FWA St. Petersburg Writers Group

True Story! Bill Eleazer Reveals the stuff Stranger than Fiction

2011-11-29T18:55:00.001-05:00

Professor emeritus Bill Eleazer (Stetson), spoke about the lessons he learned while writing his first novel, including naming at least 3 of his characters with names beginning with the letter J. In addition to sharing his experiences, he also included tips and websites that helped him and are great resources for writers. (Email me to get a copy - I'm scanning it in and will send out when I'm done

Memoir memories

2011-11-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

Sheila and Jan went back and forth like the seasoned team they are, covering many aspects of writing a memoir, including their own personal experience. I kept waiting for them to break out into a Saturday Night Live skit with Alec Baldwin, but we couldn't get him to appear. [ Note: We didn't even try! ] The crowd of over 20 people remained spellbound and attentive as Jan shared from some letters

Facebook and Twitter and stuff

2011-09-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

Elenora Sabin, aka E. Rose Sabin, YA, Fantasy and Science Fiction author talked about social networking, e-books and small press publishing to 25 attendees at the meeting on Thursday Sep 8. It was a lively discussion where others contributed their experiences as well. Ms. Sabin was pushed, kicking and screaming, to establish her web presence and has come to see the value in it as she builds a

The Star Wars Force was with us!

2011-09-10T09:38:00.000-04:00

Matthew Stover, Star Wars author and science fiction author, talked about franchise fiction ( as opposed to fan fiction - which I had thought were one and the same ), about writing, and about his newest project: a graphic comic book series. It was very informative and interesting to hear about his work with the Star Wars label. We had someone from Sarasota come to hear him, as well as some others

July's Meeting was Personal - Blood Personal

2011-08-03T12:01:00.000-04:00

Our July 14 meeting featured local thriller writer Frank C. Strunk, author of Blood Personal (his latest) as well as several earlier works. Frank covered a lot of ground over the course of the meeting, including sharing how he used his own background as setting for his stories. (Location, location, location!) I think when you know the place you are writing about, it imparts a stronger sense of

The Passing of a Legend and Friend - July 16, 2011

2011-07-16T14:29:00.001-04:00

I was notified this morning that our generous friend Diane Marcou passed away last night in her sleep, creating a void in the local writing community that will take some time to close. At the first meeting of the FWA that I facilitated, back in September of 2008, I mentioned that I had received an ad for an upcoming workshop led by a Donald Maass, but couldn’t vouch for whether it might be

FWA Collection - Let's Talk

2011-07-02T13:16:00.000-04:00

The FWA Collection - Let's Talk, its 3rd anthology of short stories written by members, will be going to press in time for the conference in October. Writers who have submitted have been notified, from what I hear, as to whether they made the cut or not. At our July meeting we'll announce those selected from our group. I don't think we'll know who the top 10 are, as those stories are selected by

New site feature!

2011-06-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

I probably shouldn't have thrown all these posts out at once, so I'm dealing this one until Sunday. We've now added a page listing on the right column, and our first page will include author links and bios and other tidbits of information on upcoming speakers - so you don't have to search for them! I hope you enjoy this and if you have any other page ideas, please let us know (in the comments

Social Media and Webrings by Billie Noakes

2011-06-04T06:12:00.000-04:00

Billie Noakes, storyteller and writer, shared with the group on how to use social media and what take advantage of in your quest for creating an online presence. Billie focused on Facebook, the number 1 social media site, and touched on other topics as well. Her mention of networking meetings and Chamber of Commerce get-togethers reminded me of an FWA writer up in Pasco who sold her books at a

From Intention to Bookshelf - Janet Connor shares her soul

2011-06-04T06:08:00.000-04:00

Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul, spoke on the realities of hard work required to get you from an idea for a book to having it published, on March 10. An engaging speaker, Ms. Conner shared how her own journey worked and was insightful and funny as well as touching on hardships. One thing that struck a chord with me was how you can touch into an energy that can help you in your

Poetry and Lark

2011-06-04T05:18:00.000-04:00

Lark Underwood, former president of the Tampa Writers Alliance, spoke on April 14th, the night prior to the traditional tax deadline (but not this year), about all things poetic; read some of her poetry, and invited others to share theirs. The evening was fun-filled and enjoyable, and was marked by the first use of a small amplifier with microphone. This was so well-received that we decided to

Bookstores and Valiant Mystery Writers - Jan/Feb

2011-03-03T17:44:00.000-05:00

I'm condensing the previous 2 meetings into a single post so that I can catch up and not do a disservice to the presenters (by posting one and then another quickly - this way they share the same time at the top). **************************************** January 2011 In January Nancy Alloy, owner of Books at Park Place in Disston Plaza (49th St and 38th Ave, St. Pete) and previous representative

December Author Showcase

2010-12-29T16:17:00.002-05:00

I thought I was going to rest in December, but someone suggested we do an authors showcase, and the library mentioned they were thinking the same thing. Of the dates offered, the 11th was deemed the best, and so we proceeded to work toward that goal. Several people worked hard to make this happen, and I have to thank Sunny in particular for her efforts. Our lineup included Margo Hammond, Diane

Diner Meeting Enlightened by Zombie Publisher

2010-11-14T21:31:00.001-05:00

Aaron Alper, from Zombie Nation Publishing, discussed his experiences in publishing, specifically the history of the Zombie: St. Pete books and the direction his company intends to take. The meeting was held at the St. Pete Diner since the library closed in honor of Veteran's Day (Thursday, Nov 11). The Diner, a popular after meeting spot for the St. Pete FWA group, gave us most of the back room

Eugene Orlando Muses on All Things Publishing

2010-11-03T05:55:00.000-04:00

Eugene Orlando, FWA regional director for Hillsborough County and Brandon writers group leader, informed an attentive crowd on what the publishing industry looks like now at the October 14th meeting, and where it appeared headed in the future. He highlighted the amazing rise of book readers and downloads vs. paper copies and discussed his own move into the e-publishing business. In the

R.A. Riekki Drops the Glove

2010-09-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

Ron Riekki, author of U.P., spoke to an attentive audience on August 12th, challenging everyone to write more. He shared anecdotes from his writing and publishing career to-date, and pushed everyone to write more, write daily, and submit daily. Wow, what a schedule! (And I'll include a picture of him if I can only find what I did with it!) If you go to the Amazon site, you can read the first

Dale Hutchings PR Tips Enlighten Audience

2010-08-06T05:23:00.000-04:00

Dale Hutchings, PR specialist, gave audience members a simple formula for coming up with a marketing plan. Dale engaged those present in working on five basic steps needed to plan how to market yourself and your literary work. The interactive presentation focused on strengths and weaknesses in building your plan, and is an easy way to get started without feeling overwhelmed by what could appear

Billy Ashby Kicks Off Self-Publishing Series

2010-05-31T10:28:00.000-04:00

Billy Ashby, from A&A Printing in Tampa, opened our series on Self-Publishing from the printer's perspective. Billy has worked in printing for 15 years, and the company has been in business for about 40 years. He brought several samples of their work and discussed some of the differences between his company and other online options, including owning your ISBN number, and being able to see the

Open Mic night a vocal success

2010-04-12T21:25:00.000-04:00

In honor of National Poetry Month, 20 members and guests gathered on Thursday, April 8, to hear member and guest readings, and special presentations by AMP (Art, Music & Poetry open mic night every last Monday of the month) emcee Brian Duncan, from Studio620, and Aleshea Harris, from the Blue Scarf Collective, perform cell-phone and spoken word poetry. (Here's Brian reading one of his 'cell phone

Digital Storyteller Carolyn Handler Miller Captives March Audience

2010-04-09T07:19:00.000-04:00

Carolyn Handler Miller, Sunny's close and long-time friend visiting from New Mexico, held an audience of almost 30 FWA members and guests spellbound with her presentation on digital storytelling on March 11. Miller, a former Emmy-nominated screenwriter, has worked on many projects, including Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? She teaches and works in this relatively new field, and expounded

Ask Sam: What does the pin do?

2010-03-15T12:44:00.000-04:00

Today's question is about the Word 2007 Recent Documents list:What is the thumbtack for next to each document in the "Recent Documents" list? I click it but it doesn't keep my documents where I want them.In Word 2003, the recent file list under the File menu defaulted to four entries; you could set it to a maximum of nine. Every time you opened a file, Word placed it at the top of the list. When

Ask Sam: How can I get rid of manual page breaks?

2010-03-08T11:57:00.003-05:00

I had a great time attending Sleuthfest 2010, and I've written about the experience on my blog. But now I'm back to answer this week's question:Sometimes when I type fast, Word breaks the page at weird places. How do I stop that from happening?Most likely, you are accidentally pressing the Ctrl key when you hit Enter. That inserts a manual page break into the document. There's no way to stop

Ask Sam: How do I filter comments?

2010-02-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last week, I showed you how to combine comments from multiple reviewers into one file. While it is helpful to have all of those comments in one place, you don't always want to see them all at once. Fortunately, Word allows you to filter comments by reviewer.In Word 2003, you use the Reviewing Toolbar. Click the Show drop-down. In Word 2007, use the Review Tab and in the Tracking group, click Show

Ask Sam: How do I merge comments from multiple people?

2010-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I showed you how to use Word comments to annotate your manuscript, but Word comments are also useful for critique groups. If everyone in the group uses this feature to critique each manuscript, you can merge those files into one that contains the comments from everyone in your group.The easiest way to begin merging files is to save each file to the same location but with a different

FWA Members Stay Active, Pull in Awards

2010-02-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

We've got some active members out there! Brandi Winans, our speaker this month, gave a talk and book signing at the North Branch late last month. I'm including a couple of pictures here. In addition, Jackie Minniti continues to garner praise for her book, Project June Bug. She received a Silver - Special and Exceptional Needs in the Parenting category from Mom's Choice Awards. Here's Brandi with

Ask Sam: How do I add comments to Word?

2010-02-08T11:45:00.003-05:00

A friend writes:What are Word comments for? How do I use them?Word comments are very handy for making notes on the text as you write or edit. They are also useful when you exchange Word files instead of physical copies with a critique group. By default, comments appear as notes in the margin of the document on screen and when you print. The easiest way to add a comment to any Word document is to

Margo Hammond Delights a Great Crowd

2010-02-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

Margo Hammond, one half of the Book Babes and former St. Petersburg Times book editor, spoke to 31 people at our January meeting. Discussing her mom's essays, which now make up a book, Margo talked and demonstrated slice-of-life stories. She answered questions throughout the evening, not only about memoir-style writing, but also about the writing life her mother had beginning in her mid-80s and

Ask Sam: What about us Word 2003 users?

2010-02-01T16:04:00.001-05:00

Last week, I provided instructions for setting up a different first page header in a Word 2007 document. Word 2003 users wanted to know why I left them out. So for y'all, here is how you accomplish the same task in Word 2003.Open your document and select File > Page Setup. The Page Setup dialog appears.Click the Layout Tab.Check "Different first page" and click OK.Click View > Header and Footer.

Ask Sam: How do I set up a different first page header in Word 2007?

2010-01-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

Fiction writers usually need to have no header at all on the title page, but want a header including a page number starting with 1 on the second and all subsequent pages. Today I'll show you how to do just that.There are two ways to get to the Header area in Word 2007:On the Insert tab, click the Header button and select Edit Header at the bottom of the list that appearsIf the header area of the

Ask Sam: Change spacing between bullets and list text

2010-01-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

This week, I'm pleased to have my first reader question:In Word 2007, when making a bullet list, how do I increase the spacing between the bullets and the text?When you create a bullet or numbered list in Word, the bullet or number is separated from the list text by a quarter of an inch. There are several ways to change that distance. The method I've outlined below works in Word 2007 as well as

Ask Sam: Adding line numbers for easy critiquing

2010-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

When a critique group discusses a manuscript, it can be difficult for everyone to find the same passage and follow along. When someone says paragraph two, does she mean the second complete paragraph, or is she counting the widowed lines from the previous page as a paragraph? Which sentence is she talking about? You can make it easy for everyone to zero in on a specific line by having Word number

Ask Sam: Where's my mouse pointer?

2010-01-04T08:00:00.004-05:00

Ever lose your mouse pointer? It happens to me all the time. Maybe I park the pointer at the edge of the screen--or when I'm using multiple monitors, on the screen I'm not looking at. Sometimes I simply lose track of where it was when I last used it. Rather than hunt for the mouse pointer, I use one of Windows' accessibility features to locate it by pressing the Ctrl key.To turn this feature on,

Merry Christmas and Joyful Holidays 2009

2009-12-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

Greetings, members and guests, I just want to extend my hope that each of you experience the holidays in a most satisfying way, and carry throughout the year the same joy of this season. If your season is difficult, I hope you might find one corner of your world where the light shines a little brighter, and reflect that light to others. It has been a joy of mine to get to know some of you better

Donna Cutting Introduces the Sexiest Man Alive

2009-12-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

"Running makes me think of death." Yeah, let me give you a good therapist's number. "A cockroach crawled across his face, and he looked up to realize he had spent the night in a dumpster, his best sleep in months." And they didn't even leave the light on. The dark side of professional sports; what it's like to be a foster child; mapping Alaska in a wild adventure -- present books and future books

In the Chair

2009-11-21T13:21:00.000-05:00

Fellow writers! I'm blogging from Sonoma Coffee Cafe on 66th St. just north of 70th Ave. Only open about 4 months, it is much less crowded than Panera, Starbucks, etc. Free Wi-Fi, but no, I'm not doing my nanowrimo thing here. I'm working on my first novel. Just read some statistics that say only a few first novels ever get published. That won't deter me! It may be that it's just the way to get

FWA puts the Dazzle in Shimmer

2009-11-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations, group! Bev Browning, ghostwriter from Gainesville (and professional writer for 25 years), told me that our group offered greater responses to her Shimmer workshop prompt than any other she has taught. She was impressed with your capabilities! (I am, too, and honored to know so many of you.) Her unique approach to creating subtext, to building depth in our words, enlightened

We're Moving Back!

2009-10-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

Greetings! As you'll notice at the top of this page, we are moving back to the Main library for the next 6 months. Renovations have been completed and the library opens on the 9th. Our first meeting is on the 12th, featuring that bubbly, crazy, celebrity ghostwriter, Bev Browning. She's coming from Gainesville, and will present a workshop on subtext, the art of how to put things between the

Final Day!

2009-10-25T07:30:00.000-04:00

The final day is here, but hasn't yet begun. I'm exhausted, but had a great time getting to know old friends better, meet new people, create scenes here and there. Just having fun. I won't name all those who made this conference one I'll remember, that would probably be as interesting as the Oscar acceptance speech for best gaffer. There is one workshop left. I am skipping the one that started

Saturday Evening Post

2009-10-24T18:46:00.000-04:00

Oh man! What a blast this conference has been. Not only have some of the workshop presentations been very good (though way too short, but it's a conference, not a workshop!), but meeting all the people has been a blast. I think that's one of the most valuable if not the most valuable things to take away from a conference. It's about meeting people, listening to them, figuring out what the current

Night Before Conference and all through the hotel...

2009-10-22T21:48:00.001-04:00

The volunteers were getting instructions on what to do, which should make this conference the smoothest running! Preparations sound really great, and I hope it will contribute to a great experience for everyone. Note for next month! I've been in touch with Bev, who is following our blog from New York (where she is currently working), and she's excited to be presenting her Shimmer workshop here,

Margie Lawson Afternoon Impressions

2009-10-22T17:54:00.000-04:00

Margie Lawson's workshop wrapped up this afternoon, and tomorrow begins the conference. She whipped through the material like a whirling dervish, trying to cover as much as possible while still giving the attendees the understanding needed to use her tool, the EDITS system. I think there are several important things I took from this workshop. Any tool you find, if you want to see if it's for you

Margie Lawson mid-day 1st Impression - She rocks! Hits the nail on the...!

2009-10-22T13:00:00.001-04:00

Oh, that's so cliche! And she'd be the first to point it out to me. The morning of this session has been filled with great information, and in looking at the first page of my story for maybe the hundredth time, I still found it woefully weak! (Alliteration, a tool that can be used to good effect, sometimes.) She has promoted her work during this time, and I intend to take a closer look at it.

FWA Conference Blog! Margie's Day

2009-10-22T06:31:00.000-04:00

Greetings, members! I apologize for getting Molli's review up so late, right as the workshop prior to the conference begins. But, as always, I want to send out blogs while I'm here for those who can't make it. For those going to the Times Festival and/or Necronomicon, I'd love to hear about those, too. Today is Margie Lawson's workshop, which begins in a few short hours. I'll send updates, maybe

Synopses Dissected by Molli

2009-10-22T06:28:00.000-04:00

Molli Nickell dissected the synopsis for an enthusiastic crowd at the October 8th meeting, going over the requirements, showing us a method to make it easier to write them, and tearing apart, gently, our own struggling attempts at this most dreaded part of the writing process. Did we sweat? You bet! (Okay, now I'm picking up phrases from Sunny Fader!) Molli's clear directions were a big help and

Viewpoint Workshop by Diane Marcou

2009-10-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

I attended the Viewpoint workshop sponsored by PINAWOR today, led by Diane Marcou (one of our presenters earlier this year). I thought, if I'm promoting these workshops, I ought to try one out to see how they are. The workshop ran 2 hours for $10. Diane covered the topic well, and though I had heard some of this before in conversation with her, it was good to hear it in a group setting, where a

Diane Sawyer Locates Dead Bodies

2009-09-22T20:37:00.000-04:00

Mystery author Diane Sawyer (her 5th Avalon mystery will be coming out soon), presented ways to dig up stories for mysteries at the September 10th meeting. In a very entertaining and enlightening presentation Diane covered not only mysteries, but also magazine stories in several genres, including children's and romance. The multi-talented author had a quick wit, engaging style, and answered

This Year You Write Your Novel

2009-09-15T16:26:00.001-04:00

Mosley, Walter. This Year You Write Your Novel. Little, Brown Company, 2007.I have a weakness for "How to" books from my favorite authors, so I was happy to discover Walter Mosley’s This Year You Write Your Novel. This slender volume (128 pages) doesn’t break new ground in advice on the general mechanics of writing. Mosley provides generally the same advice on the elements of fiction that are

Lorin Expounds on Scenes

2009-08-26T07:01:00.004-04:00

Lorin Oberweger, Free Expressions founder, editor and award winning author, discussed scene structure with an attentive group at the August 13th meeting. Using an example opening scene, she covered the basic building blocks of a scene, including time and place, viewpoint character, and inciting incident. Her handouts included a scene synopsis card, which guides the writer in building a sound

45 Master Characters

2009-08-11T15:19:00.001-04:00

Schmidt, Victoria Lynn. 45 Master Characters. Writer’s Digest Books, 2001.The "Hero’s Journey" is a common archetype in storytelling. Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces remains popular with fiction and screenwriters sixty years after its first publication, and classes and books on using the hero’s journey in fiction abound. Most of the time, treatment of the hero’s

Vicki Taylor talks dialogue

2009-08-02T09:15:00.002-04:00

Vicki Taylor, one of FWA's founding members, presented a workshop on dialogue on July 9. (My deepest apologies for reviewing this so late! I will add a picture later.) Reading from several of her works, she demonstrated the use of dialogue in moving a story forward and adding tension. At the end of her presentation everyone was asked to write a piece of dialogue, and many shared what they had

Anhinga: It's a Wrap!

2009-08-01T22:28:00.002-04:00

Wow, what an exciting final day! I spent 2 sessions with Victor Bockris, a very interesting character. His first session dealt with minimalist poetry, and I don't think anyone was successful in generating a poem he thought met the criteria. His later session involved human speech, and he recorded and played back our readings, which is something I'd recommend to everyone, to see how your work

Anhinga: The Third Day

2009-07-31T21:25:00.003-04:00

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! I can't tell you how many times I heard that remark during this workshop/conference. Anne Hawkins, (left) a literary agent, gave some excellent advice on finding an agent, querying an agent, and working with an agent. I'll be updating our web blog with more sections for publishing based on what I heard from Mary Anna Evans and Anne, and several others.Peter Meinke is a gem! Our

Anhinga: The Second Day

2009-07-30T23:20:00.002-04:00

Great second day to the workshop. Listened to Rick Campbell, who heads up Anhinga Press, which publishes poetry, analyze some poems. He shied away from having us write anything, which disappointed me. But I learned a lot from what he showed us in his analysis (of his and others' poetry). Plus his sense of humor was fantastic.I then attended Roxanne St. Claire's class on plotting and pacing. That

Anhinga: The First Day

2009-07-29T22:35:00.007-04:00

Okay, here's an example of a new gadget I'm using that I hope will improve my 'saves' of workshop and conference information. It's called a digital notepad, and I can show it at the next meeting if anyone is interested. (Though not to interfere with the presenter.) I write the notes down and they are saved electronically, and I then upload them to my computer. Here's my first page from today, to

Blogging from Anhinga Workshop - before the start

2009-07-29T11:40:00.003-04:00

Hi all!I'm going to blog from the Anhinga Writers Workshop this week, and hope you will follow along and ask any questions if you want me to find out more. Registration begins in about an hour and a half, but I've already met the 3 ladies who are running it, Bev Browning, (who visited us in May), Mary Anna Evans, and Diana Tonnessen. As I find at all these things, everyone is very nice and

Don't Murder Your Mystery, Don't Sabotage Your Submission

2009-07-13T21:09:00.003-04:00

Roerden, Chris. Don’t Murder Your Mystery. Bella Rosa Books, 2006. Don’t Sabotage Your Submission. Bella Rosa Books, 2008.This month, I look at two editions of the same book. Don’t Murder Your Mystery won the Agatha Award for best nonfiction book of 2006 and has been a finalist for the Macavity Award, the Anthony Award, and, under its new title, Don't Sabotage Your Submission was a finalist for

Author Kathy Nappier talks Internet Publishing

2009-06-16T19:13:00.007-04:00

Last week, as you may know, our leader John Rehg was not present at the beginning of the meeting. He was at his daughter’s wedding rehearsal, so I was delegated to lead the meeting. He did manage to come in at the end of the meeting. Just in time to take a few pictures for us. Thanks John! I became a member in January and quickly recognized I wanted to be a part of this group. I asked John to

Tampa Writers Alliance 2009 Writing Contest Open

2009-06-15T18:31:00.002-04:00

The Tampa Writers Alliance annual writing contest is now open (as of June 1) and closes on Oct 1. This is a great opportunity for any writer with unpublished work, as they award cash prizes! I've included a link on the right under Contests and Submissions.I met Paul DuBose, their treasurer, at the April picnic in Largo, and he attended our June general meeting. Another one of the 3 major areas of

Lessons for Success

2009-06-08T08:16:00.001-04:00

Morrell, David. The Successful Novelist. Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008A high-priority project at work leached time and energy from the rest of my life beginning in February. That included writing, which is why I haven’t posted a review in months. The project is over now, the product has been released, and the forecast for the rest of the year calls for less of that kind of madness. My goal for the rest

James O'Neal Book Signing

2009-06-06T08:21:00.004-04:00

Hi all!Just a quick review of James O'Neal's book signing at Haslam's on Thursday. I went for two reasons. One, I was on vacation for my daughter's high school graduation, and she took an afternoon nap because she was exhausted from the excitement and early ceremony! So I had a window of time. Second, the author is more commonly known as James O. Born, mystery writer and one of the keynote

Rick Wilber Elucidates Mystery Techniques

2009-05-17T16:03:00.007-04:00

Dr. Rick Wilber, USF mass communications professor and author of several novels and numerous short stories, enlightened an audience of 28 at our new location on May 14, despite a passing, raucous thunderstorm. Rick covered topics that included building characters and being aware of the layers of meaning in text and subtext--the Iceberg principle where most meaning is hidden below the surface.Dr.

In 30 seconds

2009-05-12T10:18:00.004-04:00

When you think about writing, do you smile from the inside out? Well, I do. As writers, I am sure the question gets a yes answer from you too.However, do you have times when you think about writing and even though the idea makes you very happy, as soon as the thought enters your mind, a flood of "reasons" why you shouldn't enters too?Think about why these reasons are coming up because in less

Diane Marcou Addresses Largest Crowd

2009-04-15T10:00:00.004-04:00