SCRIBE meeting this Saturday, July 24th

We had a great time at the last SCRIBE meeting, where Dr. Bob Lively shared his experiences as a writer and offered some valuable advice.
Now, it's time for our first workshop/critique meeting, this Saturday, July 24th, at 10:30am in Quad 4. For this meeting, we're asking that you bring something you've written: 3-5 pages of a story, a poem, an article, a journal entry...just about anything. We'll divide into small groups of five or six and take turns listening to everyone read their work. Then we'll discuss and try to offer some constructive steps to improve that work. Don't be nervous; if you ever plan to write for publication, you need to get used to people reading and commenting on your writing. If you're not quite ready for this step, though, please don't skip the meeting. You're still encouraged to attend and listen and see what goes on at the workshop sessions.
I'm in the middle of Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and I highlighted this section:

I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction and poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all.

SCRIBE exists to do the opposite of that, to encourage and nurture you as you explore your own God-given gifts. I'm going to be there this Saturday morning and I'm going to read something and then I'm going to listen and then...I'm going to write something better. Please join me!

Don't miss our first regular meeting this Saturday!

SCRIBE will begin its regular schedule of meetings this Saturday, July 10th, at 10:30am in Quad 4 on the Riverbend campus. I'm delighted to announce that our guest author/speaker will be Dr. Bob Lively. Bob is a Presbyterian minister who for years was Riverbend's teacher-in-residence. He has published numerous books and short stories and was a long-time columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. He is also — and this is one of the best compliments I can pay — a wonderful storyteller. Don't miss this chance to hear Bob talk about his writing experience. He'll answer your questions and inspire you to put your own stories on paper.

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SCRIBE is open to anyone who aspires to write; you need not be a member of Riverbend and you need not be a writer of religious or inspirational content. The only qualification is that you have a desire to write. There's no charge to attend meetings. Come and meet others who share your interest and find encouragement, advice and fellowship.

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Guests for future meetings include Jo Virgil, who will explain the workings of workshop/critique groups at our August 14th meeting, and Owen Egerton, a novelist/comedian/actor/screenwriter from Austin who will speak at our September 11th meeting.
Great things are happening for writers at Riverbend. I hope you'll be part of the excitement

We don't need no stinkin' rules...or do we?

Anne Rapp got a great reaction when she shared her tongue-in-cheek rules for writing at our meeting last Sunday. If you missed it, there's a link in the post below where you can read her list. It reminded me, though, of another thought-provoking list of rules for writers. This one was formulated by Elmore Leonard, a master novelist who has given me countless hours of reading pleasure. About ten years ago, his rules were published in a series by the New York Times. More recently they have been published in a very brief book which is padded out by some drawings and a little extra verbage. But Leonard's original list is well worth your time, especially --though not exclusively--for fiction writers. You can find them here.