Congratulations to you both.
• Sharon Scholl has kept her poetry group active since the shutdown by also using Zoom meetings. She invites any and all poets "to join The Gathering's Zoom sessions, we will send the meeting data to whoever requests it at accidentals@comcast.net. Usually the first and third Thursdays of the month at 2 p.m."
• The Amelia Island Writers are also active. Group leader Marla McDaniel tells me that George Weinstein will be the virtual guest speaker on Saturday, July 25 at 3:30 p.m. Weinstein is a published author and coordinates the Atlanta Writers Group. He will talk about his writing journey and his latest thriller, Watch What You Say. Click here to register for that meeting.

Tell me what's gong on in your writing life, and I'll report it in the next FWA blog post. In the meantime, if you're looking for inspiration, guidance, or a way to productively pass the time, I've assembled a few online sites you might want to check out if you haven't seen them already.

1. The first is a fun exercise that purports to analyze your writing and tell you what famous writer you write like. I entered the first paragraph of my thriller, Hurricane Island, and was informed I write like Mario Puzo. Oh, to have been as successful as the author of The Godfather. Here's the link.
2. Stephen King is one of America's favorite (and wealthiest) writers based on the number of bestselling books and films and TV series that have come from his creative mind. CBS is curently remaking The Stand into a limited series. His latest offering, If It Bleeds, gives us four  novellas, including the title story featuring Holly Gibney, which picks up after the conclusion of The Outsider. The four stories are a mixed bag, but I expecially liked Rat, which deals with a writer struggling to write s novel. I thought you might like to watch this YouTube video with King talking about his writing. You can skip the ads after a few seconds, and if you search you'll find other King interviews and talks.
3. Check out this page if you're looking for writing tips from successful authors. In it you'll learn that John Irving always starts by writing the last sentence on a blackboard. Whatever works, right?
4. And finally, here's an oldie but goodie from The Writing-World.com listing the Top Ten Mistakes New Fiction Writers Make.

Until next time, stay involved and stay healthy. This thing is far from over. And don't forget to register for the July 18 Zoom workshop with Kristin Durfee.

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Regional Director