MEETINGS
Our meetings are held the third Saturday of the month, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Felix & Oscars, 4050 Merle Hay Road. We feature a writing program followed by a guest speaker. Networking and lunch afterwards.
Our programs are varied and cover everything from fiction writing basics and getting published to the business side of your writing career, and everything in-between. Members attend free. Guests are allowed to attend two meetings free before they decide to join our group.
Check out our line-up for
2011
Jan 15- Jane Litte of "Dear Author" blogging fame will discuss blogging, social media and digital books.
Feb 19- Author Francesca Hawley will discuss "The Long and Short of It" writing novels and novellas.
Mar 19- Authors Victoria Masterson will discuss "Graphology". An interesting look at what your handwriting says about you. Get an analysis of your own handwriting along with some of the top serial killers.
Apr 16- Francesca Hawley will discuss "Speculative Fiction". What does it take to create a new world that's out of this world? Francesca will discuss building a world from the ground up. Whether you're doing time travel, paranormal or futuristic this is for you!
May 21- Author Leigh Michaels will discuss "Writing Between the Sexes". You'll definitely want to attend this very interesting and sometimes funny discussion!
Jun 18- Candy Meier will discuss Revision and Editing Techniques. She has won numerous awards from a variety of organizations including Ozark Creative Writers and Arkansas Writers League. Her work has appeared in "The Storyteller Magazine" and an anthology titled Memories and Make Believe. She writes short stories and poetry, and has completed five novels, two of which were successful NANO novels. Her most recent awards include The Showcase from OCW, the highest award given by that organization. Much of her work is set in the Appalachia/Ozarks region of the 1950s. Others have a contemporary Midwest backdrop. She frequently crosses genres and often touches on the paranormal.
Jul 16- Author Berinn Rae will be presenting a program on the 4+ different types of edits a writer goes through in getting a book published.
Aug 20- AuthorShirley Damsgaard will be visiting us. Don't miss this fabulous author!
Sep 17- TBA
Oct 15- Colleen Bradford Krantz, former newspaper reporter, will talk about her new non-fiction book, “Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation” (Ice Cube Press, 2011). She’ll discuss the writing and research challenges in telling the story about the deaths of eleven undocumented immigrants, as well as what it was like writing the script for the companion documentary of the same name, which aired on Iowa Public Television.
Nov 11-13- Annual Retreat - (For members only) This is a fun-filled weekend for members only. We get away from the everyday world and seclude ourselves with computer, works in progress, ideas, and plenty of chocolate and then we write all weekend long. No distractions!
Nov 19- AuthorBerinn Rae will present a program on Analyze Your Writing. Bring 1-2 of your favorite author's books and you MUST bring in at least 5 pages of your own manuscript to analyze.
Dec 3- Awards Banquet (For members only) - We celebrate our members' yearly accomplishments at a yearly banquet and awards ceremony. This is our time to socialize, have fun and relax with our fellow writing friends.
Check out some of our past 2010 programs.
Timothy Johnson -from Carpe Factum. Mr. Johnson spoke on "Carpe Factum" which is Latin for "Seize the Accomplishment". He coaches companies and executives on accomplishing something significant for their businesses or their lives. He coached us on accomplishing our goals as writers.
Rescue Personnel. Three rescue personnel, who, on June 30, 2009, rescued a woman from the Des Moines river after a failed attempt to rescue her husband during the same crisis, told what it takes to rescue people from life-threatening situations. They explained the before, during and the after of a life-saving attempt.
Kevin Clark spent 26 months, 3 weeks and 4 days in Federal custody. He talked about what it's like to be without "freedom", behind bars in a world unto itself. We learned what it takes to survive in that world and what it takes to survive outside in an everyday world that's different from yours and mine.
Creating a Personal Vision Board for Writers. Athletes do it; olympic winners do it and writers do it, too. Vision coach and healing arts practitioner, Angela Clark, guided us through creating our own personal vision board.
Eric Hall West. Author Eric Hall West presented a program about his book, TRUCK, which depicts a year in the life of an American Trucker—though it isn’t nearly that simple. For starters, Eric West had not driven the stick shift of anything, let alone a 40-ton rig. He had, in fact, never sat in a rig. In place of ability, he had curiosity. Instead of familiarity he had determination. The intention was to document everything he saw, every person he met from the perspective of someone who had no business being a “professional driver”, but in time, almost without realizing it, became one. Albeit a comically bad one – a fact made painfully obvious all too often.
Check out some of our past 2009 programs.
Donald Harstad – a former deputy sheriff with over 26 years in the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department. Harstad wrote his first book "Eleven Days " in 1998. The book was written in 11 days.
Francesca Hawley – Writing Erotic Love Scenes – No Holds Barred - Adults Only. Check out her website at www.francescahawley.com/
Sherry James along with her co-presenter, Julie Miller , presented a program entitled "Kiss the Frog." How to fight procrastination and find time to write in the real world. Previously presented at the Romantic Times convention in Orlando.
Lois Greiman sold her first book in 1992. She writes in numerous genres including paranormal, mystery, historical and romantic comedy. Check out her website at http://www.loisgreiman.com/
She spoke on "Hog Tying the Damn Muse".
AGE REQUIREMENT: You must be 18 years or older to become a member or attend meetings at Two Rivers Romance Authors.