March FWA Blog

Take your pick of a half-dozen FWA chapter meetings this month, plus many more for writers of all persuasions.

Here in NE Florida you have your choice of the following:

• First Coast Christian Writers meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in room 513 of Christ's Church at 6035 Greenland Road. Affiliated with FWA, FCCW is open to all writers. Contact Tracy Redman at tlsl72@yahoo.com.
• River City Writers meets Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library. Guest speaker is writing instructor John Boles. John will present, "How to Turn Your Novel into a Screenplay." Contact chapter leader, Gregg Golson, for details – gtgolson@comcast.net
• Here's a twist on the same topic: Nadine Vaughn, author of Native Land, Lost in the Mystery of Time, will present "How to Turn a Screenplay into a Novel" at the Amelia Island Writers meeting, Tuesday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. at Books Plus, 107 Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. Contact chapter leader Maggie deVries, maggie1948@yahoo,com.
• Clay County Writers keeps growing. This month's meeting, on Wednesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fleming Island Public Library, will feature children's mystery writer, June Weltman presenting, "Dreaming About Writing a Kids' Mystery? Follow the Clues?" June will provide plenty of clues, including trends in today's kids' mysteries and writing tips for creating memorable characters. Contact Maureen Jung at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com.
• Head to St. Augustine's Main Library on Saturday, March 20 at 10:15 a.m. for a joint program of both the Ancient City Writers and the Ponte Vedra Writers. Vic DiGenti, yep, that's me, presents, "Put Your Writing into High Gear with Strong Narrative Drive." Find out what narrative drive is and why editors and agents prize it so highly. Vic will use examples from classic novels like To Kill A Mockingbird, Silence of the Lambs, Mystic River, and even the TV series, Lost, to demonstrate highly-effective techniques for creating strong narrative drive.
• As mentioned above, the Ponte Vedra Writers chapter will be meeting jointly with the Ancient City Writers this month, but mark your calendar for Saturday, April 24 for a very special program at the PV Library. The subject is, "The Many Roads to Getting Published," and we'll present a panel with a traditonally-published author, an independent publisher and author, a self-published author, and a new traditional publisher. More details next month.

Other groups to choose from:

• Florida Sisters in Crime meets this Saturday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. Guest speaker is State Attorney Angela Corey.
• North Florida Writers meets on the second Saturday of the month at 2:00 p.m. at the Webb-Westconnett Regional Library at 103rd Street near I-295.
• Also meeting on the second Saturday of each month is First Coast Romance Writers. They meet at 10:30 a.m. at the West Regional Library on Chaffee Road.
• Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators meets on the third Saturday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library.
• The Bard Society meets each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the home of leader/mentor, Frank Green. This is the longest-running critique group in the region, producing numerous published authors. Call Frank at 234-8383.

Reminders for Writers:

• You may now submit your entries for this year's Royal Palm Literary Awards. Click on the link for submission guidelines. Last year, more than a dozen NE Florida writers won awards. This could be your year.
• While you're on the FWA website, check out the guidelines for FWA Collections #2 – Slices of Life. Submissions are now being accepted. Remember you have to be an FWA member to enter the competition, submit to the anthology, and attend the October conference. So, while you're there, go ahead and join. You'll be glad you did.
• Details of the 9th Annual FWA Conference, Go for the Gold!, will be forthcoming soon. But you don't have to wait until October if you need a conference fix. The 4th Annual Do It Write conference in New Port Richey is scheduled for Sunday, April 11. It's a one-day affair with a great line-up of speakers. Register before March 20 for an early-bird discount.
• The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Contest is underway. Winner receives $1,000 and publication in the Saturday Evening Post. They're looking for original, unpublished fiction no longer than 3,000 words.
• The Tallahassee Writers Association presents the Tallahassee Festival of Books & Writers Conference, March 19-21.
• Florida Institue of Technology's Creative Writing Institute is set for June 6 - 13.
• Closer to home, the 2nd Annual UNF Writers Conference with a full day of workshops and a day and a half of critique workshops is ready for your registration. Co-sponsored by FWA, the conference offers the workshops, the Book & Film Deal Connection, two lunches, a reception and the First Page Panel.
• The Florida Heritage Book Festival will honor bestselling author Carl Hiaasen at their Literary Legend Award's banquet at the World Golf Village Renaissance Center on Friday, September 24. And speaking of the FHBF, their "Five Women of the Ages" is back by popular demand, Sunday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the Casa Monica Hotel. Click on Events for details.
• Finally, First Coast News anchor Donna Deegan is also a published author. Her latest book, Through Rose Colored Glasses, chronicles her battles as a three-time breast cancer survivor. She's the guest author at Book Talk Cafe, a program of the Friends of the Ponte Vedra Library, and will appear at the library on Monday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. Donna is also the founder of 26.2 with Donna, the highly-successful marathon that drew nearly 8,000 runners recently in support of breast cancer research.

And I'll end with a quote from a guy who knew how to string words together, Sir Winston Churchill. "Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all."

All the best,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

www.windrusher.com

February FWA Blog

We're entering the busy season for writers with numerous festivals and conferences coming our way in February and March. But every month is busy with six FWA chapters here in NE Florida, so let's get right to it.

• First Coast Christian Writers meet each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in room 513 of Christ Church, 6045 Greenland Road. Affiliated with FWA, FCCW is open to all writers. Contact Tracy Redman, tlsl72@yahoo.com.
• River City Writers meet Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library off Gate Parkway. Group leader Gregg Golson will speak on "The Best of the SCBWI Miami Conference." Several area writers attended the regional children's author conference billed as a "meat and bones" affair. A critique session will follow Gregg's talk.
• Amelia Island Writers have moved to Books Plus, 107 Centre Street in historic Fernandina Beach, Florida. They meet at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16. Lucy Beebe Tobias, author of Fifty Great Walks in Florida, will present a program based on her travel book. Contact leader Maggie de Vries for information, maggie1948@yahoo.com.
• Clay County Writers hold their second meeting on Wednesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fleming Island Library, 1895 Town Center Blvd. Rik Feeney is the guest speaker. Contact Maureen Jung for details, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com.
• Ancient City Writers usually meet on the third Saturday of the month at 10:15 a.m. at the St. Augustine Main Library, but the IRS folks have booted them out this month. Look for them on March 20, same time, same place.
• Ponte Vedra Writers meet on Saturday, February 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library, 101 Library Blvd. Novelist Arliss Ryan will present a program on "How to Research and Write the Historical Novel." She promises to tell us 15 things every author needs to know to research and incorporate history into an engaging novel. Arliss, pictured at right, is the author of three novels, two of them historicals, including The Kingsley House (St. Martin's Press), and The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare. She's also the author of How (not) To Have a Perfect Wedding. Her short stories have appeared in more than 20 literary magazines.

Also happening this month:

• Thriller author Vince Flynn kicks off the Savannah Book Festival, February 5 - 7, Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Savannah.
• The Florida Chapter of Sisters in Crime meets on the first Saturday of the month, February 6, at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. This month's speaker is Michael A. Knox, a forensic consultant and accredited traffic accident reconstructionist. All genders are welcome.
• First Coast Romance Writers have a full program this month with two speakers. They meet on Saturday, February 13 at 10:15 a.m. at the West Regional Library on Chaffee Road. The first speaker is Dawn Josephsen, who will speak on "Go from Hobby to Profession: Make Your Dreams a Reality." After a business meeting, the group will hear from Terri Odell on"Plotting for Non-Plotters."
• Amelia Island Book Festival has a full menu of tasty treats starting with the Friday Writers Workshop on February 12 at the Yulee campus of Florida State College. A full day of excellent workshops (including mine on Beginnings, Middles & Ends), plus lunch with keynoters Rick Bragg and Sonny Brewer. Saturday's events include a breakfast with Cassandra King and Janis Owens, a luncheon with keynoter Jeff Shaara, and "A Night with Poppy," featuring Pat Conroy and his daughter Melissa. Of course the free author talks and panels continue all day Saturday at St. Peters Episcopal Church at 8th and Centre Street.
• Much Ado About Books launches its 15th annual book festival with a five-hour writers workshop presented by New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry and his wife Liz. Together, they will cover key elements in the craft of writing, including the business of writing. The $100 fee goes to the Jacksonville Public Library where the festival is being held.
• SCBWI meets on Saturday, February 20 at 1:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library. They will also review the highlights of the Miami Regional Conference and hear from Gregg Golson. Contact Janet Walter at jgwalter@comcast.net.
• The 4th Annual Do It Write Conference in New Port Richey is scheduled for Sunday, April 11. Tor Books senior editor Claire Eddy is one of the featured speakers. I include this because it's a 1-day conference sponsored by FWA, but also because they picked up the literary competition we started here. If you're looking for another competition before the Royal Palm Literary Competition gets underway, visit them here.
• And speaking of competitions, the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition has issued its call for entries. The competition has been on-going since 1981 and it offers a total of $2,000 in prizes. Visit the website for details.
• And finally, my BSP Syndrome (Blatant Self Promotion) requires me to announce that the next two Novel in a Day workshops are open for registration now through the University of North Florida's Learn Jacksonville program. The full-day interactive workshops cover many of the essentials needed to write your novel. See also writing workshops presented by John Boles, Sharon Cobb and Carol O'Dell.

I'll leave you with this choice quote by none other than Abe Lincoln,

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read."

All the best,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

www.windrusher.com

vicdig@mac.com

A Fresh Start

That old philosopher, Woody Allen, pegged it when he said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." At least I'd like to think so since I've been showing up for years waiting for success to come along. Now, we have a new year and a fresh start to look forward to with our writing, and FWA is moving forward as well.

FWA breaks records every day, with membership now topping 1,000 people statewide and in other states, as well. Chrissy Jackson is our new President, and the Board just elected Chris Hamilton as our new Vice President. Look for more exciting news in the near future.

Here in NE Florida, we have our own share of good news, as I'm happy to announce the launch of the Clay County Writers chapter. Maureen Jung will lead this group, starting with the initial meeting on Wednesday, January 20 at the Fleming Island Library. More on the meeting below, but Maureen is looking for input from Clay County writers so this is your opportunity to help shape the future of this chapter.

FWA Chapter Meetings:

• First Coast Christian Writers meets tonight (Thursday) and every Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in room 513 of Christ Church, 6045 Greenland Road. Affiliated with FWA, FCCW is open to all. Contact Tracy Redman, tlsl72@yahoo.com, for details.
• River City Writers meet Tuesday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Library. Chapter leader Gregg Golson reports that this month's program is "A Head Start to Publishing," presented by the writer-illustrator team of Hank & Jan Racer. They'll talk about their publishing journey via co-operative publishing and provide tips for anyone thinking of following their example. Together, Hank and Jan wrote and illustrated the children's picture book, Marky the Barking Bullfrog, and Hank is the author of the award-winning YA novel, The River Rats.
• Amelia Island Writers move into the new year with chapter leader Maggie de Vries leading a session on "How to Turn History into a Novel." The group meets Tuesday, January 19 at 6:00 p.m. at the Florida House Inn in Fernandina Beach. While this is a dinner meeting, it's not required that you buy dinner to attend the meeting. BTW, Maggie reports that she is the new proprietor of the Books Plus bookstore in historic Fernandina each. Great news. Contact Maggie at maggie1948@yahoo,com.
• Clay County Writers, as announced above, will hold an organizational meeting to discuss format and future programs on Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fleming Island Library, 1895 Town Center Blvd. Leader Maureen Jung welcomes all Clay County writers and their ideas for future meetings. I'll be there to provide an official FWA welcome to the group, and would like to see a big turnout for Maureen's first meeting. Maureen, pictured at left, has written over a hundred articles for business, popular, and peer-reviewed publications, and provided editing or research on 15 nonfiction book projects. Since 1984, she’s been a Fellow of the South Coast Writing Project, a think tank for writing teachers affiliated with the National Writing Project. She’s taught writing classes at University of California, Santa Barbara, facilitated writing groups, and provided writing and speaker training programs for hundreds of individuals and organizations. Maureen is also the guest speaker at my Ponte Vedra meeting as you'll see if you keep reading. For more information on the meeting, contact Maureen at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com.
• Ancient City Writers meets on the 23rd of this month instead of the usual third Saturday because the library is closed on the 16th. But be at the Main Library in downtown St. Augustine to hear science fiction author Chris Berman talk about how to craft a story using research and facts to make the story credible and realistic. They meet at 10:15 a.m.
• Ponte Vedra Writers hosts Maureen Jung at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 23 at the Ponte Vedra Branch Library. With her business writing and speaker training background, Maureen will provide meaningful insights to improve the communication process for writers and speakers. “Communicate with Purpose: How to Optimize Your Impact” is an inter-active workshop focusing on how technology has changed today’s communication environment, how this affects our messages, and what we can do about it. Maureen explores the use of five key communication tools for greater clarity, better tone, and increased power in print, in person, and in electronic communication.

Mark Your Calendar:

• Amelia Island Book Festival As reported in last month's blog, this year's AIBF has an ambitious schedule of workshops and events for both writers and readers. The Writers Workshop offerings on Friday, February 12 offer 16 different session on various topics concerning the craft of writing from poetry to memoir writing, from journalism to screenwriting. Plus there's a luncheon with two keynote speakers. All for $90. Check out the website for all the details, including the panels and author talks on Saturday, February 13, and the special event with Pat Conroy, right, and his daughter Melissa.
• Much Ado About Books has always been one of NE Florida's favorite book and author events. This year's cranks up on February 26 with an intensive 5-hour writers workshop by Steve and Liz Berry. The NY Times bestselling author will cover key elements of the craft of writing, including POV, dialogue, plot structure, Steve's 10 Rules of Writing, and the Business of Writing. If you've seen Steve in action before, you'll know this is going to be a special day. Steve and Liz recently formed a foundation called History Matters, and they are donating their time. The workshop fee of $100 goes to help the Jacksonville Public Library. The Keynote Luncheon on Saturday features bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews. Again, details at the website.
• Florida Sisters in Crime meets this Saturday, January 9 at 10:30 a.,. at the SE Regional Library. Guest speakers are Mac & Marie Vernon, discussing their new true crime book, Deadly Charm. Next month the group will hear from Michael Knox, Traffic Accident Re-constructionist. They have a new website. Check it out at the above link.
• The Florida Heritage Book Festival is hosting a special fundraising event that is both unique and appealing on Wednesday, January 27 at 3:00 p.m. at the Casa Monica Hotel. "Five Women of the Ages" celebrates five women from St. Augustine's storied past in both a dramatic reading by Karen Harvey, and an exhibition of paintings. Billed as an Afternoon Tea at the Casa Monica, the event costs $30 per person and all proceeds benefit the FHBF. Send your check, made payable to FHBF, to Kathy Dvornick at 1261 Paradise Pond Road, St. Augustine, FL 32092. Kathy is the co-director of the festival this year with Karen Harvey and reports that they have already scheduled several big name authors for the September event. More news will follow.
• North Florida Writers meets on the second Saturday of every month at 2:00 p.m. at the Webb-Wesconnett Regional Library off 103rd Street.
• The Scribbler's Retreat Writers Conference in St. Simon's Island, GA, February 11 - 13, (is it just me, or are there a lot of writing events in February?) will feature Haywood Smith, author of The Red Hat Club, as well as Adam Davies, Anna DeStefano and others.
• SleuthFest 2010 slinks into view, February 25 - 28 at the Deerfield Beach Hilton in north Broward County. Always a super conference for writers and lovers of mysteries, the conference will include presentations by David Morrell, the creator of the Rambo franchise, and Stephen J. Cannell.
• And don't forget UNF's Learn Jacksonville Program is back from holiday recess with a number of excellent writing workshops, including Sharon Cobb on screenwriting, Carol O'Dell's memoir writing class, John Bole's creative writing, and my Novel in a Day workshop on both February 20 and March 27. Click on the above link to find details of each of them in the course catalog.

If you're looking for a critique group, check out the Bard Society for fiction writers. It meets in the home of Frank Green on Thursday evenings. Frank has been leading the group for several decades now and had at least one bestselling author emerge from the group. Contact Frank at frankgrn@comcast.net.

Christine M. Ramey leads a group meeting at the Webb-Wesconnett Library on the first Monday of the Month from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. You can reach Christine at christineramey72@att.net.

The Ancient City Writers conducts critique sessions after their speaker each month, as does FCCW.

That's all the news that fits for now. Check out the FWA meeting, the conferences and stay involved with your writing brethren. This could be the year success finds its way to your front door.

All the best,

Vic

FWA Regional Director

vicdig@mac.com

www.windrusher.com

Holiday Happenings

This season of giving makes me think of Sol Stein's remark that, "Writing fiction is like preparing a gift for a stranger." Those of us who feel compelled to write – fiction or non-fiction – should keep that in mind throughout the year and offer our greatest gifts to the strangers who will, hopefully, purchase our books.

And even though this is the holiday season, there is still news for writers to share. First, the FWA meetings.

• River City Writers meet tonight, Tuesday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Regional Library at Gate Parkway and Deerwood Park Blvd. Chapter leader Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net, will host an interactive talk on "How to Bring Your Fiction to Life." Group critiques will follow.
• Amelia Island Writers meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the Florida House Inn. This month's speaker is Cara Curtin who will discuss the importance of outlining. Cara's latest novel, Fernandina's Finest Easter, was just released. While this is a dinner meeting, it is not required. Contact Maggie deVries, maggie1948@yahoo.com, for details.
• Ancient City Writers meet on the third Saturday of the month, December 19 at 10:15 a.m at St. Augustine's Main Library. Romance author Elizabeth Sinclair presents a two-hour workshop on "Writing the Dreaded Synopsis." Condensing a full-length novel to a single page or even three pages, often seems like an overwhelming task, so this workshop should prove very helpful. Coincidentally, Elizabeth has a how-to book entitled, The Dreaded Synopsis, which will be available for sale. A holiday party follows the workshop. FWA members and visitors are invited to share the good cheer. And because the Ponte Vedra Writers meeting falls on the Christmas weekend, we're merging the two chapters for this meeting and encourage Ponte Vedra writers to attend the St. Augustine meeting.

Upcoming Happenings

• Amelia Island Book Festival– This regional favorite has moved to a new time of year – February 12 - 13 – several new venues, and new director Dickie Anderson has worked hard to provide a tasty platter of choice offerings. Included are Friday's Writers' Workshop, Saturday's free presentations, and several ticketed events including a luncheon with authors Rick Bragg and Sonny Brewer, and a special evening with Pat and Melissa Conroy. The Writers' Workshop has moved to the Florida State College Betty Cobb Center in Yulee, while the Saturday offerings remain at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Cost for the workshop is $90, and includes the luncheon with Bragg and Brewer. I'll be presenting a morning workshop – "From Great Beginnings to Effective Endings." Visit the website for complete details.
• Much Ado About Books – February 26 - 27 at Jacksonville's Main Library. Kicks off with an intensive five-hour workshop with Steve and Liz Berry Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The workshop covers story structure, POV, dialogue, the 10 Rules of Writing and much more. Steve and Liz are donating their time on behalf of their foundation, History Matters, to benefit the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation. Cost of the workshop is $100. Mary Kay Andrews is the featured speaker at the Keynote Luncheon on Saturday. More can be found on their website.
• Sleuthfest 2010 – February 25 - 28, Deerfield Beach, FL. An excellent conference for mystery writers or lovers of mysteries, produced by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. This year's event features appearances by David Morrell, Stephen J. Cannell, PJ Parrish, James W. Hall, and many more.
• Learn Jacksonville – UNF's Continuing Education program in 2010 includes numerous writing workshops, including film, memoir and my own Novel in a Day workshop. Click on the link and scroll down to find the workshop for you.
• You may have read in the latest issue of The Florida Writer that longtime FWA President Dan Griffith has tendered his resignation. To quote from the article, "Dan began his presidency during a time of uncertainty for FWA, acting as a stabilizing force, a leader with strong convictions, and a personal mentor to many writers." In recent years, FWA has achieved unprecedented growth, now topping the 1,000-member mark, and added many new benefits and features for members. We thank Dan for his years of service and wish him the best in his retirement. Chrissy Jackson moves into the President's office, and FWA is seeking nominations for Vice President. As chair of the nominating committee, I welcome your nominations for this office. Email me at vicdig@mac.com.
• Finally, there will be a new Orange Park FWA Chapter starting next month. Orange Park Writers will meet at the Fleming Island Branch Library on an as yet to be determined time and date. If you're interested in participating in these meetings, contact chapter leader Maureen Jung at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com. BTW, Maureen will be the guest speaker at the January 23rd meeting of Ponte Vedra Writers.

On behalf of the Florida Writers Association, I thank each of you for the trust and support you've shown the organization over the years. Together we have made great strides. On behalf of the FWA Board, I wish you the very best during this holiday season.

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

Off and running

I promised myself that in deference to friends and family who support the Georgia Bulldogs, I wouldn't make any football allusions or take any cheap shots at the Dawgs. So I won't — other than to say, I was happy to see the GA fans continue their revered tradition of leaving in the third quarter of the game.

But as writers, we can't quit in the third quarter. I've said it before that the race (getting published) often goes to the most persistent, not the fastest or most talented. My hat is off to those of you who keep plugging away, attend workshops and critique groups to improve your craft, and enter contests. Which leads me to this year's Royal Palm Literary Awards where First Coast Writers were very visible in the number of awards they took home. We accounted for 15 awards in 13 different categories. In my earlier email, I neglected to mention some of the winners. Here now is a more complete listing of the RPLA winners from NE Florida:

Poetry (Published) – First Place, Michael Ray King for Rendezvous

Creative Non-Fiction (Unpublished) – Second Place, June Lands for My Self and Peggy Lee

Short Nonfiction (Published) – First Place, Mary Bridgman for Growing Up Without Ken

Educational/Informational (Published) – Second Place, Mims Cushing with co-author Dr. Norman Latov, for You Can Cope with Peripheral Neuropathy: 365 Tips for Living a Full Life

Autobiography (Unpublished) – Second Place, Jeff Swesky, with Rabbi Samuel Cywiak for Flight from Fear

Short Story (Unpublished) – Second Place, Victor DiGenti, for Saving Sam

Short Story (Unpublished) – First Place, Mary Bridgman, for Snakes Alive

Flash Fiction (Unpublished) – First Place, June Lands, for The Leaving

YA (Unpublished) – First Place, Ellen Thornton, for The Girl Who Swam to Atlantis

YA (Published) – First Place, Randy Cribbs, for Ghosts: Another Summer in the Old Town

Children's (Published) – Second Place, James Weinsier, for Where Do We Go?

Mystery (Unpublished) – Honorable Mention, Judy Weber, for No Good Deed

Mystery (Unpublished) – First Place, Victor DiGenti, for Matanzas Bay

Historical Fiction (Unpublished‚ – First Place, Dan Dundon, for The Shanghai Madonna

Book of the Year (Unpublished) – Matanzas Bay by Victor DiGenti

I apologize if I left anyone out. We have so many wonderful writers in our region it's hard to keep up with all of them. I look forward to listing your name as one of next year 's winners.

And speaking of the winners, here's a shot

of all the RPLA winners who attended the banquet on October 24.

A number of area writers are represented in the first annual FWA Collection, From Our Family to Yours. The Collection of 60 stories and essays was released during the conference.

It's available at the online FWA Bookstore at a reduced price of $13.95. Congratulations to all the writers published in the book,

and look for details soon for Collections #2, Slices of Life. One of the biggest treats of the festival was finding other Collection authors and having them sign their entry. To the left is a group shot of some of the Collection authors.

Now a sneak preview of our upcoming FWA meetings for November:

• First Coast Christian Writers meet weekly from 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. every Thursday in room 513 at Christ's Church, 6045 Greenland Road in Jacksonville. This week, Thursday, November 5, the group will hear from Jerry and Bobbi Hanks, who together wrote Tears of Joy about Jerri's battle with cancer and their life together. They will give their "Top Ten Tips about the Write Stuff." FCCW is affiliated with FWA and American Christian Writers. Each meeting includes a speaker and critiques. The group is led by Dr. Lorraine Haataia.
• The River City Writers meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library located off Gate Parkway and Deerwood Park Blvd. This month's meeting on Tuesday, November 10 should be a must attend for children's authors who'd like to make a dent in the school market. Chris Rumble is described as an Author-Illustrator-Musician-Encourager. Kids love his highly-illustrated Adventures of Uncle Stinky series (especially designed for reluctant readers!). Chris has taken his “ALL-IN-ONE” author event to over 500 schools and libraries coast to coast in the last six years, and he'll tell us how he does it.
• The Amelia Island Writers meet on the third Tuesday of the month at Fernandina Beaches Florida House inn at 6:00 p.m. Chapter leader Maggie deVries, maggie1948@yahoo.com, reports that this is now a dinner meeting, although no one is obligated to buy dinner to attend the meeting. This month's guest speaker is Nancy Haddock, author of La Vida Vampire and Last Vampire Standing.
• Ancient City Writers meet on the third Saturday of the month at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library, 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd. This month, November 21, editor Emily Carmain relates the "Ten Treacherous Writing Traps and How to Avoid Them." Emily heads Noteworthy Editing Services and has edited hundreds of manuscripts, both fiction and nonfiction.
• Because of the Thanksgiving holidays, I've moved my Ponte Vedra Writers meeting from the fourth Saturday of the month to the third, providing a conflict with the Ancient City Writers. Sorry about that, but with over 500 writers on my distribution list, there should be more than enough bodies to go around. So on November 21st at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library,the guest speaker will be the ever-popular Rik Feeney. Rik's topic is "Your Book:The Primary Marketing Tool." Writing your book is only half the battle. Selling it is the other half. Rik will provide innovative ideas for maximizing the selling power of your book. We'll also get an early start on the gift-giving season with a Book Swap. If you're like me, you have hundreds of books you've either never read or have read and are now gathering dust. Why not trade them in for something you want to read. These can be books on writing or other genre, fiction or nonfiction. Bring two, three or four and we'll display them at tables and have an exchange party. We'll also have some refreshments on hand to make it a bit more festive. Please bring only gently read books, no thirty-year-old textbooks, please. Anything left over will be donated to the library's bookstore.

Other area meetings and items of interest:

• The Florida Chapter of Sisters in Crime meets the first Saturday of each month. That's Saturday, November 7, 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. Speaker is Mary Anna Evans, author of the Faye Longchamp mystery series.
• SCBWI will not be meeting in November or December. Meetings resume in January. Check their website for details.
• North Florida Writers meet next on Saturday, November 14 at 2:00 p.m. at the Webb-Wesconnett Regional Library on 103rd Street. Guests are welcome and invited to bring a manuscript to be critiqued.
• Frank Green's Bard Society critique group continues to meet each Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in his living room. Contact Frank at frankgrn@comcast.net for details and directions.
• Christie Ramey reports that she has started a critique group for Christian writers that meets at the Webb-Wesconnett Library every Monday at 2:00 p.m. Contact Christy at crladybug72@att.net.
• And John Tinney wants folks at the beach to know that his critique group is accepting new members, They meet at the Ponte Vedra Library the first and third Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m. John may be reached at overlook2@bellsouth.net.

Upcoming Conferences:

• The 6th Annual Eckerd College Writers' Conference – Writers in Paradise, January 16 - 24, features a slew of best-selling authors on their faculty this year including Anita Shreve, Dennis Lehane, Sheri reynolds, Michael Koryta, and Laura Lippman.
• The Tallahassee Festival of Books and Writers Conference, March 19 -21, will include (for an additional fee) an advanced workshop with Donald Maass, New York literary agent and author of Writing the Breakout Novel. Advance registration is necessary for this. Email Donna Meredith at meredithds@comcast.net. The workshop is available only to conference attendees.
• My Novel in a Day workshop, part of the University of North Florida's Learn Jacksonville program, filled up fast last month. If you missed out, you'll have two more opportunities to enroll in the full-day novel writing workshop – January 16 and March 13. Sharon Cobb has two screenwriting workshops coming up this month, John Boles' Introduction to Creative Writing extends into January and February, and Carol O'Dell's Memoir Writing workshop has also added January and February dates. Go to the Course Schedule page to review dates and times. You may register from that page as well.

That's it for now. Here's a quote from Jack London, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

Best,

Vic

Write on time

There's no time like the present to get your writing life in order. With the final quarter of 2009 ahead of us, there's still time to complete whatever project you're working or start a new one. To send out those query letters and to sign up for the annual FWA Conference.

One of the Keynote Speakers this year is James O. Born, pictured, the award-winning mystery writer who recently published his first SF novel. It should be interesting to hear how he juggles the two genres and why he decided to write a science-fiction novel. Born, a Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), will also do a workshop on Backstory and how to use it effectively. Click here for a listing of the complete Conference Workshop Schedule. Remember you have to be a member to attend, so take the time to join or renew that membership and then sign up because it's chock-full of high level workshops and sessions.

There's also a full slate of editors, agents and publishers waiting for your pitch. Visit the website for complete details and registration information.

FWA Meetings for October:

• First Coast Christian Writers meet every Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. This week's speaker is April Broussard a social media consultant, speaker, and workshop facilitator. The group also conducts writing critiques after the speaker.
• The River City Writers meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library at 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. Contact group leader Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net, for more information on this month's meeting, Tuesday, October 13.
• St. Augustine's Ancient City Writers chapter has an intriguing program set for Saturday, October 17 at 10:15 a.m. at the Main Library at 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd. If you're already published or about to be published you might want to learn more about "The Business of Being a Writer." This panel discussion will look at various aspects of preparing yourself, promoting yourself, and selling books.
• Moving north to the Amelia Island Writers, group leader Maggie de Vries reports that author Pat Van Dorn, When Evils Converge, will be the speaker. The group meets on the third Tuesday of the month, Tuesday, October 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the Florida House Inn in Fernandina Beach. Contact Maggie at maggie1948@yahoo.com for details.
• Have you ever wondered what it's like to write with a collaborator? And what if your co-author was your spouse? Is this double the pleasure or double the trouble? Marie and Mac Vernon are a writing couple (apparently still married) who have co-authored two true crime books, Deadly Lust and Deadly Crime. They'll share the pros and cons of the co-author relationship at the next Ponte Vedra Writers meeting, Saturday, October 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. Note that the meeting falls on the last Saturday this month because of the FWA Conference on the 24th.

Other area meetings:

• The Florida First Coast Sisters in Crime chapter meets this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. Guest speaker is Richard Orsini, a Board Certified, court qualified, Forensic Document Examiner. Orsini has worked over 700 cases in 41 states and foreign countries. They'll also be taking nominations for new officers for 2010. Contact Pam Wells, Wellspmw@aol.com, for details.
• The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) is meeting on Saturday, October 17 from 1-3, at the Southeast Regional Library. Local author Jennifer Swanson will speak on Securing an Online Presence. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Janet Walter at jgwalter@comcast.net.
• North Florida Writers meet at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 10 at the Webb-Wesconnett Library on 103rd Street. Contact Howard Denson, hd3nson@hotmail.com, for more info.

On the horizon, look for a joint meeting of the Ancient City Writers and Ponte Vedra Writers in December on the 19th in St. Augustine. This will be a combined holiday celebration of writing. More to follow.

Until next time,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

No time to fall back

With summer just a reflection in our rearview mirrors, that means the FWA Annual Conference is right around the corner. Have you registered yet? The dates are October 23 - 25 with a special pre-Conference master class on characterization with Margie Lawson on Thursday, October 22. More about that later, but remember two things: first, you must be an FWA member to attend the conference, and second, appointments with editors and agents are beginning to fill up. So go to the Florida Writers Association website for all the details and to register.

Now, about Margie Lawson's master class, Empowering Characters' Emotions. You

don't have to register for the conference to attend the master class, but if you're going to the conference, this class is definitely worth an

extra day. The class is $50 for FWA members and $75 for non-members. All proceeds from this class go to the Florida Writers Foundation to help fight illiteracy, so you'll be helping yourself and helping others learn to read.

Lawson, a practicing psychologist, has been collecting rave reviews from writers across the U.S., in Canada, and in Australia and New Zealand. In the last four and a half

years, she’s presented over 42 full day master classes teaching writers how to add emotional power that hooks the reader viscerally and creates a page-turner. More information can be found online.

One more item before we move on, there will again be a silent auction at the conference to benefit the Foundation. Each region has been asked to gather items to include in the auction. I'd like to put together a gift basket of NE Florida-themed items. Do you have something you can contribute? It might be a special book about our area, food or household product. Think about it and email me at vicdig@comcast.net to let me know about your donation.

Now on to this month's FWA chapter meetings:

• First Coast Christian Writers meets every Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. This week's speaker is author Pete Koerner who will discuss his book, The Belief Formula.
• River City Writers meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library off Gate Parkway. Gregg Golson is the new chapter leader and can be reached at gtgolson@comcast.net.
• Amelia Island Writers meet on the third Tuesday of the month at Fernandina's Florida House Inn at 6:00 p.m. Contact Maggie deVries at maggie1948@yahoo.com for details.
• Ancient City Writers will hear from writing coach John Boles about how to turn your novel into a screenplay. They meet on Saturday, September 19 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library, 1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd. John has been a producer, director, editor and actor. Writers will break into critique groups following John's presentation.
• Ponte Vedra Writers round off the month with a special program of interest to both crime and mystery writers who want the inside scoop from a working police detective. Karen Smith is a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the training coordinator for the Crime Scene Unit. She's been with JSO for ten years and investigated over 200 homicides and more than 3,000 other crimes. If you think crimes can be solved in an hour or less (with time for commercials) then you need to hear Detective Smith. She will use her knowledge of crime scene investigation to tell us the difference between what we see on CSI and Law and Order and real-life investigation. The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library.

More News for Writers

• The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) is meeting on
  Saturday, September 19 from 1-3, at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599
  Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, Florida 32256. (904) 996-0325. Paul R. May will speak on Organizational Strategies for Novel Revision and Robyn Gioia will walk us through using Wikis. SCBWI meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Janet Walter at jgwalter@comcast.net .
• Mims Cushing will teach a writing class for writers of all persuasions at THE PLAYERS Community Senior Center in Ponte Vedra Beach. Mims describes it as "Not your eighth grade English teacher's writing class. No pressure, no grades." The class will meet on Wednesday afternoons from 12:30 to 1:30 for four weeks starting October 14. There is a minimum $10 donation which will go to the senior center. Call Mims at 285-5781 or make your reservations at 280-3233.
• Frank Green continues to set records every week with his long-running critique sessions known as The Bard Society. They meet at 7:00 p.m. at Frank's home. Contact him for details at frankgrn@comcast.net.
• The University of North Florida's Division of Continuing Education launches another season in their popular Learn Jacksonville personal enrichment programs. Among the dozens of excellent courses (including belly dancing and wine appreciation) are four writing courses of note. Sharon Cobb will teach three 1-day screenwriting courses for beginning, intermediate and advanced writers. John Boles will teach Introduction to Creative Writing, and Carol O'Dell leads a course on memoir writing. And the fourth course? That would be "Novel in a Day," with me as the headmaster. Novel in a Day is an interactive 1-day course taking writers through all the basic elements of novel writing. Held on Saturday, October 27, participants will leave with the outline for their next novel. Click on the link above for details of all the Learn Jacksonville courses.

At the Florida Heritage Writers Workshop last Friday, literary agent Lucienne Diver mentioned America's Next Best Celler Contest. Dorchester Publishing is looking for "the next New Voice in Romance." All genres of romance are welcome, and contestants must publish at least 20 chapters/6,000 words by November 1, 2009 on Textnovel. Voters will select the top ten finalists, with the winning mss receiving a $2,000 advance and publication by Dorchester.

Until the next update, keep writing, and I'll see you in the book stores.

Vic

Getting excited yet?

Yesterday we launched the 1st annual UNF Writers Conference with a day of workshops keynoted by bestselling author Steve Berry. Nearly 100 writers were in attendance for this 3-day conference jointly sponsored by FWA and UNF.

If you missed it, consider the upcoming Florida Heritage Writers Workshop, Friday, September 11 at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine. Among the offerings, south Florida Edgar Award-winning suspense author T. J. MacGregor will show you how to storyboard a novel, Florida Book Award Gold Medalist Shawn Bean provides tips on researching historical events, and literary agent Lucienne Diver talks about "Getting an Agent's Attention – the Right Way."

The cost is only $50 if you act fast because after August 14 it jumps to $65. And if you procrastinate, the price at the door is $85. Seating is limited to the first 100, so visit www.fhbookfest.com and click on the Events page to register.

Here's what happening this month at the FWA Chapter meetings:

• First Coast Christian Writers, now affiliated with FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Each meeting provides a guest speaker as well as a critique session.
• River City Writers meet Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. This month's speaker is freelance journalist and FWA member Anna Rabhan speaking on the topic, ""Freelancing: Is it for You?"
• Ancient City Writers meet Saturday, August 15 at the Main Library in downtown St. Augustine at 10:15 a.m. The chapter is offering a double-barreled program this month with Rita Malie discussing writing memoirs and Rik Feeney reporting on his trip to Book Expo America earlier this summer.
• Our neighbor to the north, Amelia Island Writers, meets on Tuesday, August 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the Florida House Inn in Fernandina Beach. Chapter leader Maggie deVries will be giving a mini-writing seminar covering dialogue and common writing mistakes. For more information, contact her at maggie1948@yahoo.com.
• As usual, the Ponte Vedra Writers close out the month with a meeting on the fourth Saturday, August 22, at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. Entertainment attorney Carolyn Herman will tell you "What You Need to Know Before You Become Rich & Famous." She'll discuss those shadowy contractual issues you definitely need to know about before you sign a contract.

More News for Writers:

• The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) is meeting on
  Saturday, August 15 from 1-3, at the Southeast Regional Library. Special
  guest speaker, Dr. Katie Monnin from the University of North Florida, will
  talk about developing a Graphic Novel. For more information, contact Janet Walter at jgwalter@comcast.net.
• Anyone interested in joining a new critique group being formed by Jennifer Swanson may contact her at jenswan1222@yahoo.com or pennyandrio@yahoo,com. Jennifer said the group will meet twice a month at either the Pablo Creek or SE Regional Libraries.
• Time to register for the 8th Annual Florida Writers Conference, Lighting the Way, if you haven't already. Dates are October 23 - 25 and will be held at the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary. Six agents, nine publishers and a host of professionals will present workshops on everything from craft techniques like point of view, to how to build buzz for your book. There are a lot of reasons to attend, Open Mic Night, the keynote speech by suspense/thriller author James O. Born, and of course, the Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet. For all the details, download the conference brochure from the FWA conference page.
• Here's another reminder about the upcoming Literary Legends Awards dinner, part of the Florida Heritage Book Festival. The event honors outstanding Florida authors Michael Connelly, Harry Crews and Michael Gannon, and will be held at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach on Thursday, August 27. Connelly, pictured at right, has been on the New York Times bestseller list with his Harry Bosch crime series as well as his stand-alone novels like Blood Work, which was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood. His latest release is The Scarecrow. Crews, an iconic novelist and former writing instructor at the University of Florida, was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame earlier this year. And Dr. Michael Gannon is known as the "dean of Florida studies," because of his acclaimed histories of Florida. Purchase your tickets online at the Florida Heritage Book Festival website.
• The Scribbler's Retreat Writers Conference is held four times a year at the Sea Palms Resort on St. Simon's Island, GA. The next one is this weekend where the theme is Science-Fiction & Fantasy. I'll be in attendance Saturday and give a workshop on scene & sequel, entitled "Let's Make a Scene."

That's it for now. I'll leave you with a statement made by Steve Berry when he keynoted yesterday's UNF Writers Conference. He said that he wrote for 12 years, receiving 85 rejections for five different novels before he sold The Amber Room. "If I can do it, then so can you."

Vic