Good Vibes

I was the networking session leader last Wednesday evening for Professional Writers of Prescott. The networking chair, Mary Ann had invited me. The PWP has an interesting format for their monthly meetings. At 6 p.m., those who wish, gather for a one-on-one session based on a particdular subject. Because some of the PWP members have visited a workshop or two in my home (where I now lead five workshops) a number were interested. I expected a half dozen; 13 showed up. When I'd finished regaling them with the highlights of more than 30 years leading and/or participating in home-based workshops and responding to questions, one of the regular members (who had visited mine) announced that she and friend had already secured space in the library for workshop meetings and were seeking signups. The chairman plans to visit one of mine here.

Sixty miles is a long drive from Prescott, so I doubt she will be a regular member but I do encourage writers everywhere to participate in in-home workshops. The large umbrella groups that bring in published professionals to speak to us all are great, but the workshops are where we perfect our own writing. In San Luis Obispo, the umbrella group ($30 per year membership) is called NightWriters and its great program chair brings in speakers to the monthly (except July & August) meetings. However, this organization also sponsors about a dozen home-based workshops that meet (average) every two weeks under the leadership of a volunteer.

I am so devoted to the idea of the value of workshops, I developed a how-to pamphlet a few years ago. It has eight pages of encouragement and protocols for such. The title is "Who? You!" Subtitled: "How to Create, Enjoy and Profit From a Writers' Critique Group." Since publishing that little pamphlet I have become wary of the word "critique" as some people shy away thinking they will be uncomfortable having their words "critiqued." Hence, I now refer to the groups as workshops. More on this subject in future blogs.

Contact me if you'd like to know more. Thanks for "listening."--Willma

Contest judging

In the past month I have had the opportunity to read and offer a score and comments on more than 150 short stories for an annual short story contest sponsored by one of the California writer clubs I used to belong to. I still retain contact with that group where many accomplished writer friends live. Fortunately for the entrants, I am not the only judge. I am one of two lst tier judges who will have read all submissions. Approximately 30 of the top scorers will go to a final judge who is a published author and editor of a literary journal.

Approximately 1/3 of the total submissions I read are incidents or personal essays--not short stories. I use the definition of a short story from Writer's Encyclopedia which says, in part: "... A piece of fiction that revolves around a character with a specific problem to solve...An essential ingredient of the short story is the recognizable change--for better or for worse--that occurs in the main character or in his situation as a result of having solved his problem (or having recognized his failure or inability to do so)...."

Only about four of the total were 100% free of punctuation and spelling errors. I can almost tell the age of the writer of these stories. The "old school" (those who went to school back in the 1930's and 40's) were taught grammar and punctuation both in elementary and in high schools. For the last 20 years or so, such classes have been dropped from the curricula.

Other contest chairmen I know gather a committee on a Saturday following the close of the contest. These people spend the full day together weighing the attributes of the submissions and deciding which ones are the top three (for lst, 2nd and 3rd cash prizes) . "We sometimes have to adjourn until the next day and get back to the discussion before we can make our final selections" says this chairman.

I encourage members of my workshops to enter contests. There's always a deadline for submission and sometimes this is provided motivation for the writer who has difficulty "getting started." Most have entry fees of $5 to $15, but contests put on by smaller clubs receive fewer entries and the competition therefore is less that it is in national contests such as Writer's Digest's annual contest. Two members of my workshops won prizes last year in California Writers Club contests. This organization is composed of approximately 15 branches scattered throughout the state and most of them hold annual contests. Most branches also have websites on which they post their contests. These fees are often the only money-raising effort of the club in the year.

Any readers of this blog who have had contest experiences they would like to share with me I would like to hear from you as I am preparing an article about contests and judging. Thanks for now.

Lost Week

From Sep 11, 2006

Hello again, I believe I've lost not just one week but two. I've been in process of judging a short story contest for NightWriters organization based in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is an annual fund raising event and I've read and scored about 180 manuscripts. This is an unusual contest in that all stories are limited to 500 words and all must begin with the same opening words. This year, those words were "Not again" This could be a first sentence or a part of a sentence.
This is the second time I have served as a judge and at one time I served as contestest chairman. This involves many hours and I am in process of trying to persuade the Executive Board of the organization to pay a small stipend to contest chairman and judges. Their judging system requires two "First Tier" judges who read and score all the manuscripts received. Second Tier judges select approximately 20 of the lst tier judges' top scoring manuscripts. These go to the final judge who (this year) is an ex-editor of a literary journal. A first, second and third place receive cash awards. Seven honorable mention awards are offered.

When I lived there I led two workshops for several years. Both are still thriving under new leaders. Here in Sedona where I now live, I have five workshops that meet in my home. These meet on Thursdays, morning,k afternoon, evening. I limit the number to about 8 members so that all have a chance to read their work, hear comments and and comment on others' work.

I have much more to write about but am bushed this evening and need to get to bed. More and more cogent remarks next time. Willma