The Purpose of Chapters

Chapters are the backbone of the Missouri Writers’ Guild. This is where the guild really does its’ best work. Every chapter across the state is very different and operates independently.

The purpose of the Missouri Writes’ Guild chapters is to support and promote writers so they can join the statewide organization. Chapters are open to all, regardless of an individual’s level of writing ability. If a person has the desire to be a professional writer, the chapter is there to help her achieve that goal.

Not everyone can be a Member of Missouri Writers’ Guild. The organization is only open to writing professionals who have achieved a certain level of writing success.
Chapters are the best way to build the writing experience required for Missouri Writers’ Guild membership. This is where chapters shine. Chapters meet regularly to network, share writing advice, ideas, markets, and serve as critique groups. Chapters encourage writers to publish.

All chapters should be encouraging their members to join Missouri Writers Guild. A chapter can advise and encourage writers early in their careers. Experienced writers continue their chapter membership because it keeps them writing and redrafting since the chapter expects writers to present their best effort regularly. It enables you to get feedback that you can use to improve your story or query.

Chapters also present literary programs and workshops in their region. The chapter can usually handle regional events, but if larger events such as Big Read, MLA, or a book festival are planned, the MWG board will assist in the advertising and funding.

Why should Missouri Writers’ Guild support your chapter if your chapter does not support Missouri Writers Guild?

Next time you meet, be sure to say thank you to chapter leaders and president.

A Not So Solitary Life

You may think writing is the life for you if you are shy and prefer to work alone. Many speakers will tell you that writing is a solitary profession. Plus, you get to wear your house shoes while at work. Writing, if you intend to actually make money, is not the solitary life you might imagine.

As your writing success increases, the time you spend alone will shrink.

Some writers are drawn to the profession because they are shy. Public speaking terrifies most people. Writers must build the skills to over come the fear of public speaking if they intend to make a career of writing.

At this point in your career, networking, cultivating contacts, finding support and knowledge from fellow writers in a writers group will help build your confidence and keep you away from the refrigerator and the television. Attend regular Missouri Writers Guild chapter meetings. Or, start a new chapter. Visit the MWG online writers group. Your writing will benefit from any of these important networking opportunities offered by Missouri Writers Guild. The more you contribute, the more you benefit.

While you are writing, you must also set aside time for reading. Learn from other writers.
Once I became a writer I began to read differently. Every book became a lesson. Writers learn about writing by reading great writing. If I pick up a book by Joyce Carol Oates or Tennessee Williams, I’m going to enjoy the prose, but I’ll also learn something about style and technique.

John le Carre said, “A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world”.

It is important to have contact with the world away from you computer. Stay in contact with the readers who will buy your work. Go to a book store, see what’s on the self. Learn what’s selling, who’s buying books, find out if your story, book, article has just been published. Get out of the house, look around. Story ideas aren’t delivered to your desk with a neat outline, marketing plan and a contract.

Your reputation as an authority will grow along with the your list of publications. Not only do you have to ask someone to publish your work, now that you are “in print”, novice writers will ask you how to jump the hurdle from writer wanna be to published writer. The more you write, the more people will seek your advice and opinion.

Fear will end your career as a writer before you are published. If you remain a solitary writer, you are journaling. Keeping a diary is a lot easier than being a writer. Being a writer requires putting yourself in the public eye. Here are some of the most effective ways to get your writing in print.

Writers conferences are good place to meet agents, publishers and experienced authors who can offer advice. Sign up for a pitch session, introduce yourself. Consider a pitch session as a job interview. “We met at the Missouri Writers Guild Conference” will grab an agents attention and save your email query from the slush pile.

You can not return to that solitary life once your are published. Marketing yourself and your publications demands visibility. There are loads of web sites and books to help you with marketing. Networking, writers groups and professional organizations like Missouri Writers’ Guild are a resource pool of the latest and most effective marketing techniques.

Garrison Keillor offered advice for writers and praise for a famous columnist at the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop in Dayton, Ohio.

“My advice to writers is to get out,” Garrison Keillor said. “Writing is an obsessive activity. Walk for two or three miles everyday -- rapidly if necessary -- and get out and look at the world. When writing loses touch with the beautiful surface of the world, it loses its way.”

Writing, I think, is the easy part. Putting your work before the public requires help from agents, editors, buyers, readers, reviewers and friends. Writing may be a solitary job. Making a living as writer requires that you step out of that isolated life and into the public. Marketing your writing is a very hard thing for a reclusive writer.

Statistics show that people fear speaking in public more than they do death. Jerry Seinfeld joked about our fear of public speaking. He said that if we are at a funeral, most of us would prefer to be in the casket rather than delivering the eulogy.

Here are some tips to help boost your confidence.

Improve Your Skills
There is no better place to develop public speaking skills than Toastmasters. Find a small and supportive group near your home at http://www.toastmasters.org What a painless and proven way to build confidence, practice communication skills and overcome the fear of public speaking.
No one can see your knees shaking, hear you heart pounding, knows your armpits are sweating. Toastmasters is a safe place and friendly place. No one has ever been eaten alive at a Toastmasters meeting.

Be A Host
Next time you attend a conference, or any meeting, look around for some one who appears nervous or uncomfortable being there. Introduce yourself, assume a helpful role. Try to help reduce their nervousness. Helping others, who are obviously feeling the same anxiety you are, will instantly reduce your own fears and feelings of isolation.

Think About It
Editors and agents are always looking for good writers. Let them know you the best writer for the job. Publishers need writers. Introduce yourself, pitch you writing, keep as many editors and publishers employed as you possibly can. It’s good for the economy.

We have instant access to information and people through the Internet. Not only does the Internet provide writers with a powerful research tool, it also connects them with other people through email, instant messaging, chat rooms, e-mail lists and online bulletin boards. And, if that weren't enough, we have a fast growing world of online social networks. You have opportunities to share your writing with more readers than ever before.

Writing and being published is not easy. You may have heard about the writer who is greeted by St Peter when he dies. “First, let’s take a tour of heaven and hell,” St Peter says to the writer.

In hell they see thousand of writers starring at keyboards, mumbling to themselves, writing furiously, completely oblivious, sweating, swearing and exhausted.

St Peter and the writer return to heaven. The writer is ready to enter the gates of paradise until he sees the same scene. All the writers are bent over their keyboards, mumbling to themselves, writing furiously, completely oblivious, sweating, swearing, and exhausted.

Confused, the writer asks, “ What’s the difference between heaven and hell?”

St. Peter says, “In heaven you get published.!”

Writing may seem like a solitary profession, but in order to be successful writers, we must get our words out. Chapter meetings and the conference are places for encouragement and sharing our passion for writing. If you are interested in starting a chapter, please send me an email president@missouriwritersguild.org. The board will help you in whatever way we can. See you at the conference April 3-5, 2009.

Patsy Bell Hobson
president,
Missouri Writers' Guild

7 Ways To Make The Most of a Conference

7 Ways To Make The Most of a Conference
Get your moneys worth

1. Just say “Hi!” and smile. It’s a “Hi” that flashes a message in neon lights: “I feel great about meeting you, and I’d like to talk with you.” It’s inviting and energizing and relaxing at the same time.

2. Give yourself a job. You don’t have to wait to be elected to the board. Just look around and be helpful. Greet newcomers. Doing something will make you comfortable and give you a reason for starting conversations.

3. Check in with acquaintances. Meeting new people may actually be easier than beginning a conversation with a person you see only rarely and know only slightly. It’s easy to put your foot in your mouth inadvertently when you begin a conversation with someone you haven’t talked with recently. Assume that the person’s life has changed. It probably has. To avoid a slip-up ask general questions rather than specific ones.

4. Say what you see. Another way to begin is to look around and be interested and inventive as you react to your surroundings.

5. Introduce yourself to the leaders. You can spot the leaders; they’re the ones rushing around. Don’t be intimidated; walk right up and say “Hi!” If you’re considering joining, make an appointment to talk with a leader after the meeting.

6. Talk and sit with people you don’t know. Nearly 75% of people who attend networking events end up sitting next to the people they came with. Your job at a networking meeting is to make contact with people you don’t know or don’t know well.

7. Come with a purpose. More than 85% of people who attend networking events have no specific purpose in mind, nothing they want to find or connect with, or learn, no one they particularly want to meet. Know what you want and ask for it. Before you arrive, set goals for yourself and know what you want out of the conference.

Conference Confidence
Just remember, no one can see your knees shaking or your pits sweating. It is a long-standing tradition to never eat newbies alive. They may go on to serve on the board.

Plurk timeline

Plurk.com

Tree-Free E-Books

Kindle
Now, if we could only teach it to make Fair Trade Coffee

I’m an E-book foot dragger. My friend Connie has been writing and publishing E-Books for years. But to me, Kindle has made the technology simple, easy to read and convenient.

Here's what's in the box

Kindle is a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more books and newspapers than our local library. The Kindle is like electronic-paper. It’s easy to read with sharp clear printing that allows you to adjust the text size. Kindle has the look and feel of a trade paperback with a light weight, high-resolution screen that is much easier for me to read than the typical paperback.

I read everywhere I go. One feature I like about Kindle is that you will never lose your place or have to go searching for a bookmark. I take a book to bed and read until I’m sleepy. If I fall asleep, so does the kindle. When I’m ready t read again, I “wake up” the Kindle and it pops right back to where I stopped reading.

The Kindle is wireless and advertises a long battery life. When you are not using it, plug it in to recharge. Or, continue reading while it is recharging. It weighs 10.3 ounces, and has an ergonomic design making convenient for right or left handed readers.

I like using the built in dictionary, The New Oxford American Dictionary, which allows for easy look up and practically uninterrupted reading.

Another feature I like, Kindle lets you download and read the beginning of a book for free. That’s as comforting as flipping through a book before buying it at the book store. Only buy what you like. Connect to Amazon's online bookstore, click buy, download with 1-Click and continue reading.

It is simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing. Even for the technologically challenged, Kindle is ready to use right out of the box. Whether you're in bed or on a bus, it’s easy to browse for another book and buy it almost instantly.

If New York Times® Best Sellers are you favorite reads, 140,000 books are available, including more than 98 of 112 current NYT best sellers. With so many newspapers, magazines and books to choose, it surprised me that two of the books I hoped to purchase on Kindle were not available.

As I become more familiar with the Kindle, I’ll report about more features. Amazon says Kindle has about two days battery life with wireless turned on, about a week without. I’ve never used another electronic book reader, such as Sony's Reader, so I can’t make any comparisons.
More later.

1,000 Words

please click on mwgcontests.org to enter
Click on this link for more information mwgcontests.org

Missouri Writers Guide Presents

The Hottest Flash Fiction Contest

The Hottest Flash Fiction Contest

$100 1st Prize

Deadline - September 15, 2008

Entry fee: $10

Word Limit 1,000 words.

• First Place: $100.
• Second Place Winner: $50.
• Third Place $25.

What is Flash Fiction? It's fun. It's challenging. For writers, it is an exercise in rewriting and editing. It is a short short story.

All flash fiction includes the classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, obstacles or complications, and resolution. The brevity of this genre often forces some of the story elements to be implied or unwritten in the storyline.

This 6-word flash by Ernest Hemingway is an example of extreme flash fiction:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

please link to mwgcontests.org to enter
Click on this link for more information mwgcontests.org

Good Luck!

Questions? contact Contest Chairman, Judith Stock at
FlashFiction@missouriwritersguild.org

John Hemingway: Charles Guenther, an American poet

John Hemingway: Charles Guenther, an American poet

We have lost a friend and fellow writer. John Hemingway says good bye in his blog to Charles Guenther.