Writing Groups: When it is time to break up with your venue By Gordon Stamper Jr.

Depending on a writing group’s nature, some are quiet, academic, and perfectly happy to meet in a library room or reserve a campus classroom. However, if you want your gathering to be a bit more boisterous and have more potential to draw writers of all genres, it’s probably more conducive to meet in a public commerce place such as a bookstore, coffee house, or restaurant.

But with this comes the reality that some writers and business venues don’t mix, or the nature of their relationships negatively changes with time. Sometimes it’s necessary for your writing group’s survival to part ways. Still, sometimes a little communication or mutual support will salvage your relationship. In the process, a business can reap material benefits, while you’ll help your writer’s group succeed with a steady place to gather and grow.

When It’s Time to Part Ways

No venue is perfect, but usually at least two of these factors should make your writer’s group seriously consider a new home.

--Noise levels reach unacceptable levels and your host makes no accommodations to reduce them. Writing groups themselves should generate some noise with active discussion, but when the barista wants to play Metallica at 11 and the owner isn’t willing to turn off a speaker in your section or lower the volume, it can be impossible to concentrate on your work(s).

--Despite having a long-standing partnership, the needs of others, beyond reasonable business concerns, are considered before your group. You have met every Friday evening for 10 years, but management decides to put you and your fellow scribes in a small, invisible side room every time a special musical guest performs or board games tournament convenes. . .or whenever the mood strikes them.

--Instability in the host’s management results in inconsistent considerations for your gathering. With one assistant manager, your group is treated like royalty with special accommodations. With another, you’re lucky to get any seating and avoid casual comments like “I guess it’s time for the freak show again.”

--Physical remodeling of a business makes it virtually impossible to meet. Highland Writers Group ran into this problem with the original remodeling of the Highland Borders location. It didn’t allow for any community group meeting space that the old layout did, and the cafe area at the time was a cacophonous ringside seat to cappuccino machines.

--You are basically being shoved out the door. This seems to be common sense, but I was a part of an area writers group that allowed it to happen. Part of a book store’s community event calendar for more than seven years, they were moved from a prime central table with comfortable seating to a significantly less traveled side section, and finally were delegated to crouch in the children’s reading section (stymieing any serious discussion of adult-oriented writing). It was time to leave for about a year.

Ways to Avoid an Unnecessary Breakup

--Communicate your concerns. Don’t wait for both rest rooms and your seating area to become filthy candidates for the next episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. Don’t wait for the fifth time the owner moves you for another one of his tone deaf cousin’s impromptu folk singer sessions. Share your complaints and suggestions early so minor issues don’t become angry, insurmountable problems. If your concerns are dismissed or you’re ignored, that venue isn’t the only place in need of loyal customers.

--Actively support the host business. “Talk it up” with family. Promote it via email to friends. Become the business’ “friend” or “follower” on Facebook and Twitter. Recommend your hosts’ services (book sales or great food, for example) or qualities (friendly, great ambiance) so that great meeting spot for your writers’ group remains open and the owner knows you’re an asset for his store.

--When partnering with a retailer, save your purchase receipts. If it’s an issue of a new or veteran manager questioning your time slot due to sales, their concerns can be easily addressed with your group members’ sales receipts, a pile of evidence showing your financial support. But if you’re already disliking your experience for a number of other reasons (such as those listed above) or management starts asking “what’s the use of your writing group anyway,” this could be an excellent time to calmly end your partnership.

--When possible, partner with a local business over a corporate chain. For your writing group, there are two reasons for this, one selfish, one altruistic. The selfish reason—local stores are usually much more consistent in terms of management style. You know who you need to talk to, and usually they are at the counter. Corporate chains have a high turnover of store managers and community relations directors—people are regularly fired, promoted, and transferred. The altruistic motive—helping someone’s small business dream succeed, and the American Dream be something more than a writing topic at your next meeting.

An invitation to the literary community of Northwest Indiana

On Friday May 15, 2010 Evening From 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. the Northwest Indiana Poetry Society will host an open microphone round robin at the New Comfort Inn at I-65 and Rt. 2, (The northwest corner a little East and slightly north of the interchange.) All poets and the public are invited to this event to welcome the Indiana federation of Poetry Clubs to our part of the State.

Indiana Federation of Poetry Clubs

The Indiana Federation of Poetry Clubs, will hold its Spring Meeting in Lowell, Indiana at the Lowell Public Library on Saturday May 16, 2010

Program:

9:00 a.m. Business meeting

Keynote Speaker to follow: Tony

Sexton, President of the Kentucky State Poetry Society, the Keynote speaker will be follow by the Indiana federation of Poetry Club’s Premier Poet, Peggy Martin.

An open microphone to follow with Lunch at Twelve, a $10.00 charge for lunch reservations must be made ahead of the event.

Paddy Lynn, will present herself as Emily Dickenson at 1:00 p.m. She gives a wonderful show and has Q & A for the last fifteen minutes of her ninety minute show. Public invited.

About Poetry

In today’s literary world there are many collections of words that are called poetry. What is your definition of poetry?
Po-it-tree or, as we know the word poetry. I like to think of a poem as a tree that has roots in the mind of the poet, a living tree of thoughts that grow.
Trees can be found in their natural state, growing, pollinating, propagating, doing what they are meant to do, create oxygen for the world to use. A forest of trees makes the individual tree very hard to appreciate, however, if you take an individual tree from the forest and plant it in an open space, its beauty can be appreciated, its limbs that have fought for space in the forest and reached for the light above will spread, the roots will expand and it will produce a greater amount of oxygen than it was capable of confined in the forest of trees.
A poem is a literary tree, a thought planted in the mind of the poet that has roots. To communicate with the world and be of any value those roots must reach out of their confinement into the world as words, those words form the trunk of the tree, the arrangement of those words form the shape of the poem the balance of the branches will either make the poem memorable or let it be just another poem like any other poem. A good poem is memorable for the thought that it conveys and for the rhythms of its words.

Here is a poem that changed poetry and brought it into the modern world as an art form of the masses.


AS I ponder’d in silence,  
Returning upon my poems, considering, lingering long,  
A Phantom arose before me, with distrustful aspect,  
Terrible in beauty, age, and power,  
The genius of poets of old lands,          5
As to me directing like flame its eyes,  
With finger pointing to many immortal songs,  
And menacing voice, What singest thou? it said;  
Know’st thou not, there is but one theme for ever-enduring bards?  
And that is the theme of War, the fortune of battles,   10
The making of perfect soldiers?  
  
2

Be it so, then I answer’d,  
I too, haughty Shade, also sing war—and a longer and greater one than any,  
Waged in my book with varying fortune—with flight, advance, and retreat—Victory defer’d and wavering,  
(Yet, methinks, certain, or as good as certain, at the last,)—The field the world;   15
For life and death—for the Body, and for the eternal Soul,  
Lo! too am come, chanting the chant of battles,  
I, above all, promote brave soldiers.  


You no doubt have all read this poem in your college literature course. Here is another poem by the same poet.


O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;  
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;  
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,  
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:  
    But O heart! heart! heart!          5
      O the bleeding drops of red,  
        Where on the deck my Captain lies,  
          Fallen cold and dead.  
  
2

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;  
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;   10
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;  
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;  
    Here Captain! dear father!  
      This arm beneath your head;  
        It is some dream that on the deck,   15
          You’ve fallen cold and dead.  
  
3


Walt Whitman, wrote both these poems, The first from his Leaves of Grass Collection, the second his eulogy to Lincoln. Whitman, brought poetry to a level that the general masses could understand and mimic its construction. He introduced free verse with rhythm. Everyone in the literary world became poets. I don’t argue with that assumption. It is good to read the thoughts of our fellow citizens of the world. It is good that they are writing and sharing their thoughts. Unfortunately this proliferation of free verse with irregular meter and rhythms is not memorable as more than the transitory thought projected with questionable rhythm. Whereas a poem like Lincoln’s eulogy O! Captain My Captain, is long remembered and often repeated in context
I leave you with this questions: If a poem is “so deep” it cannot be understood or remembered, what good is it?

by Tom Spencer March 9, 2010

Advice to the Research-Challenged

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, bad facts make readers put your article or book down before they finish it. But over-researching wastes time you could spend writing and tempts you to include unnecessary facts that bore the reader. So how do you find the right balance?

Unlike many people, I love doing research. But I learned long ago that inefficient research wastes valuable writing time. Here are some tips on researching that use examples from my experience while writing In God We Trust (FaithWalk Publishing, 2006).

1. Have a general idea of where your book is going before you start the research. In God We Trust was my response to the ongoing argument over the meaning of the First Amendment’s religion clauses. As I listened to both conservatives and liberals, I became concerned that neither side was painting an accurate picture for the general public. The object of the book is to give laypersons the information they need to draw their own conclusions about what the First Amendment means and how well the Supreme Court has applied it.

2. Tailor your research to the book’s goal. I could have researched and discussed the country’s religious history from the time the Pilgrims reached Plymouth, but that would have overwhelmed my audience with more information than necessary. So I limited my historical research and discussion to the years during which the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written and adopted.

3. Select your sources, then use them wisely. Depending on the topic, libraries, books, magazines, interviews, location visits, and the Internet can all be helpful resources. Interviews and location visits wouldn’t have worked for me, but I made extensive use of the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago and of the Internet. I focused on original sources such as the Supreme Court’s written opinions and James Madison’s notes on the discussions in the House of Representatives. Internet research is tricky unless you use sites you know are reliable. Otherwise, use the Internet as a starting point but confirm your information from more dependable sources.

4. Don’t be afraid to go back and supplement your research. After I started writing, I realized I needed to address two federal laws that Congress adopted in an attempt to overrule the Supreme Court. So I found them and read them.

5. Or to leave some of your research on the cutting room floor. Although I believe in researching efficiently, it is better to err on the side of too much rather than too little. Some of the Supreme Court cases I read were decided on other grounds that avoided the First Amendment issues, so I didn’t use them.

Learn to research efficiently, and you might discover you enjoy it.

Kathryn Page Camp

So you wrote a book? So you self-published? Now it is time to market it! by Katherine Flotz

I wrote my memoirs and those of my husband’s titled “A Pebble in my Shoe”. The stories are part of the history of WWII and are worth remembering. After the writing, re-writing, editing, etc. Pannonia Press of Palatine, IL. published it. This is the imprint owned by another author, Elizabeth Walter, who could not find a publisher for her WWII memoirs. We were on our own paying for the cost of printing.

The next step was to market the book. Many friends of mine, also survivors, purchased the book. Naturally, the family and relatives became customers. It was then necessary to start looking to the local libraries and book clubs. The Crown Point library purchased books for their book club. An informative article appeared in the Crown Point Post Tribune and resulted in some sales. The YMCA book club members purchased copies.

I approached Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com to carry my book. The book was accepted in their inventory.

As customers were reading the book, and passing copies around to their friends, we received inquiries about speaking engagements. Contacts led us to schools, where the English and history teachers asked us to speak. These events always led to sales. Our requirement always included the purchase of books for their school libraries. Don’t forget your own church or neighboring churches of all faiths. They usually have women and men’s clubs who look for speakers. Sales are usually good.

I contacted bookstores in the Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin areas to arrange for book signings. Many of the smaller bookstores take books on consignment. In vacation towns in Wisconsin, I was very successful in repeat book signings because new people come to the towns each year.

If you have a book that is of interest to people, word of mouth is a good marketing tool. The marketing and promotion of your book is best served by your personal contact with your customers.

Peggy Archer gives tips to writers of Children's Books

Hello! My name is Peggy Archer, and I am a children’s author. I belong to the Indiana Writers’ Consortium (IWC) and have enjoyed connecting to writers of all genres here in northwest Indiana through IWC. You can find out more about me and my books on my website at www.peggyarcher.com.

Are you a children’s writer? Just getting started, or looking for a way to jumpstart your writing in the new year? Here’s a list of things you can do to keep yourself on track.

1—Read Children’s Books. Which ones did you like, and why? Read picture books out loud. Feel the rhythm of the words. Taste the language.

2—Set realistic goals. Writing 15 minutes a day, or a couple hours a week is better than waiting for a whole day that’s free before you sit down to write. Break your goals down into small steps that can be accomplished weekly or monthly on your way to reaching your long-term goals.

3—Write as often as you can. The more you write the better you will become. Don’t stress if you can’t write as much as you like. You can always think about ideas, and first lines, sitting in the car or waiting for an appointment. Keep a notebook with you, or a tape recorder, for times when you need to write those words down.

4—Learn all you can about writing for children. Read books and publications for children’s writers, look at websites and blogs, and talk to other children’s writers.

5—Join a critique group with other children’s writers. It helps to get feedback from others who understand the genre. It also gives you a deadline to have something written.

6—Attend conferences for children’s writers. This is a wonderful way to network with other children’s writers, meet editors, expand your marketing possibilities, and get professional critiques on your work.

7—Join SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators). This is an immense resource for children’s writers. Check their website at www.scbwi.org.

8—Research the markets. Read the current Children’s Writers & Illustrators Market Book. Read newsletters and magazines for children’s writers. Check out publishers’ catalogs and guidelines, on line or at your library. Read children’s books and look to see who publishes them.

9—Submit. Once you’ve written your story as best as it can be and researched the markets, submit your work. Submit to children’s magazines, too. Acceptances there are rewarding and encouraging.

10—Enter contests; apply for grants. Remember, there are other benefits besides winning. Beware of those charging a fee and check them out thoroughly first.

Staying on the right track can bring you closer to reaching your goals as a children’s writer. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Peggy Archer
www.peggyarcher.com