Category Archives: Events and Speakers

Events and Speakers, General

October 2021 Speaker

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BIO:

     Carol Heizer is an eight-time published author whose books have sold in the U.S. and overseas. She was a columnist for Today’s Woman magazine and is currently a columnist for Hood County News in Granbury.
     In addition to her writing, she was president of Alpha Consulting in Louisville, KY who specialized in training seminars to business, industry, teacher training sessions, and the military. She is also a public speaker who has served as mediator in neighborhood conflicts.
     Her current project is a collection of novellas, hopefully due out in 2022.

OCT. GWB meeting topic:

 
     Since Carol believes there are not enough pleasant surprises in life, she has decided to surprise her writing colleagues with a surprise of her own. Plan to attend the October 25th meeting of Granbury Writers Bloc and enjoy a surprise evening of entertainment and energy. Be ready to think outside the box. Also, please bring a pen or pencil. 
     In addition, since Carol will supply materials, she needs to know how many will be attending. If you do not contact Gary Christenson via email (no verbal, “Hey I’ll be there,” when you see him),  we will assume you are not coming and will not have materials prepared for you. We are certain you understand this situation. Thanks for your help! And Blessings!
Events and Speakers, General

Summer Workshop

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GRANBURY WRITERS’ BLOC

presents

 ELIMINATING THE MYSTERY FROM

MYSTERY WRITING

 

People read more mysteries and thrillers than any other genre except romance. This workshop will teach you how to write your mystery. Topics include:

 

  • What makes a compelling story?
  • Brainstorming a page-turning plot.
  • Writing a killer opening chapter.
  • The difference between a mystery and a thriller.
  • Maximizing suspense and conflict

WHEN: Saturday, June 12, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

WHERE: Langdon Center Concert Hall, 308 E Bridge St, Granbury, TX 76048

COST: $20.00 or Free for Granbury Writers’ Bloc members

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:    https://granburywritersbloc.com/

Events and Speakers, General

April 2021 Speaker – Joy Massenburge

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Blurb for “Speak Up, I Can’t Hear You!”

Have you ever thought about creating an audiobook? Want to know the ins and outs? Wish you knew someone who has been there and done that?
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Joy is just that person, and will give an inspirational talk, sharing her mistakes, how to endure the learning curve and bloopers to finish strong. She will also be giving us handouts on the setup equipment and software and its pricing.
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Get your questions ready!
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Learn more about Joy and her work at https://www.joykmassenburge.com/

 

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

Joy K. Massenburge is the author of A Cry for Independence and A Heart Surrendered, African American Romance. She crafts the love stories of pastors and their kids. She was born the sixth child of a pastor. She married a football player turned pastor…they raised pastor’s kids; a son and two daughters.

As a pastor’s wife, she found her voice speaking at marriage and women’s conferences and retreats throughout Texas. She filled her speaking material with her poems, short stories, and devotions. She added narrator to her professional portfolio when she debuted in Michelle Stimpson’s “MAMA B: A Time to Speak,” audible book. She is also a contributing author for Our Daily Bread: Oh, Freedom edition.

She serves on the board of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is also the founding president of their ACFW-East Texas Writers.

She resides near Tyler, Texas. You can find her curled up on her back-porch swing reading a good book with her grandchildren, caretaking for two donkeys and a dog, or filling her five-acre country home with fifty-plus people for a Blue Bell ice cream party.

 

Events and Speakers

Amber Royer Will Speak at our August 24 Meeting via ZOOM

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Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series.  She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook For Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel.  She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com.  She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas.   If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.
Amber will speak via ZOOM. The ZOOM link will be emailed to GWB members. Non-members may request the link by emailing Kathryn McClatchy at:
kathrynmcclatchy “at” gmail.com

Have you ever received feedback that your reader doesn’t “connect with” the characters in your writing?  Alternately, have you ever read a novel or series and become so attached to the characters that you were depressed when it was over because you couldn’t share any more adventures with them?  Learn why people get attached to fictional characters and techniques you can use to create the kind of characters people get attached to.

Events and Speakers, General

July Meeting – Our Speaker

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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.
Events and Speakers

May 18 Meeting via Zoom

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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.)
Events and Speakers, General

Jaye Wells Will Speak at Summer Workshop

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GWB is honored to have Jaye Wells speak at our Summer Workshop.

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.
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Her topic at the workshop:
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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 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.
Events and Speakers, General

Summer Workshop Speaker

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Our summer workshop is June 13. William Ledbetter will speak at the morning session.

Author William Ledbetter

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.

http://williamledbetter.com/