Writing Assignment for July 23rd:

Your assignment is to write no more than 500 words, inspired by one of these photos. You can do 500 words on both, if you wish, or you can choose one of them. Let your imagination run free!
Bring your work to the meeting this Saturday, July 23, at 10:00am in Quad 4.

Guess what I'm reading?

It's a fine book which will be published very soon! You can find out more about the festivities by attending this week's SCRIBE meeting, Saturday, June 25th, at 10:00am in Quad 4.
We'll also be sharing our 500-word pieces inspired by the black and white photo in the post below. If you can't make the meeting, you can email me your work and I'll read it to the group. We'll also be talking about the upcoming book release party in July.

Writing exercise for our next meeting

This exercise will help you expand your creativity. Look at the photo I've attached to this post. Then write 500 words inspired by this image. There are an infinite number of approaches you can use. Who's in the costume? What does the owner of the mailbox think about this kid? What event inspired the costume. Why is the child running? Where did the materials come from? What if that was a real alien? Find your own handle on your own story and write it in no more than 500 words. We'll share them at our next meeting. Have fun!

There Is No End: here's what's inside!

The selection process is now complete and here are the pieces which will be in our literary anthology, There Is No End, to be published later this summer. Congratulations to all our writers; this is going to be an eclectic and fascinating volume with something for every type of reader. Start spreading the word to your family and friends; we'll announce soon when the release party/book signing will take place. And remember, all proceeds from sales go to Riverbend's building program. Here are the contents:

Writer’s Block—Bob Moore
A Short Story About the Life of Dave—Stan Lackey
The Knife Is Hidden—Lauren Kinzie
Animal Legendry—Glenda Rhyne
The Scariest Holiday—Lisa Robertson
Origin of a Poem—Darwyn Hanna
The Gift—Kim Kelley
Origin of a Poem—Darwyn Hanna
Blue Eyes—Dana Hood
One Man Band—Denise Fitch
Summer Samaritan—Glenda Rhyne
New Year Angel—Patty Buchanan
Memorial Day—Bob Moore
Fly Away Home—Joan Carson
Venice in the “Hood”—Marty McAllister
A Pie to Die For—Stan Lackey
All With Reason—Salli Ehlers Smith
Trail of Tides—Nancy Bode Bussey
The Prodigal’s Odyssey—Peter A. Hubbard
Labels—Bob Moore
1965—Scarlett Spivey
Grandpa’s Christmas Blessings—Peter A. Hubbard
Green Bananas—Gloria Gene Moore
My Fear of Flying Monkeys—Kathy Souther
My Life As I Know It—Marie Monroe
S.S. Dozier, Esquire—Murlene Johnston
Shadows of Joy—Joan Costello
Letters to Terri—Bob Allen
Reunion—Bob Moore
Hood Ornament—Lauren Kinzie
The Strongest Broken Heart—Lori Garrigus
Excerpt from Blood On the Bed—Karin Richmond
It’s Not Bravery—Dana Hood
My Path (A Prayer)—Salli Ehlers Smith
As I Lie Dying—Glenda Rhyne
Valentine’s Day, A Massacre—Lauren Kinzie
Bunny—Scarlett Spivey
Faces—Deborah Register
An Unprecedented Opportunity—Stan Lackey
God’s Love Language—Lee Ann Penick
The Husk—Lauren Kinzie
Old Friends—Bob Moore
The Windmill—Darwyn Hanna

The deadline approacheth...

It's almost here. The deadline for submissions to There Is No End, the first anthology by SCRIBE, the Riverbend Writers Group, is this Saturday, April 30th at midnight. Many of you have already submitted, but there's still (a little) time! Make sure your submission is under 2500 words; longer pieces will be rejected. Email your piece in Word format to Mike Robertson via the usual email address. If you can't send a digital file, make sure your printed pieces are to me by Saturday.
We'll have a SCRIBE meeting this Saturday, too, where we'll talk about the next step in the publication process and maybe celebrate the close of submissions. We'll look at some possible cover designs, too. Join us at 10:00am this Saturday, April 30th.

Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award

I entered my novel, This Is Where I Came In, in Amazon's annual Breakthrough Novel Award competition several weeks ago. They accepted five thousand entries and then started the winnowing process. Today (Feb. 24) they picked the top one thousand, eliminating 4,000 hopefuls. I'm happy to say that I made the cut! The next step will further narrow the field to 500; that result will be announced on March 22nd. While I don't hold much hope for winning the contest, I've found that entering such competitions does some beneficial things for a writer. It forces you to come up with a brief summary of your book, something that is much harder than it seems. If you only have 300 words to hook someone's attention and make them want to read your story, what do you say? How much plot do you give away? You begin to realize how difficult it is to write the blurb for a book cover, those few words which often make the difference between a sale and a rejection. Honing a pitch is crucial if you ever intend to try to get a literary agent or get an editor to read your stuff. You must learn to briefly tell what your book is about, why it's worth reading, why it's different from other books, who the audience is, etc. It's a lot to sum up in 300 words. Try it.
Meanwhile, I'll be trying not to think about March 22nd.

YOU could be published...in the SCRIBE anthology

Sometimes we all need a little push to get us going in the right direction. This is particularly true for writers; it's way too easy to put off writing until "tomorrow" which likely never comes. So here's your push: Later this year, SCRIBE will publish There Is No End, an anthology of writings by the members of Scribe, the Riverbend Writers Group. We are now accepting submissions for this project; in fact I've already received a couple. If you submit a piece which is accepted, it will be printed in the anthology and you will be part of the book launch party where selected authors will read from their work and all included authors will be invited to sign copies of the book.
Submissions for the anthology may be short stories, memoirs, poems, short plays, anecdotes, essays, etc. Your submission should relate in some way to one of the following themes: Grace. Hope. Faith. Love. Don’t think of this as a “devotional” book; themes should be subtle and need not be “religious” in nature. Not all submissions will be printed. Submissions will be edited and in some cases, given back to authors for further fine-tuning. Do your very best work!
Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Riverbend’s building fund.

Submission guidelines:
• Submissions must be in electronic format, in a Microsoft Word document or compatible format.
• Submissions must be no longer than 2,500 words. No exceptions.
• Submissions should relate in some way to the subject of grace, faith, hope or love.
• Deadline for submissions is midnight Saturday, April 30, 2011.
• Email submissions to Mike Robertson, or submit your work on a CD or flash drive.

If you have any questions, please email me. You now have a reason to write. I can't wait to read what you come up with.

Guest author at this week's SCRIBE

I hope that one of your resolutions is to WRITE more this year. We'll start this fresh year with another great meeting of SCRIBE, the Riverbend writers group, this Saturday, January 8th, at 10:00am in Quad 4. Our special guest author will be Sylvia Dickey Smith. Sylvia has had a fascinating life and has resisted being pigeonholed as a writer. She's written a mystery series, a historical novel, and even a Cajun cookbook! Come hear what Sylvia has to share with us, ask your questions, pick up one of her books. In addition to her website, Sylvia has a blog called Writing Strong Women which is full of good information.
Make a special effort to be here for this (and ALL) our meetings this year; there's nothing more inspiring than spending time with other writers and hearing their stories, struggles and strategies.

SCRIBE meeting on December 11th, 2010

This Saturday, December 11th, will be the final SCRIBE meeting for 2010. What a great year it's been! I hope you can join us at 10:00am in Quad 4, when our guest author will be PJ Pierce. PJ will have copies of her book, "Let Me Tell You What I've Learned: Texas Wisewomen Speak," a collection of her interviews with some of the most notable women in the Lone Star State, including Barbara Jordan, Liz Carpenter, Jody Conradt, Linda Ellerbee, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Ann Richards and others. PJ is currently working on two projects: a biography of Liz Carpenter and a biography of Barbara Jacket, Olympic Track & Field coach. PJ has been a high school teacher and a public relations person. She is a wife and mother, an avid long-distance bicyclist, a master swimmer, and she has hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim. Come and hear what she has to share with you this Saturday.

SCRIBE meets on November 13th

All writers and those who would like to be writers are encouraged to attend the regular meeting of SCRIBE this Saturday, November 13th. Our guest author/speaker will be Dr. David Ciambrone. David is a retired scientist, professor, U.S. Treasury commissioner, and award-winning, best-selling author. Dave writes "Ask Uncle Dave," a helpful hints and science newspaper column for the Williamson County Sun. He has published 10 books: six mysteries, three management books, and a non-fiction reference book on poisons. Dave was a professor at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona and is president of the San Gabriel Writer's League. He is also a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Writers' League of Texas. Dave is a professor and dean in the Georgetown Library's Writers' College and a speaker at writer's conferences around the country. He lives in Georgetown with his wife, Kathy.
Our meeting begins at 10:00am in Quad 4. We'll save you a seat.

Write something down...quick!

This Saturday, October 23rd, join us for SCRIBE meeting at 10:00am in Quad 4. This is the critique/workshop meeting, so we encourage you to bring something you've written or something you're currently working on and share it with your small group to get valuable feedback. We won't be having the critique meetings in November or December, because they would conflict with Thanksgiving and Christmas. So this is your last chance in 2010 to hear your fellow writers respond to your creative output.
We will, of course, have our other meetings in November and December. On November 13th, our guest will be author David Ciambrone, and on December 11th, we will welcome P.J. Pierce.
There's always a good reason to attend SCRIBE. I'd love to see you there!

Shameless self-promotion

Fellow SCRIBErs, if you missed the meeting last weekend (and many of you did), you missed a good time with our guest, Donna Ingham. At that meeting, I also announced that I had decided to try self-publishing an ebook version of my novel. It is currently available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. One of the reasons I wanted to do this--aside from wanting people to read my book--was to learn about the process so I could share it with SCRIBE members. We're in an exciting time right now when publishing is going through all sorts of changes. In many ways, it has never been easier to publish your work for an audience to purchase. We will be talking about this in future meetings, too, but I set up another blog to record my experiences in working through the self-publishing maze; I suggest you start at the bottom (oldest) post and work your way up. I'm also dipping a toe into the "Publish On Demand" waters which will allow authors to sell actual printed copies of their books without having to pay to have them printed. And yet another exciting possibility is a Texas publisher I've learned about which accepts many books from Texas authors. We're going to have a couple of those authors as guests in future meetings, so we'll find out if this publisher is right for YOU! There is much to learn about the changing marketplace for writers, but I'm going to try to keep you up to speed. In the meantime, though...you gotta write something!

October 9th meeting...thereby hangs a tale!

Two things you need to know about the next SCRIBE meeting, coming up on Saturday, October 9th:
1. We've changed our start time to 10:00am. Now you can always remember when SCRIBE meetings are by picturing the old Dr Pepper logo: 10-2-4. Our meetings are at 10 on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.



2. Our guest speaker for this meeting will be Donna Ingham. Donna is a renowned storyteller, the winner of the 2007 John Henry Faulk Award "for outstanding contributions to the art of storytelling." She's also a former college professor and the author of four books, including her latest work, Mysteries and Legends of Texas: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained. Donna is a past board member of the Tejas Storytelling Association and edited the state storytelling newsletter for three years. She served as artistic director for the 2009 Texas Storytelling Festival. A member of the National Storytelling Network, she is the NSN Texas state liaison. A sought-after performer, she is listed on the Touring Artists Roster of the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. She is a willing mentor for storytellers and writers and a tireless supporter of storytelling and literary events. She says she has found her "calling." We are grateful that her calling includes speaking to our SCRIBEs. Don't miss hearing this award-winning storyteller and getting some tips on how to better tell your own story.

And here's a third thing: Check out our "build-a-story" in the post below this one. Add a paragraph of your own and let's see how long a tale we can spin. Just click on the "Comments" link to read the story thus far.

Help build this story:

Dana Hood had a fun idea. She wrote the first two paragraphs of a story and posted them in the comment section of an earlier entry. The idea was for other SCRIBE folks to add to the story a paragraph or two at a time. But nobody joined in! So I'm bumping it up into the main page in hopes that some of you will participate. Read what's been written so far and then add to it by clicking on the "Comments" link. A new window will open; write your stuff and click the "Post Comment" button. I'll put Dana's original opening in the first comment spot. Let's see how long a story we can write as a team!

DON'T MISS THIS MEETING!

This Saturday, September 11th, do whatever it takes to be at our SCRIBE meeting. Our guest will be author/comedian/actor/screenwriter Owen Egerton. I just finished Owen's latest book, The Book of Harold, and I liked it better than hot breakfast. Owen is a fascinating fellow who loves Austin and loves writers and in last week's Austin Chronicle "Best of" awards, he became our "Best Local Author." He knows funny, yet he can do poignant, philosophical and thought-provoking, too. Hearing and meeting him will be more fun than is normally allowed within church walls. You can learn more about Owen by visiting his website. As usual, we start up at 10:30 Saturday morning in Quad 4. Be here and bring along someone who's interested in writing. Our group is becoming more wondrous all the time!

Links for writers...

Periodically I will share with you links to websites which feature information useful for writers. Today I found this page of writers resources; it's jam-packed with all sorts of info regarding virtually every genre. I know SCRIBE has a number of members who are writing memoirs or personal essay. You'll find some good links here. There are also links for fiction, bloggers, travel, speeches, scripts, etc. You can easily spend an hour or two following some trails which might lead you into just what you've been wishing for. Check it out.

SCRIBBLES...

We had another great meeting on August 28th, with 25 intrepid ink-slingers sharing their work in critique groups. I think I can say that it is getting easier each time and many of us have gotten some great tips and encouragement from these sessions. I'm now looking forward to our first September meeting, when we'll be joined by the multiply-talented Owen Egerton. Remember, we meet on the second and fourth Saturdays each month. Upcoming meetings are September 11, September 25, October 9, October 23.
I mentioned some sites at the meeting, a couple of which were suggested by Jo Virgil when she spoke:
The Mayborn Conference is an annual three-day conference "created to enhance the quality of nonfiction writing, encourage innovation, and create a community of factual storytellers who maintain an unflinching faith in the narrative craft." If you're interested in writing literary nonfiction, you might think about attending next year's conference.
Jo also mentioned the Writers League of Texas, located right here in Austin. Their website offers many resources for writers as well as their regular meetings, workshops, seminars and contests. Check it out; there's something there which you can use.
Want a challenge? November is National Novel Writing Month. Willing participants can sign up to write a work of fiction at least 50,000 words long in the 30 days of November. Poke around their website and see what you think. I'm considering doing this, mainly because I frequently need to be forced to write, and this would be good for me. I'd like some company, though, so please let me know if you want to try this. No, I don't even have an idea yet, but I've got two months to come up with that. I rather like the idea of writing a novel I didn't intend to write!
On another topic, Kathy Sargent presented the idea of forming a book club, in which a group would read the same book and meet regularly to discuss it. If you're interested, shoot Kathy an email.
Finally, please feel free to use the comment box below to add links you've found, questions or comments you have, even samples of your writing! I've been very pleased to hear from many of you how SCRIBE is helping you. Keep writing!

Scribe meeting this Saturday, August 28th!

It's time once again for the scribes of Riverbend to get together. Since this will be a fourth Saturday, our meeting will include dividing into four small groups and hearing what others are writing, sharing our own writing, and discussing and critiquing the works we bring. It's a helpful exercise which will also make you feel encouraged and not alone in what can sometimes be a lonely pursuit—writing. As always, the meeting begins at 10:30am in Quad 4. I hope to see many of you and I encourage you to bring along other potential writers. We are an open group and we'd love to continue to grow.
If you missed our meeting on August 14th, here are the guidelines for critique/workshop meetings which Jo Virgil shared with us. Please keep these in mind when you come to share and listen this week.

Ten Commandments of Critiquing:

1. Comment on the text, not the author.
2. Speak from your own perspective.
3. Be willing to give honest feedback.
4. Remember that a writer’s work and the conversations about it in group are private.
5. Start with a positive comment, end with a positive comment.
6. Honor the writer’s own voice—don’t try to re-write.
7. Consider the writer’s goals in asking for a critique.
8. Be specific with suggestions, but avoid being nitpicky.
9. Make your critique concise and leave time for others’ comments.
10. Keep a sense of humor.

Ten Commandments of Being Critiqued:

1. Be open-minded to the comments.
2. Don’t argue or defend your work—in fact, just don’t talk except to ask for clarification.
3. Be willing to receive honest feedback.
4. Identify what you are looking for in the critique.
5. Leave your ego at home.
6. Keep a sense of humor.
7. Listen to the praise, not just the criticism.
8. Pay special attention to comments that you hear frequently, and take notes.
9. Remind yourself of the purpose of the critique.
10. Treat feedback like a gift from your mother-in-law: If you like it, use it with pride. If you don’t, quietly toss it aside after she’s gone.

SCRIBE meeting this Saturday, August 14th!

Don't miss our first August meeting this Saturday, when our special guest will be Jo Virgil, from the Writers League of Texas. Jo has expertise in the area of workshop/critique groups and will share much useful information and advice with us. Remember, our meetings are the second and fourth Saturdays each month, at 10:30am in Quad 4.
We held our first workshop meeting on July 24th. Twenty-two brave souls showed up to make their first tentative steps toward sharing their writing with the world. We divided into four groups and the experience was great! Here are some comments from those who attended:

"Our first workshop meeting was a positive time for me. Henceforth, my little tape recorder will travel with me to record the ideas that the workshop session triggers...The Scribe group is a gift from Riverbend offering us an educational, inspirational and motivational environment."

---

"I really enjoyed this reading session and, to be candid, much more than I thought I would...I was in a great group, everyone was very encouraging, it was a non-threatening environment, and I was sitting with some very talented writers to boot."

---

"My first feelings of intimidation turned to appreciation as each shared from their writing and welcomed feedback. I not only learned from our critique of other's writings, but how I can improve my writing from the feedback given to me from the group."

---

"It was a terrific session. I was fortunate enough to be in the smartest and best looking circle of writers (they let me stay anyway). The diversity of writing ranged from poetry to technical, fiction, and essay. Everyone was both supportive and helpful... Some of us brought completed work and others brought work in progress. It was both a low pressure and very enjoyable experience."

As you can see, there's no reason to be afraid of our fourth-Saturday sessions; they're all about encouragement and constructive feedback...oh, and fellowship with our fellow writers!
Please make a concerted effort to attend SCRIBE meetings. As a new group struggling to find its identity, every person is important and has much to offer the group. I hope to see you this Saturday!

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!