Friday, December 28, 2007
Next Meeting - Jan. 5
Just a reminder that there are five Saturdays in December so our next meeting will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, in the lower level meeting room of the Oshkosh Public Library.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Anthology Update
For those who are curious, the Oshkosh Area Writers Club anthology, "Hearts We Know By Stories," has sold 74 copies since the book was released in June '07. The book is available from lulu.com for $7.85 plus shipping. It's 166 pages and features the writings of over a dozen club members.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
2008 Writing Goals
"Public humilation is a great motivator" - Dixie J.
At the Dec. 15 meeting, each of us stated a writing goal we wanted to accomplish in 2008. Goals varied from finishing a first draft to publishing two items to organizing a collection of work. If you missed the meeting, come prepared in January to publicly declare what your goal is for 2008!
At the Dec. 15 meeting, each of us stated a writing goal we wanted to accomplish in 2008. Goals varied from finishing a first draft to publishing two items to organizing a collection of work. If you missed the meeting, come prepared in January to publicly declare what your goal is for 2008!
UW-Milwaukee Spring Writers Festival
UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education is sponsoring the sixth annul Spring Writers Festival March 7-9, 2008. The fee is $269.
The three-day conference is offering sessions on things like:
- Crafting the Short Story-- From Start to Finish
- How to Pitch Your Ideas
- What Every Author Learns from Their First Book
- Crafting An Other World
- A Visit to the Book Doctor
- Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines
- Pitch Session Workshops
- Agent and Editor Panel
- How Editors Think
- Show, Don't Tell: How to Grab Readers by the Neck
- Pathways to Publishing
- A Writer's Website
- Wiki-Whatia: Finding Credible Sources Online and Off
- How to Write Without a Muse
- Book Proposal Basics
- The Personal Essay
- Poetry Workshops
The three-day conference is offering sessions on things like:
- Crafting the Short Story-- From Start to Finish
- How to Pitch Your Ideas
- What Every Author Learns from Their First Book
- Crafting An Other World
- A Visit to the Book Doctor
- Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines
- Pitch Session Workshops
- Agent and Editor Panel
- How Editors Think
- Show, Don't Tell: How to Grab Readers by the Neck
- Pathways to Publishing
- A Writer's Website
- Wiki-Whatia: Finding Credible Sources Online and Off
- How to Write Without a Muse
- Book Proposal Basics
- The Personal Essay
- Poetry Workshops
Friday, December 14, 2007
Random Daily Writing Prompts
Writingfix.com offers daily writing prompts simply by clicking the Random Daily Writing Prompt Generater.
Some sample prompts:
"How does the nose know? Invent a story where an unwelcome smell brings a character sheer happiness."
"How did you get up there? Write about something that happened on the roof."
"Why did you get involved? Write about a time you could have said: 'Oops! I should have never gotten involved!'."
Some sample prompts:
"How does the nose know? Invent a story where an unwelcome smell brings a character sheer happiness."
"How did you get up there? Write about something that happened on the roof."
"Why did you get involved? Write about a time you could have said: 'Oops! I should have never gotten involved!'."
New Reading Device - Kindle
Amazon has introduced a new reading device for electronic books that doesn't require a computer or internet access called Kindle. It sells for $399 and holds over 200 books; almost 100,000 titles are currently available for the product, including newspapers, magazines and blogs.
For more information and an online demonstration of how it works, click here.
For more information and an online demonstration of how it works, click here.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Thank a Soldier
If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com, you can pick out a Thank You card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.
It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.
Next Meeting
Just a reminder that the next meeting of the Oshkosh Area Writers Club is 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 in the lower level meeting room of the Oshkosh Public Library.
Please bring a WRAPPED white elephant gift (something in good condition from your home) to exchange. Donuts and beverages will be provided.
The second hour of the meeting will be devoted to the Author Spotlight. This week's author is Joyce F.
Please bring a WRAPPED white elephant gift (something in good condition from your home) to exchange. Donuts and beverages will be provided.
The second hour of the meeting will be devoted to the Author Spotlight. This week's author is Joyce F.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Jennifer Chiaverini
Over 100 people attended author Jennifer Chiaverini's appearance at the Oshkosh Public Library on Nov. 29th. If you'd like to see photos form the event, click here.
Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition
Submissions are now being accepted for the 77th annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition. Compete and win in ten categories:
Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
Memoirs/Personal Essay
Magazine Feature Article
Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
Mainstream/Literary Short Story
Rhyming Poetry
Non-rhyming Poetry
Stage Play
Television/Movie Script
Children's/Young Adult Fiction
$10-$15 ENTRY FEE
Deadline: May 15, 2008. There will be 1,001 winners and more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. Top winners will be listed in the December 2008 issue of Writer's Digest.
Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors and agents. Second Place: The Second Place Winner in each category receives $500 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books. The Third Place Winner in each category receives $250 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books. The Fourth Place Winner in each category receives $100 cash. The Fifth-Place Winner in each category receives $50 cash. The Sixth- through Tenth-Place winners in each category receive $25 cash.
For complete rules, click here.
Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
Memoirs/Personal Essay
Magazine Feature Article
Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
Mainstream/Literary Short Story
Rhyming Poetry
Non-rhyming Poetry
Stage Play
Television/Movie Script
Children's/Young Adult Fiction
$10-$15 ENTRY FEE
Deadline: May 15, 2008. There will be 1,001 winners and more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. Top winners will be listed in the December 2008 issue of Writer's Digest.
Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors and agents. Second Place: The Second Place Winner in each category receives $500 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books. The Third Place Winner in each category receives $250 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books. The Fourth Place Winner in each category receives $100 cash. The Fifth-Place Winner in each category receives $50 cash. The Sixth- through Tenth-Place winners in each category receive $25 cash.
For complete rules, click here.
Merton Prize For Poetry of the Sacred
Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred is sponsoring a contest for poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy or that, by its mode of expression, evokes the sacred. The tone may be religious, prophetic, or contemplative.
Contest Guidelines
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: must be postmarked by December 31, 2007.
Prizes: First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $100 each.
Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute web site: www.mertoninstitute.org.
Only ONE unpublished poem type written in English may be submitted.
Please limit the poem to no more than 100 lines.
Type your name, address, phone number, FAX number, email address, and the title of your poem on a cover page. Attach (1) one copy of your titled poem to the cover page.
Contest Guidelines
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: must be postmarked by December 31, 2007.
Prizes: First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $100 each.
Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute web site: www.mertoninstitute.org.
Only ONE unpublished poem type written in English may be submitted.
Please limit the poem to no more than 100 lines.
Type your name, address, phone number, FAX number, email address, and the title of your poem on a cover page. Attach (1) one copy of your titled poem to the cover page.
Poetry Fireside Chat
The Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Grand Chute is hosting a Poetry Fireside Chat at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17. For more information, click here or call the store at 920-831-7880.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Writing Prompt - Jan. 5
Some members have indicated they would like a writing prompt to get them started on a piece to write/read at a future meeting. The prompt may used in a poem, essay, character or description sketch.
We will not have a normal critique session at the Dec. 15th meeting due to the Christmas party and Author Spotlight but Mike N. has given the following writing prompt for the Jan. 5th meeting: "The guy's no hero."
Have fun!
We will not have a normal critique session at the Dec. 15th meeting due to the Christmas party and Author Spotlight but Mike N. has given the following writing prompt for the Jan. 5th meeting: "The guy's no hero."
Have fun!
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