L.A. screenwriter on writing, marketing, and collaborating
L.A. screenwriter Ron Riekki is our speaker August 4, 2010 at 6:30 PM at the Orlando FWA meeting at the University Club in Winter Park. Riekki has experience in journalism, fiction writing, poetry writing, television spec writing, screenwriting, and playwriting. Riekki will discuss how to write in any genre; how to market your work; and, how to collaborate with other writers. The meeting is free and open to the public. For additional information, visit the FWA blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader UsaBookCoach@gmail.com.
Ron Riekki’s novel U.P. was nominated by National Book Award winner John Casey for the Sewanee Writers Series and two producers in L.A. have it in-development to turn it into a film. Riekki has an MFA in Theater Arts/Playwriting from Brandeis University, an MFA in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Literature & Creative Writing from Western Michigan University. He has also been nominated for two Illinois Press Awards, and had his plays produced in seven states, and had poetry published in over twenty publications.
Writing biography, autobiography, and memoir: What you need to know
Janna and Geoff Benge, authors of over 150 books will explore the subject of biography and memoir writing at the FWA Orlando Writer’s Group on May 5, 2010 at the University Club in Winter Park (doors open at 6:30 PM).
Janna and Geoff will present an overview of what you need to know, the pitfalls to be avoided, and how to shape a life story (your own or someone else’s) into a compelling narrative. The Benge’s have a deep understanding of this subject having made their living as professional writers for the last 24 years. Among the 150 books written by the Benge’s is a 50 book series of biographies for teenagers with two million copies sold to date.
Janna and Geoff are gifted teachers with a passion to help others fulfill their writing goals. They share with wit and wisdom the things they have learned through their years of experience in the publishing industry.
The meeting is free and open to the public at the University Club in Winter Park (corner of Webster & Park Ave.). For additional information, visit the FWA blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader at usabookcoach@gmail.com.
Meeting Reminder: This Wednesday, 6:30 PM
Remember that the next meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association, is this Wednesday and will feature Greg Dawson. Greg is eager to share the ups and the downs that he experienced while publishing Hiding in the Spotlight. He will also be accompanied by his wife, Candy Dawson, who helped produce a DVD documentary about his book.
So, plan to attend! That meeting is this Wednesday, March 3, at the University Club of Winter Park. As always, our meetings are free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader—usabookcoach@gmail.com or 407-862-5037.
Hiding in the Spotlight
Greg Dawson, a humor writer and journalist who got serious and wrote a Holocaust book (Hiding in the Spotlight), will speak at the next meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association, on March 3. Greg’s talk focuses on the ups and downs of getting published. And, based on his publishing experience, one of those downs is that “marketing departments, not acquiring editors, decide what gets published.”
However, “If a C+ student like me can get a book published, so can you,” he says.
“I’ve been in journalism forty-two years,” he said in an interview with Norm Goldman of BookPleasures.com, “most of it as a columnist writing fifteen- to twenty-inch columns, avoiding long-form narrative whenever possible. . . . The first day I sat down [to] write—after months of research and marking up interview transcripts—I stared at the screen like a zombie from the Village of the Damned. I think I finished one paragraph.”
For the rest of Greg’s story, and a look at a DVD documentary about his book that was filmed and narrated by his wife, Candy Dawson, plan to join us on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at the University Club of Winter Park—we’ll be there from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, and, as always, the meeting is free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader—usabookcoach@gmail.com or 407-862-5037.
This Wednesday: Growing a Plot from a Simple Sentence
Bestselling author Nancy Haddock has gathered many unique tools and tricks in her trek to publication. And, fortunately for us, she will share some of them during her presentation this Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at the Orlando Area Writers Group (Florida Writers Association). After the meeting, she will also share a special gift basket, which she has graciously donated to be raffled off for the benefit of our group’s efforts.
“Chia Plot: Growing a Plot from a Simple Sentence” is an interactive program Ms Haddock designed to help lead the high school creative writing class she taught in Dallas through the story-building process. She now presents the program to professional writing organizations, assisting writers to make the dive from initial concept to full story development.
Nancy is a nationally known paranormal mystery-romance author. Her debut book, La Vida Vampire, launched a new series for her publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, and garnered rave reviews, including a 4-1/2 star rating from Romantic Times. Her second book, Last Vampire Standing, was released this past May.
In writing paranormal romantic mystery, Haddock draws on her own experiences with things-that-go-bump, on her love of the mystery genre, and on the historic wealth of St. Augustine, Florida. She writes full time and is a dedicated resident-tourist who never tires of exploring the sights of her new hometown.
As always, this meeting (and its raffle) will be held at the University Club of Winter Park from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and is free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader: CoachRik@aol.com or 407-862-5037.
This Wednesday: Twelve Months of Book Marketing
How would you like to sell your books as an extra source of income? Rik Feeney, group leader, author of numerous books, reports, and CDs, and owner of Richardson Publishing will inspire you to do just that at the next meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. His presentation will focus on twelve specific marketing activities you can use to boost your book sales.
So, join us. As always, we’ll be meeting at the University Club of Winter Park from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM; the meeting is free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik: CoachRik@aol.com or 407-862-5037.
This Wednesday: Book Marketing Tricks
No, not a Halloween kind of trick, but little-known and innovative tricks that will help you stop pushing your book and start attracting buyers.
What do TV ads, telemarketers, and most authors have in common? They interrupt what potential buyers are doing and try to sell them something. But, how do you—or should you—follow those tactics? Pulitzer-nominated writer Doris Bloodsworth will answer that question this-coming Wednesday during the November meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association.
While talking, Doris will share the book marketing techniques that helped her pre-sell hundreds of copies of her first book (Groveland, from the Images of America Series) before it was released and the methods she used to make that book the one book an entire city was reading this summer. Along that journey, we’ll discover the difference between “push” and “pull” marketing, and we’ll learn how social media fits into the marketing mix, how to recognize and create affinity groups, and how to attract media coverage. In the end, you’ll discover how to have fun marketing your book with strategies that will have people clamoring for copies!
So, don’t miss that meeting! It takes place at the University Club of Winter Park from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, and, as always, is free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue.
For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-Orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader—usabookcoach@gmail.com or 407-862-5037.
Meeting Reminder: October 7, 6:30 PM
This month’s meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association, will feature local television journalist and author Bob Kealing, who will discuss how to identify unique topics in your local community and how to use public records to complete the story. Don’t miss this opportunity to see Bob, hear his advice for getting published, and ask him questions about researching and writing.
That meeting is this Wednesday, October 7, at the University Club of Winter Park. As always, our meetings are free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader—usabookcoach@gmail.com or 407-862-5037.
Bob Kealing: Blow-dried TV guy or compelling author?
Bob Kealing is an Emmy-award-winning investigative reporter at WESH-TV; but, he is also the author of Kerouac in Florida: Where the Road Ends and Tupperware Unsealed. This blow-dried TV guy and compelling author will speak at the next meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association, on October 7. Bob’s talk is titled “On the Road: Uncovering History in Central Florida Suburbs and Beyond.”
“I’ll describe what motivates me to pursue our area’s hidden history,” Kealing says. As part of his talk, Bob will discuss how you can find compelling stories and unique topics right in your own back yard, how to use public records to bolster your story, and how he accomplished his writing mission and got published. After the talk, Bob will answer questions and sign books.
That next meeting takes place on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at the University Club of Winter Park. As always, we’ll be there from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, and the meeting will be free and open to the public. The University Club is located at 841 Park Avenue North, on the northwest corner of Park and Webster Avenue. For additional information, visit the group blog at www.fwa-orlando.org or contact Rik Feeney, group leader—usabookcoach@gmail.com or 407-862-5037.
Thank you, Jamie Morris
Jamie Morris, director of the Woodstream Writers community in Central Florida, spoke at the September meeting of the Orlando Area Writers Group, Florida Writers Association. During her talk, Jamie facilitated a group exercise designed to create a variety of ways to work through writer’s block and other sticky parts of the first-draft process.
Among other resources, Jamie cited
- the Gotham Writers’ Workshop, which offers online workshops;
- a variety of articles by British Sci-Fi author Simon Haynes;
- the First Fridays critique group at Rollins College, which is open to the public and facilitated by Associate Professor of English and Writer in Residence Phil Deaver; and
- a variety of books with writing prompts, including Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones.
In addition to offering workshops using the Amherst Writers and Artists method, writing retreats, community presentations, and book-coaching services, Jamie also creates and distributes The Newstream, a quarterly newsletter for the Central Florida writing community.
The Newstream
- lists publishing tips and opportunities for writers;
- shares information on local workshops, writing intensives and retreats, and relevant community events; and
- applauds local authors’ victories and publishing triumphs!
To subscribe to The Newstream, or to learn more about her services or any of the other resources Jamie presented in September’s meeting, e-mail her: Jamie@WoodstreamWriters.com.
Thanks, Jamie. We’re glad you took time from your busy schedule to share with us.
