The Newsletter of the West Texas Writers, Inc

The Newsletter of West Texas Writers, Inc. April 2008

Our next meeting…May 3, 2008

West Texas Writers, Incorporated meeting will take place Saturday, MAY 3, 2008, Lynn Hall, First Presbyterian Church, 800 West Texas, Midland, TX 79701 beginning at 2:00 p.m. We are honored to present on of our own: David Edwards. David does computer-generated art, using a stylus. Not only does David do the drawings, he also does the paintings. The colors are bright and vivid and he uses lots of animals, make believe and real - like an ole frog, unicorn, mermaid. Superheroes are a part of his life, including his latest book, "Captain Heart", a book with a moral. David is ahead of his time in his art. He states that writing and drawing are both right and left-brain activities. It is one’s state of mind that makes the determination. Many hours are spent on one picture. David does his own illustrations for his books - young adult and children's books and songs. He says he is a poet foremost - a singer, songwriter, and author. He taught art at Ector County ISD before retiring. Before that, he taught art in El Paso, TX. David sings baritone, plays guitar and harmonica, and he was in the A Cappella choir in college. He has all of his songs in his head and his heart, not finding it necessary to write down the notes. He had lead roles in Shakespearean productions at the Globe of the Southwest, Odessa, TX. He is from a family of artists. His father was a musician who played with the famous Texas musician Tex Ritter. David's brother Don is a singer/songwriter, David's son is a musician who plays several musical instruments, and David's daughter is a wonderful singer. David's characters are usually animals. He develops characters as personifications of the people in his life. His songs are, by-and-large, for the young and the young at art. One of his songs includes a verse about his father being playmates with Lynnie in Johnson City. To catch some of his music and view his books with his artwork, just stop by Cuppy's at the Loop & W. Wadley on Tuesday nights from 7-9 pm. And you'll get to meet his lovely wife Michelle too. --by Kat 4/8/2008

“CELEBRATION OF WRITERS” APRIL 5, 2008 YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!

There were cakes, cookies, and punch. Several of OUR authors brought their books to sell. The air was full of chatter and smiles. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with those all interested in writing and share their knowledge of the art.

Each Judge was kind enough to do a very nice critique or informational sheet for each entry. (That is what we enter contests for isn’t it…a little help and guidance) And at the

1 “Celebration”, they had good things to say about what they read and about the contest in general.

Speaking of Robyn…here is a little of what you missed of her presentation:

And, we each received a button. For?

The doctor was in the house! In white doctor coat and ready to help! Robyn Conley, one of our delightful judges, gave a gentle cure for what ails us, and a way to recover–

Robyn Conley, [email protected] gave us RX on Staying out of the Dungeon, Robyn Conley © 2000. From what I gleaned, it’s a nukeable society! Editors are y- o- u – n-g and want words with a punch, a stand out story. They are fast paced, they read to and from work. They are in a hurry – to? Trim for power. No clichés.

Email manuscripts. Avoid “be” verbs (to be is not to be), prepositional phrases, use dialects sparingly, no long dialogues. Be careful of overuse of “I”. Avoid empty words like looks like, feels like, he was, very, that, he’s a has been?

Prepare, prepare, prepare… Give permission to write garbage, to stop in the middle of sentence. Write a letter a day. Short sentences.

Industry standards are a must. (Exceptions are the rich and famous). Submit by guidelines if author wants to be read. Double space (even poetry) and use 12 pt. font in Courier or Times Roman, white paper, black ink. Have a hook, middle, and wrap; a beginning, middle, and end for each chapter, as well as the book. Ask for critiques prior to submissions. Be your own book doctor.

Fiction is harder to sell. Use dialogue in fiction and non-fiction. Watch for cosmetics. Set-up fantasies. For an emotional connection describe settings, characters, smells, sounds.

Network. Study editors and agents at conferences and give pitch. “Every book I have sold is from a contact.” –Robyn Conley

Persist, persist, persist… Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull was rejected eighteen times. Graciously say “thank you” when rejected, and ask, “I have another idea, would you possibly be receptive to me submitting?” Robyn Conley said there is a need for writers – check out the web - and she suggested reading: Writing on Both Sides of the Brain, Henriette A. Klauser. –Kathryn Copeland 4/6/2008

2 WE WANT TO AGAIN THANK OUR JUDGES, FOR THEIR TIME AND EXPERTICE IN HELPING, MAKE THIS OUR FIRST CONTEST SUCH A SUCCESS. AND WITHOUT OUR CONTESTANTS…THERE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A CONTEST. THANK YOU ALL!

Winners of the 2008 Writing Contest –West Texas Writers

1ST “Time to Go” By J. D. Trent from Lubbock

2ND “Blue Crystal Blues” By JoAn Martin from Baytown

3rd “Coming to Cowtown” By Linda Eichblatt from Amarillo

Honorable Mentions

“The Young Warrior” By M. Steel – Tulsa, OK

“Biscuit” By M. Edwards- Clyde, TX

“Piano Lessons” By Rodney Walther- Sugar Land, TX

“Sunday Morning Funeral” By J.D. Lee- San Angelo, TX

“The List” By Cynthia Wright –Allen, TX

‘The Medicine Man” By Hal Fanning- Odessa

“Shattered Image” By Phylis Warady- Grassland Valley, CA

“The Visit” By Al Vandergriff – Carlsbad, NM

And so many more

I only hope next time, more of our members take the leap and send in a short story…who knows what might happen?

Would you be interested in these stories put into an Anthology??? Can you help us do that??? Would you be interested in having meetings over the summer????

3 TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT

New officer elections are coming up soon. Please contact James Woods, [email protected], Kathryn Copeland – [email protected] or David Edwards for you input. Who you would like to see on the Executive Board for 2008-2009?

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Song, Poetry and Prose

TUESDAY NITES 7 - 9 pm @ CUPPY’S COFFEE West Wadley & Loop 250 MIDLAND, TEXAS

CONTACTS: [email protected] Kat 432-697-4205 – Dave 413-9048 [email protected]

SUGGESTED PROGRAMS FOR 2008-20009

A meeting of show and tell, our writers sharing their work, read some of their writing.

A contest just for our members….no fee

Children’s writing contest

A picture will be presented…and we spend half of the meeting writing a story about what we see happening in the picture and the other half sharing our writing.

Please give us some suggestions.

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS:

David Stice, Marilyn Gilbert Komechak, Murray Edwards, Karen Swenson, Travis Inman, Beth Peabody, and Joe Suffield.

4 BARNES&NOBLE BOOKSELLERS 2617 West Loop 250 North, Midland, Texas 79705 March 26, 2008 Dear Author, As part of our on going commitment to our local writing communities, Barnes &Noble, Inc. is hosting a writer's afternoon reception showcasing the work of self published and print- on demand authors. Our 10th Gathering of Writer's will be an intimate gathering of local writer's. Book signing will be the festivity of the afternoon.

Date: Sunday, May 4, 2008. Time: 2-4 PM The store address is: Barnes & Noble Booksellers 2617 West Loop 250 North Midland, Texas 79705 432.682.8880 (Debbie Pelham has contracts or contact Joyce Silverman)

Please contact me at 432.682.8880 with any questions. Looking forward to having a wonderful 10th Gathering of Writer's 2008. Sincerely yours,

Joyce Silverman Community Relations Manager  Working Writer newsletter offers solid information with a good dose of humor and a spirit of writing camaraderie. WW is filled with articles on promotion, publishing, freelancing, different genres, how-to, and how-not-to, written by readers across the country. *To receive a FREE copy (no obligation) by e-mail, send a request to [email protected]. Or check us out at www.workingwriter1.com. 

If you ever thought about attending a writer’s conference….please look into this one:

5 Frontiers in Writing Conference – 2008 http://www.panhandleprowriters.org/

Location-Fifth Season Inn, Amarillo. June 13-14, 2008. Keynote speaker-Bob Mayer-www.bobmayer.org-is an eclectic multi- published author who has presented for over five hundred organizations. He will offer workshops, including repeats, plus a three hour, pay for, advanced workshop. Robert Ray-multi-published author of The Weekend Novelist will teach workshops, including repeats, plus a three hour, pay for, advanced workshop. Deborah LeBlanc-www.deborahleblanc.com-award winning paranormal author-will teach workshops with repeats. Dan Case-AWOC.COM Publishing-www.awoc.com-has several imprints that are looking for submissions. We will acquire three more editors. Perks for 2008, including the advanced three hour workshops, will be two hour, pay for, leveled critique. sessions. We will offer beginner, mid-level, and advanced sessions. You are free to choose which level you are most comfortable with. Pre-conference will start with a Thursday session for New Attendees. This will better give you a chance to get basic conference format, learn about which speakers might fit your needs, and go over the conference brochure to make choices for Friday and Saturday sessions. Registration will be 7:30-8:30 Friday, with the banquet finishing the day from 6:00-7:40. You will be pleased to know we have listened to you and will have workshops from 8:00-12:30 on Saturday, and Awards Luncheon 12:40-2:30 on Saturday. FiW Bookstore chair is Barbara Propst. We encourage all authors who attend conference to contact her to add your books for sale. Her information will available soon. Conference will close at 3:00, Saturday, which will give you a chance to go to Palo Duro Canyon for the drama production TEXAS. They have also listened to their public and returned to the wonderful original performance criteria. Tickets can be purchased from the TEXAS office in Canyon. Specifics of contacts and needed information will be posted when we finalize the conference details.

6 Demystifying Writers’ Demons© One by One by Joan Upton Hall Wander and Wonder: • wander: 1. To move about aimlessly “It’s fun to wander around as a tourist as long as you don’t get lost.” 2. To stray from a given location or topic “Whenever you move from one place or subject to another without letting others know, don’t expect them to be able to follow you.” 3. To think, write, or speak disjointedly “If you are disorganized or illogical when writing or speaking, your audience will get lost in what point you are trying to make.” • wonder: To feel curious, confused, or amazed “Although we may wonder what jumping into a volcano feels like, few of us want to experience it to find out.” “Some wonders are so far beyond comprehension, we may only be able to wonder about them. Do demons bedevil your writing? Similar, confusing words? Grammar, punctuation, or capitalization rules? “The Demystifier” will clear up the mystery (primary reference unless otherwise noted: Garner, Bryan A. Dictionary of Modern American Usage. N.Y.: Oxford University Press). Address questions and comments to freelance editor, Joan Upton Hall at: [email protected]. More problems like the one above are demystified in the booklet, 50 Writers’ Tips. Find a few at http://www.joanuptonhall.com/books.htm. Also for “Ask the Book Doctor” issues, scroll past the book covers and click “Ask Doc” Q&A’s.

7 West Texas Writers (www.westtexaswriters.org) P. O. Box 51083 Midland, Texas 79710 Editor: Debbie Pelham Phone: 432.634-0139 Email: [email protected]

President: James Woods – [email protected] Vice Pres: David Edwards - Secretary: Kathryn Copeland [email protected]

The West Texas Writers USUALLY meet the first Saturday of each month from September-May at the First Presbyterian Church (800 West Texas, Midland, TX 79701) in Lynn Hall beginning at 2:00 p.m.