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Volume: 17.08 • The South Carolina Writers Workshop Newsletter • August 2006

NEWS

In order for you to know whether your work will be included in this year's edition of Catfish Stew, the editors of the anthology have supplied a list of titles. If your title doesn't appear on this list, you are free to submit your work elsewhere. The competition was fierce this year, with so many excellent entries.

The brochure does not specify a page limit for play entries for the Carrie McCray contest. Plays should be no longer than 10 pages plus a one-page synopsis. This is our smallest category. That increases your chances of winning, but we have to have at least five entries to keep the category. Don't forget, the deadline for the Carrie McCray competition is September 1, and we need 3 copies of each entry plus 1 cover sheet.

Betty Beamguard
Contest Chair

An update of the SCWW Member Directory is in progress. A new feature this year will be the addition of personal web site links (limit: 1 link per member). If you have any corrections for your directory information, please e-mail Leland.

What's happening in your local chapter? Who's getting published? Who has the most impressive portfolio of rejection letters? Are there local events for writers in your area? Does your local chapter have its own newsletter or web page? Please submit you news to quilleditor@bellsouth.net

Meets 2nd Tuesday at Eden Gardens on Silver Bluff Road, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Charles Reeve cpreeve@bellsouth.net

Former SCWW President Millard Howington placed second in the May competition of the Interboard Poetry Competition. This is a competition between about 20 internet poetry boards.

Meets 2nd & 4th Sunday at the Merritt Building Parlor of Anderson College from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Contact: Jo Buckner (864) 261-7739.

Meets 1st Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, West Ashley, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Jason A. Zwiker (843) 573-9291.

Meets 1st & 3rd Wednesday at Lexington County Public Library, Cayce-West Columbia Branch, 1500 Augusta Road, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Steve Vassey vasseyws@hotmail.com

Meets 1st & 3rd Monday at Richland County Public Library, 1431 Assembly Street, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Larry Hamilton docham@earthlink.net

Meets 2nd Tuesday at St. Eugene Hospital dining room 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Kati Paul (843) 774–4561.

Meets 1st Thursday & 3rd Tuesday at The Open Book, 110 South Pleasantburg Drive, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: John Migacz migaczmarjon@prtcnet.com

Phil Arnold announced at the last meeting that his blog site, Elvisblog, has had more than 50,000 hits since its inception in the first half of 2005.

Meets 3rd Thursday at Books-A-Million, 275-1 Harbison Blvd. (in the center of the store), 6:30 p.m. Contact: Charlotte Blackstone charstonblack@bellsouth.net

Lexington 1st Chapter Writers meets in the Lexington Library at 5440 Augusta Road every other Tuesday, 6:00 - 8:00. Contact: Lynn Stidom lstidom@aol.com

Meeting places and times vary. Contact: Cynthia Hodell Dyer chodelldyer@aol.com

Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday in Durango Bagel, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Betty Beamguard bbeamguard@earthlink.net 803-222-4208.

Grace Looper's Revisiting Roanoke: A Lost Colony Mystery tied for first place for the Daphne Cantrell Chambless Award for Juvenile Writing.

Meets 2nd & 4th Monday at the Richland County Library, Sandhills Branch, 1 Summit Parkway, Columbia, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Contact Sonia Hayes Pleasant sonia_hayes@msn.com

Meets 4th Tuesday at Spartanburg Westside Library, 525 Oak Grove Road, 7:00 p.m. Contact: Roger Meadows rdm730@aol.com

OPPORTUNITIES

The third workshop will be in Charleston on Saturday, August 12, at 10:00 AM, and will feature Carol Ann Davis who is a poet, assistant professor with the College of Charleston's English Department, and editor of Crazyhorse, an acclaimed literary journal of poetry, fiction, and essays. Carol will do a workshop on how to submit to literary journals and what editors of literary journals are looking for. The workshop will be held at the Charleston County Library (Main Branch) located at 68 Calhoun St, Charleston, SC. For more information, e-mail Frances Pearce at francesjpearce@msn.com

Conference regristration is now open. You may register by mail using this form or register on-line using PayPal.

Conference Fees

Early Bird Rate: to qualify, your registration form and payment must be either post-marked or received online via PayPal by Sept. 1, 2006.

SCWW Membership Rate: to qualify, your SCWW membership must be current at the time of your registration and payment is received.

Your conference registration fee includes admission to all regular sessions, continental breakfasts, evening receptions, and the Sunday Award's luncheon, as well as a copy of the SCWW '06 anthology, Catfish Stew, a conference notebook and guide, and session handouts and resource material.

Lodging

Please refer to the SCWW Conference when making your reservations to receive discounted room rates. Rates do not include local and state taxes.

For additional information, contact the Contact co-chairpersons Dottie Boatwright dboatwright@sc.rr.com or Craig Faris craigfaris@rjsonline.net

Keynote Speaker: Tess Gerritsen is a physician and novelist who started her writing career as a romantic suspense author. In 1996 her first medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, she has been a perennial presence on bestseller lists around the world, and is now published in 29 countries. Her thrillers include The Surgeon, Body Double, and Vanish, which was nominated for the Edgar Award. Her most recent release is The Mephisto Club. www.tessgerritsen.com

Other Faculty Members:

Jim Conover - After serving on the police force of Pekin, Illinois, for twenty years, Jim started a private detective firm with his brother Dennis. He chronicles his investigative work regarding child abduction/murder cases in his self-published book, Slayer of Innocence. He has also self-published two novels-Lynch Law and Greenhorn Killer-and has written three screenplays. He is currently independently producing a small-budget film based on his screenplay Sand Prairie. www.jimconover.com

Dr. Kwame Dawes - Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina, Director of USC's Master of Fine Arts program, and Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, Dr. Dawes is not only an award winning poet and educator, but is also a celebrated playwright, actor, critic, essayist, and musician. He has penned eleven collections of poetry that include Midland, Resisting the Anomie, Progeny of Air, and most recently, Wisteria, and is the author of four nonfiction books, a collection of short stories and several anthologies. He has also written fifteen plays that have been performed in Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada. Among his many awards is a Push Cart Prize for Best American Poetry and Ohio University Press's Hollis Summers Poetry Prize. www.kwamedawes.com

Jane Friedman is editorial director of Writer's Digest Books and Writer's Market annuals. Her editorial resume includes turns at Writer's Digest magazine, Novel Writer and Publishing Success magazines, North Light Books, and The Evansville Review. In addition to acquiring 30 titles per year for Writer's Digest Books, she serves as fiction editor for IdentityTheory.com and teaches composition at the University of Cincinnati. F+W Publications www.fwpublications.com

Anne R. Gunton - Associate editor with Viking Children's Books/Penguin Young Readers Group. Dedicated to quality children's literature, Viking publishes an average of sixty titles per year, ranging from picture books for very young children to sophisticated fiction and nonfiction for young adults. Anne edits YA novels, middle grade novels, picture books and works with such authors as David A. Adler, Betsy Byars, Nancy Carlson, and Susane Colasanti. www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Deborah Grosvenor - Deborah Grosvenor has worked in book publishing for more than 20 years as an editor and agent. She has edited or represented several hundred nonfiction books, her best-known acquisition, however, being a first novel, The Hunt for Red October. Deborah signed up bestselling author Homer Hickham's first work, Torpedo Junction, and helped launch bestselling author Stephen Coonts's first novel, Flight of the Intruder. Grosvenor Literary Agency was formed in 1996 with a stable of about three dozen authors including New York Times bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners. She represents fiction, narrative nonfiction, history, biography, politics, current affairs, science, humor, memoir, self-help and anything Southern. Among her clients are Henry Allen, Tom Oliphant, Eleanor Clift, Mort Kondracke, Phil Jennings, Curtis Wilkie, Alston Chase, Gayden Metcalfe, and Susan McDougal.

Ann Ipock - an award-winning speaker, playwright, performer, as well as humor essayist whose column appears biweekly in the Georgetown Times, South Carolina's oldest newspaper. She is a regular contributor to other regional publications such as Sasee Magazine, Pee Dee Magazine, and The Myrtle Beach Herald. She successfully self-published two collections of her newspaper columns. New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank writes: "Ann Ipock's writing embraces the imperfections of this life with a fresh voice and incredible humor. Her essays will tickle you to pieces! Ann's keen observations should be in needlepoint!" Her books are Life Is Short, But It's Wide and Life Is Short So Read This Fast! www.annipock.com

Beth Jusino - Literary agent with Alive Communications which has represented such best-selling authors as Rev. Billy Graham, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and Karen Kingsbury. Sixty titles from 21 different authors represented by the agency have hit national best-seller lists within the last year--nine in their category's top slot. Prior to joining Alive Communications, Beth spent six years as Managing Editor for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International and she served as editor for MOMSense Magazine, the most widely distributed Christian parenting magazine in America. www.alivecommunications.com

Carrie McCullough is publisher for Harbor House Books, a regional publisher of adult fiction (mainstream, mystery, historical and horror) and nonfiction (Americana, Civil War, biography, paranormal). As publisher, she directs the daily activities of the Harbor House Books, including acquisitions, editorial content, publicity, marketing and sales. Prior to joining Harbor House, she was copy editor at The State newspaper and book editor at The Morning News in Florence, SC. She has also served as adjunct professor in the University of South Carolina's journalism program. www.harborhousebooks.com

Stu Miller has been a successful literary and packaging agent in Hollywood and New York for over 40 years, representing fiction and nonfiction authors, screen and television writers, producers, directors, interactive multimedia creators and a broad range of intellectual property. His clients have included multiple winners of Oscar, Emmy, Writers' Guild of America, CableAce, People's Choice, Golden Globe and many other national and international awards. His greatest pleasure is finding and nurturing previously undiscovered but talented writers and helping them to develop satisfying, rewarding careers.

Cathy Pickens is author of a new mystery series that features Avery Andrews, a 30-something lawyer, who returns to her small Upstate South Carolina hometown after losing her job with a large defense firm. The first book in the series, Southern Fried, earned Cathy the St. Martins Press Malice Domestic Award for Best Traditional Mystery in 2003. Her second novel, Done Gone Wrong, has met with glowing reviews as well. Like the main character of her novels, Cathy is a lawyer. She teaches law to business students at Queens University of Charlotte, NC, and serves on the board of an inter-agency forensic organization that serves Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. www.cathypickens.com

Marcia Preston - In addition to being editor and publisher of ByLine, a national monthly publication that showcases the work of both new and veteran writers, Marcia is an accomplished novelist. Her mystery/suspense novel, Song of the Bones, won the 2004 Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster. She writes contemporary women's fiction published in hardcover by Mira Books. Her latest, The Piano Man, deals with the ripple effects of a heart transplant. www.marciapreston.com

Chris Roerden - Author of newly released Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Turning Up D.O.A., Chris worked 35 years in the publishing industry as an editor and is now a freelance editor and writing coach. In addition, she spent six years teaching college-level writing. As a specialist in the mystery genre, she edited such mysteries as Alex Matthews' Cassidy McCabe series and Deb Baker's forthcoming Murder Passes the Buck and Dolled Up For Murder. www.bellarosabooks.com

Terry Roueche - In addition to having written numerous one-act and full-length plays that have been performed throughout the Southeast, Terry's plays Parade Day, Take My Wife, Please and Norman Alexander have enjoyed successful runs on off-off Broadway. www.undertheorder.com

Ted Tally wrote the screen adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs for which he won the 1992 Academy Award, Writers Guild Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. That work was recently voted by Writers Guild members to their list of the "101 Greatest Screenplays." Tally also wrote the screenplays for Red Dragon, Thomas Harris' prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, as well as White Palace, Before and After, The Juror, and All the Pretty Horses. He served as Associate Producer on the Brian De Palma film Mission to Mars, and as Story Consultant on the Dreamworks Animation films Shrek 2, Madagascar, and Shrek 3. For the theater Tally has written Terra Nova (Obie and Dramalogue Awards), Hooters, Coming Attractions (Outer Critics Circle Award), Little Footsteps, and Silver Linings. His television scripts include The Comedy Zone, Hooters, and The Father Clements Story (Christopher Award). Born in North Carolina, educated at Yale and Yale School of Drama, he has also taught at each. Other honors include fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives with his wife and two children in Pennsylvania.

Kathie Fong Yoneda is an independent script consultant and producer with over 25 years of experience in the film industry. She has worked for such prestigious studios as Paramount, Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Disney, specializing in story analysis and development of live action and animated projects. Her career includes executive positions with Walt Disney, Touchstone, Island Pictures and Walt Disney TV Animation. She is the author of The Script Selling Game: A Hollywood Insider's Look At Getting Your Script Sold and Produced, and is also a co-executive producer on the cable series, Beyond The Break. www.kathiefongyoneda.com

Friday, October 20, 2006

10:00 - 12:00 Early Registration - Water Oaks Foyer

Intensive Study Workshops

12:00 - 2:30 Sessions A - Creekside Classrooms I, II and III
1. Poetry - Dr. Kwame Dawes - "The Anatomy of the Poem-- Using shorter form verse to study the essential DNA of poetry. Using visual art images and several shorter (largely Eastern) verse forms to explore some of the key elements of the poem--the metaphor, the simile, the breath, the poesy of rhetorical form, and much else. Come prepared to do a lot of writing.
2. Mystery - Marcia Preston - "Basics of Writing the Mystery"
3. How To - Cathy Pickens - "Plan Your Writing Life"

3:00 - 5:30 Sessions B - Creekside Classrooms I, II, and III
1. Humor - Ann Ipock - "The Humor Track: From Head-Nods to Belly-Laughs and Beyond"
2. How To - Jane Friedman - "Ten Steps to Finding An Agent" Ten Biggest Ways That Writers Sabotage Their Careers
3. Playwriting - Terry Rouche - "Playwriting Crash Course: Everything You Need to Know About How To Write A Play" Discover how to write a play from beginning to end and learn where to submit your completed work.

3:30 - 6:00 Registration & Check-In - Water Oaks Foyer

6:00 - 7:00 Everybody to Water Oaks Ballroom for the Evening Meet & Greet Opening Reception with heavy d'oeuvres and a bar

7:00 - 7:15 Welcome and Faculty Introductions

7:15 - 8:15 Announce Catfish Stew winners. Readings by Winners and a Live Auction

8:15 - 9:15 Panel Discussion: "Building Suspense in a Screenplay or Novel" Ted Tally, Tess Gerritsen, Kathie Fong Yoneda, Jim Conover and Deborah Grosvenor

Saturday, October 21, 2006

7:00 - 8:15 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Foyer and Ballroom

8:15 - 8:30 Welcome and Announcements - Water Oaks Ballroom

8:30 - 9:00 Tess Gerritsen's Keynote Address "Where Do Stories Come From? - What Makes A Premise Great?"

9:15 -10:15 Session I
1. Jim Conover - "Self-publishing - A Growing Trend" Creekside I
2. Jane Friedman - "How to Find a Publisher or Agent Through a Professional Query Letter" Water Oaks II
3. Anne Gunton - "Clear and Immediate: What Makes A Young Adult Book Successful?" Creekside II
4. Kathie Yoneda - "Logline - A Writer's Most Important 25 Words or Less" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "Dialogue That Sizzles" Creekside III

10:30 - 11:30 Session II
1. Tess Gerritsen - "Research: How to Incorporate It in Your Book" Water Oaks III
2. Beth Jusino - "Religious Writing 101: Writing from a Christian Worldview" Creekside III
3. Carrie McCullough -"Getting Published" Creekside II
4. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Submissions and Voice" Water Oaks II
5. Cathy Pickens - "Write What You Know" Creekside I

11:30 - 1:00 Lunch - served buffet style - Served in Water Oaks I (included in conference price )

1:00 - 2:00 Session III
1. Ann Ipock - "A Package Deal: Self-Publish - Then Speak, Sign and Sell" Creekside I
2. Kwame Dawes - "Rhyming--Some considerations around the issue of rhyme in verse. Study some possibilities available to poets who like to work with rhyme and some of the implications of rhyme." Creekside II
3. Cathy Pickens - "Turning Crime Fact Into Fiction" Water Oaks II
4. Stu Miller - "Entertainment Business 101: An Agent's View of Selling Yourself and Your Work in the Entertainment Media" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "How to Write Articles That Sell" Creekside III

2:15 - 3:15 Session IV
1. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Tell-tale Techniques and Solutions" Water Oaks II
2. Terry Roueche - "From the Stage to the Page" (demonstrating play dialogue using actors) Water Oaks I
3. Anne Gunton - "Forever Young: Trying Your Hand at Writing for Children." Creekside I
4. Beth Jusino - "Author Branding: Positioning Yourself for Publishing Success." Creekside II
5. Carrie McCullough - "Things You Might Not Know About Being A First-time Author" Creekside III

3:30- 4:30 Session V
1. Kwame Dawes - "Stealing--three exercises of pilfering that can generate remarkably beautiful poems. How to draw on various other art forms to create something interesting in the poem." Creekside I
2. Deborah Grosvenor - "How to Write a Query Letter that Will Sell your Book Idea" Water Oaks II
3. Kathie Yoneda - "Creating Opportunities: Staying Challenged As A Writer" Creekside II
4. Jane Friedman - "How to Write A Nonfiction Book Proposal" Creekside III

4:30 - 5:30 Book Signings - Book Store Open All Afternoon Water Oaks III

6:00 - 6:45 Dinner Drinks with Live Auction & Prizes - Water Oaks Ballroom

6:45 - 8:30 Leisurely Dinner with Theatre - Water Oaks Ballroom all evening

8:45 - Open Mic for those who wish to stay

Critiques - Saturday 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ongoing critiques of your writing with faculty Creekside Library every 15 minutes all day Saturday for those who have signed up.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

7:00 - 8:30 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Ballroom - all activities on Sunday

8:30 - 8:45 SCWW Business - Sandra Johnson, President in charge

9:00 - 10:00 Interactive Agents & Editors Panel - Kathie Fong Yoneda moderating On the panel will be Chris Roerden, Stu Miller, Anne Gunton, Jane Friedman, Beth Jusino, Carrie McCullough, Marcia Preston, and Deborah Grosnevor

10:00-10:30 Carrie McCray Awards and silent auction awards

11:00 Door Prizes and check out

Got news from your local chapter? Got a helpful writers web site to share? Got a caution about a bogus publishing opportunity or contest? Let's network our knowledge to build a better newsletter.

Deadline for submissions is the 21st of each month. Please send submissions to quilleditor@bellsouth.net either in the body of an e-mail or as an attached file in MS Word (DOC), Rich Text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) format. Articles accepted for publication will appear in The Quill and archived on the web. Writers retain all rights to their works.

Submissions may also be made on floppy disk and mailed to:

Leland Beaudrot
1 Cleveland St Ste 110
Greenville SC 29601-3646

Write on!

Leland Beaudrot, Editor
The Quill

A Cup of Comfort is a popular anthology (book) series featuring inspiring true stories about the extraordinary experiences of "ordinary" people. Now, we are currently seeking submissions for three exciting new volumes:

A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers

As any dog lover will attest, dogs are, indeed, our best friends… and so much more. They're also our helpers, heroes, champions, teachers, and beloved family members. For this volume, we seek heartwarming true stories that speak to the amazing bond between dogs and the people who love them. Stories can focus on any experience/theme that demonstrates how a dog has inspired and/or enriched the life/lives of a human(s). Possible themes include but are not limited to a dog's:

• Devotion and loyalty
• Courage
• Amazing feats
• Role as a member of a family or community
• Companionship
• Therapeutic effect on a human
• Unique relationship with a person
• Unique relationship with another pet or animal
• Inspirational effect on one or more people
• Amusing, endearing, exceptional ways

We do NOT want sad stories about a pet's suffering or death. However, stories can be about the life of a dog that is now deceased and can include a fond farewell to a lost pet—provided the story isn't solely about the pet's death.

Submission Deadline: August 31, 2006

Please see submission specs, below.

A Cup of Comfort for Single Mothers

As Oprah Winfrey has often said, parenting is the most difficult and important job in the world. It can be even tougher for single mothers, who face all the usual parenting challenges plus another whole set of unique ones. But single motherhood -- whether by choice or by chance -- also brings many untold rewards, for both moms and children. For this collection of personal essays celebrating single mothers, we seek uplifting true stories about the joys and the difficulties of single mothering. The majority of stories selected for publication will be written from the single mother's point of view, but we will also consider stories written by the children of single mothers as well as by third parties with intimate knowledge of (and the permission of) the single mother and her child(ren). Possible themes include but are not limited to:

• Juggling the myriad responsibilities of single motherhood
• Raising sons or daughters solo / without fathers
• The support of family, friends, other mothers
• Dating / romance / socializing
• Hard lessons learned
• Busting myths about single mothering
• Defying stereotypes about single moms and/or children of single moms
• Overcoming adversity
• Self-acceptance and self-respect in a society that sometimes disparages single mothers
• Unconventional wisdom(s) gained
• Blessings, joys, and rewards of being a single mother or the child of a single mother
• The unique bond between a single mother and her child(ren)
• The courage, resilience, ingenuity, devotion, accomplishments, and/or integrity of a single mom
• Why you chose single motherhood (if by choice) and how you've made it work
• The unexpected and/or under-recognized advantages, joys, and/or rewards of being a single mother or having a single mother

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2006

Submission Specs

$500 grand prize (one per book); $100 (each) for all other stories published.

Author receives one complimentary copy of book; upon publication.

Stories must be original, true, uplifting, typed, and in English; narrative essay or creative nonfiction; 1st person or 3rd person (no 2nd person); and poignant, heartwarming, inspiring, and/or humorous.

Unpublished material preferred; some previously published material is acceptable. We do not publish material that has been or will be published in a mass market anthology or widely circulated magazine.

Manuscripts are not returned.

Entrants pay no entry or reading fees.

Each submission must include the following:

• Author's full and legal name
• Author's mailing address
• Author's phone number
• Author's email address (if applicable)
• Story title
• Story wordcount (approximate)

Choose one of these submission methods:

Email (preferred): In the subject line, cite the Cup of Comfort volume (i.e., Dog Lovers). Copy and paste (or type) the story into the body of the email (no attachments. One story per email. Send to: cupofcomfort@adamsmedia.com

Mail: You can send more than one story per envelope. Include self-addressed, postage-paid envelope for each submission. Send only the paper copy of the story; do not send computer disks or CDs. Mail to:

Cup of Comfort
Adams Media
57 Littlefield St.
Avon MA 02322,
USA

Fax: On a cover sheet or at the top of the story's first page, specify "Cup of Comfort," the volume for which you are submitting the story, and the number of pages being submitted. Fax to: 1-508-427-6790

For sample stories and detailed writers' guidelines, visit the Web site: www.cupofcomfort.com and click on "Share Your Story."

Please direct questions and suggestions to cupofcomfort@adamsmedia.com We cannot accept phone calls.

Join Marshall Frank for a discussion of his new book, Brutally Frank: Militant Islam In America at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 8, in the Bostick Auditorium of the Richland County Public Library, 1431 Assembly Street. Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information, visit www.richland.lib.sc.us

Literary agent Don Maass's groundbreaking book, now an intensive seminar!

Learn to:

• Grab your reader from beginning to end
• Create unforgettable characters
• Choose timeless, universal themes
• Create a potent sense of time and place
• Develop a dramatic storyline that sets your work apart from the competition and much more!

Writing The Breakout Novel is a rigorous day-and-a-half-long writing workshop designed to teach working novelists new techniques to bring their fiction to the next level. Participants should bring the manuscript of a completed novel or work-in-progress. Familiarity with the basics of plot, character, dialogue, and scene construction are presumed.

Donald Maass, a top agent for fiction writers and author of Writing the Breakout Novel, leads participants through practical writing exercises that plumb depths of character, raise stakes both public and personal, add plot layers, heighten sense of time and place, strengthen point of view and voice, deepen themes, transform openings, and develop the brainstorming skills that produce consistently original stories.

Donald Maass has helped many mid-list and genre authors transform their careers. His twenty-five years of experience can help you, too.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call toll free: 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832)

Nashville, TN
Saturday, August 12 - Sunday, August 13, 2006
$259 before July 14, $279 thereafter

Montreat Conference Center, Asheville, NC
Monday, September 11 - Sunday, September 17, 2006
$1500 for former seminar participants, $1650 for new students

Includes complete room and board, plus all workshop materials

For more information, please call 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832).

Donald Maass is president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, which he founded in 1980. He represents more than one hundred fiction writers and sells more than one hundred novels per year to top publishers in America and overseas. Recently, he obtained six-and-seven-figure advances from publishers such as Warner, Ballantine, Penguin Putnam and others for authors like mystery writer Anne Perry, fantasy author David Zindell and science fiction writers David Feintuch and Todd McCaffrey.

Author of seventeen novels and of the books The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass has more than twenty years of experience as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the science fiction, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance, and thriller categories. He speaks at writing conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City. He is on the board of advisors for Writer's Digest magazine and is also the former president of the Association of Authors' Representatives.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call toll free: 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832)

The Writing Room, a new program sponsored by the Emrys Foundation, is offering an array of workshops to Upstate writers of all levels. We're building a community of writers who want to learn more about the craft of writing.

If you've never written we'll get you started. You may even have an idea for a story, an essay, a novel, a poem, a children's book and want some guidance.

If you're an experienced writer you'll feel right at home. you'll find attention, professional criticism, and inspiration.

Everyone will find camaraderie. Our goal is to improve your writing and develop your style. Our workshops offer a balance of craft discussions, writing exercises, and feedback. You'll find support. Begin drafts or polish revisions. Present your work for critique.

Our faculty members are professional, published writers with teaching experience. Workshops meet for up to 12 weeks. Register as soon as possible, as class size is limited to a dozen students.

Meet the Writing Room faculty in August ...

Monday, August 21, 7 pm at The Handlebar, 304 E Stone Avenue in Greenville, SC.

Visit www.emrys.org for more information.

We are a not for profit theatre company, looking for stories, memoirs, poems and monologues about Irish and Irish American women that will be compiled and workshopped into a play that will premiere this March in New York City. Our focus is to give voice to and explore the issues that Irish and Irish American women faced in the past and in the present day. All submissions are welcome! Send your work to irishproject2006@yahoo.com. Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2006. If we decide to use your work in our theatre piece, we will contact you about working on the project. To learn more about our theatre company, go to www.turtleshellproductions.com.

If you would just like to share some thoughts you have about Ireland and Irish women, please do! We'd love to hear from you. Here are some questions that might stimulate your thoughts:

Where do we belong and who are we now as Irish/Irish American women?

1. What does Ireland and being Irish mean to you?

2. What do you think of the changes in Ireland today? Are they for the best? How do they change the role of women in Ireland?

3. Do you mourn the loss of the "old country" that is now the "Celtic Tiger"?

4. Do you feel at home in Ireland? Do you own property there? If you are Irish American, do you have any stories about your visits to Ireland?

5. If Irish American, when did your family come to the U.S.? Do you have any stories of the Irish women in your family and their life in America?

6. If Irish, do you have any stories about women in your family and their life in Ireland?

7. How do you feel about the issues that are important to Irish women now changes in family life, equal rights, women and the church, the "troubles" in the North, divorce, abortion, gay rights? Do you have any stories about Irish or Irish American women and these issues?

Writers Gallery specializes in stories set in the South or about Southerners. Publishes trade cover books with perfect binding.  This will be the first of six projected books of short stories to be published by Writers Gallery.

Need: Stories (fiction) of between 10,000-15,000 words for 2006 short story  collection. Word length gives time for plot and character development. All stories must be set in/or be about people from the Deep South and whose authors must be either Southern-born or current Southern-residents. Any genre.

Terms: Pays $25.00 for one-time rights at time of acceptance, plus one copy of the book upon publication. Royalty also paid to authors.

Advice:  Stories should be for general public’s enjoyment. No strong profanity, etc. As for theme, content, and style—push the envelope. We’re looking for strong stories with good plots and memorable characters—not the run-of-the-mill variety. Deadline for submission: September 1, 2006. Projected publication date: mid-Nov.

Submission guidelines:

1. Use only Times New Roman font, 12.
2. Use only Microsoft Word—plain! No text boxes, etc.
3. Single space.
4. 10,000-15,000 words.
5. In the header on each page, give name, email, name of story, page number.
6. Center name of story & your name (2 lines).
7. Indent paragraphs (use tab).
8. Create a file for your story. Only one submission per author accepted.
9. Send attached file and email to MyraShofner@aol.com
10. File will be acknowledged as received.
11. Allow 2 months for notification as to acceptance/rejection.

 Contact: Myra Shofner, editor/publisher. MyraShofner@aol.com

Caught in the Creative Act, the popular book-and-writer series directed and taught by the University of South Carolina's Janette Turner Hospital, is back.

The 10-week course, which is free and open to the public, will open with a lecture by Turner Hospital on Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night, on Sept. 11. Wiesel will speak on Sept. 12 as part of USC's annual Solomon-Tenenbaum Lectureship in Judaic Studies.

Caught in the Creative Act classes will be from 5:45-7:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. The course will conclude on Nov. 15 with a talk by E.L. Doctorow, whose novel, The March, won this year's PEN/Faulkner award. Doctorow also was awarded the National Humanities Medal, which is conferred by the White House.

Other writers and their works featured this year will be Elise Blackwell, author of Hunger; Geraldine Brooks, author of the novel, March, and the non-fiction Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women; Lan Samanatha Chang, writer of the novel, Inheritance; Daniel Buckman, who penned the novel, Morning Dark; l thi diem thúy, who wrote the novel, The Gangster We Are All Looking For; Michael Ondaatje, author of the novel, Anil's Ghost; and Lynn Pruett, writer of the novel, Ruby River.

Most classes will be held in Gambrell Hall auditorium, with the Oct. 25 and Nov. 2 classes to be held in the School of Law auditorium. Although Caught in the Creative Act is free, participants must register to participate. A registration form is available on the web site: www.cas.sc.edu/CICA/. Registrants are encouraged to buy books prior to the start of the course. Books also will be available for sale and signing on the evenings of author visits.

Turner Hospital is Carolina Distinguished Professor of English and Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at USC. Hospital, who grew up in Queensland, Australia, is an award-winning writer and novelist. Her novels include The Ivory Swing, The Last Magician, Oyster and, most recently, Due Preparations for the Plague, which won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2003, and the Davitt Award from Sisters in Crime for best crime novel of the year by an Australian woman.

Complete details about Caught in the Creative Act, including a schedule, author biographies, information on books to be featured and a registration form, are available at the web site: www.cas.sc.edu/CICA/. For additional information, e-mail Hospital at jthospital@sc.edu.

Friday small press reception at Firehouse Books:

Writers, readers, Lowcountry authors, and small press representatives will attend this free-to-the public reception, to enjoy and explore the changes in the literary marketplace, and the value of small press books.

Saturday Manuscript Critiques at the Cuthbert House Inn:

Writers meet in private with a small press representative for a manuscript critique geared towards publishing book-length work; $35. Manuscript submission deadline is November 10, 2006, Call 843-379-6607 or visit http://www.eatgoodbread.com/iodine.html for details.

FEATURES

This is the fourth, and probably last chapter of "Critiquing 101. " If you missed any of the first three chapters, "Basic Critiquing Etiquette, " "Point of View, " or "Beats, " you can catch them in previous editions of Printed Matters. This month's topic is "Show, Don't Tell. " I wish I could say that "telling" was a rookie mistake, but we are all guilty. The only difference is, when a critiquer says to a rookie that he's telling, he gets a blank look. A veteran, told the same thing, says "D'oh!" Not that Homer would know what we're talking about.

Consider this statement: After a hard day working as a garbage man, Charlie smelled really disgusting. Now here's how John Sanford says it: Charlie wiped the sweat out of his eyebrows, wrestled the garbage cans out to the truck, lifting, throwing, then dragging and sometimes kicking the cans back to the customers' doors. He could smell himself in the sunshine: he smelled like sweat and spoiled cheese and rotten pork, like sour milk and curdled fat, like life gone bad.

That's a pretty extreme example, but it shows the difference between telling and showing. Don't tell us Charlie was working hard, show us what that means, what he actually did, what his attitude was. Don't tell us he smelled bad, show us what he smelled like, and let us decide whether that's disgusting or not.

But showing isn't just a matter of adding more detail. Here's another example of telling:

It was the rainiest summer since '86. Eight inches fell in June, then Tropical Storm Agnes dumped five inches the first week of July. The river was six feet over flood stage from that, and again the end of . . .

There's certainly lots of detail here, but it's dry and impersonal. It doesn't help the reader experience the rain.

Now listen to Alice Munroe. This was the summer of rain and more rain. They heard it first thing in the morning, loud on the roof of the mobile home. The trails were deep in mud, the long grass soaking, leaves overhead sending down random showers even in those moments when there was no actual downpour from the sky. Carla wore a wide-brimmed old Australian felt hat every time she went outside, and tucked her long thick braid down her shirt. These are details that show what the summer of rain felt like, what it sounded like, how it affected people.

Another way to think about telling is that it generally imposes a value judgment on the reader. It was hot. He was ugly. She drove too fast. Don't tell your readers what to think. Show them the panting dog, the browned-out lawn, the clinging shirt. They'll figure out that it's hot.

That's it. That is everything I know about writing and critiquing. Since I have nothing left to say, I'll close with some quotes on writing:

"There is a difference between a book of two hundred pages from the beginning and a book of two hundred pages which is the result of an original eight hundred pages. The six hundred are there. Only you don't see them." -- Elie Wiesel

"Writers are always at the edge of the Inferno and the fire is licking our toes. Luckily, it turns us on!" -- Erica Jong

"I've also grown weary of reading about clouds in a book. Doesn't this piss you off? You're reading a nice story, and suddenly the writer has to stop and describe the clouds. Who cares? I'll bet you anything I can write a decent novel, with a good, entertaining story, and never once mention the clouds. Really! Every book you read, if there's an outdoor scene, an open window, or even a door slightly ajar, the writer has to say, "As Bo and Velma walked along the shore, the clouds hung ponderously on the horizon like steel-gray, loosely formed gorilla turds." I'm not interested. Skip the clouds and get to the fu**ing. The only story I know of where clouds were important was Noah's Ark." --George Carlin

And my favorite:

"Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out." -- Samuel Johnson

MUSINGS

"Are you not supposed to be writing?"

Having become accustomed to minor Muse intrusions, I didn't even look up from my book. "I'm just taking Mindy Friddle's suggestion from her workshop: doing more reading."

"And what is this you are reading?"

"Judaism for Everyone. It's by that Rabbi who does Shalom in the Home on TLC."

"Do your fellow Presbyterians know you are reading that?"

"Don't think they'd have a problem with it. Most of the Bible was written by Jewish folk." I paused to highlight a passage...

In prayer, we are taught what to wish for.¹

Realizing that the voice, though somehow familiar, was not that of my usual Muse, I slipped my bookmark in place and laid the paperbacked tome aside. "Okay, I've pushed the 'Pause' button on the book. Time to come out and be seen."

The desk chair swiveled at the touch of an unseen hand. "Seeing is not everything, as you know. As it is written, 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

Hearing sacred saying from the mouth of a Muse always grated on my sensitivities. "Enough of this blind man's bluff! Show or go!"

Fuzzy Logic, a stuffed monkey perched on the corner of the desk, suddenly leaped at my head. "Better watch your tongue," said the one who launched him.

Deflected by my hand, the well aimed ape landed upside down in the corner. "Actually, I'd better watch out for flying monkeys!" I took a deep breath and humbled my tone. "If I could see your tongue right now, it would probably be sicking out."

"Bravo!" She gave the chair a spin. "Two points for perception and another for the precision with which you transcribe our conversation."

I showed my empty hands. "But I haven't written a thing."

"You are taking mental notes," she said. "I can hear the noises in your head."

"Well, it's your own neighborhood. I guess it's natural."

"As is your side of our tete-a-tete. It is entirely casual conversation, filled with the contractions you use to spare a syllable here and there."

"And you...," I raised a hand as if to grasp a thread of memory. "...are speaking with great formality, like a grandmotherly grammarian."

"Exactly! Even the untrained eye can see that two people are talking, and could distinguish the speakers without attribution."

Simultaneously, an image began to form in my mind and before my eyes. A pale, ethereal luminosity filled the chair. The shimmering rainbow swirl condensed into the appearance of flesh and bone, shrouded in a mantle of stained glass hues. "Chrysanthemum!"

"You recognize me; I am flattered," she said with a coy tilt of her head and an inviting stare.

I averted my gaze from her hypnotic eyes. "Nice to see you again."

"Are you?" She pouted. "You have not given me a thought for months. Nor have you shared me with the world."

When conceiving the character of a mischievous nymph, I underestimated the malevolence of that mythical femme fatale. "Perhaps I'm too kind," escaped under my breath.

"Come again?"

"Perhaps you won't mind...." I picked up my book. "...if I get back to my reading."

She smiled and raised herself from the chair. "I will be at the clubhouse. When you come to lock up tonight, will you join me in the pool?"

"Thanks, kid, but I don't swim."

"I said nothing of swimming." With a sinister laugh she stepped from the room.

While still pondering where I might find an all-night sporting-goods store offering a scuba gear and spear gun sale, the phone rang.

"Hey, it's Bud. I'm just leaving the clubhouse and it's already 9:00, so I'll go ahead and lock up."

"Thanks, man!" I said. "You're a real lifesaver."

¹Judaism for Everyone, p. 132; Shmuley Boteach; New York, Basic Books, 2002

The Quill is the newsletter of the South Carolina Writers Workshop www.scwriters.com.

Copyright 2006 by Leland Beaudrot, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.