The Electronic Write Stuff
Writing News for
the
http://www.northfloridawriters.org
In this issue:
21st Annual Writers’ Festival Set Mar. 8-11
Romance Writers to Hear Steve Berry and Sherry Wolfe
Harry Potter E-Mails – Howard Denson
NFW to Meet in Green Cove Springs on Jan. 20
Just the Ticket for Fracis
Writecorner Press Announces Short Fiction and Poetry Contests
Quote from a Writer's Quill – Joseph Joubert
Writers Born This Month: J. R.R. Tolkien, Zora Neale Hurston, Anne Bronte, John O’Hara, and many others
Calendar of Events
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21ST ANNUAL WRITERS’ FESTIVAL SET MAR. 8-11
The 21st annual Florida First Coast Writers’ Festival will be held
The speakers and Festival faculty will include Janet Bevan,
Check the Festival webpage for information: http://www.fccj.edu/wf
This Festival will offer a special master in fiction, to be conducted by novelists Dave Poyer and Lenore Hart. Attendance is limited to the first seven registrants so register today.
For regular Festival Registration, go to the website and download
the PDF registration form. It can be faxed to Sara Turner at
904.713.4858, or mailed to: Writers’ Festival
Registrations,
The Festival also offer online registrations and payments through its secure server.
Essentially, a complete Festival package is $300 (early bird rate) or $330 (regular). Individual days (Friday and Saturday) are $100 (early bird) or $110 (regular), with Sunday being $80 (early bird) or $90. The Friday evening banquet will be $45 (early bird) or $55 (regular).
There is a special hotel rate for out-of-towners. The Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront is offering a special
$89 rate for Festival attendees. This rate can be accessed
at the
ROMANCE WRITERS TO HEAR STEVE BERRY AND SHERRY WOLFE
The First Coast
Romance Writers will hear novelist Steve Berry Saturday, Jan. 13, at
He has been writing since 1990. In 2000 and 2001 he won the Georgia State Bar fiction writing contest and his two short stories appeared in the Georgia State Bar Journal. He also tried his hand at novel contests. An early version of his first published novel, The Amber Room, placed third at the 1998 Florida First Coast Writers Festival.
Though his undergraduate degree was in political science, and he was trained as a lawyer, his interest in history led him to write international suspense thrillers. He also credits the nuns who taught him in elementary school with instilling the discipline needed to both craft a novel, then sell it to a publisher. It took him 12 years—85 rejections over five different manuscripts—before Ballantine Books finally bought a manuscript.
His first two books, “The Amber Room” and “The Romanov Prophecy” were both national bestsellers. His next novel, “The Third Secret,” became an instant bestseller, debuting at #13 on The New York Times hardcover list and climbing to #5 on the paperback list. His next, “The Templar Legacy,” debuted at #4 on The New York Times bestseller list (spending eight weeks in the top 10) and climbed into the top 10 for USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, and Booksense bestseller lists too.
He is also an international bestseller. Rights to all four novels have been sold worldwide—currently in 37 countries and 34 languages. In 2005, Steve was selected by the Georgia Writer's Association as its Author of the Year.
Steve
travels a great deal and has spent time in the
“Developing a Career Plan / Making Time to Write” will be the topic of Sherry Wolfe’s interactive session on how to overcome the obstacles that keep you from achieving your writing goals, how to set deadlines and meet them, and develop a clear, concise career plan.
Sherry Wolfe joined First Coast Romance Writers in 2006. She enjoys writing romantic suspense almost as much as she enjoys reading it. She has written for educational venues for over ten years and has published a children's play. She says her greatest thrill in writing a play when the audience laughs at all the right spots!
Her days are kept busy teaching her middle school students and
keeping up with the three children that follow her home everyday. Between the
baseball practices and theater performances (and with the help of a supportive
husband), she slips in some writing time. A graduate of
[EDITOR’s
NOTE: This
newsletter cannot vouch for the authenticity of what is purported to be an
e-mail exchange between J.K. Rowling and two of her editors. We discount
the suggestion that the exchange is purely imaginary since
the newsletter editor lacks inventiveness and got all of his jokes from the old
Jack Benny radio show.]
HARRY
POTTER E-MAILS
Edited by HOWARD DENSON
Jo:
Thanks for letting us know the title for the last (can we talk about this?) Harry Potter book. “Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows” is all right, I suppose. At least it’s
better than “HP and the Half-Breed Prince.” – PM
PM: The title will be fine. I wish you and the other publishing
minions trusted my judgment more. – JKR
Jo: Good Lord, we trust you implicitly and without reservation. You
have made yourself, Publishing Minions Inc., and the movie companies
filthy rich. I suppose it’s just human nature –
or business nature – not to want to see the gravy-train get derailed. The
youngsters in the books have become young adults, and the young readers have
become young adults, too. It’s just that there
are lots more HP stories out there. In the attachment, I’ll
include some titles of possible new works. They don’t
have to be 700 pages long. A mere 200 or 300 pages
would do fine. – PM
PM: I’m sorry, but I can only assume that the
entire office must have been smoking something when you came up with your
list. “Harry Potter and the Testicles of Steel” – What were you people
thinking of? It’s a wonder you didn’t include
“HP Rides Again,” “Son of HP,” or “The Ghost of HP.” – JKR
Jo: Okay, when we sobered up, some of us spotted some potential problems
with “HP & TOS,” so I’ll concede that. But the series begs to have other story lines
included. For example, switched identity: HP changes into Hermiome or Ron (or vice versa). .
.or the evil entity makes himself look like HP. . .or they step into an
alternate universe where HP’s parents are still
alive, but he’s a regular bloke, a muggle, and HP the
muggle steps into regular HP’s
universe. Hagrid is a midget in that
universe. Scenes filled with potential danger or laughs. – PM
PM: I don’t mind a Guiness
or two myself, but please don’t put on your thinking cap when you’re hanging
out in a pub with TV writers. Just drink and take a taxi home. Don’t try to come up with story lines. I must insist.
– JKR
Jo: Sorry for the disconnect for several weeks,
but I just got out of rehab. Everyone in there suggested that HP should
be doing their jobs: nurse, nurse’s aide, physician, social worker, chef,
maintenance, etc. They suggested that HP could sort of do like the
American cable show, “Dirty Jobs,” with HP running a cafeteria in one book or
driving a milk-truck in another (“HP and the Rutabagas of Provencal” and “HP
and the Sour Disposition” were suggested as titles). – PM
PM: I’m glad you’re feeling better. It’s not necessary to relay every suggestion to me.
You really need to check out my website, www.jkrowling.com,
where I have all sorts of rumors and suggestions from faithful readers. – JKR
Jo: I enjoyed the website. I chased the butterfly all over the
page, but the spider scared me out of my wits. – PM
PM: That explains things (ha ha). – JKR
Jo: I’m sorry to be a nuisance, but my
supervisors here at PM Inc. are insisting that I bring up the issue of what
comes after book #7. If you don’t want to
continue with HP himself, they also like a series about someone like Hermione
and, for any films, there are thousands of actresses who’d kill for the
role. Pamela Anderson has been practicing an English accent, though the
character might need to be Canadian for her to handle it. The honchos
tell me some test footage shows she is a very convincing in the opening as a
15-year-old whose only goal is to work at Hooter’s. –
PM
PM: No. – JKR
Jo: I don’t mean to be a bother, but I’ll be
history if I don’t do a decent enough pitch for some sequels. Ron or
someone very like him graduates and becomes a private eye and magician for
hire. He’s doing kids’ birthday parties until a
villain has him framed for some felony. In the big house, thugs try to
molest him, but they end up getting changed into
chimpanzees. When he’s released, he tries to escape
his past and to redeem himself. Suggested title:
“I the Judge, Jury, and Conjurer.” (One of the chimps becomes his
partner. Possible title: “Ron Weasley
and Bonzo.”) As he gets older, he could drive
a Maxwell and always claim to be only 39 years old. – PM
Ms. Rowling: As per your suggestion, PM has moved on to greener pastures,
and I’ve taken over his responsibilities. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to working with
you. I’ve seen almost all of the Harry Potter
movies and am up to page 119 of the first book. (Wow, you really write
long. I’m impressed!!!) The guys
in the office were really enthusiastic about your agreeing to do a book #8, 9,
etc.; they said all I had to do was close the deal. A round number of 10
or 12 would be fine, but a baker’s dozen (that’s 13 I
found out) might even be better. The guys were
pointing out that HP is a good-looking stud and that he would really appeal to
the chicks. One of the suggested titles (see attachment) is ideal for a
magical bedroom romp. They don’t have to be
steel. Iron, brass, or bronze might do as well. – Brian ("I'm Not a Moogle Anyway")
--------------------------------------
NFW TO MEET IN GREEN COVE SPRINGS ON JAN. 20
The North Florida Writers will meet at
Coming up from the south over the
----------------------------------------
Google has come up with a way for search engines to benefit various groups, and we’re suggesting that you bookmark GoodSearch so that, every time you need to search for something on the web, Stage Aurora Theatrical Company would receive something. Go to GoodSearch and type in “Stage Aurora” for the group where it asks, “Who do you GoodSearch for?”
Stage
http://www.ticketleap.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&cid=1AEFE515-40CA-7A03-16F0049F146B9EFF
Just the Ticket for Fracis
Sohrab Homi Fracis, a native of Mumbai (aka
Fracis is far too modest to suggest that anyone translate it into Spanish or Italian or French. Okay, perhaps Klingon.
WRITECORNER PRESS ANNOUNCES SHORT FICTION AND POETRY CONTESTS
The short fiction contest (with a deadline of Apr. 30) offers the $1,100 E.M. Koeppel 2007 Short Fiction Award, with Editors’ Choice awards being $100 each.
Editors Mary Sue Koeppel and Robert Gentry say that entries must be original and unpublished. They may be in any style and on any theme, but each is limited to 3,000 words. Send one copy of the story and two typed title pages. Put only the title on the first title page. On a second title page, list title of the story, author’s name, phone, address, e-mail address (optional), short bio. Fee: $15 for one story, $10 for each additional story. Payment must accompany submissions. Anonymous judging. Include a SASE for list of winners.
In addition to the $1,100 award, the E.M. Koeppel fiction winner will receive the $500 P.L. Titus Scholarship if the winner is of any age attending a college, school, or university when the story is submitted. Scholarship money may be used for any purpose.
The poetry contest (deadline of Feb. 28) offers the $5OO Writecorner Press Annual Poetry Prize, again with Editors’ Choice awards of $100 each. Poetry may be in any style, any subject. Any number of unpublished poems may be entered. Maximum lines: 40. Send one copy of each unpublished, typed poem with no author identification on the pages. On the top of the second copy of each poem list author’s name, phone, address, e-mail address (optional), short bio (about 4 lines). Entry fee: $5 for the first poem, $3 for each additional poem. Payment must accompany submissions. Anonymous judging. Winners - announced in late spring. Include a SASE for a list of winners or watch website for winners.
Mail the entries with check or money order (no cash) to either Koeppel Contest or Writecorner Poetry Contest,
Winning entries will be published at the WriteCorner website (www.writecorner.com). Check the site for more information and for past winners.
Ms. Koeppel for 17 years was editor of Kalliope, the national, award winning literary journal. Gentry is an award-winning fiction writer.
WRITERS BORN IN JANUARY
1--Francis Bacon (1561), Edmund Burke (1729), Arthur Hugh Clough (1819), E. M. Forster (1879), J. D. Salinger (1919), and Joe Orton (1933); 2--Abdülhak Hamid (1852), Isaac Asimov (1920) and Leonard Michaels (1933); 3--J. R. R. Tolkien (1892);
5--Khristo Botev (1848) and W. D. Snodgrass (1926); 6--Carl Sandburg (1878), Alan Watts (1915), E. L. Doctorow (1931); 7--Zora Neale Hurston (1903?) and Robert Duncan (1919); 8--Wilkie Collins (1824), Peter Taylor (1917), Charles Thomlinson (1927), Elvis Presley (1935), and Leon Forrest (1937); 9--Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1873), Simone de Beauvoir (1908), Herbert Huncke (1915), William Meredith (1919), and Judith Krantz (1928);
10--Robinson Jeffers (1887) and Philip Levine (1928); 11--Alan Patton (1903) and Ellery Queen co-author Manifred B. Lee (1905); 12--Jack London (1876) and Haruki Murakami (1949); 13--Horatio Alger (1834) and Edmund White (1940); 14--John Dos Passos (1896), Tillie Olson (1913), Dudley Randall (1914), and Yukio Mishima (1925);
15--Peter Christen Asbjrrnsen (1812), Martin Luther King Jr. (1929), and Ernest Gaines (1933); 16--Conte Vittorio Alfieri (1749), Robert W. Service (1876), Laura Riding (1901), Anthony Hecht (1923), William Kennedy (1928), and Susan Sontag (1933); 17--Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600), Benjamin Franklin (1706), Charles Brockden Brown (1771), Anne Brontë (1820), and Nevil Shute (1899); 18--A. A. Milne (1882) and Jon Stallworthy (1935); 19--Jacques Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737), Michel Bibaud (1782), Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom (1790), Edgar Allan Poe (1809), Patricia Highsmith (1921), J. D. Salinger (1929), Patricia Highsmith (1921), George Macbeth (1932), and Julian Barnes (1946);
20--Henry Bernstein (1876) and George Burns (1896); 21--Isaac Hawkins Browne (1705) and Joaquín Álvarez Quintero (1873); 22--Lord Byron (1788), August Strindberg (1849), Maurice Henry Hewlett (1861), and Joseph Wambaugh (1937); 23--Derek Walcott (1930); 24--William Congreve (1670), Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732), Charles Egbert Craddock (Mary Noailles Murfree) (1850), and Edith Wharton (1862);
25--Robert Burns (1759), W. Somerset Maugham (1874), Virginia Woolf (1882), and Gloria Naylor (1950); 26--Florent Chrestien (1541), Achim Arnim (1781), Samuel Hopkins Adams (1871), Jules Feiffer (1929); 27--Lewis Carroll (1832), Mordecai Richler (1931), and D. M. Thomas (1935); 28--António Feliciano de Castilho (1800); 29--Anton Chekhov (1860) and Colette (1873);
30--Walter Savage Landor (1775), Adelbert von Chamisso (1781), and Richard Brautigan (1933); 31--Zane Grey (1875), John O'Hara (1905), Thomas Merton (1915), Norman Mailer (1923), and Kenzaburo Oe (1935).
QUOTE FROM A WRITER'S QUILL
You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some with you.
--Joseph Joubert
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Meetings of NFW are held at
Sat., Jan. 20,
Sat., Feb. 10,
You may receive feedback from specific individuals by mailing the manuscript and return postage to the above address.
Past speakers have included novelists Jack Hunter, David Poyer, Page Edwards, Ruth Coe Chambers, William Kerr, Tom Lashley, Vic DiGenti, and Nate Tolar; poets, William Slaughter, Mary Baron, Mary Sue Koeppel, Dorothy Fletcher, George Gilpatrick, John Hammond; columnists Vic Smith, Tom Ivines, and Robert Blade; editors Buford Brinlee and Nan Ramey; agent Debbie Fine; magazine editor Sara Summers; medical writers Elizabeth Tate and Michael Pranzatelli; oral historian Robert Gentry; plus many others.
"WE ASPIRE TO CREATE WITH WORDS."
The Write Staff
Richard Levine, President (richieL@gct.net)
Carrol Wolverton, Vice President (carrolwolve@hotmail.com)
Kathy Marsh, Secretary (kmarsh@fdn.com)
Howard Denson, Treasurer and newsletter editor (hdenson@fccj.edu)
Joel Young, Public Relations (joshua7786@aol.com)
Doris Cass, Hospitality (ostie46@aol.com)
Presidents Emeritus: Frank Green, Dan Murphy, Howard Denson, Nate Tolar, Joyce Davidson (Davent2005@comcast.net), Margaret Gloag (haggisgal@juno.com), Richard Levine, Bob Alexander, Jo Ann Harter, Carrol Wolverton
Newsletter address: The Write Stuff, FCCJ North,
Homepage address: http://www.northfloridawriters.org
Homepage editor: Richard Levine
Submissions to the newsletter should generally be about writing or publishing. We pay in copies to the contributors, with modest compensation for postage and copying.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE NFW
If you are writing a story or poem, you will need some expert feedback -- the sort that you will receive at a meeting of the North Florida Writers. You won't profit from automatic praise that a close friend or relative might give or jealous criticism from others who may feel threatened by your writing.
The NFW specializes in CONSTRUCTIVE feedback that will enable your manuscript to stand on its own two feet and demand that it be accepted by an editor or agent. Hence, you need the NFW. The North Florida Writers is a writer's best friend because we help members to rid manuscripts of defects and to identify when a work is exciting and captivating.
If you want to check to see if your dues are current, contact the treasurer at hd3nson@hotmail.com. Membership is $15 for students, $25 for individuals, and $40 for a family. (Make out checks to WRITERS.)
Won't you join today?
The following is an application. Mail your check to WRITERS,
Name__________________________________________________
St. address___________________________________________
Apt. No. _____________________________________________
City ________________State _____ Zip _________________
E-mail address(es) ___________________________________
HOW DOES CRITIQUING WORK?
When you attend a meeting of the North Florida Writers, you eventually discover that NO ONE has ever died while his or her manuscript was being read and critiqued. You may be ready to face the ordeal yourself. . .or, reading this, you may wonder what exactly takes place during a critiquing.
First, you pitch your manuscript into a stack with others' works-in-progress. Then one of the NFW members hands out each piece to volunteer readers, taking care NOT to give you back your own manuscript to read.
Second, as the reading begins, each author is instructed NOT to identify himself or herself and especially NOT to explain or defend the work. The writer may never have heard the piece read aloud by another's voice, so the writer needs to focus on the sound of his or her sentences.
Third, at the finish of each selection, the NFW members try to offer constructive advice about how to make the story better. If a section was confusing or boring, that information may be helpful to the author.
The NFW will listen to 10 pages (double-spaced) of prose (usually a short story or a chapter).
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