June Short Story Contest Winners
Blockbuster Giveaway – Plot Bunnies
July Meeting – Our Speaker
We are pleased that David Douglas will speak (via Zoom) at our July meeting on the 27th.
BLURB:
Enter Stage Right: Playwriting Basics
Are you more interested in writing dialogue and action than descriptions of settings? Do your favorite stories feature minimal characters and locations? Would you like to write something other than a novel, short story, or screenplay? Then join playwright and Stage Writers founder, David Douglas, for this presentation on the basics of playwriting, which will explore: the differences between stage plays and other forms of writing, the proper formatting of scripts, the role of the playwright in theatre-making, and a variety of other helpful resources that will cue your entrance into writing for the stage.
BIO:
David Douglas is a playwright, award-winning short story author, and the founder & director of Stage Writers — a Dallas-based playwright organization. He is also a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and a past board member of several writers organizations, including the Writers Guild of Texas and WORD (Writers Organizations ‘Round Dallas). His full-length play, Railbird, has received readings in the Original Works Series (Fort Worth Community Arts Center), First Impressions Festival (Imprint Theatreworks), and Play Readers Club (Our Productions Theatre Co.). His short plays have been produced by Rover Dramawerks, Sundown Collaborative Theatre, and the Dallas One-Minute Play Festival. When not writing twisting tales of romance and suspense, David loves watching classic and independent films, as well as attending and directing plays. Find him online at OddOccurrences.com.
Congratulations to Brian Condike
Brian Condike, Past President of GWB, is a finalist in the “Thriller/Action Adventure” category for his novel, “Murder is Personal” in the 2020 Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest.
The link is here:
Summer Workshop – June 13, 2020
Summer Writing Workshop
Saturday, June 13th, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. – Noon
Online via Zoom
*REGISTRATION info at bottom
William Ledbetter’s 9:30 presentation will be on Short Stories. Short story structure, style and markets are very different than those for novels and can be stumbling blocks for writers who are just starting out or only have experience with novels. Come join us for a session with award winning short story writer William Ledbetter and discuss flash fiction, short stories, novelettes and novellas, submission guidelines, how a slush pile works, how to find markets like anthologies, magazines and contests, even some writing tips, shortcuts and useful plot devices.
William Ledbetter is a Nebula Award winning author with more than seventy speculative fiction stories and non-fiction articles published in four languages, in markets such as Asimov’s, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, Escape Pod, Baen.com, the SFWA blog, and Ad Astra.
He’s been a space and technology geek since childhood and spent most of his non-writing career in the aerospace and defense industry. He administers the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award contest for Baen Books and the National Space Society, is a member of SFWA, the National Space Society of North Texas, and a Launch Pad Astronomy workshop graduate. He lives near Dallas with his wife, a needy dog and four spoiled cats.
His novel “Level Five” is now available from Audible Originals. www.williamledbetter.com
At 11:00, Jaye Wells will speak about Promises and Payoffs. Good stories don’t happen by accident. To master the art of delivering satisfying tales, writers must learn how to effectively make story promises in Act One as well as how to deliver satisfying payoffs by the The End. This class will explore the types of promises you must make from the first line of your story, demonstrate a variety of tools you can use to make those promises, and offer strategies to avoid cheating your readers out of satisfying payoffs.
USA Today Bestseller Jaye Wells is a former magazine editor, whose award-winning speculative fiction novels have hit several bestseller lists. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and is a sought-after speaker on the craft of writing. When she’s not writing or teaching, she loves to travel to exotic locales, experiment in her kitchen like a mad scientist, and try things that scare her so she can write about them in her books. She lives in Texas. www.jayewells.com
Note: For more info go to www.GranburyWritersBloc.com
*The GWB Summer Workshop is included in membership dues. If you are a current member, this event is free!
- If you would like to join, annual membership is $20, and you can do that at http://granburywritersbloc.com/join/
- If you would like to attend this event as a non-member, registration is $10.
To register for the GWB Summer Workshop:
- Email Kathrynmcclatchy@gmail.com
- Put “GWB Summer Workshop” in subject line
- Kathryn will send you the Zoom details (and a PayPal invoice, if a non-member).
May 18 Meeting via Zoom
Cathy Rueter, a former reporter and newsletter editor, has returned to her passion of freelance writing while pursuing a career as a Christian murder mystery author, speaker and grant writer. She is the founder of Fledgling Writers Community, geared toward new writers while welcoming ALL to the nest.
Originally from the Greater Grand Rapids, MI area, she now lives within the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex with her family. If she’s not at her desk, you can probably find her with her nose in a book and hanging out in her hammock on the back porch, or in the car traveling to various writer’s groups and conferences.
With a revamped website coming later this spring, connect with Cathy at: www.cathyrueter.com, www.facebook.com/cathyrueterwriter or the nest at https://www.facebook.com/FledglingCommunity/.
Writing with Rubber Bands: Creating Tension in Story
Tension in fiction draws a reader in and makes them feel various emotions for our characters. It puts them on the proverbial edge of their seats and creates a need to turn the page.
Working tension into our stories isn’t just for thrillers. Writers of romance, science fiction, historical, in fact, all genres—and even some non-fiction writing—need and are improved by this vital story element. Tension isn’t just stringing a bunch of words together and hope they stretch like a rubber band. We need to pull those bands taut and know when to release.
In Writing with Rubber Bands: Creating Tension in Story, we’ll explore what tension is, why it’s crucial, as well as the tips, techniques, and literary devices used to create it—without breaking a single rubber band. (*Full disclosure: only two rubber bands were harmed in the making of this presentation.)
April Short Story Winners
April Meetings Cancelled
Mary Lou has cancelled the critique meeting on April 13 and the regular meeting on April 27.
Take care!
March Winners
1st Place: The Vultures Visit by Gary Christenson
2nd Place: Twitcher by JJ Rushmore
3rd Place: Waiting for Love by Rox Burkey