Writers Write

As a world champion procrastinator, I had to keep reminding myself that writers are people who write, not people who like to think of themselves as writers. When I first began writing, I actually made myself a sign reading, Writers Are People Who Write, and taped it above my desk to remind me to keep writing. Attending writer's meetings is a good way to stay engaged and motivated, which is why FWA brings you another month of outstanding programs.

• River City Writers meets Tuesday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Regional Library. Contact Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net, for more information.
• Amelia Island Writers meets at Books Plus on Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. Group Leader and store proprietor Maggie de Vries welcomes author Deborah Cottle, Success Simplified, on Tuesday, February 15 at 6:15 p.m.
• Clay County Writers convene at the Fleming Island Library on Wednesday, February 16 at 6:15 p.m. to hear from Jan and Hank Racer. The husband and wife author/illustrator team of Marky the Barking Bullfrog, will provide the steps necessary to getting published. They'll discuss how to take your book from manuscript to publication and decide between the various publishing options. Hank is also the author of the YA novels, The River Rats (which took 1st place in the RPLA's) and The River Rats: Riddle Me a Mystery. Contact Maureen Jung, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com, for meeting details.
• St. Augustine's Ancient City Writers will not meet this month as their venue will be co-opted by the tax preparers. Their next meeting is set for Saturday, March 19 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. Guest speaker, Vic DiGenti, presents a workshop titled, "Battle Plans for Attacking the Revision Process."
• Elizabeth Sinclair is an outstanding and multi-published romance author. She's also an excellent speaker, and at this month's Ponte Vedra Writers meeting, Saturday, February 26 at 10:30 a.m., she'll talk about some of the key building blocks of a novel's structure, "GMC — Goal, Motivation, Conflict." GMC will give strong, believable support to your plot and characters while sustaining your narrative through multiple plot twists. Her first romance reached #2 on the Walden Bestseller List, and Elizabeth has gone on to write 17 more with a variety of publishers including Harlequin, Kensington and Medallion Press.

• First Coast Christian Writers, an affiliate of FWA, has moved its meeting space to the Webb-Wesconnett Regional Library on Chaffee Road, but still meeting each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. Contact Tracy Redman, tls172@yahoo.com, for more information.

Also of Interest for NE Florida Writers:

• Florida Sisters in Crime meet Saturday, February 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. Nancy Quatrano, one of the leaders of the Ancient City Writers FWA chapter, has been published in short fiction since 1999. Several of her short stories have won awards, including placing in the 75th Annual Writers Digest Competition. Contact Pam Wells, wellspmw@aol.com, with any questions.
• The official submission guidelines are up for FWA Collection #3 – Let's Talk. All kinds of stories are eligible, as long as it's all dialogue. Kinda tricky, but should be fun. Entries will be accepted through May 15, and, of course, you must be a member to submit.
• You may still be able to get a spot in the Next Level Craft Intensive workshop presented by award-winning author Joyce Sweeney and Woodstream Writers director, Jamie Morris. Over three days, February 4 - 6, The Next Level: Scene & Structure, will cover POV, writing scenes, strategies for backstory, and creating suspense. Contact Jamie at jamie@woodstreamwriters.com, 407-644-5163, or Joyce at grackle@bellsouth.com.
• Amelia Island Book Festival presents a day of writers workshops on Friday, February 18 at the Betty Cook Nassau County Campus of Florida State College/Jacksonville. Cost of the workshop is $85 and includes lunch with keynoter, New York Times bestselling author Susan Vreeland. Saturday's sessions at St. Peter's Episcopal Church campus are free. Click on the link for details.
• For those of you not attending the Book Festival on Saturday, you have the option of attending the monthly meeting of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) at 1:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Regional Library. Janet Walter has details, jgwalter@comcast.net.
• Another February 19 option is the Novel In A Day workshop presented by award-winning author Vic DiGenti. The full-day workshop covers all the essential elements of the novel, including plot, characterization, scene and sequel, POV, setting and dialogue. Information and registration details may be found on the University of North Florida's Learn Jacksonville website.
• Steve Berry's Craft of Writing Workshop is beginning to fill up. Planned for Saturday, March 5 at the World Golf Village's Renaissance Center Resort, the workshop benefits the Florida Heritage Book Festival. Berry will cover the Four C's of Story Structure, effective dialogue, point of view, and more. Cost for the workshop is $100. More information may be found here.
• The First Coast Romance Writers meet on Saturday, February 12 at 10:30 a.m. at the West Regional Library, 1425 Chaffee Road, to hear from Lani Diane Rich and Lucy March on "Structure in Storytelling." And their Annual Southern Lights Writers Conference is set for March 12 at the Jacksonville Marriott. Details on the meeting and conference are on the website.
• Lonely crime writers don't have to spend Valentine's Day alone. Come to the Ponte Vedra Library at 6:30 on February 14 to hear Florida Book Award winner Michael Lister. Lister, a former prison chaplain who wrote a series of acclaimed mysteries featuring a cop turned prison chaplain, will talk about his love of writing and his love for the wilds of Florida's panhandle region where he lives.

That's more than enough to keep you motivated this month. I'll leave you with a word of wisdom from the pen of Jack London, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

2011 Resolutions

What are your writing New Year's Resolutions? To finish your book? To write more, procrastinate less? To get better at your craft? Whatever they are, staying involved with other writers and attending more FWA meetings can help you stay on course to achieve your goals. FWA brings together writers seeking common goals and motivates them with monthly chapter meetings offering speakers who will help you move from novice writer to published author.

Here's what's scheduled for January:

• River City Writers next meets on Tuesday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Branch Library off Gate Parkway. Gregg Golson has the details, gtgolson@comcast.net.
• Barnes & Noble offers opportunities for authors to be published using their digital book system. Learn about it at the Ancient City Writers meeting on Saturday, January 15 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. Brad West, an assistant manager for the St. Augustine B&N store, will fill us in on all things electronic.
• Maggie deVries leads the Amelia Island Writers chapter, meeting on Tuesday, January 18 at 6:00 p.m. at Maggie's book store, Books Plus on Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. Call Maggie at 321-6180 for more information.
• Clay County Writers get you ready to write your memoir at their January 19 meeting at 6:15 p.m. at the Fleming Island Library. Lillian Kiernan Brown, author of Banned in Boston: Memoirs of A Stripper, presents "Creating Memoirs from Your Memories," and shows you how to get started recording your own personal history. Brown's memoir chronicled her days as a burlesque dancer, a brief career she started when she was only fourteen years old. Contact Maureen Jung at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com for details.
• After a holiday hiatus, I'm reconvening the Ponte Vedra Writers chapter for a Saturday, January 22nd meeting at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. Flagler College Creative Writing Professor Jim Wilson promises an entertaining and interactive morning with his presentation, "Hanging About Under Trees in Thunderstorms." He explains the title with a quote from playwright Tom Stoppard. "I know there are writers who are not going to live long enough to do justice to all the ideas they have, but to me it's like being struck by lightning—and I feel just as powerless to make it happen—even, as it were, by hanging about under trees in a thunderstorm." Dr. Wilson will discuss techniques for fiction writing that will help alleviate the frustration of not having ideas, or of having too many ideas. Bring along pen and paper.
• The First Coast Christian Writers chapter, an affiliate of FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Contact Tracy Redman for more information, tls172@yahoo.com.

And in other news:

• New York Times best selling author Steve Berry will teach a day-long seminar on the craft of writing as a benefit for the Florida Heritage Book Festival. The workshop, which includes lunch, is scheduled for Saturday, March 5 at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village. Morning sessions include the Fours C's of Story Structure, effective dialogue, point of view, and Steve's 10 Rules of Writing. Following the luncheon, where Steve will entertain with stories of his 85 rejections before being published, he'll talk about the business of writing and answer questions. Early Bird registration through January 31 is $80, $100 through March 1, and $110 at the door. If you'd like to sit at Steve's table during lunch, you have to ante up $125. Visit the website to register.
• And if you can't wait until March to see and hear Steve Berry, he will appear at the Ponte Vedra Library this Monday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Friends of the Library program, Book Talk Cafe. Steve will discuss, sign and sell his newest international thriller, The Emperor's Tomb. The program is free and open to the public with light refreshments offered.
• FWA is offering a timely and comprehensive 4-hour E-Book Seminar with bestselling author James Swain. Swain is the author of 14 bestselling mysteries, and recently released four original novels as e-books on Amazon.com. The books are all listed as Kindle's Bestsellers, and Swain has used this experience to craft a workshop detailing the nuts and bolts of e-book publishing. He'll explain this rapidly growing market and talk about the basics like formatting, cover images, pricing and marketing. And if that's not enough, you'll receive Blueprint for Success, a 48-page notebook giving step-by-step instructions on how to be part of this publishing revolution. The workshop is set for Saturday, January 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 11802 N. Dale Mabry in Tampa. Click here to see more information on Swain's workshop as well as to register.
• This year's Flagler College Writers-in-Residence series gets off to a roaring start this month with a visit from master storyteller, Pat Conroy. Aside from working with the English and creative writing students, Conroy will speak at 7:00 p.m. at the Flagler College Auditorium on January 11. Other authors in the series include John Dufresne, Stetson Kennedy, Masha Hamilton, and Connie May Fowler. Each of the public talks is free, but tickets are available on a first-come basis. Visit the website for more information.
• Florida Sisters in Crime meets Saturday, January 8 at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Branch Library. Glynn Marsh Alam, author of the Luanne Fogarty mystery series is the featured speaker. Contact Pam Wells, wellspmw@aol.com, with any questions.
• Howard Denson reports that the North Florida Writers has a new home. They will meet at the Willowbranch Library in Riverside starting Saturday, January 8 at 2:00 p.m. and will hear from Steve Piscitelli, a Florida State College professor and author of 8 books. Write Howard at hdenson@fscj.edu.
• Author Marianne LaCroix gives a workshop on "Creating Your Online Presence," at the January 22nd meeting of Ancient City Romance Writers. They meet at 12:30 p.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library.
• Maybe it's a romance thing, but the First Coast Romance Writers, meeting Saturday, January 8 at 10:30 a.m. at the West Regional Library on Chafee Road, addresses a similar topic, "Building Your Online Platform with Websites, Blogs and Social Media."

And don't forget:

• Amelia Island Book Festival, February 18 & 19
• Sleuthfest, March 3 - 6
• Savannah Book Festival, February 18 - 20

That's more than enough to digest as we plunge into 2011.

All the best in the New Year,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

Regional Director

Florida Writers Association

Holiday Happenings

Even though December is crammed with social activities, holiday shopping and family visits, there are still FWA meetings planned and upcoming events for writers. Let's take a quick look at some of them.

FWA MEETINGS IN DECEMBER:

• As usual, the First Coast Christian Writers meet each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Contact Tracy Redman at tls172@yahoo.com for details.
• River City Writers meet Tuesday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Library. It's rumored that Jennifer Swanson is the speaker. Group leader Gregg Golson has the details, gtgolson@comcast.net.
• Clay County Writers Group leader Maureen Jung is the presenter for this month's meeting, Wednesday, December 15 at 6:15 p.m. at the Fleming Island Library. Maureen's topic is "The Reader Profile: Who Reads, How They Read, and What it Means for Writers." Sounds like a good one. Email Maureen at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com.
• Amelia Island Writers will not be meeting this month.
• Award-winning author Elizabeth Sinclair will present her "First Chapters" workshop at this month's meeting of Ancient City Writers, Saturday, December 18 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. Elizabeth is the author of 20 romance, romantic suspense,and paranormal romances, including Baptism By Fire, which won the 2007 National Reader Choice Award for best Romantic Suspense novel. In the workshop you'll learn about inciting incidents, how to hook the reader, and whether your story needs a prologue, among others things.
• And because the Ponte Vedra Writers regular meeting date falls on Christmas Day, we'll take another vacation and urge area writers to attend one of the other group meetings. But the Ponte Vedra Writers return in January with a special program TBA.

LOOK FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Award-winning author Joyce Sweeney, and Woodstream Writers director, Jamie Morris, present an intensive 3-day workshop titled, "The Next Level: Creating Scene & Building Structure," February 4 - 6. The workshop will be held in the St. Augustine home of Linda Eadie, and includes snacks and dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. For details, contact Jamie at 407-644-5163, or email her at jamie@woodstreamwriters.com.
• The Amelia Island Book Festival is planned for February 18 & 19 at various locations on the island. The Friday workshops will again be held at the Betty P. Cook Nassau Center of Florida State College. Workshop leaders include Bob Morris, Laura Castoro, Daniel Schafer, Laura Hope-Gill, Vic DiGenti, and more. A special fundraising author's reception will be held that evening at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation featuring food, jazz, and a keynote by New York Times bestselling author, Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Call 904-652-1665 for information on the reception. Saturday's free signings and workshops return to the campus of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. The Author's Luncheon is on Saturday with keynote talk by bestselling author, Rick Bragg.
• The Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America knows how to throw a great conference. If you haven't been to Sleuthfest, then check out the website for all the details of the 2011 conference, March 3 - 6 in Deerfield Beach, FL. Guests of honor are Dennis Lehane, Meg Gardiner and SJ Rozan. BTW, they'll have a movie night, showing Gone, Baby, Gone, with author Lehane there to talk about the book and the movie.

Until next time, best wishes for a happy holiday season.

Vic

Victor DiGenti

Regional Director

Post Conference Post

The writers of NE Florida showed why we lead the state in so many ways at the Royal Palm Literary Awards banquet last month. We came home with a total of 21 awards, including the Book of the Year/Unpublished. If you missed the FWA Conference, you missed a good one. A total of 420 writers from several states registered for the workshops, at least 100 more than last year, and/or the banquet during the long weekend of craft workshops, agent and publisher pitch sessions, and numerous networking opportunities.

Jacksonville author Heather Nickodem took first place in the Romance Novel/Unpublished category with her manuscript, Red Sky At Night. She then went on to grab Book of the Year honors after accumulating the most points from the judges. This is the second year in a row that a NE Florida writer has captured this honor.

Pictured above are some of the NE Florida winners on hand at the banquet to pick-up their awards. From left to right: Susan Brandenburg, Vic DiGenti, David Lafayette, Hank Racer and Michael King. In front are Karen Harvey and Nancy Quatrano.

Congratulations to all the winners from NE Florida:

Humor / Satire [Fiction] (Unpublished)

FIRST PLACE

Vampire ... Control ... White House by David P. Lafayette – St. Augustine

Inspirational Romance (Unpublished)

FIRST PLACE

Breathless by Kathryn J. Bain – Jacksonville

Elementary / Middle-Grade Fiction (Published)

SECOND PLACE

The River Rats—Riddle Me a Mystery by Hank Racer – Orange Park

Short Story (Published)

SECOND PLACE

The Day Hemingway Died by Victor DiGenti – Ponte Vedra Beach

Short Story (Unpublished)

SECOND PLACE

Blind Faith by Marie Vernon – St. Augustine

Humor / Satire (Published)

FIRST PLACE

Motherhood Is Easy ... As Long as You Have Nothing Else to do for the Next 50 Years by Rebekah Hunter Scott – St. Augustine

Essay (Published)

FIRST PLACE

The Silver Lining by Mary W. Bridgman – Jacksonville

Mystery (Unpublished)

FIRST PLACE

Murder in Black and White by N.L. Quatrano – St. Augustine

Romance (Unpublished)

FIRST PLACE

Red Sky at Night by Heather Nickodem – Jacksonville

Flash Fiction (Unpublished)

HONORABLE MENTION

To Go by June Lands – Ponte Vedra Beach

Biography (Published)

FIRST PLACE

Sharecropper’s Son—the Story of Doc Garland Granger by Susan D. Brandenburg & Doc Garland Granger – Ponte Vedra Beach

Educational / Informational (Unpublished)

SECOND PLACE

Loose Change, Simple Ideas That Can Support Your Family by Michael Lee, PhD ­­Jacksonville

History (Published)

FIRST PLACE

St. Augustine Enters the Twenty-First Century by Karen G. Harvey & contributors – St. Augustine

Essay (Unpublished)

SECOND PLACE

Unprincipled Antipathy by Muriel McKinlay – St. Augustine

Children’s Picture Books (Unpublished)

SECOND PLACE

PARIS ABCs: A Photographic Sampler by Margo L. Hill – Atlantic Beach

HONORABLE MENTION

Abigail and the Vanishing Clothes by Margo L. Hill – Atlantic Beach

Short Story (Unpublished)

HONORABLE MENTION

Fast Time, Slow Time by Luke Francis Georgette – Ponte Vedra Beach

Creative Nonfiction (Unpublished)

FIRST PLACE

I Used to Believe by Olivia Bissell – Ponte Vedra Beach

Women’s Fiction (Unpublished)

SECOND PLACE (3-WAY TIE)

Once by Melissa Kosciuszko – Fleming Island

Young Adult (Published)

SECOND PLACE

Bad Lattitude—A Jack Rackham Adventure by David Ebright – St. Augustine

BOOK OF THE YEAR/UNPUBLISHED

Red Sky at Night by Heather Nickodem (Romance)

Additionally, Michael Ray King, who recently moved from St. Augustine's Ancient City Writers chapter to help form the new Palm Coast writer's group, won First Place in the Short Story/Unpublished, plus a First and Second Place in the Poetry category.

All in all, a great way to cap off an excellent conference.

Here's what's happening at November's FWA chapter meetings:

• The First Coast Christian Writers meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Contact Tracy Redman at tls172@yahoo.com for details.
• River City Writers will meet on Tuesday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Library off Gate Parkway on Deerwood Park Blvd. Group leader Gregg Golson reports that cookbook writer Belinda Hulin is this month's speaker. Belinda is the former food editor for The Florida Times-Union and knows her business. if you want to learn how to make a living writing about food, want to publish a cookbook, or just like to eat, then don't miss this meeting. Gregg can be reached at gtgolson@comcast.net.
• The Amelia Island Writers meet on the third Tuesday of the month, November 16, at 6:00 p.m. at Books Plus on Centre Street. Maggie deVries is store proprietor and group leader. Contact her at 321-6180.
• The Clay County Writers return to their home base at the Fleming Island Library for the Wednesday, November 17 meeting, which starts at 6:15 p.m. FWA member and author Jack Owen will speak on the future of "dead tree" books and the implications of the digital age on publishing. Email group leader Maureen Jung at mjung@wordspringconsulting.com with any questions.
• Due to the Thanksgiving holidays, there will be no meeting of the Ponte Vedra Writers this month, but you can double down as the Ponte Vedra and Ancient City Writers chapters combine for a special meeting on Saturday, November 20 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. The program is a panel discussion on "Publishing in 2010." If you're curious about the various publishing options available today—and there are many—you'll hear from publishers and authors about the changes in the publishing industry. Appearing on the panel are publishers Mike King and Bill Reynolds, fantasy author Tim Robinson, who published through Xlibris, Brad West of Barnes & Noble's new publishing technology to discuss ebook formats, and author Jack Owen will compare the print version of his book, Palm Beach Scandals to today's electronic versions. Vic DiGenti moderates and will talk about small independent presses like Ocean Publishing, which published his Windrusher series.

In other news

• The 6th Annual Other Words: A Conference of Literary Magazines, Independent Publishers, and Writers will be held at Flagler College this weekend, November 4 - 6. Click here for more information.
• The Florida Sisters in Crime chapter will hear from the Emergency 9-1-1 coordinator at their meeting on Saturday, November 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. Contact Kathy Bain, kathrynbain@comcast.net, for more information.
• Poet Annie Finch will appear at Jacksonville Main Library, 303 N. Laura Street, on Tuesday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m. Finch is the author of 15 books of poetry, translation and criticism, and the winner of the 2009 Robert Fitzgerald Award.
• North Florida Writers will meet at the Historic Grounds Bookstore, 420 Walnut Street in Green Cove Springs on Saturday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m. for a critique session.
• First Coast Romance Writers meet Saturday, November 13 at the West Regional Library on Chaffee Road. Award-winnning author Linnea Sinclair will present a pair of workshops, "Writing the Deep Third Person POV" at 10:30 a.m., and "Pissing Off Editors: Or How Not to Get Published," at 1:00 p.m.
• The Scribblers Retreat Writers' Conference, November 11-13, features Diana Gabaldon, Adam Davies, Karen White and more. Visit the website for details.
• If you missed my Novel in a Day full day workshop at the FWA Conference, you can register for the next one on Saturday, December 4 at the University of North Florida. There are also a number of other classes in creative writing and screenwriting. Visit the UNF Continuing Education Learn Jacksonville site for class schedules and registration details.
• Click here to view hundreds of photos from the FWA Conference taken by FWA's "Official Photographer" Karen Lieb.
• And speaking of FWA, did you know you could purchase ads on the FWA Network at very reasonable prices—only $40 for FWA members for six month and $60 for non-members. And if you're not signed on as a member of the FWA Network you should be. Scroll down and click on the Ad Rate bar along the right side for more details. This is a good way to get out information about your new book or event.

That's it until next month. Keep your hopes up for good things to happen and they will.

Best,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

Conference Notes & Morel

Time is growing short to register for the 7th Annual Florida Writers Conference — October 22 - 24 at the Orlando Marriott - Lake Mary. Aside from the many workshops, pitch sessions and the RPLA Banquet, don't forget about the Foundation Fundraiser Day with five excellent full-day workshops to choose from, including my Novel In A Day workshop. There's still time to register for both the Foundation Fundraiser Day on Thursday, October 21, and the full conference. The above link will take you to the FWA home page. Scroll down from there to find links to the conference and the Fundraiser Day.

This is a good way to find out if your manuscript is ready for prime time by pitching one of the many agents or acquisition editors available at the conference. You'll find the full list online, but here are a few of the many agents and editors to choose from:

Janell W. Agyeman Marie Brown Associates Literary Services – Adult Nonfiction, Health and Wellness, African American, Latino or African Diaspora History, Cultural Topics, Family and Child Development, Memoirs, Biography, Young Adult Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction (no vampires), Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Series Titles

Robert Brown Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency – Cozies, Contemporary and Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense, New Adult Fiction

Amy Burkhardt Kimberly Cameron & Associates – Fiction, Nonfiction, Women’s Fiction, Mysteries, Historical Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Memoirs, Lifestyle, Humor, Food, Current Events, Human Nature

Mary Kole Andrea Brown Literary Agency – Young Adult, Middle Grade, Picture Books (No High Fantasy, Sci Fi, Thrillers, or Horror)

Sharene Martin Brown Wylie Merrick Literary Agency – Woman’s, Erotica, Romance, GLBT

Rebecca Melvin Double Edge Press – Christian Themes, Fiction, Nonfiction

Kirsten Neuhaus Kirsten Neuhaus Literary – Narrative Nonfiction, Current Events, International Affairs, Cultural Studies, Strong Female Protagonists, Well-written Fiction

Mary Sue Seymour The Seymour Agency – Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romance Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Regency Romance, Inspirational Romance

The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition always provides an extra shot of adrenaline as we hear the winners in the various categories. Historically, there have been numerous winners from our part of the state. If you're attending the conference, let's put together a couple of NE Florida tables to cheer on our fellow writers. See you there.

FWA Chapter Meetings for October:

• The First Coast Christian Writers, an affiliate of FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Contact Tracy Redman at tls172@yahoo.com for details.
• River City Writers meets on Tuesday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library off Gate Parkway on Deerwood Park Blvd. in Jacksonville. Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net, has the details.
• Head to St. Augustine for the Saturday, October 16 meeting of Ancient City Writers, 10:15 a.m. at the city's Main Library on Ponce de Leon Blvd. Author Nancy Quatrano will lead an interactive workshop titled, "Write It Short–Write It Tight." Nancy, who is one of the coordinators for the Ancient City chapter, has published many short fiction pieces in various magazines and anthologies since 1999. She says the program is "geared to empower all writers, regardless of genre, to understand and employ the techniques of writing tight as they might apply to their work. Several notable novelists agree, they write much better novels because they learned to master the craft of writing short, first."
• The Amelia Island Writers will meet at Books Plus in Fernandina Beach on Tuesday, October 19 at 6:00 p.m. Call chapter leader Maggie deVries at 321-6180 for more information.
• This month's early voting takes place in many of the branch libraries, affecting the meeting space for several of our chapters. This applies to the Clay County Writers whose meeting on Wednesday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m. has been moved from the Fleming Island Library to McAlister’s Deli, 1615 County Road 220, behind O'Charley's Restaurant in Fleming Island, not far from the library. Chapter leader Maureen Jung, Maureen Jung, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com, has a special guest speaker this month. He's psychologist Matthew Barrett who will speak on, “Creative Writing for Writers and Storytellers: Brain-based strategies for story-building.” Sounds like a winning combination — a good craft talk and a hot pastrami sandwich.
• The October 23 meeting of the Ponte Vedra Writers has been cancelled since it falls on the weekend of the FWA Conference. It didn't help that the county booted us out of our meeting room for early voting, and with no deli around the corner, it seemed best to cancel. Take advantage of any of the other meetings taking place this month.

Other Meetings & Events for Area Writers:

• Author Elizabeth Sinclair will do a hands-on workshop on GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict) for the Ancient City Romance Writers, Saturday, October 23 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library. Guests are welcome. Visit the website for details.
• Deadline for the First Coast Romance Writers 2010 Unpublished Beacon Contest is this Friday, October, 8. The first 30 pages are required with an optional synopsis. Click here for all the details.
• The Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) holds its monthly meeting on Saturday, October 16 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library in Deerwood. Chapter president Janet Walter calls this one a "Meet, Greet & Critique." Bring samples of your work to read aloud. Contact Janet at jgwalter@comcast.net.
• Bestselling author Michael Connelly headlines the Alachua County Library District Foundation Author Gala on Sunday, November 7 at 5:00 p.m. at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville. If you missed seeing Connelly at last year's Literary Legends Awards banquet, here's your chance.
• Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series, is among the line-up of speakers at the Scribblers' Retreat & Writer's Conference, November 11-13 at the Oceanfront King & Prince Resort on St. Simon's Island.
• The 2011 Eckerd College Writer's Conference: Writers in Paradise, is set for January 15-23 with a faculty of bestselling authors including Dennis Lehane, Richard Russo, and Michael Koryta.
• The Tampa Writer's Alliance has issued a call for entries for it's annual Writer's Contest. This is a good way to practice for the next RPLA Competition as they are accepting entries through October 31 in 18 categories.
• Frank Green continues with the area's longest-running critique session with his weekly hosting of the Bard Society. Contact Frank at frankgrn@comcast.net.
• The University of North Florida's Continuing Education Department has a number of excellent writing courses scheduled as part of its Learn Jacksonville program. These include Advanced Memoir Writing with Thelma Young, several screenwriting courses with Sharon Y. Cobb, John Boles' Creative Writing workshops, and my newest workshop, Creative Writing: From Manuscript to Publication. For course details, click on the above link then click on View Current Courses to see the entire schedule of classes.

That's it for now. Make your plans to attend one of listed meetings, and maybe I'll see you at the FWA Writer's Conference.

All the best,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

Regional Director

Labor Day Labors

Most of us have plans for this Labor Day weekend. And most of us will head for the beach or the mountains. Wish I was joining you, but we're having company and I'll spend today cleaning house and getting the yard in order. Consequently, this post will necessarily be brief. Just the essentials.

FWA Chapter Meetings for September

• First Coast Christian Writers, an affiliate of FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church on Greenland Road. Contact Tracy Redman for details, tlsl72@yahoo.com.
• River City Writers meets on Tuesday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Branch Library off Gate Parkway and Deerwood Blvd. in Jacksonville. Gregg Golson has the meeting info, gtgolson@comcast.net
• Clay County Writers are back at their regular Fleming Island digs, meeting on Wednesday, September 15 at 6:15 p.m. Speaker Carol O'Dell will bring her branding talk to the group, presenting "Creating YOU the Brand: How to Market with Brains, Heart and Courage." If you missed Carol at last month's Ponte Vedra Writers meeting, don't miss her this time. Contact group leader Maureen Jung, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com for more details.
• Ancient City Writers meet Saturday, September 18 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. The husband and wife true crime writing team, Marie and Mac Vernon, authors of Deadly Lust and Deadly Charm, will present, "How to Research and Write for the True Crime Market."
• High Pitched Hum publisher, W. G. "Bill" Reynolds, holds forth at the Amelia Island Writers meeting on Tuesday, September 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Books Plus in Fernandina Beach. Bill's topic is "How to Get Published in Today's Market." Contact bookstore owner and group leader Maggie deVries, at 321-6180.
• And we end the month of FWA chapter meetings in beautiful downtown Ponte Vedra Beach where laid back writers will meet on Saturday, September 25 at 10:15 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. Their mission, to absorb a craft lesson about the structure of a scene. Since the scene is the essential building block of the novel, this is an important lesson, but group leader Vic DiGenti, who will give the presentation, promises a fast-paced, interactive workshop. See you there.

In other news

• The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, SCBWI, meets on September 18 at 1:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library. Middle grade English teacher Zara Hunt will discuss "Reading Levels." The group will have a critique session in the second hour, and group leader Janet Walter suggests bringing no more than 5 pages of a novel in progress to read aloud if you want to participate. Contact Janet at jgwalter@comcast.net.
• The Ancient City Romance Writers hold their 2010 Fiction Writers Boot Camp on Saturday, September 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Author Patricia Potter and agent Joyce Holland are the speakers. Visit the website to register.
• John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, will keynote the Florida Publishers Association 2010 Publishing Ed-U-Conference on October 9 at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel on Lido Beach in Sarasota. Click here for details.
• The SE Chapter of Mystery Writers of America presents Polish to Publish, October 1- 3, at Honey Creek in Waverly, GA. The conference features a keynote by SF author Jack McDevitt, and workshops by Holly McClure, Maggie Toussaint, and Charlotte Babb. Visit the website for registration details.

That's it for now. Enjoy the holiday and be sure to use sunscreen.

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

Go for the Gold!

You may have missed the UNF Writers Conference last weekend, but there's still time to register for the 9th Annual Florida Writers Conference, October 22 - 24 in Lake Mary, FL. But hurry, the registration fee increases on September 22nd. It's one of the biggest and best conferences anywhere, filled with targeted workshops designed to make you a better writer, motivate you and help you get published. Aside from the many educational sessions, you have the chance to pitch your work to agents, editors and publishers, attend the Royal Palm Literary Awards banquet, and much more. If you intend to register for the conference, I'd encourage you to also register for one of the Pre-Conference Full Day Workshops. Five comprehensive workshops are offered, including my own Novel in a Day workshop, plus others covering screenwriting, how to query and pitch an agent, and marketing and promotion. Click on the link for more information.

Here's what's happening at the six NE Florida FWA chapters during the month of August. And remember, the meetings are open to members and non-members alike, but if you find yourself returning on a regular basis, we expect you to join FWA. The benefits are many, and the price is low.

• First Coast Christian Writers, an affiliate of FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Christ's Church at 6045 Greenland Road. Contact leader Tracy Redman, tlsl72@yahoo.com for details.
• Yesterday's meeting of River City Writers was cancelled because their room at the SE Regional Library is used as a polling place for Duval County elections. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m. Email Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net for more information.
• The Amelia Island Writers meets on Tuesday, August 17 at 6:00 p.m. at Books Plus on Centre Street. Group leader Maggie de Vries, maggie1948@yahoo.com, will lead a writing workshop.
• The Clay County Writers have been chased from their Fleming Island Library home base, but will set up shop at McAlister's Deli, 1615 County Road 220, on Wednesday, August 18 at 6:30 p.m. Chapter member Joe Kerrigan, author of Greed, and leader of the chapter's fiction critique group, will speak on "The Inside Scoop on E-Publishing." Contact group leader Maureen Jung for details, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com.
• Wondering how to get your book reviewed? This month's Ancient City Writers featured speaker, Gary Roen, wears many hats, including syndicated book reviewer, literary agent and author. He'll provide insights into the review process, as well as give some tips about the mistakes writers make when trying to get published. Roen will speak on Saturday, August 21 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library.
• As usual, the Ponte Vedra Writers conclude the month of meetings with a valuable session for all writers, published or not. The group meets on Saturday,August 28 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library, and will hear from Carol O'Dell. Carol is an inspirational speaker, writing teacher and the author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous & Heartbreaking Memoir. Carol's topic is "Create Your Author Presence." We know agents and publishers are looking for more than a good book. They want authors with a platform, authors who can command a room when they speak, and know their way around social marketing skills. Carol will tell us how to build our platform, raise our professional bar and gain the attention of the publishing world.

More Writerly Happenings:

• Mark your calendar for the 3rd Annual Florida Heritage Book Festival, September 24 - 25 in historic St. Augustine. It kicks off the morning of the 24th with a series of writer's workshops at the Casa Monica Hotel. The workshops are led by a stellar cast of professionals including, Larry Baker, The Flamingo Rising, Robert Macomber, At the Edge of Honor, Karen Brown, Grace Paley Prize winner for her short story collection, Pins and Needles, and William McKeen, Outlaw Journalist, among others. Visit the website for registration details. And be sure to sign up for the Literary Legends Awards Banquet that evening at World Golf Village Renaissance Resort when the festival honors acclaimed Florida author, Carl Hiaasen. Prices increase on September 10, so register now. Saturday, September 25, will kickoff with a talk by Hiaasen, followed by a day of author talks, panel discussions and poetry workshops. All Saturday sessions are free.
• The FWA Network is a social networking site exclusively for FWA members. On the site, you'll find chat groups for the various genres, blogs, a listing of events for writers, and now, ads. If you have a service or product, including your book, you'd like to advertise to your fellow writers, this is the place to do it. Members and non-members alike are eligible to purchase ads, though non-members pay a higher fee. Visit the site and you'll find the ad information in the right column. And if you're an FWA member, but haven't signed up for the FWA Network, this is as good a time as any.
• And speaking of FWA, the organization has begun an editing service for FWA members only, charging only $29 up to 1,500 words. If you're interested or want to learn more, contact Editing Services Coordinator Kaye Coopersmith, at sunnyskyes@earthlink.net, or call 813-920-7144
• This month's meeting of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), Saturday, August 21 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Regional Library, will feature a discussion about working with agents. Contact Janet Walter, jgwalter@comcast.net, for details.
• The Scribbler's Retreat Writer's Conference, August 12 - 14, at the King & Prince Beach Resort on St. Simon's Island, features a keynote talk by none other than Steve Berry. Other speakers include Jonathan Rabb, Haywood Smith, and Vincent Coppolla.
• The Ancient City Romance Authors present Fiction Writers Boot Camp for Published and Unpublished Authors, Saturday, September 25 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Jax Airport) in Jacksonville. Visit the site for details.
• Last week, the technology site, ReadWriteWeb, had an article listing 5 reasons to read your next book on an e-reader. This week, we hear from the other side with "5 Ways That Paper Books Are Better Than eBooks."

Finally, if you ever wondered if your style of writing is similar to any famous writer's, you might want to try your hand at I Write Like. I wouldn't put too much stock in the results, though as they are highly suspect, and sometimes downright laughable. But we all need a few laughs, now and then.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer, and keep writing.

Vic

Victor DiGenti, FWA Regional Director

No Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer for Writers

Tempted to find a cool place, a cool drink, and relax with a good book? Not a bad idea during these summer days, but look what you'd be missing. FWA meetings continue unabated during the summer. The UNF Writers Conference is right around the corner. As is the Florida Heritage Book Festival, and the 9th Annual FWA Conference. And we all have some writing to do, don't we?

Still, there's always time to read a good book. In between, check out these happenings:

• First Coast Christian Writers meets each Thursday at 6:45 p..m. in room 513 of Christ's Church at 6045 Greenland Road in Jacksonville. Contact president Tracy Redman, tlsl72@yahoo.com, for more information.
• The next meeting of River City Writers is Tuesday, July 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Branch Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. in Jacksonville. Gregg Golson, gtgolson@comcast.net, who leads the group, will present a program on the use of transitions, providing examples from a wide range of classic and contemporary fiction.
• Learn about developing fully-rounded characters at the Ancient City Writers group meeting, Saturday, July 17 at 10:15 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library, 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd. Award-winning writer, producer, actor and writing coach, John Boles, tells us that it doesn't matter if you're writing fiction or non-fiction, every story is populated by characters. John will show us how to make your characters into living, breathing, and believable three-dimensional story people. BTW, longtime Ancient City Writers member and co-leader Jeff Swesky is helpingto launch a new FWA chapter in Palm Coast. The Palm Coast Writers group will begin in the next few months under the guidance of Jeff and Mike King.
• The Amelia Island Writers meet on the third Tuesday of each month, July 20, at 6:00 p.m. at Books Plus, 107 Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. Group Leader and Books Plus proprietor, Maggie de Vries, reports that this month's speaker is Arliss Ryan, author of The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare. As the author of two historical novels, The Kingsley House was her first one, Arliss has learned a lot about research. She shares her knowledge in this presentation, "How to Research and Write the Historical Novel." Besides her novels, Arliss has had her short stories published in more than 20 literary magazines. On a sad note, Maggie reports that longtime Amelia Island Writers member, Ray Madden, lost his battle with cancer recently. Our deepest sympathies go out to Ray's family on behalf of FWA.
• The Clay County Writers have a busy month with back-to-back meetings on July 21 and July 22. The group meets at the Fleming Island Library, 1895 Town Center Blvd. inOrange Park at 6:15 p.m. On Wednesday, July 21, meet the writing duo of Marie and Mac Vernon, the husband and wife authors of two true crime books, their latest being Deadly Charms. They will talk about the pros and cons of working with a collaborator. And the next night in a special Meet the Author library program, Arliss Ryan repeats her presentation on "Researching and Writing the Historical Novel." Contact group leader Maureen Jung, mjung@wordspringconsulting.com, for more information.
• As always, the final FWA chapter meeting of the month can be found at the Ponte Vedra Library onSaturday, July 24. The group meets at 10:30 a.m. and will hear from science-fiction author Chris Berman. Chris has been a SF fan his entire life, growing up on the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and many others. The SF fantasy transformed itself into a love of science and astronomy. Chris even learned how to grind his own mirrors and lenses for his telescopes. He turned that fascination into a series of SF books starting with The Hive in 2009, which he wrote while recovering from an accident. This was followed by Red Moon, and his third novel, Star Pirates, is due to be released in the fall. Chris will talk about how he used current and historical scientific fact to weave a sense of realism and excitement into his books.

More news for writers:

• Aside from registering for the Annual FWA Conference, October 22 - 24 in Lake Mary, FL, you should also sign up for one of the pre-conference full-day workshops sponsored by the Florida Writers Foundation. The Foundation is a separate non-profit corporation established by FWA to promote literacy and enhance the writing skills of both children and adults. You may select from any of five excellent workshops, including "Warrior Writer" with Bob Mayer; "From Query to Pitch" with Molli Nickell; "Screenwriting: From Idea to Big Screen" with AJ Robinson, Chantelle Osman and John Castellano; "Novel in a Day" with Vic DiGenti; and "How andWhy to Use Social Networking Tools" with Mary Ann de Stefano and Chris Hamilton. Click on the link above for complete details on the workshops and registration, which comes with two snack breaks and lunch.
• And speaking of the FWA Conference, one of the highlights each year is the Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet on Saturday night. There are a number of NE Florida writers who are finalists again this year. We try to make a point of sitting together for the banquet, so look for us at the table with the loudest cheering section. And time is running out to enter the competition. The deadline is July 26.
• The 2nd Annual UNF Writers Conference, produced in association with FWA, is filling up rapidly. The General Fiction Critique Workshops have added a fourth faculty member to accommodate the overflow. She is Sandra McDonald, who is also giving a Friday workshop titled, "7-7-7: 7 Skills, 7 Exercises, 7 Minutes. The conference runs August 6 - 8 and begins with Steve Berry's presentation, "What Every Writer Should Know," to kick off a full day of Friday workshops. Berry, pictured at left, is a mainstay on the NY Times bestseller list. Award-winning YA author Adrian Fogelin is the luncheon keynoter, and the day ends with a wine and cheese reception and author signings. And that's only the first day. On Saturday and Sunday, conferees will be part of intensive critique workshops where they will receive feedback on the first ten pages of their manuscripts. The workshops cover General Fiction with faculty members James Wilson, Sohrab Fracis, Vic DiGenti, and Sandra Mcdonald. Non Fiction, Carol O'Dell, Young Adult, Kristin Harmel, Children's Books, Frances Keiser, Memoir/Oral History, Thelma Young, and Screenwriting, John Boles. You may register for the full conference or Friday only. The full conference includes lunch each day and the opportunity to submit a pitch for the Book & Film Deal Connection, a unique way to reach agents, editors and film agents and producers. Last year's Pitch Book resulted in over 50 requests for work from the participating writers. Check out all the details by clicking on the link above, but hurry, the registration deadline is July 16.
• The Ancient City Romance Writers is now meeting at the SE Branch Library in Jacksonville, The next meeting is Saturday, July 24 at 12:30 p.m. and features author Sandra Madden speaking on, "New Paths to Publishing." Visit their website for more information.
• Sisters in Crime's Jacksonville chapter welcomes mystery writer Elaine Viets for a special workshop on Saturday August 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Elaine will be talking about "Character, Catching and Keeping an Agent."
• The Literary Legends Awards honors acclaimed Florida author Carl Hiassen, right, at a banquet set for Friday, September 24 at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village. The cost for the event is $60 per person through September 10. Late registration is $75. Proceeds from the dinner and silent auction benefit the free Florida Heritage Book Festival's full day of author talks and programs on September 25. Visit the website for details, and while you're there, check out the line-up for the Friday workshops at the Casa Monica Hotel. Select from nine outstanding workshops by noted authors like Larry Baker, Robert Macomber and Bill McKeen, lunch and signings for only $50—$65 after September 11, and $85 at the door.
• North Florida Writers meet on the second Saturday of every month at 2:00 p.m. at the Webb-Wesconett Regional Library, 103rd Street near I-295. Their July 10 and August 14 meetings will focus solely on critiques. Contact Howard Denson for details, hdenson@fscj.edu.
• SCBWI Jacksonville leader, Janet Walter, jgwalter@comcast.net, announces this month's meeting, Saturday, July 17 at 1:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library, will be a "Meet, Greet & Critique." Bring your picture book or sample pages from your MG or YA novel to share.

Until we meet face to face at a conference or FWA group meeting, I'll leave you with these words of wisdom,

"And I think what I've always recognized about writing is that I don't put much value in so-called inspiration. The value is in how many times you can redo something." ~ John Irving, National Book Award Interview, June 3, 2005

All the best,

Vic

Victor DiGenti, FWA Regional Director