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.
March 2024: Julie Glover on (exciting) grammar
April 2024: Gary Christenson on self-publishing
May 2024: Laura Drake on Flash Fiction for fun
June 2024: Summer Workshop by Keith Goodnight on scene and sequel
July 2024: Wendy Wheeler on “That Story Would Make a Good Movie! — Or Would It?”
Our speaker will be Julie Glover.
Topic:
Beyond the Rules: Grammar Choices That Add Power to Your Novel. Rules, rules, rules. That’s what comes to mind for many authors when you say grammar. But grammar is yet another tool to help you convey your intended meaning and create the experience you want your reader to have. Let’s move beyond the rules—even break the rules—and discover four ways grammar choices can add power to your novel.
Bio:
Julie Glover is an award-winning author of young adult and mystery fiction. Her debut Sharing Hunter placed in several contests, including the much-touted RWA® Golden Heart® YA. Her follow-up, Daring Charlotte, released last year, and Pairing Anton is coming soon! She has also co-authored five supernatural suspense novels and two short stories in the Muse Island series under her pen name Jules Lynn.
Julie holds a master’s degree in counseling, has taught conference workshops and online courses, and served as a host of the Writers in the Storm blog, a top 100 website for writers, for three years. In addition, she’s served for several years as sidekick and sometimes-host for Cruising Writers, an incomparable writers’ retreat at sea.
A native of Texas, she now lives in Denton with her hottie husband, her loquacious cat, and her large collection of cowgirl boots.
Writing Settings That Energize Your Story
Leon Dixson is the reigning champion of the Walter Mitty Daydreamers’ Fantasy Club. (a fantasy in and of itself.) Four years ago, in his mid-seventies, He finally put fingers to keyboard to tell lies, uh er, write a story. He has passionately pursued the art of writing since.
Having finished first and second (twice) in the Granbury Writers Bloc quarterly short story contests, he pretentiously refers to himself as a prize-wining author. Taking writing more seriously than he takes himself, he is presently writing a novel set in Chicago during the wild and dangerous days of prohibition.
February 24, 2024: 10:00 a.m. Hood County Library
Lori Freeland
The Ins and Outs of Internal Thought
What your characters don’t say is as crucial as what they do say.
Internal thought can either add depth to your story and amplify your characters or dilute your wow moments and water down your words. The goal in any novel is to make your readers feel as though they’ve stepped into your character’s body and to let them experience the world through your character’s eyes. Discover how internal thought relates to topics such as deep point of view, dialogue, subtext, tension, pacing, character likeability, character motivation, and story credibility. What goes on inside your character’s head can be a major player in creating their world. Its worth taking the time to perfect.
BIO:
Lori Freeland wrote her first story at age five. It wasn’t good, but it left her with a firm belief that everyone has a story to tell. An author, editor, and writing coach, she lives in the Dallas area, loves good books, happy endings, and the perfect kiss. When she’s not curled up with her dogs drinking too much coffee, she loves to mess with the lives of the imaginary people living in her head.
www.lorifreeland.com