2012 Meeting Dates

We meet in the Excel building (white building with red roof behind the main house) at Rippavilla Plantation - click here for directions, and all of our meetings are scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Our Critique Sessions are the first Thursday of every month. Our Creative Writing Sessions are the third Thursday of every month. And our Night of Learning is scheduled in months with a fifth Thursday.

Here is a list of our of 2012 meeting dates (check back often as new dates are added for special events):

Jan. 5 - Critique Session
Jan. 19 - Creative Writing Session
Feb. 2 - Critique Session
Feb. 16 - Creative Writing Session
Mar. 1 - Critique Session
Mar. 15 - Creative Writing Session
Mar. 29 - 5th Thursday Night of Learning
Apr. 5 - Critique Session
Apr. 19 - Creative Writing Session
May 3 - Critique Session
May 17 - Creative Writing Session
May 31 - 5th Thursday Night of Learning
June 7 - Critique Session
June 21 - Creative Writing Session
July 5 - Critique Session
July 19 - Creative Writing Session
Aug. 2 - Critique Session
Aug. 16 - Creative Writing Session
Aug. 30 - 5th Thursday Night of Learning
Sept. 6 - Critique Session
Sept. 20 - Creative Writing Session
Oct. 4 - Critique Session
Oct. 18 - Creative Writing Session
Nov. 1 - Critique Session
Nov. 3 - Fall Feast - 6:00 p.m. (date subject to change)
Nov. 15 - Creative Writing Session
Nov. 29 - 5th Thursday Night of Learning (may cancel)
Dec. 6 - Critique Session
Dec. 20 - Creative Writing Session

If you are not on our e-mail list, e-mail us at livingwriterscollective@yahoo.com to receive meeting reminders, meeting changes, and newsletters.

New Year, New Writing You

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season, whether you have celebrated your holiday already or your holiday celebration is still to come. I hope in the midst of all the holiday craziness and excitement, you are taking the time to observe the people and the world around you and mining gems from this season that will enhance your writing.

Welcome a visit from the ghost of your writing past, the ghost of your writing present, and the ghost of your writing future. What would each of these ghosts show you? Where are you in your writing journey? Where do you want to be? If you are serious about writing, why not make 2012 your year?

I hope as you are preparing your writing goals for the new year, you include some achievable and challenging projects. Maybe you need to master grammar and style. Maybe you need to look for markets to submit that series of short stories to. Maybe you need to sign up for that writing program you’ve been putting off. Maybe you need to finish that novel you’ve been working on. Maybe you need to write that screenplay that’s been burning a hole in your brain. Maybe you need to find a writing partner to share the workload and keep you accountable. Maybe you need to sell something—an article, a short story, a devotional, a novel, a screenplay, a poem . . .

As for LWC, we’ve had a great 2011. We’ve focused a lot on inspiration, education, and motivation this year:

• Bestselling author Lisa Patton spoke to us last spring (during the very successful community event LWC hosted at the library) about having hope in the world of writing. Her sweet spirit and encouragement ignited something inside me, and I’ve been in a writing frenzy ever since—completing not only a screenplay with my writing partner, but also completing my first novel (and with three prior novels only half-written, I didn’t have a very good track record).

• The LWC committee proactively addressed the need for an education focus and named Cece Dockins our education coordinator.

• Education surveys were distributed to all members, and most of our education planning in 2011 was structured around your responses.

• Our 5th Thursday Night of Learning sessions have included: How to give and receive critique. An introduction to screenplay writing and how to write with a partner. Generating ideas. How to self edit. Writing a book proposal. Formatting and submitting. And point of view—beginning to advanced.

• The 2nd annual Fall Feast was a huge success! See the header of our blog to view a collage of 2011 Fall Feast pics.

• Author Leonardo Ramirez spoke to us about creating strong and amazing characters, traditional and self publishing, and juggling the writing life with family time and a full-time job.

• LWC began a project to give back to our community and to thank our host for the free use of our meeting space with our garden project at Rippavilla. Team Weed and Team Mulch have completed their parts in this project. Team Plant will follow through into the spring of 2012.

• LWC members gave generously (we raised $147) to a much-needed table fund to support our growing group.

• Critique buddies were created to provide a richer and more focused critique option (outside of our general critique sessions) for LWC writers. Critique buddies has been very successful with at least three groups currently active.

• Pre-critique was added to our general monthly critique session to provide writers with a more thorough critique option.

• Creative writing nights have focused on: Resisting the urge to edit as you write your first draft. Themes in horror. Humor in poetry. Descriptive writing. Point of view. Themes gone bad. Vocabulary building. Writing your autobiography. And choosing powerful nouns and active verbs.

• We’ve added dozens of new contacts and at least ten new attending members (much of this due to the Lisa Patton event last spring).

• We started an LWC Facebook page where LWC members can communicate. It has been very active and currently has 30 members. If you aren’t on it and want to be, let me know.

• LWC members contributed to a fun top-five series on our LWC blog.

Can you believe how much fun we’ve had and how much we’ve learned this year?

If you missed out in 2011, no worries. We have lots of great things in store for 2012, so as you are making your 2012 writing goals, be sure to include attending LWC meetings (and joining the LWC facebook group) as one of your goals. Education will continue to be a driving force for LWC. We will also spend some time focusing on marketing and submitting and will work to bring in more authors who can speak to us from their own experiences. Through our growth, we will continue to make sure LWC has that welcoming small-group feel so new visitors will feel at home.

And we will continue to focus on our mission above all else: we exist to support and encourage each other as we journey on the road to publication.

At our January 5 critique session, we will celebrate five years of LWC (and I’ll be bringing a super cool treat), so it’s a great time to start. I’ll see you all in 2012.

Wishing you lots of writing success in the new year,
Karen

LWC Presents: Leonardo Ramirez

Living Writers Collective's

Creative Writing Night

Guest Speaker: Leonardo Ramirez

Author of graphic novel Haven

TOPIC: Characterization (Interview Your Characters)

At Rippavilla Plantation in the Excel building

Thursday, November 17, 2011
7:00 p.m.

Leonardo Ramirez is a writer whose joy first comes from being a husband and a dad and enjoying life with his family. Ramirez has been writing for twenty years with his first published work released as a graphic novel titled, Haven, published by Markosia Enterprises. Ramirez is in the process of publishing his prose version of his novel titled, Haven of Dante; The Staff of Moshe, and is currently writing a children's book.

Ramirez has had appearances at GMX, where he hosted numerous panels including one with James O'Barr (creator of The Crow), Nashville Comic-Con, Outer Limits Comics, Rick's Comic City, Fairy Tales Bookstore, Southern Festival of Books, Author's Circle at the Williamson County Library. He also enjoys meeting with local high schoolers about their passion for creativity.

His work made one of the top ten best new releases for 2010 by Gelati's Scoop and has been featured on Comics About Girls...by a Girl Podcast as well as The Columbia Herald, Playstation Comics, Megacomics Weekly and many others.

Visit Ramirez's Web site at www.leonardoverse.com and his blog at www.leonardoverse.blogspot.com.

If you are not an LWC regularly attending member, please contact Karen Aldridge at 615-302-2920 by Tuesday, Nov. 15, to reserve a seat.

Fall Feast 2011

Living Writers Collective

FALL FEAST

Saturday, November 5
6:00 P.M.

Eric's House

(Directions will be sent in an e-mail closer to the date)

Bring your object muse or a mask that represents the writer in you for group pictures.

Sign up at any LWC session or e-mail Karen Aldridge

Critiquing the Night Away

FIFTH THURSDAY

NIGHT OF LEARNING

LWC Presents: Critiquing the Night Away

Presentation and Workshop
September 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Rippavilla Plantation (Excel building)

Critique topics that will be covered include how to critique for plot, character, dialogue, scene structure, description and voice; the purposes and benefits of “open,” read-aloud critique sessions; how to best utilize LWC critique buddies and pre-critique options to create a more thorough critique experience; how to choose critique buddies that are right for you; how to identify the various parts of a story; tips for nonfiction critique; and lots more.

Materials you will need for the workshop: 1. One short story or excerpt of a novel, no more than five pages (your own). 2. Different colored highlighters or colored pencils.

A complete agenda will be e-mailed to you on Tuesday. Whether you are just beginning your writing journey, or you’ve already had many writing successes, there will be something for you. We hope to see you ALL there.

Presented by:
Cece Dockins and Karen Aldridge

What Books or Authors Influence Your Writing: LWC Writers Share Their Top Five

This winter LWC will celebrate five years of LWC. We are starting the celebration a little early by doing a weekly top-five series. Each Wednesday LWC members will post their top-five answers to a specific question. This is week seven, and LWC writers were asked this question:

What are your favorite books or authors, and what did they teach you about writing?

Ross Martin:

1. Mark Twain
2. Stephen King
3. The First Five Pages
4. Writers Digest
5. Grapes of Wrath

Sheryl Griffin:

1. Bad Girls of the Bible….by Liz Curtis Higgs….Liz taught me it is ok to be honest about your past. She also opened my eyes to many women in the Bible and I found myself relating to them all in different ways. Through Liz’s writing style, I learned the importance of transparency.

2. Getting Past Your Past…by Susan Wilkinson…Susan opened my eyes to the beginning process of moving forward in my life. She was relatable and she was able to apply biblical scriptures and promises in a way that I had not experienced before. This book taught me the importance of applying biblical scriptures and promise to my writing.

3. The Mom Factor…by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend…This book showed me how I as a mother shape and mold my children and the affect that my mother had on me as a child and even as an adult. You can’t undo the past; however, you can make changes for now. This book helped me become reflective in my writing.

4. Parenting is Heart Work…by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN…This is a book that I find myself returning to time and time again. This book opened my eyes to the fact that there is no such thing as a perfect parent; however, there is hope and encouragement in parenting with your heart. I learned once again the importance of being open and transparent and that it’s OK if you’re not pefect!

5. June Bug….by Chris Fabry….As you can tell I am more of a non-fiction reader, however, I do indulge in fiction from time to time and June Bug is a book that pulled me in with my eyes and heart. Chris is an amazing story teller. He created depth to the characters and knew when to pull the ‘emotion” card and when to let the reader breathe a sigh of relief. That is a writing quality I would like to expand in.

Chris Gates:

1. Tom Robbins' Still Life With Woodpecker - First, the back cover copy drew me in and made me fall in love with copy writing. Second, the way Robbins' narrative voice breaks down the fourth wall, taught me about the author's role in storytelling.

2. H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness: And Other Tales of Terror was a revelation to me. Introduced me to Lovecraft and drew me into a world that didn't reside in one story alone. I was amazed that such a distant and obtuse twist on reality could still be laid upon our own.

3. Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. What do you mean Star Wars has its roots in the oral tradition of ancient cultures? Jungian psychology aside, since first reading this book I've never looked at a story without taking note of its structure.

4. Number Four is a hybrid of two books for me, but they're directly related in what they taught me. William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and Roger Corman's How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime were both influential to me. From them I learned that the creative life isn't isolated to the artistry of expressing brilliant and novel ideas, it's a lot of work and a lot of hustle.

5. Ernest Hemingway, he just says it.

Bryce Martin:

1. Eudora Welty
2. Flannery O'Connor
3. John Steinbeck
4. F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Ken Kesey

Karen Aldridge:

1. Anything and everything C. S. Lewis nonfiction (The Problem of Pain, Mere Christianity, . . .). His nonfiction is written in a way that you feel like you're sitting down and having a conversation with him. And everything he says is like a common sense epiphany - the ultimate ah-ha moment. He's taught me that if I relax as I write, my reader will relax, and if I write with common sense, my reader will appreciate me for it.

2. Anything and everything C. S. Lewis fiction (The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, . . .). Imagination! Symbolism! Truth! There is no end to what the imagination is capable of, and weaving truth into symbolism in a way that appeals to the masses is powerful. Lewis is the rare author whose work I reread many times - because every time I read it, I mine many new writing gems. I'll never be a fraction of the master he was at it, but his influence is in almost everything I write.

3. Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God, The Road, and No Country for Old Men taught me to master the rules of writing style so I could effectively break the rules of writing style.

4. In Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, I was fascinated by the colorful, rich characters. They were so quirky, and the cool part was they were real - it was a true story. I realized if real characters can be this fun, just think of what I can do with make-believe characters. It was my ticket to free-reign characterization. Exaggerate their flaws, make their strengths obstacles, and voila - dramatic characters are born.

5. It's a tie (okay, I guess I'm cheating a little). Erma Bombeck, the great humor columnist, taught me that humor is the key to almost every reader's heart. Use it subtly. Use it boldly. Use it in awkward moments. Use it in obvious moments. Just use it! And finally J. K. Rowling. While I wouldn't technically consider her one of my favorite authors (though I do love her books and I'm always inspired by authors who are effective at breaking the rules), she's taught me one of the most important lessons of all: love what you write, and just maybe someone else (or a few hundred million someone elses) will too.

Alan Hooper:

1. Isaac Azimov The greatest writer of all time. Could write on many subjects from Sci - Fi to children's books.
2. Robert Heinlein
3. Arthur C. Clarke
4. L. Sprague De Camp
5. Harlon Ellison
I have read many, many books in the last few years, but one I would recommend is Water for Elephants. The research for it was amazing.

Karen Phillips:

1. T.S. Stribling (The Store ; The Forge; The Unfinished Cathedral). Stribling wrote about my home town, Florence AL, in the late 1800’s. I read this book when I was a teenager because someone told me it was about Rogers’ Department Store. It did not impress me as greatly as when I read it again about 30 years later, and then it set my imagination on fire.

2. The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean Auel. There is a series of these books, but this was the best one. (It should have been the only one.) I’m not sure that this book encouraged me to write more than it encouraged me to be strong-willed.

3. Alanon’s One Day At A Time Daily Meditations. These one-page meditations helped me so much to understand how I wanted to write “After My Father’s Suicide, Grief Meditations.” Not only did they offer a lot of wisdom, the idea that I could draw on just one thought at a time was a major influence on cutting my words down to the bone.

4. Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. I need to read this again…and again.

5. White Fang, by Jack London. Ok…so this isn’t a forever favorite. I have just started reading it because I need to research how to write about a dog character, but since I started it, I think I should have put it up at the top of this list. I love the crisp words, the ideal of nature and environments shaping the mind and body. This book is magnificent.

Jennifer Ballard:

My top 5 favorite authors (at the moment) and what I (wish I could) learn from them:

1. Dick Francis - characterization and pacing
2. Charlaine Harris - meshing fantasy and realism
3. Janet Evanovich - Humor and creating memorable characters
4. Rick Riordan - combining history, myth, fantasy, and fact
5. Jim Butcher - plotting and conflict

Cece Dockins:

1. American Fantastic Tales edited by Peter Straub.

This is an essential anthology for the supernatural geek, which I am! The two volume set is amazing and comprehensive. The first volume is titled "Poe to the Pulps." It's seven hundred pages of some of the most talented and influential writers of all time: Poe, Gillman, Chambers, Cather, Fitzgerald, Derleth, Lovecraft, Bloch.

The second volume is titled "1940's to Now." Authors included are: Nabokov, Bradbury, Cheever, Ellison, King, Brite. Another seven hundred pages of the weird, the fantastic, and the macabre. As a writer, I get a sense of history and evolution of the genre through this truly fantastic anthology. A must for any aspiring fantasy and horror writer.

2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Wow! This novella touches me at my icy core (hard to do). When an uninformed person (being nice) makes a statement that the horror genre produces only imitation or generic stories, I remind myself of Jackson's take on the witch. Stories are about characters and truth, not tricks and gimmicks.

3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

It's Bradbury, enough said.

4. The Long Walk by Stephen King.

It's King, enough said. Okay, I'll say some more. This is classic King and it is haunting and brilliant...and well, inspiring.

5. Horns by Joe Hill.

Love his take on the devil as an antihero. Fun!

Virginia Andrews:

1. The King James Bible has been the foremost influential book in every area of my life, including my writing. I like the English from the 1600's when English was at its height and perfection. Sadly, the book is overlooked for its mastery of artistic perfection, truly a diamond. It's rich form and poetic flow is beyond beauty. I have read it through so many times that I sometimes see a natural meld of the old English drifting naturally on my paper. Perhaps it's because of its poetic beauty that my writing tends to want to flow in that direction. The writing in the KJV is forthright with shocking clarity and although the words are archaic, as I grasp hold of them and fit them into the here and now, I feel somewhat like an ambassador of preservation, in a small insignificant kind of way.

2. The dictionary as it increases my vocabulary. A side note: it was documented in one of those obscure studies that those with a larger vocabulary are more prone to Alzheimer's.

3. Dr. Seuss books, which taught me that anything can go together if you pair it wrong, say it's right and let your imagination run wild. One of my favorite quotes:
"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.

4. The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, is a serious spiritual guide to unleash your creativity in a natural flow beyond any self-limiting block. It is a must.

5. Diana Gabaldon's historical romance novels. She is a scientist who has this sav vy methodical imagination that brings science and fiction together in unexpected interesting plots that roll together effortlessly. I would like to write like her, not x-rated though (smile).

What Do You Need to Improve: LWC Writers Share Their Top Five

This winter LWC will celebrate five years of LWC. We are starting the celebration a little early by doing a weekly top-five series. Each Wednesday LWC members will post their top-five answers to a specific question. This is week six, and LWC writers were asked this question:

In what areas would you most like to improve in your writing?

Karen Aldridge:

1. Giving myself the freedom to break the rules when it aids my story to do so.
2. Letting my imagination soar - I tend to reel it in too often.
3. Finding the right balance in description. I think I under-describe often because I'm afraid of getting too wordy.
4. Vocabulary - If I had it to do all over again, I would have paid better attention to vocabulary exercises when I was in school. I often struggle to find just the right word when I'm writing.
5. General writing knowledge - I feel like I never know enough about writing even though I constantly look for more learning opportunities. I'd love to know enough to formally teach writing some day.

Frankie Ren:

1. I need to get the stories that I write in my head down on paper.
2. Getting my POV across.
3. My spelling is the worst.
4. Writing a story in order.
5. I need to do my rewrites.

Jennifer Ballard:

1. Self-discipline. I'm not sure if this is something you can learn or improve with practice, but I struggle with it constantly.
2. Organization - of my writing: files, notes, outlines - and within my writing: plots, timelines, etc.
3. Sensory description. I am terrible with this because I don't pay much attention to such things in the world around me, so often leave it out of my writing.
4. Characterization. I'd like to be able make my characters as interesting on the page as they are in my head.
5. Plotting. I admire writers who can weave a complicated plot or subplots and have it all make sense. I struggle keeping a simple plot working out in my novels.

Ed Chinn:

1. Building good, solid endings that leave the readers weak with "wow!"
2. Integrating story lines
3. Developing plot
4. Crafting believable dialogue
5. Creating vivid and distinguishable characters.

Amanda Green:

1. Punctuation (having my work read exactly as I am intending)
2. Grammar
3. Being more concise. Getting to the point quicker.
4. Point of View / Audience
5. Dialogue

Heather Clift:

1. Scenes that are more dynamic
2. Richer vocabulary
3. Better dialogue
4. More discipline to make my fiction writing a priority
5. Self-confidence in my abilities

Sheryl Griffin:

1. Strengthening Grammar and punctuation use
2. Ability to use “word power” better (I use my thesaurus, however, I would like it to come naturally)
3. Point of view usage
4. Time management (i.e distractions)
5. My passion and bend is towards non-fiction, although, I would love to write fiction or humor pieces at some point in my life

Karen Phillips:

1. Getting started. I have spent this whole summer working on character profiles for the book that I want to write. I have written a couple of pages, but then I’ll change my thoughts about the POV or whatever and won’t use what I’ve written.
2. POV. I think maybe, just maybe I have a handle on this now, but it’s been driving me nuts who in my list of characters might tell this story that’s buried so deeply in my brain right now.
3. Did I say getting started?
4. Getting
5. Started!

Ron Billmyer:

1. My weakest area is setting and adhering to timeline goals. I want to improve and adhere to goal setting timelines.
2. I would like to develop a much better outline for my novel
3. I want to improve my character development process with detailed biographies on each character.
4. I want to be more creative in my settings and storyline.
5. Finally and lastly, I want to stop being redundant and repetitious, repeating things over and over, again and again, repetitiously.

Trisha Petty:

1. Grammar.
2. Lots of time.
3. Grammar.
4. Syntax.
5. Grammar.

Ross Martin:

1. Learning the meanings of all the writing guidelines printed in help books.
2. Finding a a mood and comfortable place to write.
3. I do not like punishing my main characters, but I must learn how to do it.
4. Learning the proper grammar to use as I like to use words that are like they sound instead of proper words.
5. I think I need to go back and take English classes.