Abilene Writers Guild Meeting Minutes
Center for Contemporary Arts Building
February 27, 2003
Meeting was called to order by president Barbara Rollins.
Guests were introduced. We had three. Crystal Green and her friend Anthony, were the guests of her grandmother, a member of the club and Mary Turnage, from Sweetwater, guest from one of our newest members.
Gail was not in attendance so Barbara Rollins gave the financial report we have a balance of $1,548.08 and we now have 97 members.
Brags & Sags:
Laura Thaxton bragged that she has taken a course on Power Point learning to scan pictures into the computer and has done this to music and made 40 CD's and 30 videos for her family members after their reunion.
Ginnie Green got moved into her new house during the ice storm. The new address is 226 Gerard, Baird, Texs
Gwen Choate is helping older people to get their memories on paper for their families and she isn't charging them anything for the help.
Elaine Coleman got her cookbook back from Golden West Publishing, but it is already out there again.
Barbara Darnall how has two shoes that match. She is out of her cast boot. She also got note from Sow's Ear Press saying thanks for her submission.
Nancy Masters bragged on the group at the meeting. We had over 30 people in attendance. Nancy has not been late for anything so far this year, and she has been invited back to Las Vegas Nevada for a return speaking engagement at the end of this year. Her sag was that her computer got zapped in the lightning but she is now getting a new one from Steve Belsha of Abilene computer Service.
Marvin Johnson is looking for parade judges and bagpipers for the Hamlin St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Lana from Stanton is featured on the cover of Water Well Magazine with her article. The editor of the magazine didn't change anything that Lana turned in. She is a member of the National Association for Women Writers and urges others to join.
Barbara Rollins has joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
and she will be traveling to London, England on the 11th to the 18th.
Mac Davis had a sag in that he sent a letter to the editor of the newspaper but it was the original and not his edited version. He titled it "On The Wild Side". Then he received a return on the letter that began "Dear Tarzan".
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cheryl Vorhauer will be doing the newsletter for the club but needs an assistant to take the newsletter to the printer and label it and mail it out.
The Nominating committee for officers will be Stewart Caffey, Laura Thaxton, and Betty Thomason. The offices up for Grabs this year are Vice President, Treasurer and two board positions.
CONFERENCE NEWS:
Jan has contest entries coming in, but there needs to be more and more.
Flash Fiction and Humor have been combined with other categories because those were the two that there were not enough entries in last year to pay the judges. The novel categories have been divided because there were too many entries in the category last year for one judge.
You may enter any one piece in as many categories as it will fit into.
Websites to check out are: www.lifetips.com and www.about.com
Barbara Rollins offered a book to the club to be checked out and look at for a month at a time. Be sure if you took the book home, that you bring it back for others to read.
Refreshments for February were brought by Nancy Masters, Sue Turner, Joan Rogers and Mac Davis. Next Month they will be brought by Betty Thomason, Cheryl Vorhauer and Elaine Coleman.
The speaker Carla McKeown was introduced by Nancy Masters.
Some interesting points made be the speaker included.
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Light Impressions: a good place to order archival quality supplies for your genealogy work.
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If you are writing a book about your family, skip the dull facts, take it on to the general and write the exciting stuff, (i.e. Uncle George rode his horse into the church so he wouldn't be late. His mother had threatened him if he was late one more time.)
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Weave the specific facts through the general. Be sure you tell the ending. don't leave anything dangling.
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Answer the questions, Don't leave the reader wondering with more questions than you started with.
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Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? We all know that these are the questions every writer should answer at any given time in their work.
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Be thorough.
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Don't put in too much historical detail. You may need some to set the scene or for direction, but don't bog in the history.
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Start at he most interesting part of the story and build around that.
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Write it like a novel not a family tree.
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You might want to devote one chapter to the family tree stuff (who begat who and all that.)
The meeting adjourned, and members enjoyed refreshments.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Coleman for
Mary Wynn Craig, Secretary