April 2017 FWA Blog Post

April brings us a shower of of outstanding programs and events for writers, so let's get started.

• Here's your chance to get in on the ground floor of a new FWA critique group. The Jacksonville Writing Meetup holds its first meeting this Saturday, April 1 at 9:30 a.m. in room 101 of Kaiser University. The group is being formed by attorney Gertrude Kehne and Brian Hobbs, a professor at the university. Contact Gertrude for more information.
• On Tuesday, April 11, the River City Writers continues its journey through the Great Courses "Writing Great Fiction." They will view Professor James Hynes as he teaches on "Building Fictional Worlds Through Evocation and Fictional Characters, Imagined and Observed." Then, the group will discuss how the lessons apply to our own works-in-progress and have group critiques. The group meets at Jacksonville's SE Branch Library starting at 7:00 p.m. Contact group leader Gregg Golson for more information.
• St. Augustine's Ancient City Writers chapter meets on Saturday, April 15, 10:00 a.m. at Anastasia Island Branch Library. Guest speaker is Rik Feeney who will talk on the topic of "Advanced Book Marketing for the Savvy Author."
• We travel to the Orange Park Library next for the Wednesday, April 19 meeting of the Clay County Writers. The meeting starts at 6:15 p.m. and the writers will hear from Richard Preston, author of the memoir Serenity Granted speaking on the topic "So You Want to Write a Book: 5 Things You Need to Know to be Successful." Among the things Richard will address, are how to plan your book and get started, whether to self publish, and book marketing.
• Writers by the Sea will meet on Thursday, April 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the Amelia Island Museum of History in Fernandina Beach. Attorney and artist Deborah Reid will discuss the "Uses and Abuses of Copyright and Trademark Law." Contact Nadine Vaughan-Williams for more information.
• Ever wonder how accurate those CSI type programs are? You'll get inside information from forensics firearms scientist Kristin Durfee as she tells us "How to Commit the Perfect Murder
  
  (On Paper)" and shares real news about firearms, crime labs and answers your questions. Kristin will be at the Saturday, April 29 meeting of the Ponte Vedra Writers, 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. Kristin writes for both adults and young adults, and has published two novels and several short stories. She lives in Central Florida.
• FWA affiliate First Coast Christian Writers meet each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at the Oakleaf Christin Fellowship on Lake Grey Blvd.

But wait, there's more!

• Florida Sisters in Crime meets this Saturday, April 1 at 10:00 a.m. to hear from JSO Lt. Kevin Geoff. In his 22-year career with JSO, Lt. Geoff has commanded units in multiple departments. He's currently in charge of the Integrity and Special Investigations Unit, which investigates human trafficking in NE Florida. They meet at the SE Branch Library.
• First Coast Romance Writers will be welcoming Lisa Kessler speaking on “Black Moments: Make Them Earn Their Happily Ever After” to their April 15, 2017 meeting from 10am to 2:30 pm, at the West Regional Library located at 1425 Chaffee Road S, Jacksonville, Fl, 32221. Visit http://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com for more information.
• Don't forget the first of FWA's Focus Days is scheduled for Saturday, April 29 at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs. The focus is on character-driven stories. Click here for more information.
• At the same time and at the same hotel as the April 29 Focus Day (go figure), I'm presenting my "world famous" Novel in a Day workshop as a benefit for the Florida Writers Foundation. It's a full day workshop (lunch and 30-page workbook included) covering the essential elements of writing a novel in a quick-paced, interactive — and entertaining — session. Registration and more details here.
• Christina Benjamin is collecting latest release info from St. Augustine writers for an article in St. Augustine Social. She needs the title, genre, release date, and a link to the Amazon product page. Email her with the information.

That's all folks. As usual, I'll leave you with a choice quote:

“The most annoying and full-of-crap thing a writer says is, ‘I write only for myself, I don’t care if anyone reads it.’ A writer without a reader doesn’t exist.” ~Harlan Coben

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Executive Vice President

NE Florida Regional Director

March 2017 FWA Blog Post

Moving into the third month of the year brings us closer to spring and the first FWA Focus Day on Saturday, April 29. This mini-conference in Altamonte Springs focuses on Character-Driven Stories with faculty members Arthur Doweyko, Tawdra Kandle and Darlyn Finch Kuhn. More information may be found here.

On the same day in the same Hilton/Orlando hotel, FWA's Executive Vice President delivers his Novel In A Day workshop as a benefit for the Florida Writers Foundation. This popular workshop covers many of the essential elements necessary to write a compelling novel, including plot and structure, characterization, dialogue, beginnings, middles and endings, and much more. The day-long workshop includes individual and group exercises, all of it delivered in a fast-paced, interactive and entertaining a workshop. Here are what two of the past attendees said:

“Vic DiGenti is a great speaker and covered all the material you could want. Group work and matching handout were very helpful.” – Shannon B.

“Vic’s workshop is fantastic! He gives information to help writers break down novel writing into chunks. I loved his use of humor and examples. It was a great day full of valuable information.” 

– Kitty W.

Click here for registration information.

March also brings NE Florida all of these fine FWAA group programs:

• On Tuesday, March 14, the River City Writers begin a series of programs based on The Great Courses series - on Novel Writing. They will watch a lecture from Writing Great Fiction and discuss how the session applies to current works on progress. The group will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Library. Contact group leader Gregg Golson for more information.
• Clay County Writers group leader Maureen Jung reports there is good news for writers looking to upgrade their professional bio. The group meets Wednesday, March 15, 6:15 p.m. at the Orange Park Library for a hands-on session on "How to Polish Your Bio." Maureen says, "Your bio statement acts as your introduction when you’re not around. It helps establish your credibility and build trust. It can express your personality and entice readers to buy your book or read your article." Bring three copies of your current writing bio.
• Writers by the Sea will tickle your funny bone with the Thursday, March 16 program, "The Funny Thing About Writing Humor." Humor writer and educator Michelle Boyette begins by asking, “What is going on in the brain when we laugh?” and posits that knowing something of how and why humor works helps create the humorous piece or the comic story. The group meets at 6:00 p.m. at the Amelia Island Museum of History
• The Ancient City Writers FWA chapter is on the move for the Saturday, March 18 meeting. Due to construction at the Main Library, the group will meet at the SE Branch Library, 6670 US 1, south of St. Augustine. The meeting starts at 10:00 a.m., and Vic DiGenti pays a visit to present his "Life is Like a River" memoir writing workshop. If you've been thinking of writing a memoir or biography, this workshop session will get you off to a fast start.
• The Ponte Vedra Writers welcome multiple award-winning writer John Hope who will tell us how deep editing short stories can take them from good to great. John, who won five 2016 RPLA's for his stories, will show us how to dissect and view our stories the way readers and publishers view them. The group meets Saturday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library.
• FWA affiliate First Coast Christian Writers meet each Thursday at 6:45 p.m at the Oakleaf Christian Fellowship on Lake Grey Blvd.

And in other news:

• Florida Sisters in Crime meets Saturday, March 4 at 10:00 a.m. at SE Branch Library to hear from Dr. Sabine O'Laughlin, Anatomic Pathologist.
• The International Woman's Writing Guild presents Florida Fling 2017 on Saturday, March 25 at the Del Webb clubhouse in Nocatee. Judy Huge and Kelly DuMar will present workshops. Click here for more information. 
• If you're looking for venues to sell your books and willing to travel, then check out FWA's 2nd Annual I (Heart) Books event on May 21 in Boca Raton, FL. This is a multi-genre book signing event limited to the first 50 authors. Here's the link for more information.
• The May 10-11 Florida Library Association Annual Conference will have opportunities for authors to see their books. Information may be found here.

Until next time, keep these words of wisdom in mind:

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

 ~ Stephen King

Cheers,

Vic

FWA Executive Vice President 

FWA Regional Director