A wonderful meeting in March, a peek at April

At the St. Pete FWA Meeting on March 12th, Heloise Jones spoke about traditional publishing. She helped us navigate through the steps of approaching an agent professionally and with our best foot (and manuscript) forward. Then she helped us understand what having an agent is like from her first-hand experience and the experience of others. Heloise did an excellent job, and obviously did her research. If I took anything away from that meeting, it was the fact that times are changing faster now than ever before, and it's important to keep up-to-date on the publishing world whether self-publishing or traditional publishing is the goal.

Visit Heloise's website at www.heloisejones.com.


Coming up in April, I'm very excited to announce that Tom Waters will be joining us. He was the keynote speaker at the FWA Annual Conference several years ago, and lucky for us he lives in St. Pete! His topic and BIO will be forthcoming.

February Meeting in St. Pete and Upcoming March Meeting

We had a great meeting on Feb 12th at the library. Open mic night gave several writers a chance to practice reading aloud to an audience. With the audience feedback, the writer was able to take away some good advice. We had several humorous pieces and a couple of stories that were on the more serious side. All were entertaining and nicely drafted.

March St. Pete FWA Meeting

For our upcoming meeting on March 12th, Heloise Jones will be speaking. As usual, we meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is always open to the public.

Topic: Traditional Publishing: Getting an Agent to Your Book on the Shelf

Author Heloise will offer tips as well as the basics of what you need to know about the landscape of traditional publishing, and the steps toward a published book.

BIO

Heloise Jones has walked many paths from corporate advertising account manager to clay artist to microbrewery owner, creating, connection, and a good deal of project management at the core of each. A Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize finalist and Pushcart Prize nominee, she's currently querying agents for representation of her first novel FLIGHT, and doing research while writing her second. For her, writing a novel is like living a good life: you settle into the world, get to know folks, ride with them through their ups and downs, share their angst and triumphs, and are touched in ways so something shifts inside you. For more about Heloise, check out www.heloisejones.com.

Upcoming FWA St. Pete Meeting Thurs, Feb 12th

The monthly FWA meeting will take place at the Main Branch St. Pete Library this Thurs, Feb. 12th at 6 PM. Networking begins at 5:30 PM.

This meeting is open to the public, so feel free to invite friends.

Unfortunately, the agenda for this meeting is still one of two possibilities as I've been unable to reach the speaker. If he shows up, he will be speaking on non-fiction.

If not, we will have open mic night. All are welcome to bring writing to read aloud. Active FWA members will have the opportunity to read first, but all attendees will be welcome to do readings. I anticipate an average of 10 minute readings per person with a few minutes for feedback from the audience.

In the future, there will be another open mic opportunity if the speaker shows up.

New FWA Website and The Florida Writer, Digital Edition

If you've visited the FWA website lately, you may have noticed that a major overhaul has taken place.

If you haven't checked out the site lately, visit www.floridawriters.net today and see all the wonderful updates and changes.

The many improvements to the redesigned website are thanks to Mary Ann de Stefano and Elaine Senecal.

With all the "changes," what remains the same?

All the wonderful FWA benefits remain unchanged. The new website simply helps members and those interested in finding out more about FWA get the information they need in an easy-to-use interface.

The Florida Writer Now Digital Only

In other news, The Florida Writer has gone digital! FWA members will receive a quarterly email with their copy of FWA's magazine in an easy-to-download PDF format.

Here's a picture of the cover from the latest issue, the first digital edition.

(Note: The Florida Writer subscription is a member benefit. To become an FWA member or to renew, visit https://floridawriters.net/membership/join-renew/) 

Day at the Bay Mini-Conference in Tampa on Valentine's Day

Hemingway himself has returned from the grave to tell us all we need to know about this FWA Mini-Conference. But he looks suspiciously like Chris Hamilton, Executive Vice President of FWA.

Post by Chris Coward.

Day at the Bay Mini Conference

February 14, 2015

Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore

2225 North Lois Avenue

Tampa, FL 33607

FWA Member: $79/Non-Member: $99

Continental Breakfast, Snacks, & Lunch included in cost

Writing tracks include writing about romance as well as writing about fighting...two elements that need to be in YOUR writing!

For more information and to sign-up, click HERE.

New St. Pete Leader Bria Burton

Hi, my name is Bria and I'm the new Writers Group Leader for FWA St. Pete.

A huge thank you to Michael Nashleanas for stepping up into the WGL position for these past months. If you'd like to join me in thanking Michael, feel free to add your comments below.

Here's a little bit about myself:

Bria Burton has been a member of FWA since 2008. She's a blogger and customer service manager at St. Pete Running Company. She is blessed with a wonderful husband and two wild pets, a dog and a cat who keep her on her toes. They are the stars of her family-friendly short story collection, Lance & Ringo Tails. Her novella, Little Angel Helper, was written for her sisters, one of whom has special needs like a character in the story. She also writes speculative fiction and inspirational women's fiction. In 2011, she was awarded a First Place RPLA for her epic fantasy manuscript, Livinity. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Welcome to the Future and speculative fiction magazines such as The Colored Lens.

The monthly meetings (open to the public) will continue to be held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the St. Pete Main Branch Library. Networking/mingling starts at 5:30 PM and the meeting begins at 6 PM, typically ending no later than 7:30 PM.

I look forward to seeing you at the meetings!

FWA St. Pete Jan. 8th Meeting

Join us tomorrow at the Main Branch of the St. Pete Library for our monthly FWA St. Pete meeting. Networking begins at 5:30 PM, meeting begins at 6 PM.

Seth Hollen will be discussion and sharing technology aides for writers.

Seth is nearly a Florida native (lived here since he was 2) and spent four years in the Marines after high school. He's been a sleep tech for 16 years. He and his wife have three wonderful children all under the age of 5. He's finishing up a Sci-Fi Thriller tentatively called Dolan's War.

Writers In Paradise at Eckerd College

Applications for the 11th Annual Eckerd College Writers' Conference: Writers in Paradise are currently being accepted until December 17th. Feel free to spread the word.

Here is a link to the press release, soon to appear in the Tampa Bay Times: http://www.eckerd.edu/news/index.php?f=detail&id=3561

FWA St. Pete Meeting Dec 11th

Tomorrow's meeting will be held at the main branch of the St. Pete Library at 6 PM. The topic will be what we can learn from children's songs that will help our writing. Networking begins at 5:30.

October and November Meetings

The blog is up and running!

We apologize for the long delay in blog posts and updates. The St. Pete FWA group continues to meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the St. Pete Library Main Branch at 6pm. All are welcome!

At the October meeting, Samantha from Gone Global Media presented the many aspects of social media that writers have the privilege, or the burden, of utilizing. From Twitter to Facebook to Pinterest, she provided insight and methods for writers who may want to use these tools for promotion, marketing, or simply for writing purposes.

At the November meeting, Rob McCabe presented on screenwriting and playwriting. His informative session provided tools for writers who are looking to write a play or script, and/or adapt a novel or short story to a screenplay.

The next meeting is December 11th. Stay tuned for more information.

St Petersburg FWA July meeting

The St Petersburg chapter of FWA will be meeting this Thursday (July 11) starting at 5:30 pm. Larry Kokko will again teach a class, this time the topics will be using micro soft Word. This powerful word processor has several tools to help a writer produce a mostly error free story.

Next he will touch on social media and the writer. He will cover blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and author webpages.

So come out and join us at 5:30 at the St Petersburg Main Library located at 3745 9th Ave N in St Petersburg.

June meeting

Our next meeting will be on June 13th at the St Petersburg Main Library. We start gathering at 5:30 with a short time for socializing before the meeting.

June's speaker will be (drum roll please) me. I will be holding a class on how to perform a proper critique; what to look for and how to effectively get your suggestions across.

This will be an overview with some diving into more detailed items; a full class would take much more time than what we have available.

Due to my costs for preparing the handbook, I'm asking feedback on who is planning on attending, this is so I have enough material for everyone.

Due to time constraints, we will probably not have time to critique anyone's work during the meeting, but arrangements might be arranged to offer that at a later date.

I hope to see you all there. 

Group Leader and critique group coordinator openings

The St Petersburg Group Leader position is still open for anyone wishing to step up. In addition, we are considering adding an additional critique group, if enough people are interested. Anyone desiring to take on one of these rewarding positions, group leader or critique group coordinator, let me know.

Larry Kokko
FWA Hillsborough and Pinellas Regional Director
Acting St Petersburg Group Leader

lkokko7381@yahoo.com
(813) 541-9317

Christmas Thank You!

It is with great joy that I offer thanks to all of our members, past and present, our guests, our speakers, our wanderers-in, for these past four and one-third years that I've had the privilege and honor to lead this group. I have learned so much from so many people, and enjoyed your friendship and encouragement as well, that I won't name any names.
I've enjoyed the critique groups I've participated in (and will continue to participate in - hey, I'm still a member), the conferences and workshops I've attended, the workshops I've run, the authors, agents, publishers, and editors I've met along the way. I hope to continue meeting new people on my writing journey.
I've come to believe we don't accomplish anything on our own - there is a network of people who help us, even if that help occurred long before we needed to use the gifts we've been given.
I encourage anyone who wants to be lifted up by writers, who wants to get out and meet people in the industry, not only in this area but from all over the country, this position gives you that foot in the door. I met New York agents and editors, California-based publishing gurus, and many others that have been invaluable to my learning the craft.

I will still be a member, and still attend meetings, though I'm taking a couple months off to begin the new year.
May your holiday season be filled with the joy of knowing someone special, the honor to serve someone you don't know, and the opportunity to pass on the kindnesses that have been given to you.

Thank you,
John
Writers Group Leader - Sep 2008 - Dec 2012

General News

We had several people practice their story pitches in October. I hope to find out how they did if they had to use them later. This coming week is our last regular meeting of the year, where Jeff Strand is the featured speaker.

It should be great, especially if you get tired of not being published and wonder - is it all worth it? Am I cut out for this?

Hope you can join us!

Pitching Your Story

An agent steps into the elevator. You smile. You're at a writer's conference. She smiles back.
"What's your book about?" she asks.

You:

a. Freeze, staring zombie like at her until she turns around and flees
b. Mumble a bunch of gibberish. She says she doesn't speak your language.
c. Use the word 'um' and 'well' about 50 times, with a couple other words thrown in for good measure.
d. You tell her, in a matter of 15 seconds, what your story is about and she says, "Could you tell me more over coffee? It sounds really interesting."

Where are you on the above spectrum? Want to get to (d) above? Come practice on Thursday in a guaranteed unique workshop on the Elevator Pitch!

John

Thursday Preview

This week - Craig Weeden, of Muzzles the Manatee fame, will speak to our group about using screenwriting tricks to SEE your novel. Craig is an engaging speaker with exciting stories of the writing life. From his website: (www.muzzlesthemanatee.com)

Craig Weeden is listed in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, and at Poets & Writers. His work has appeared in such places as the Southern Poetry Review, New Orleans Review, Chowder Review, The Smith, Cimarron Review, Writer’s Digest, Tennis, and in numerous anthologies. His diamond-heist thriller, Lost Stones, recently earned a RECOMMEND from Script Pipeline. Craig holds a BA in Sociology, MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing.

We look forward to hearing from him and hope you can join us!

Venue Vitae

I won't say it was with great sadness, but it was with surprise and disappointment that after Thursday's meeting we pulled up to the St. Pete Diner and found it closed. Back to Po' Folks we went for some after meeting socializing.
I always enjoyed the food there as they had a nice variety and friendly, if sometimes slow, service. Plus, it's proximity to the library made it convenient. I thank April for initially mentioning the place as a possible meetup.
We held two Christmas parties there, but even if they hadn't closed last year's would have been the last, as I want to find a nice place to hold a party this December. If anyone has a preference you can email me and we'll get it on the list to choose from. I'll also send out an email to the group for input.
I knew people in other areas of my life that also enjoyed the diner, and one of our critique groups met there for a while as well.
As in life, change is inevitable and this is just another one. It reminds me of when I was driving yesterday with my son and we passed a buffet near our house that we had visited several times and heard great reviews from others, too. It was almost 7 on a Saturday night, and the parking lot was empty. I told my son, 'Wow, I didn't expect them to close.'
Change. That's story. That's what you write. Keep on writing.

Workshop Review

Just a word on how the summer workshop went. Great!
We had 16 people attend one, two, or all three sessions and covered defining your story, writing scenes, and adding emotion. Handouts were sent to participants and to those who signed up. Feedback has been positive, and the hope is that this can be developed into something to present at future workshops and conferences.
I, personally, had a lot of fun with it and enjoyed the back-and-forth critiques by the writers as they listened to each others' works. I heard some great stories as well, from futuristic fantasy, thriller, personal drama, humor, and more that sounded very solid and promising. I met new and interesting people, including some I had had conversations with through email.
Thanks to those who attended! It was you who made it great.

Journey through Journaling

Linda Burhans spoke to an attentive group on Thursday, August 9th, about journaling and how it can help you as a writer. In addition, she focused on how everyone has a story to tell, and a journal is a way to tell that story. Sharing her own story with the group included a mixture of touching loss and laughing discovery. It's a journey we all know to some degree.
One thing powerful in journaling is its ability to heal. Linda uses multiple journals to separate her different feelings or focus so they won't 'contaminate' each other. This way she can choose to burn her journal of anger without anyone seeing it, and still share her one of joy with those closest to her.
I've attempted journaling in the past, but always felt it was more like keeping a diary, and was something I'd never want revealed. Linda showed that a proper journal can become a book of universal truth and experience, something that can be used by others to confront their own story.
And finally, a journal can be a gift, a memory of those we cherished, to be shared with those we love.