President Greg Gifford will speak on Great American Novels of the 20th century and how the author’s world today is much different than it was in 1950.

He will discuss “Gone with the Wind” (Margaret Mitchell), “To Have and Have Not (Ernest Hemingway), and “From Here to Eternity” (James Jones).

Techniques for setting the scene will be compared.

Hood county Library, 10 a.m., Pecan Room.

Where: Hood County Library – Granbury

Room: Cottonwood Room, 2nd Floor

When: 10:00 am Saturday, July 27

That Story Would Make a Good Movie!

Or would it? Do you, like me, so vividly picture your stories in your mind that you dream about a relationship with Hollywood to get them onto the Big Screen? This will talk about what it takes to sell and produce a movie vs a book (very important!), what stories work best for a movie vs a book, and ways you can write your novels/stories to fit the needs of Hollywood so they might get optioned. Or, expand your skill set by writing screenplays too.

Bio:

A member of Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America, Wendy Wheeler has sold fiction to Analog, Daily SF, Gorezone and other periodicals. She’s had stories in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, Snow White Blood Red, Silver Birch Blood Moon, and The Crafters. No novels yet! She sometimes teaches fiction craft, writes small films, does freelance story development with filmmakers, and has had her work performed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Visit her at www.wendy-wheeler.com.

Where: Fellowship Hall, 303 West Bridge Street, west of square in Granbury (Presbyterian Church)

When: Saturday, June 29, from 10 am – 1 pm.

Why: Learn about Scene and Sequel

Cost: $10.00 per person, member or guest

Snacks: Will be served. Coffee also.

Scenes, Sequels and Lego Bricks

Stories are made of scenes. The scene is the fundamental unit of drama, and a story is only as good as the design of the scenes that make it up. Like simple Lego bricks used to make complex models, scenes are simple and uniform in structure but combine to make every kind of story a writer can imagine. We’ll look at the shape of a good scene, and also at the equally important— but often overlooked— connections that bind one scene to the next. While scenes contain the story’s drama, it’s the connections that control its pacing and tone, and explore both the emotional arcs of the characters and the logic that keeps the plot coherent. Well-designed scenes connected by well-designed links make up a story that grabs the reader’s attention and never lets go.

Bio:

Keith Goodnight is a native Texan and distant relative of famed rancher Charles Goodnight. He attended Rice University where he joined the Marching Owl Band (MOB) and once performed a halftime show while dressed as a Christmas tree. Later he obtained a Ph.D. in Biology, but through all of that always had writing in mind. He began work on his science fiction universe while still in high school, and kept working on it all through the years when he was supposed to be working on something else. He published his first novel, The Child, in 2013 and was an
instructor for the Writers Path at SMU for six years. To find out more, visit www.keithgoodnight.com

Our speaker for May is our multi-published author, Laura Drake.

Date: Saturday, May 25

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Place: Fellowship Hall, Presbyterian Church, Granbury

Topic: Writing Flash Fiction

Writing Flash Fiction for Fun!

Have you ever thought of writing flash fiction, but didn’t, because you didn’t know where to start? Writing short can be tricky – you have to make every word count to convey a compelling, complete story in 100-1500 words.

Laura will teach you how, helping you decide what to write about, how to develop standout characters in situations that will have readers on the edge of their seats.

You’ll craft a story in class, and we’ll pore over every word to make them shine!

But wait, there’s more! You’ll learn advanced wordsmith skills that will help with all your writing, short or long!

Title: Self-Publishing 101

Hood County Library: 10:00 am. Pecan Room.

You may bring water (only) if it has a lid.

Topics:

Pros and Cons of self-publishing.

Costs.

Beware of scams.

Page numbers in your book.

Headers and fonts.

Format your book.

Input into KDP (Amazon).

Create and upload a cover.

Create a Kindle eBook.

(The presentation will be available for download after the meeting.)

BIO:

Christenson did graduate work in physics, worked as an accountant, and was the Business Manager for an Alaskan school district. He has written hundreds of articles on gold and silver, and now writes fiction.

He is NOT an expert on self-publishing, but has published more than ten books for himself and others.

Bio:

Keith Goodnight is a native Texan and distant relative of famed rancher Charles Goodnight. He attended Rice University where he joined the Marching Owl Band (MOB) and once performed a halftime show while dressed as a Christmas tree. Later he obtained a Ph.D. in Biology, but through all of that always had writing in mind. He began work on his science fiction universe while still in high school, and kept working on it all through the years when he was supposed to be working on something else. He published his first novel, The Child, in 2013 and was an
instructor for the Writers Path at SMU for six years. To find out more, visit www.keithgoodnight.com

Scenes, Sequels and Lego Bricks

Stories are made of scenes. The scene is the fundamental unit of drama, and a story is only as good as the design of the scenes that make it up. Like simple Lego bricks used to make complex models, scenes are simple and uniform in structure but combine to make every kind of story a writer can imagine. We’ll look at the shape of a good scene, and also at the equally important— but often overlooked— connections that bind one scene to the next. While scenes contain the story’s drama, it’s the connections that control its pacing and tone, and explore both the emotional arcs of the characters and the logic that keeps the plot coherent. Well-designed scenes connected by well-designed links make up a story that grabs the reader’s attention and never lets go.