Point Pleasant Writers Guild Meets in October

On October 3rd, members of the Point Pleasant Writers Guild were pleased to have as a visitor, Daniel Newberry, son of Carol Newberry. In his untitled tale of fiction, which takes place during the Civil War, two pirate ship captains join in smuggling new guns with higher fire power up the Delaware River. Marilyn Clarke read an excerpt of her newest book entitled “Imposter.” The main character, Jenny, who has discovered that she resembles a missing woman named Cheryl and has taken over Cheryl’s life, discovers that items in the house are mysteriously showing up again after Jenny had already put them away. Has Cheryl returned? April Pyles distributed copies of an essay she had written, “There Ought to be a Law” and a column by Joseph Mazzella, a “Glenville Pathfinder” contributor. Mazzella’s column was entitled “Write it Well.” In it, he wrote that we’re all writers whether we put pen to paper or not, because with everything we do, with every thought we have, we are writing our own life story. He quoted Lance Wubbels who once wrote: “I hope you realize your life is truly your life. It belongs to you. It is your story to write with love. Day by day, line by line, write it well.” Patrecia Gray reviewed “Seven Steps to Winning an Agent’s Favor,” from “Writing Tips” by Les Stobbe, Literary Agent. These Steps include: 1) Use Time New Roman font because it is the preferred typeface of publishers; 2) Don’t Over-Capitalize when sending a proposal, not even your name; use capitals ONLY with names of characters in the Synopsis or Chapter Summaries; 3) Provide Contact Information in the upper left hand corner of every title page, whether it is a proposal or manuscript; 4) Get Help Editing, as you can’t afford to come off looking careless; 5) Spell Foreword Correctly; more than half of the writers he hears from spell it as “Forward,” a different word altogether, and one which produces negative vibrations in agents and editors; 6) Know Publisher Submission Requirements; i.e., the word count; and 7) Keep Your Reader in Mind; if you fail to engage the reader on every page, you will soon lose him or her. Included in general conversation among the members was the fact that Kindle Direct Print replaces Create Space.com as a means of self-publishing. Westbo Publishing was not recommended During the October 17 meeting April Pyles reviewed “Advice for Beginners,” from Sandy Tritt’s “The PLAIN ENGLISH Writer’s Workbook.” Tritt’s advice for beginning writers includes five tips: 1) Read everything---classic literature, literary fiction, commercial fiction, dictionaries, even cereal boxes. If the writer is interested in a specific genre (i.e., romance, mystery, science fiction), he or she should read as many books of that genre as possible; 2) Observe; the ability to notice details and finding words to describe them is an attribute a writer must have second only to his or her passion for writing; 3) Experience; it is possible to write about something or a place outside of one’s actual experience, but Sandy Tritt advises writers to visit as many places as they possibly can, and also consider living in as many cultures as possible to make their stories come alive. However, fantasy writing is limited only by the imagination; 4) Live; gain material for your writing by living and working in places and at jobs that help you see and understand life more realistically; and 5) Write---every day, no matter if it’s a dozen words or a dozen pages. Try keeping a journal and jot down your thoughts as they come to you. Pyles asked the members to take five minutes in which to write about a dream, a memory, a fantasy, or a real-life experience that sticks in their mind. She, Patrecia Gray, and Sue Underwood wrote real life experiences. Joe Ingerick wrote about an event that was a combination of real-life-mixed-with-fantasy. As Joe says, he likes his work to be original and uninfluenced by anyone else's writing. Sue Underwood also shared five stanzas of her poem entitled “Silence.” For the next meeting Sue Underwood will review the remainder of Section 1 from Sandy Tritt’s Workbook. written by April Pyles