FWA Osceola Writers Group

Back to the Basics

2011-09-21T11:20:00.004-04:00

Members of the Kissimmee writers group, One Word At A Time, always have a lot to say about independant publishing vs. traditional publishing, ebooks vs. treebooks, the best way to query agents, etc. New members appear at our meetings every month, and not all of them have reached the publishing stage. I also realized that for a writers group, we didn't spend a lot of time discussing the actual process of writing.

In an effort to meet the needs of all our members (67 on our e-mail list and counting), I have started a series of presentations titled Back to the Basics. The first was presented at our September meeting, and covered basic information such as proper writing format, use of dialogue and the proper use of punctuation in dialogue, establishing POV, setting, and pace.

The presentation sparked a lively discussion, with members who had more writing experience interacting with members who were there to learn. I believe that everyone, the old, the new, the experienced, and the newbies, gained something from the experience, so it was well worth the effort. Now I've got to finish my presentation for the October meeting.

Author Victor DiGenti speaks to FWA Group

2011-04-21T10:18:00.000-04:00

After thirty-five years in public broadcasting working as a producer, director, fundraiser, and producer of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, DiGenti turned to his first love—writing. He shared that love and what he's learned along the journey with One Word At A Time group members at their April 14 meeting.

He’s won multiple state and national awards for his first two Windrusher books and attracted readers of all ages from across the country. He and his wife live in Pont Vedra Beach with their seven rescued cats, but he is well known throughout Florida due to his involvement with FWA and ability to educate writers.

Di Genti discussed why a strong beginning is so important and how an essential six elements create that strength. He also used Wizard of Oz, Star Wars and Silence of the Lambs to illustrate where to begin a story.

We were given three writing prompts to choose one and apply the advice he'd given. Members read their openings and we discussed their effectiveness applying the elements learned from Di Genti. Much good writing was enjoyed by all!

After Di Genti's presentation, Vicki Riley-Fischer led the group through discussions of one page pieces written for the meeting and an unusual Osceola Gazette piece. As the meeting closed, Riley-Fischer formally passed leadership of the FWA group to Randy Austin.

From left to right: Vic Di Genti, Vicki Riley-Fischer and Randy Austin - new FWA leader

Riley-Fischer also expressed recognition of the FWA group founder, Jerri Fenton.

From left to right: FWA group founder, Jerri Fenton, first successor, Vicki Riley-Fischer and second successor, Randy Austin

Vicki Riley-Fischer passes FWA leadership torch to Randy Austin

2011-04-09T07:09:00.000-04:00

Please welcome Randy Austin as our new FWA group leader!

Photos from December 2010 meeting

2010-12-29T14:59:00.018-05:00

Hi everyone, I haven't posted to this sight since Vicki took over as our group leader but I wanted to post some photos I took at the December meeting. We had a lively discussion about the FWA contest challenge and critiqued a few of the submissions. Judy announced that she won a scholarship class to attend a writing class and she entertained us with some more Christmas memories that she will include in her memoirs.

I want to thank Vicki for providing the tasty treats and Susan for making them.

Here are the pictures. Enjoy. Jerri

On Living and Living On

2009-09-26T15:13:00.000-04:00

Writers spend a great deal of time alone. Whether reading or writing, few can escape the necessity for solitude very long in order to improve skill or produce good work. It is not a team sport.
Knowing that, I joined a club today anyway; A club that will demand precious time away from my writing. I’m not even sure what prompted me to step so out of character. My life is already too busy, packed with deadlines and people requiring things of me.

How did such a small blurb of an announcement in the Osceola Gazette paper catch my eye. St Cloud’s Women’s Club would meet for their first session of the year with the Executive Director of the Osceola Performing Art Center, Ed Moore, speaking about plans for the new season.

I questioned my husband who is not a writer, but a successful business man who takes an active interest in local politics and civic activities: “What does the Women’s Club do?” He smiled and answered valiantly, “Well, I’m sure they probably do charitable work and it’s probably something of a social club.”

In short, he didn’t know.

I clipped the tiny announcement and paper-clipped it to my planner page for September. Memories of my mother flowed through me, a happy pain. Only seven months earlier, I’d lost her to Parkinson’s. A gifted, working painter, she still found time for the Women’s Club while I was growing up in Key West. That afternoon, I inked the meeting’s date and time onto September.

Over the next five days until the meeting, my hectic life continued and I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to attend. The night before the meeting, various problems arose resulting in a required almost “all-nighter” to correct the problems for the next morning’s deadline. At my age, sleep is important, right up there with food. Lack of either results in grumpy fatigue and loss of enthusiasm.

Four minutes before the scheduled meeting I parked two blocks away and became the last person to enter the meeting.

I can think of no better way to describe the next hour and a half other than time travel.

The meeting room was filled with folding tables seating 60 ladies of various ages and one man, Ed Moore. At the door, I was greeted, escorted and seated. No pressure, only kindness with pleasure at my presence. The walls displayed endless medals of appreciation, war effort history, and historical photographs of St Cloud. Near the stage, a long table sported a sterling silver coffee pot at one end and sterling tea pot at the other with tempting desserts in between. Memories of tea parties as a child with my mother coursed through me.

We sang America the Beautiful, pledged the flag, and read out loud the club’s prayer to find and touch our common human heart. The prayer seeks the good qualities and behaviors in us all.

The “social club” consisted of homemakers, retired teachers, entrepreneurs, and professionals from most industries. The curator for the club’s Heritage Museum, Lucille McClure, holds a degree in physics. All of these women unite for one common cause: to make their world a better place.

Their contributions to schools range from scholarships for Hugh O”Brien Youth leadership; girl scout conference; St. Cloud graduates, as well as grants for elementary school books and visual aids, and band support along with purchase of uniforms. Other accomplishments include town sidewalks, parks and beautification, clean-up campaigns, flower and art shows, Red Cross and relief work during the war, lobby effort for energy independence and stoplights, and so many other worthy, socially conscious endeavors.

But perhaps their most significant accomplishment to me, a retired teacher, was that the Women’s Club “established, owned and operated a library for the city from 1910-1968” when they sold it to the city. Our Veteran’s Memorial library is a direct result of this “social club.” Long after these women have passed beyond this life, their vision, compassion and causes will continue to impact and inspire lives.

This year marks 100 years existence for the club whose goal is to add 100 members. Please forward or give this blog to any woman writer you know that yearns for a meaningful legacy through community service. As to the initial fear of losing writing time through membership, I’ve remembered how worthy experience deepens and enriches my writing, my life; perhaps some of you will too.

Club meetings begin at 1:30 p.m. every third Wednesday of months September through May, 1012 Massachusetts Ave., St Cloud, Fl. For more information, contact Heritage Museum Thurs-Fri 10am-2pm 407-957-7587.

Jerri Fenton Passes the Torch

2009-09-15T20:52:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone,

My long time friend and colleague, Jerri Fenton, initiated our Osceola group about 5 years ago. To keep her from resigning a year ago because she felt it would stimulate “a new vision” for our group, I came on board as co-leader. We supported and empowered each other, and searched for meaningful activities for our members. In short, we kept a very diverse group contented and hopefully, inspired.

During the first week of September, Jerri resigned as group leader to reinvent herself. Together with her husband, Mike Fenton, a fine, local artist, she will convert her life long love of photography to a business they plan to enjoy during retirement. I wish both of them all the joy that comes from doing something you love with someone you love. Does it get any better than that?

For me though, I feel as if I’ve lost a spouse. (Only joint group leaders can understand this) Last Thursday, as I drove to our regular group meeting that Jerri could not attend, I saddened at the thought of her absence and her recent resignation. Suddenly it started to rain hard from a darkening sky. I phoned Jerri, babbling with no good reason to call. It was hard to hear her above the windshield wipers' thrum and cell phone static, but her soft voice resonated through to reassure that I would do fine as the group’s leader. She is right. I will do fine. It is just that I will miss her by my side.

To offset that emptiness, Pat Semler, a very talented writer and long time group member, agreed to co-lead with me, so I am very excited about the future of our group, and I know that Jerri will attend meetings when she can.

There were 6 of us at the meeting on September 10. I referred to the frequently asserted importance of reading and writing – how they reinforce each other for writers, then distributed a hand-out breaking down the components for analysis of what we read. We read and critiqued each other’s work intended for submission to our group anthology.

Our October 8 meeting will include a speaker suggested on the FWA Leaders site by John Rehg (St Pete). Here’s what he said about her. "Lorin Oberweger, was incredibly knowledgeable, and very well received by the 18 in attendance. Her company runs the Donald Maass workshops (the best one I've ever attended, though I've only attended a couple) and she has been an editor for over 10 years. She is interested in next year's FWA Conference, and will come highly recommended. "

Anyone is welcome to attend (just e-mail (vfischer@cfl.rr.com) me so I can let Lorin know for her presentation supplies and I can reserve space) 6-8 pm at Susan’s Courtside Café, Kissimmee, Fl.

Middle School Writing Contest

2009-06-07T15:23:00.007-04:00

A Job Well Done – Literacy in the Community

Middle school students from around Osceola County excitedly gathered with their parents and teachers at the Hart Memorial Library on Wednesday, May 20 to learn the results of the Middle School Writing Contest. Forty-five students from five different middle schools in Osceola County submitted stories 500 -1,000 words in length choosing from the following topics: Treasures, An Amazing Pet Tale, A Scary Place, and The Worst/Best Day of My Life. Participating schools were Celebration K-8, Denn John Middle School, Kissimmee Middle School, Saint Cloud Middle School, and Osceola County School for the Arts. The contest was sponsored by the Osceola Chapter of the Florida Writers Association, One Word at a Time Writers.
Three judges from One Word at a Time read each story evaluating the stories on plot, setting, character, punctuation, grammar, originality, and appearance. They selected first, second, and third place winners from each school and four overall best stories.
One Word at a Time appreciates this opportunity to once again partner with the Osceola Library System, Friends of the Library Foundation, and Osceola County Schools to make this competition possible. It is our way of promoting literacy in the community. Friends of the Library Foundation donated a thesaurus, pens, and inspirational books to the finalists. This year we were also thankful that the Florida Writers Foundation was able to provide five $15 checks to award to the first place winners. Other prizes included inspirational books provided by One Word at a Time members. Thank you to the Hart Memorial Library for providing the auditorium for the awards ceremony.

As president of One Word at a Time, I would like to personally thank the teachers at each of the schools – Lisa Iriarte - Celebration K-8, Nilda Correa - Kissimmee Middle School, Barbara Robinson -Denn John Middle School, Shelly Justice - Osceola County School for the Arts, Holly McCoy -Saint Cloud Middle School. They helped coordinate the competitions within the schools, and distributed the stories to me. The competition would not have been possible without the volunteer efforts of the judges Patricia Semler, Tina Sallee, and Robert Cherney who dedicated many hours reading, scoring, and writing comments on all the submitted stories. Thanks to Larraine Stacey who designed the flyer and helped in the planning of the competition. A special thanks to Pat Semler, Mike Fenton, Marni Dandliker, and Mr. Dandliker for setting up the room for the celebration event, handing out the awards, and staying to clean up after. Photographs were provided by Mike Fenton.

Writers - CONGRATULATIONS for a job well done!
FIRST PRIZE – “The House Across the Street” by Eric Qu, Celebration K-8; “The Treasures of My Heart” by Isabel Ascobar, Denn John Middle; “Does He Love Me Too?” by Salma Belakbir, Kissimmee Middle; “What” by Cheina Ramos, Osceola County School for the Arts; “The House” by Claire Polachek, Saint Cloud Middle.
SECOND PRIZE –Tie “Best Day Ever” by Alexandra Lousey, Celebration K-8; “My Year as a Celebration All Star” by Mike La Gaipa, Celebration K-8; “DeShawn’s Strange Treasure” by Jovenal Pierre, Denn John Middle; Tie “The Treasure of my Dreams” by Jean Carlos Batista, Kissimmee Middle School; “The Worst Day Of My Life” by Tiffany Rodriguez, Kissimmee Middle School; “A Miracle In the Middle of No Where” by Amylee Rivera, Osceola County School for the Arts; “Training Pays Off” by Stephanie Baur, Saint Cloud Middle.
THIRD PRIZE – “The Worst Day Of My Life” by Saarah Samad, Celebration K-8; “The Best Day Of My Life” by Kyndall Camacho, Denn John Middle; “The Fairy Tale Treasure” by Bakhadir Rozakberdiev, Kissimmee Middle School; “The Circus” by Emanuela Pava, Osceola County School for the Arts;; “Spot the Fire Dog” by Hanna Pugh, Saint Cloud Middle.
BEST OVERALL – Scored on total points with a perfect score 63. Winners will have stories included in an anthology by One Word at a Time.
1st “The House” by Claire Polochek, Saint Cloud Middle – 58 points
2nd “The House Across the Street” by Eric Qu, Celebration K-8 – 56 points
3rd “Training Pays Off” by Stephanie Baur, Saint Cloud Middle – 55 points
4th “Does He Love Me Too?” by Salma Belakbir, Kissimmee Middle – 54 points

Middle School Writing Contest, other news

2009-04-05T14:03:00.002-04:00

Welcome once again to our blog. I've been extremely busy planning and implementing our group's second Middle School Writing Competition. We approached teachers and literacy department heads at Kissimmee Middle School, Celebration K-8 School, School for the Arts, Saint Cloud Middle School, and Denn John Middle School who agreed to get the word out to their students to participate.

The students were given four topics to choose from for a 500-1000 word short story. Flyers with the instructions were distributed at the schools on March 30. I extended the deadline until Friday, April 17 because spring break is this week for our county and many of the youth may be away.

Our next challenge is to read and judge the stories and plan the awards ceremony. I would like to display the stories at the Library for about a month like we did last time. We will choose a first, second, and third place winner from each school. Each winner will be presented with a certificate of acheivement and a prize. The ceremony will be held May 8th at the Hart Memorial Library in Kissimmee at 6:00 p.m. after the Literacy in the Arts event. There will be refreshments provided and the first place winners will be asked to read their stories. (or someone will read them if they are too shy).

We are seeking contributions and suggestions for prizes, certificates, certificate frames, help in decorating the display board at the library.

We want to thank the Friends of the Library who is helping to organize the recognition event, providing refreshments, and donating prizes. We also want to thank all the teachers who participated in helping their students prepare for this and in getting the word out for us. I also want to thank anyone who has volunteered to read and judge the stories. Through all your efforts we are contributing to literacy in the community by reaching out to youth and emphasizing the importance of the written word in a fun way for them.

Exciting Goals

2009-02-01T11:38:00.007-05:00

We received nearly fourteen New Year surveys back from our One Word at a Time writers. It was fun sharing them with everyone who attended the January meeting. Nearly everyone responded that they would like to pursue the goal of compiling some of our members pieces for an anthology. The stories should be for a children's audience ages 5-10 and possibly include animal characters. Upon publication, we hope to distribute to local stores and libraries among other markets.

Many members also agreed to speak, teach, or present at the meetings. Other interests included "open mic" readings, writing contests, field trips to writers events.

Another interest was an email critique group. This has already been established. Anyone wishing to participate needs to contact me and I'll give you the details.

Other news: The 'Osceola Friends of the Library' has asked our local FWA group to sponser another writing contest for children. We will be partnering with them and the Osceola County Library System. The planning meeting for this will be in February. Interested volunteers should contact me and I will email you back with the meeting date/time.

Vicki announced Rollins College Winter Writer Events in January/ February on Thursday evenings. Here are the dates. Poet, Brigid Pegeen Kelly (January 29); poet playwright, Derek Walcott (February 5); novelist, Margot Livesey (February 12); poet, Billy Collins (February 19).

See you at our February 12, Osceola FWA meeting. Jerri

Thanks, Love, and all that Holiday Cheer

2008-11-16T12:28:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays,

We're coming up on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, etc. To spread cheer and thanks and observe the wonders of love, lets write some poetry, lyrics, short-short stories or essays to share at the December One Word at a Time meeting.

I'm also interested in hearing about everyones experiences at the FWA Conference this weekend. I was only able to attend on Saturday, but I learned many things. I met some new writers and associates who support writers and came away with at least two potential speakers for our group meetings. For those of you who aren't FWA members, you may want to join now to participate in the coming year Royal Palm Writing Contest, regional events, and next years conference.

Some time in December I'm going to email another survey for our writer group. Please complete it and return it via email so we can discuss them at the January meeting. Remember One Word at a Time is your writers group so be candid and share what you hope to receive and contribute to the group for the new year.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Jerri

Poetry Contest

2008-09-28T15:45:00.002-04:00

Tina Sallee from our Osceola group forwarded me the following information regarding a poetry contest. The Manuscripts will be screened by the editorial staff of White Pine Press. Those selected will be sent to a poet of national reputation who makes the final selection. Manuscripts must be postmarked November 30 and include a $20 entry fee. Checks should be made to White Pine Press, P.O. Box 236, Buffalo, New York 14201. Please visit the website to get full details and see the previous winners.

This publisher is the one who has published several of Tina's translated literature. The website is http://www.whitepine.org/compt.htm for the details.

Lots of Changes

2008-09-28T15:20:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Beginning in September a few changes have been made by the leadership of the FWA. First, to keep expenses in control the quarterly newsletter distribution will be limited to members. If leaders want to have more copies to distribute to local libraries and bookstores or at meetings, they can still request a number to be shipped to them. There was a consensus that instead of using the magazine as a leave behind, we would use a newly designed brochure. The printing and mailing costs of this is much less expensive. If you are planning on going to a conference or book signing and want to order these, contact Chrissy Jackson, Dan Griffith, or me.

Second, if you an FWA member you should have received an invitation to join a new website called FWA Network. It is a member only area similar to "Facebook". Access the first time is through invitation only. There will be groups of interest you can join, share pictures, blog, and set up your own groups meeting space. So far I've joined Mystery Writers, and Osceola Writers. If you are an Osceola FWA member but haven't had an invite, email Jerri and I will get you hooked up.

By now you probably know that the FWA Conference is beginning November 14 in Lake Mary, FL. You can still sign up and participate in this fantastic networking, learning event. If you have a book or story to pitch, there will be agents and editors present representing their businesses.

The October meeting is schedules for October 9. Screenwriter, Pat Semlar, is giving a presentation on "Using Scensory Details in your Prose". We have also invited local poet Calvin Terrell to read and give us pointers on the poetry we wrote about childhood memories. I'll see you there.

Writing News & September Meeting

2008-09-01T12:10:00.004-04:00

First I want to welcome Bob Cherny, Mary Russell who attended the August meeting and Colleen Dilmore who attended the July meeting. Bob has a fascination for science fiction and fantasy. He has several stories he'd like to get published. Mary is presently focusing on non-fiction devotional and self-help. Colleen loves to write Children's fiction. I hope you all enjoyed the meeting where we all read and critiqued some sample writing.

This month, September, Vicki Riley-Fischer, came up with a poetry writing activity. The excercise focuses on writing using the senses. Everyone needs to bring a writing pad, scissors and a pen. We also need scotch tape (I'll bring) and a timer.

Now for some writing news.

I got an email from Karen J. Maan, kmaan@spalding.edu, announcing a Master of FineArts in Writing Program at Spalding University. The degree consists of a 4 semester course of study at the University in Louisville, KY. For more information visit the website @ www.spalding.edu/mfa or email mfa@spalding.edu. 800-896-8942 ext 2423.

Check out the August NCC Midnight Newsletter. I will forward it to the Osceola members. NCC Midnight hosts Screenplay and writing contests. It also has an intense workshop for screenwriters and other writers.

Beginning soon with FWA there will be a new members only online social networking site. It will allow all members to have their own place similar to MySpace or Facebook but it will be private and opent to FWA Members only. This will not replace the FWA website. I'm going to check it out. I will let you know more about it at the meeting.

Reminder to all the Osceola FWA members and others who attend the One Word at a Time monthly meetings---Let Vicki and me know when you want to present to the group or arrange a speaker and what the subject will be. Come on everybody. This is your group by participating you ensure that you get what you want out of it.

Currently we have these plans:
September , Poetry writing excercises focus on writing sensory details.

October Pat Semler- and possibly Cal Tyrell a local poet lariat.

November we will need to move the meeting date from the 2nd Thursday to the 1st Thursday because of a conflict with the FWA Writer's Conference on the day after our normal meeting time. If anyone wants to present, or has any ideas for that meeting let me know. I'd like everyone who writes longer fiction to participate in nanowrimo. (I think I have that correct). I'll get you the website address later. November is national novel writers month and there is a challenge to write 50,000 in a months time to jumpstart novel ideas.

In December we can review how the year went for each of us as individuals and as a group. What we want to emphasize in the coming year. If someone wants to present, let me know.

January- Eliz wants to present.

Joe Iriarte keeps his challenge open for everyone to get 3 rejections, or notification of publication, by December. Gifts will be awarded at the December meeting.

If anyone knows how to post links to this blog, I need instruction on that.

correction

2008-08-10T18:09:00.003-04:00

I want to apologize and give you the correct link to Queryshark.blogspot.com. I made an error and said the site was no longer active. In fact, I had misspelled the url. Thank you, Joe, for letting me know.

Characterization

2008-08-10T17:09:00.004-04:00

Join us for the August meeting this Thursday, August 14. "What If?" by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter has some wonderful excercises and insights for writers. I'm choosing one to work on for this months meeting. As an excercise for writing about characters who are unlike your real self, try writing 4 or 5 paragraphs about a character who is the opposite sex from you. Or, try writing about a character who is elderly or young. Just like an actor you need to get into that character's skin. Also, you might try depicting that character through dialogue. Bring your samples and we will read them.

If we have time, we can do some fast fiction exercises. See you then.

I am looking for presenters for the September and October meetings. If anyone wants to present to the group or has a contact of someone who can present, email me, Jerri Fenton, at graycie1950@yahoo.com.

If you haven't already done so, register for the FWA conference that will take place in Lake Mary in November. Go to the main FWA website for information, to register or download a brochure.

query letter blogs

2008-06-29T16:36:00.002-04:00

Update: I went to those two websites but couldn't find the query letter info that Joe spoke about. I will get with him and see what's up. The QueryShark blog is no longer active. When I googled the name it took me to a site for query software. I didn't delve very far but it didn't look like it was about query letters.

Sorry about that mislead.

June News & July Meeting

2008-06-29T14:42:00.002-04:00

We had a lively discussion regarding the inspiration to write, what gets in the way of creativity and the spark to begin a new piece of writing. A writer needs to give themselves time to just daydream to feed the muse that sparks the creativity. Especially in the busy world we find ourselves in, we need to schedule time to daydream and just let the ideas flow. Let one idea flow into another and another.

Eliz mentioned the NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writers Month) challenge. The month of November is a challenge for all writers to write down their ideas in Novel format. The challenge is to write 60,000 words in a months time. Eliz said she accomplished this last November and it not only gave her a novel idea but she could use the material for many short stories as well. She suggests starting your day an hour earlier to spend writing.

Writer Tools:
Marketing - Writers Digest Magazine , Bookwire (Book reviews, Industry News http://www.bookwire.com
Publishers Marketplace http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
Publishers Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/

Query Instruction & Critiquing
http://www.pubrants.blogspot.com

http://www.quearyshark.blogspot.com

Story Organization Software - Writer's Cafe, Write Way, Power Writer.

July Meeting

July 10

We will have a workshop on query letter writing. Everyone bring a sample query letter that they wrote and we will critique or use as a model. Check out the websites above on query instruction.

Writer Challenge

Get 3 Rejections by December meeting

Prizes will be awarded.

This means we need to get those manuscripts off the computer and into the marketplace. Remember each rejection is an invitation to write more and better pieces.

Spring into Action

2008-06-02T20:38:00.002-04:00

My busy schedule, moving at work, and completing the details for my daughter's wedding kept me from blogging in April. Anyway I'm back for those of you who logged in and didn't find an update.

I also regret not being able to attend the May meeting. Thank you, Vicki, for planning and directing that meeting. I hope some of our other members will volunteer to direct some meetings to add a fresh dynamic to the group. I'm always open for ideas.

My daughter's Key Largo sunset beach wedding was awesome and we couldn't have asked for better weather. The attendants served Kelly and Chris selflessly, which helped calm my nerves some. The best man doubled as a DJ during the reception. He was funny and entertaining while playing the music and directing the flow of the reception. Snook's Bayside Restaurant provided excellent service and food. I'll bring some pictures to the next meeting.

Probably because my mind has been preoccupied, I've been going through a dry period with my writing. My excellent therapist who just happens to be a poet as well suggested I need to feed my muse. Then she gave me a book, "If You Want to Write," by Brenda Ueland. It is about the spirit of writing. Why do we write? Where do ideas come from. Although the book was last published in 1987 it is timeless and still relevant. It is still available on Amazon Books. Brenda Ueland 1891-1985, writer, editor, teacher of writing. She was colleague and friends with Eugene O'Neill, John Reed, Louise Bryant, and Carl Sandburg.

For the June meeting, I'd like to share some of Ueland's insights from the book and discuss the topic - The spirit of writing (creating). If anyone has anything to add to the agenda, please email me.

AGENDA

1. Greetings - News

2. Follow up- Committees

3. Spirit of Writing - Intro & Discussion

4. July Meeting Ideas

I hope to see you next week, June 12 at the meeting.

March meeting agenda

2008-03-02T16:04:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone has been enjoying the cool weather. For me it is a refreshing break from the rest of the year. Others who moved here to escape the cold are just tolerating it.

After taking the surveys, we have many new items to discuss at the March meeting so I hope you can participate. I think you will enjoy the new directions we hope to take to make the organization even more dynamic.

Remember in March the meeting will be on the second Tuesday, which is March 11. In April we will resume with the second Thursdays.

Here is what's on the agenda for March:

Greetings
What's been happening?
Survey results - Jerri
Open Mic - Vicki, Jerri
Community Outreach - discussion
Announcements - all
Events - all
Committees -
Community Outreach
Newsletter
Blog
Open Mic and readings
Anthology
Events
Contests
Field Trips and Visitations
Education-Information
Speakers
Critique Forum
Critique Forum - Lara, Jerri, Vicki

Come with ideas and an inkling of which committees you may be interested in. We may all need to participate on more than one committee to achieve our goals. I know that some of our goals for this year are mighty lofty but it is exciting that we are thinking about them. That is the first step to getting there. Several of us agreed that we wanted to participate in contests, get the word out in the community about our group, have guest speakers, and take occasional field trips. Some of us are already working on some of this and we will share at the meeting.

See you all on the eleventh.

Jerri

Goals for 2008

2008-01-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Jerri Fenton invited me to co-chair our One Word At A Time writers group with her and I’ve accepted with much heart felt gratitude and honor. It is a pleasure to assist her in leading this very talented, dynamic and diverse group of writers.

A big thank you to all our members who returned the annual goal surveys! From these surveys, Jerri and I were able to compile your feedback and realize the need and desire to take our group into new directions and challenges.

Over the next year, new directions and challenges will include using our talent in various ways. Based upon your feedback to us, we will engage in more active involvement with our community through open “mike” sessions at various locations and interaction with students and interested adults, creation of mini-screenplays to be produced by film students, and creation and publication of an anthology of our works.

We will also connect to our community through a newsletter designed to let people know who we are and what we are doing. All events and activities will be included in the newsletter, as well as, a short biography and photo (optional) of each of us.

For the same purpose and to increase membership, we will reach out to other writers with this blog detailing our events, activities, and meeting information. The same short bio and photo for the newsletter will be used here also.

Because our talent and strength as a group can support the less fortunate or weaker, Jerri and I would like to see us take on a community project where we can endorse and support a worthy cause. That worthy cause will be discussed at our February 12 meeting scheduled for Tuesday instead of Thursday, a temporary change due to schedule conflict.

At the February meeting, Lara Zielinsky, author of the novel Turning Point, will teach group members how to format and create a 5 minute script using screenplay format. Don’t miss this valuable training for the student production opportunity!!!

Stay well, write well, live well –
Vicki Riley-Fischer

New Outlook

2008-01-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been focusing on soul searching. You know, trying to get a new perspective on life as I know it. For 2008 I'm hoping to spend less time listening to the news 'horror' stories and more time trying to find the joy in my life. Sometimes we become so focused on the daily grind that we forget to stop and breathe and notice the sky and birds and whatever. Okay, I know what you're thinking - Blah, Blah, Blah I've heard this all before - stop and smell the roses right?

It does sound trite. But, while I've been trying to analyze my life at this point, I found that I have lost touch with what gives me joy. I've been going through the motions going to work, going home, watching t.v. or writing. I've been doing everything without much thought as to why. Life has all become a routine. But a wrench thrown into the works caused me to re-think everything. Who am I? What do I enjoy? What makes me feel good? What is important to me?

This is my year to take inventory. My therapist says find something everyday that gives you JOY. Then keep a list in your journal and refer to it when life gets overwhelming or dull. I've learned that sometimes the obvious becomes buried in grief, anxiety, problem solving. It helps to talk things out with a friend, spouse, or someone you can trust.

Joy is different for everyone. So, here is hoping that my readers can take a few minutes a day to find their joys and share what can make a positive difference in the world around them.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog. I hope everyone who attended the FWA Conference in November had a productive and fun weekend of learning and networking. Don't forget to log into the FWA website to see all the news for this year.

My new years goal for the Osceola FWA group is to encourage our members to contribute by presenting to the group, inviting a speaker, or planning a field trip. We can brainstorm at the meetings.

January's meeting will be held as usual the second Thursday evening. That will be January 10, 2008 at 6:00 pm at Susan's Courtside Cafe. Come prepared to share what your goal is for the group for this coming year. What do you hope to get out of the meetings? What can you contribute? What events can we as a group participate in?

Other news - FWA is going to be issuing a monthly newsletter for all members. If you have anything to contribute send me an email with the information and I will put together an email to the editor.

See you next week.

Spooks & Goblins

2007-10-31T20:19:00.000-04:00

It's Halloween and all the little spooks and goblins are out and seeking treats. Luckily for them the rains have held off for a couple hours so they can flaunt their rad costumes.

Well tomorrow begins November a busy month for FWA Writers. Amaze yourself and try the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge of writing 50,000 words of your new novel this month.

Jennifer Jo Dennis is the Orlando coordinator for this event and will be presenting at the FWA 6th Annual Florida Writers Association Conference. The conference takes place November 9th - 11th at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center.

Our local Osceola group will be meeting as usual on November 8 at 6:00 p.m. We will be reading our own works and doing some fast fiction excercises.

A Long Hot Summer

2007-09-16T13:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back after a long hot summer! It is still hot and I'm yearning for a northern crisp cool breeze. Fat chance of that here in Kissimmee. Anyway if any of you logged into the blog this summer expecting great news, I apologize. I haven't been updating the blog since July. My daughter is getting married, I visited my mom and I got distracted.

We had two workshops this summer. Rik Feeney, self-publisher presented at the Osceola One Word at a Time writers meeting in August at the Kissimmee Library. He imparted his experience working with traditional publishers, print on demand publishers and his experience in self-publishing. Rik has published many books about gymnastics giving pointers to parents and students involved in the sport.

This past week Terri Ridgell attended and gave a fantastic workshop on writing strong female characters. Her emphasis was how to keep from making your strong characters unlikeable. They still need to show a vulnerability and likeability (protagonist) so that the audience can identify and care for them. Everyone participated in the excercises and we had a lively interactive discussion. Check out the pictures that Vicki took.

Terri also invited our members to attend the Amelia Island Book Festival, October 5-7. Go to www.bookisland.org to get the information. Some of us are planning on going as a group. If I can go, I'll try to bring back mucho information to share.

I've also emailed our local members about Molli Nickell's workshop GET PUBLISHED NOW. It will be in Oldham, FL on October 13, 9:30AM -5PM. Attendees will complete drafts of query and cover letters and re-worked and compelling first page. Lunch and beverages included $75. For more information contact Molli at molikatee@yahoo.com.

Letters from the Heart project representatives are sponsoring a contest and are asking for letters to daughters, mothers, granddaughters, mothers-in-law, aunts, etc. They ask for letters that evoke emotion , and offer insight and depth. Honest expression of feelings is of hightest priority. Prizes will be awarded. The selected letters will be included in the forthcoming book, Dear Daughter. For more information and entry guidelines go to the letters from the heart site http://www.lettersfromtheheart.com/officialguidelines.htm

It's not too late to register for the Florida Writers Conference, November 9th - 11th, 2007 at Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center. Visit the Florida Writers Association website for details www.floridawriters.net. Or I have the brochures if you want me to give you one. There will be speakers, bookstore, publishers - agents meetings. They are even having a youth conference on Friday the 9th.

Happy 4th

2007-07-04T11:11:00.000-04:00

A day off from work is a welcome luxury especially when it includes celebrating our freedom and independence. I hope everyone has a lovely and fun fourth of July. Be safe out there with those sparklers and cherry bombs. I know we will all be thinking of our boys and girls over in foreign lands serving the U.S.

I want to welcome to our group three of our newest members who attended the June meeting for the first time. Sheila Wolfe-Carroll from Saint Cloud is an accomplished poet and shared some of her delightful poems. She is seeking publication for a collection of her poetry. Ruth D. Layng also from Saint Cloud brought her published novel which is a historical mystery based on the lives of her husbands ancestors. She read us an excerpt which was rivating. Barbara Parish from Kissimmee writes fantasy and is seeking publication for her recent novel about Angels. From her explanation it is not about the traditional beautiful singing choirs of Angels. It sounds intriguing if not a little dark.

For the July meeting coming up next week on July 12, I would like to continue focusing on character development. I will give a writing assignment on developing characters by focusing on how they interact with their family members. It's called the 'Family Picnic'. My resource is an excercise out of a book "What Would Your Character Do?" by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. and Ann Maisel. I'll share more with you at the meeting.

For those of you who want an assignment, write a story about a voice. I'll bring my fast fiction prompt book in case we want to do some excercises. I've been contacting a couple people to present workshops for us in August, September, or October. I'll keep you posted on the arrangements.

I'll see you all next week. Have a Happy Fourth of July.

June Writers Meeting

2007-06-03T16:06:00.000-04:00

Set your reminder's for our next One Word at a Time writer's meeting on June 14. I've been running ads in the Osceola Sentinel and in St. Cloud in the News inviting the public to join our group. I've had a couple inquiries.

We will meet as usual at Susan's Courtside Cafe, June 14, 6:00PM - 8:00PM. Have some coffee or a sandwich and come prepared to read what you've written.

Bring a short article, story, or poetry to read and share. If you don't have any short pieces, bring an excerpt from your novel. If you want critiques, make several copies that others can take home and study. Include your contact information, so they can give you some feedback.

I'm going to be arranging some speakers to come, so come with some ideas of what you want learn.

See you in a couple weeks.

Blog Class and Other News

2007-06-03T15:49:00.000-04:00

ANNOUNCEMENT

There will be a writer blogging class by Barb Nefer of the Celebration Writer Group. Here is the Information.

Barb's Blogging 101

Saturday, June 9th

10:30AM -11:30AM (or Noon)

PJ's Coffee, located at Water Tower Place, Celebration.

Bring your laptop if you have one. You can reply to Marcia Rankin @ annmar11@msn.com

Other News: Submissions for Celebration Life Magazine

The publisher of Celebration Life magazine is interested in publishing some of our short stories and Celebration articles in his magazine. He will pay $50 per accepted story or article. Celebration Life is a lifestyle magazine providing an educational and fun read for all ages. Readership is 10,000 per month. 4300 are mailed directly to homes and businesses, the rest are picked up from racks around town by tourists, visitors, and locals.

He is interested in short stories for adults in the romance, sci-fi, mystery, and other general genres. He is not looking for poetry or children's stories. The stories should be 1,000 words, more or less, and should be something that can be easily read in 15-20 minutes.

For the articles, he is looking for easy-read, fluffy, non-controversial articles on Celebration, ie town events or Celebration City History. Send original pieces only not recaps of recent articles.

Good luck.

May's meeting reminder

2007-05-07T19:55:00.000-04:00

Reminder -- One Word at a time meets this Thursday, May 10.

We'll be discussing point of view. See you at Susan's Courtside Cafe, 6:00 pm downtown Kissimmee.

What's your point of view?

2007-05-07T19:15:00.000-04:00

April's meeting accomplished much. I came away feeling happy that I've become associated with the Osceola writers interested in improving their craft. Our assignment was to bring examples of dialogue mixed with narrative to make the story interesting, move the story forward, and give the dialogue impact. Everyone participated and brought samples to share. We all read our works and received critiquing from the others. Later Liz Nielson wanted to discuss point of view. We touched on the subject and helped newcomer, Besa Kosova, analyze her point of view on her interesting work in progress.

I was thrilled to see Liz Nielson and Vicki Fischer who have both been unable to attend for most of the fall and winter. Welcome newcomer,Besa! I hope to see you again this week. Wow to everyone on their fantastic writing skills!

Now I want to invite everyone to May's meeting, which is this Thursday, May 10. Why don't we continue studying about point of view. If you can, bring samples or definitions you can find on the subject to share. They can be your own work or quotes from others. Many writers find point of view confusing. Maybe we can help clarify the rules. Can the rules be broken? Sometimes in genre writing they can be if the author knows how and has a purpose in doing so. James Patterson is one example. I'll bring one of his books and give some examples.

For our June meeting, I want to focus on increasing our membership. Think about bringing a friend who might be interested in participating in our writer's group. We can bring pieces of work to read. There might even be some prizes awarded!

Hope to see you all Thursday!

Jerri

April Meeting

2007-04-09T10:11:00.000-04:00

Join us for our April 12 writers meeting @ Susan's Courtside Cafe, 18 S. Orlando Ave., Kissimmee. 6:00-8:00 pm. Bring an example you've written mixing dialogue and narration. I will bring a contact list with email addresses. If you want to have a work critiqued you can email the piece to members you want to do that for you.

Hope to see you all there.

Block Talk

2007-04-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

Michael Lucker is beginning a weekly forum "Block Talk" answering writers questions. It begins Saturday, April 7 @ 12:00 noon EST. Go to the link below to register for the forum. When you get to the website click on the webinars tab.

Link

Recruiting Members

2007-04-03T19:51:00.000-04:00

We are always welcoming new members to our local writer's group. I placed a n anotice in the Osceola News Gazette and St. Cloud in the News inviting area writer's to join us in April. I've had a few responses. For May, I'd like everyone to spread the news and if you'd like, bring a friend. I may run the notices again.

In April we meet on the 12th. Narration is going to be the topic. In a scene narration should be interspersed with dialog to keep the flow moving. Don't rely on dialogue to drive your scenes. If you find your characters are talking too much, "take the control back from them. Report what one or the other says, don't use direct dialogue." This is per The New York Writers Workshop in the book "The Portable MFA in Creative Writing." The example they give goes somewhat like this -- D. & B. are having dinner in a quiet restuarant. The waitress just placed their food on the table. D. begins speaking.
"I like potatoes," she said.
"Marvelous," he told her.
"I like carrots, too."
"Imagine that," he said.
"And celery. Asparagus. I can't say much for yams...."
The dialog goes on in a long discourse with her naming all the vegetables she likes, or doesn't and the history of them all for about a half a page. - It would be better if after describing a few vegetables the author simply said, D. continued to identify her vegetable preferences. B. consumed the contents of his plate, nodding occasionally. He never cared much for vegetables, or at least the discussion of them. --

The example continues, but you can get an idea from this. The important part of the scene is establishing the relationship between the two characters, not how many vegetables can be listed. That is accomplished in the manual's edited version.

For the meeting next week, see if you can write a short scene with dialogue and narration. We will read them.

Everyone have a great weekend!

March Meeting-One Word at a Time

2007-03-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Our next meeting is coming up next Thursday, March 8. Thought we'd do some readings of our work. So, if you have something you want to share, bring it. If you want, we can do some writing excercises. I'll bring my little prompt book.

Last month there was a suggestion that if we want to have some of our work critiqued, you could either send it by email or post it to the blog. Remember the blog is public domain. If you want to post to the blog, I need to invite you. Just let me know. Or you could email me your excerpt as an attachment and I can copy it onto a blog. I will email our group members, and attach a member list with their contact information. If you don't want any part of your contact information shared with the other members, notify me via email. I will not post any contact information on the blog unless asked to do so

See you Thursday Eve.
Comment: Individual Blogs can be monitored for types of readers allowed.

Mystery Writer Speaking

2007-03-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

Orlando Chapter sends an invite to their meeting on March 7. Mystery novelist, Thomas B. Cavanagh will be giving a presentation about writing in the mystery genre.

Tom is the Director of Online Course Design & Development at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has also written and managed numerous multimedia programs and a number of award-winning children's television programs for Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, and others. He has taught Digital Storytelling at Valencia Community College and Screenwriting at the Full Sail media school. He holds a PhD in Texts & Technology from the University of Central Florida.

The meeting will be on Wednesday, March 7, 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the University Club of Winter Park, located at 841 Park Ave. North. That's on the corner of Park and Webster, just north of the heart of downtown Winter Park. Go to the side entrance where you'll see a long ramp. The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Tom Wallace at tommyflorida@earthlink.net, or at 407-332-0122.

February Meeting Notes

2007-02-21T22:16:00.000-05:00

I feel like we accomplished some business matters at the last meeting. We discussed meeting times and days and frequency. Since everyone wasn't there, I want to survey everyone about this. Let me know or enter discussion on what days, times you prefer to meet for our group. We set it up a while back for Thursday, but we don't necessarily have to keep it that way. Also let me know if meeting once a month works for you or if you prefer to meet twice a month, same day or different day.

We spoke briefly about the anthology that we started taking submissions for a year ago. This is not progressing as expected. If we want to continue with it, we should consider submission guidelines again. Jenean suggested marketing it on the internet. She has a writing site on Amazon that might work. It would cost less than printing it. Share your thoughts.

One of my goals for the group this year is to bring in some speakers. I met some fascinating people at the last conference and hope to invite them. Do you have any preferences in subject matter?

Oh, Janean is going to help post to this blog. If anyone else wants to, she or I can invite you. We are investigating how to do that. I did it once. It worked for Janean but Vicki said she couldn't get it to work for her.

It's going to be a Great Writing Year! Join us in March. No agenda yet, I'm open to suggestions.

Events for Writers

2007-02-16T20:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry I'm late with this but there are a couple events that Rose Sturtevant shared with me that I wanted to notify our members about. They are sponsered by MAD about Words.

It's a big weekend for arts and literature lovers. Scribblers!

"Here are several events you won't want to miss:"

Mad about Words EVENTS FOR WRITERS

Saturday, February 17, is the third Saturday of the month, so MAD about Words will be WRITING AROUND TOWN. Sometimes a burden can turn out to be a blessing. This time we'll meet in comfy Woolson House on the Rollins Campus to ponder and write about some of life's paradoxes. Rollins College Professor of English and writing guru Lezlie Laws has prepared a prompt that will open your mind, heart, and writing to new possibilities. Writers of all experience welcome.

*Start time is 9:00 am. Place Woolson House on Rollins College Campus.

*Cost is $30 at the door.

*For information email info@MADaboutWords.com or call 407-963-4450

Saturday, February 24, YOGA AND WRITING

Saturday, March3, INTRODUCTION TO WRITING FOR CHILDREN

Go to the Mad About Words website for information.

Thank you

2007-01-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

Thank you Rawleigh Sallee for taking the pictures at the Elementary Writing Contest Library Event. I plan to scan them so I can add them to this blog.

Join us in February

2007-01-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

Join us for our February meeting. It will be held February 8 at Susan's Courtside Cafe. We didn't get a chance to discuss our new year plans last time so I hope to have that on the agenda. Start thinking about what your vision for One Word at a Time is. Let's work on some writing excercises. We also need to discuss how we are going to proceed with the anthology.

Hope to see you there.

Finalists of Elementary Contest published

2007-01-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

The Osceola Sentinel posted information about our writer's group and the Mill Creek Writing Contest. The five winners were posted. It appeared in the January 1o Education News Briefs provided by the Osceola District Schools. I sent them a picture but it didn't get there in time for the article. Here it is.

Here are the names: Left to right back row - Carmen Richards (Friends of the Library), Jerri Fenton (One Word at a Time Leader), Susan Salano (Judge), Janine Grigolovich ( prize contributor), Tina Sallee (Judge, school laison).

Front Row: Jann Figueroa, Christian Juan, Corenza Jean, Cheyenne Danniels, Danielle Chetram, Laura Bermudez, Kimberly Romero, Giabi Angulo (honoree's who attended the library event)

There were twenty finalists. Five first prize winners, Five second prize winners, Five third prize winners and Five honorable mentions. Their stories were displayed at the library for three weeks.

Thank you again for all the help. You made this event a wonderful success. The children were excited and parents were proud. What a fun way to encourage literacy.

Interesting Presentation

2007-01-27T16:40:00.000-05:00

I'm back to the blog. Sorry it's been so long since the last update.

At the January meeting, AJ Robinson, FWA Central Florida Regional Group Leader, joined us. He gave an enthusiastic presentation about screenwriting. He sited examples from his own writing and and gave examples from movies. We were all scribbling down notes to capture all his knowledge for future use.

AJ made the point that movie makers are always searching for good scripts. The format is extremely important. He went over that with us in detail. Not much detail is needed for scenery and character development is accomplished through dialogue and only brief description. Details are given only if an unusual character trait is important to the story.

The three act format can also be used when writing in other genres, thus making an adaptation possible.

Thank you AJ for your presentation.

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T19:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Happy New Year!

My immediate goal for the new year is to keep up with this blog site. Please be patient. Between working full time, leading the writer's group, writing a novel, and contacting agents to represent my novel "Runaway", it's sometimes difficult to find the time to keep up with it all. I'm an infant in this venue so am soliciting help in creating an exciting - fun to visit site.

December News:

We concluded the elementary school writing competition. Judges Tina Salee, Susan Salano, Sarah Jane Dixon, and Jerri Fenton read over 150 manuscripts from five classes at Mill Creek Elementary School. The entrants were third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Essays were written as classroom assignments on topics selected by the teachers, and judged on structure, mechanics, details of description, and originality. Twenty semi-finalist essays on varied topics were chosen. The students edited and re-wrote their essays which were displayed at the Osceola County Kissimmee Library from December 21 until January 6.

Our partnership with the Osceola County Libraries, Friends of the Library and, Mill Creek Elementary School made this event a great success. We also received prize donations from Florida Writer's Association, Friends of the Library, Career & Technical Education Department of Osceola Schools and members of One Word at a Time writer's group. I want to thank the judges and volunteers Ms. Araujo, Ms. Acosta, Ms. Earhart, Ms. Brown, Ms. Voytka teachers at Mill Creek Elementary; Rose Sturtevant, Osceola County Library; Carmen Richards, Friends of the Library; Janine Grigelevich, One Word at a Time. This event couldn't have happened without your time and effort. I'm planning to post the winners and pictures at a future date, when I have all the data.

January Meeting

Please join us on January 11 @ 6:00 p.m. for our first meeting for 2007. I've invited FWA Central Florida Regional leader A.J. Robinson to come speak to us. A.J. took over the responsibilities of regional leader last spring when Paul Nutcher resigned.

Since it is a new year, let's also discuss our goals as a group for the new year. I met some interesting people at the conference that we might want to invite to present to our group.

Remember this is your group, so get involved and let us know your visions.

See you there.

Awards Presentation for The Kids of Mill Creek at The Library

2006-12-22T15:39:00.000-05:00

Last night, Thursday, December 21st, was the awards presentation at the library for the student writers. I thought I hadn’t contributed enough in the last couple months to the One Word At A Time group and looked forward to helping set-up (which didn’t require much at all) and just being present in support of both our group and the kids. I had hoped to contribute a lot however not only was I not only able to hardly contribute an ounce of anything, I walked away with more personally than I came with.
Jerri did a wonderful job being the backbone of this initiative and the library and The Friends of The Library did as well. It sounded all cute and fun but turned out to be quite an inspiration for our group. Two significant factors stood out to me: one was when Rose said, “ . . .and some of us have been trying to write a long time . . .” and the other was the fact that I don’t ever recall having opportunities like these when I was a kid.
Rose motivated me to not get frustrated with lack of progress in my writing. She is obviously a little older than me and here she was talking to kids obviously a little younger than me. I don’t know if those children absorbed the lesson (which was for them) but I sure did. Keep going keep going keep going.
Maybe if I had an avenue to write outside my school curriculum way back when, I would be further along in my writing goals. I’d hate to have any child miss an opportunity to pursue what they enjoy or have a talent for.
I surely support Jerri and our group with any further initiative they have in mind along these lines. The slightest encouragement to write for the kids may turn out either a noble prize writer or, simply and significantly, someone who shares their spectacular talent with the world.
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to help and I look forward to much more “helping” in the future.

December meeting changes

2006-11-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

At our last meeting we decided to make the December 14 meeting a social event. It will be our group's second anniversary and a holiday celebration. Susan Salano has volunteered to have the meeting at her home in Poinciana. I will email our current members with the address. The meeting will start at 6:30 (a little later so we can get to Poinciana) and will be a potluck. So everyone bring a goody to share. For those of us who are coming from St. Cloud and Kissimmee, we might want to carpool.

I thought it would be fun if everyone brought a poem, blurb, short-short, excerpt, about a holiday to share. Also on the agenda - Elementary Writing Contest, Blog, future speakers.

So, hope to see you all at Susan Salano's house (Not the cafe).

Elementary Writing Contest

2006-11-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

Tina Salee has been working diligently with the third and fourth graders at Mill Creek Elementary to participate in the first One Word at a Time writing competition. Each class that participated were given a prompt to write about. All students in each class participated. A team of four judges were picked from the attendees at the last meeting to read and comment on the submissions. Essays will be judged on originality, form, grammar and punctuation, FCAT standards of writing.

From each class we will choose five semi-finalists and from the semi-finalists we will choose 1 first prize, 1 second prize, 1 third prize, and 2 honorable mentions. We will have the semi-finalists re-write a final draft to be displayed on a construction paper frame. These will be displayed at the Kissimmee branch of the Osceola Library on December 21. Jerri Fenton and Tina Sallee (if we get the school's permission) will announce the semi-finalists in the classrooms that participated. Following that we plan to run an announcement in the Osceola Gazette, Osceola Sentinel, and the school district news about the contest. It will announce the awards ceremony at the library on December 21. We will also send out invitations to the participants and their parents.

Friends of the library are donating $50 for the first prize winners. If anyone else wants to donate, we need prizes for the second place, third place. Let's discuss this. Maybe it would be best to give items such as books, tablets, gift certificates especially since we don't have a treasury yet for our group. What do you all think?

On this same note, anyone who wants to volunteer to participate in the awards ceremony, we can use the help. It will be on Thursday, December 21 6:30 p.m. We will need treats, people to give treats, help with set up, people to help give out prizes, people to help design the display board, people to direct participants to the specified area. Any ideas are welcome.

PS we also need a display board to accomodate about 50 - 8 1/2" x 11" pages. If anyone has any idea where we can borrow or rent something, let Jerri know.

Thank you Sara Jane, Susan, Tina for all your help.

Fantastic Conference

2006-11-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Kudos to all the FWA team who put together another great FWA annual conference. I heard there were over 200 attendees. Special thanks to Osceola members Liz Nielson who managed the book store,and Marcia Rankin who coordinated the classes. She made sure the instructors got to the right place at the right time and that the classroom facilities were functional. Others in attendance from One Word at a Time were Christine Johnson, Alan Southerland, and Jerri Fenton. It was nice to see familiar faces, get reacquainted with some of the members I met at the last conference. The Florida Writer's motto "Writers helping writers" was certainly in full force. I met some interesting people who I would like to come speak to our group--more on this later.

Exciting new changes in the FWA organization were announced! Among them are: A new online bookstore, organizational Blogs, E-discussion google groups,a leaders google group,a format and name change for the newsletter, and a new look and format to the website. Check them out. The link is above.

FWA President Daniel Griffith gave an inspiring speech at the wrap up of the conference on the subject "Be like little children". He encouraged everyone to be creative, fun loving, curious, spontaneous as are the little children. Take time to see the world around you.

Thank you Dan.

Welcome

2006-11-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new blog. We are excited about this new method of getting the information out to the public and our members. Be sure to visit us often to keep informed about what's happening in our growing Osceola FWA Group.

Our monthly meeting meets tomorrow, November 9 @ 6:00 -8:00 p.m. We will be using part of the time to read some elementary school writing contest submissions. We may need to schedule another time to finish this project as there are about 70 submissions. We want to pick 5 entries from each class. There will be a 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and 2 honerable mentions. We hope to work with the Central Library to display the winners entries.

For information about the location contact Jerri Fenton, @ jerri_mike@earthlink.net. This information is also on the FWA website under the tab groups.

Hope to see you soon.