Friends of the Rockwall Library Table

Rockwall Christian Writers Group was represented at the Friends of the Library Christmas Luncheon. A big thanks to Leslie Wilson and D'Ann Mateer who helped set up the table. Those who attended included:

• Leslie Wilson
• D'Ann Mateer
• Michael Taylor
• Amy Van Vleck
• Anita Curtis
• Mary DeMuth
• Misti Gil
• Kathryn Sobeites

We had a great time!

New Meeting Days. Mark your Calendar!

Hi all,

It's official. We begin meeting on the second Monday of each month starting in January 2008. Here's the 2008 calendar if you want to keep a copy:

January 14, 2008
February 11, 2008
March 10, 2008
April 14, 2008
May 12, 2008
June 9, 2008
July 14, 2008
August 11, 2008
September 8, 2008
October 13, 2008
November 10, 2008
December 8, 2008

You'll note the December date. I've had feedback that people would like to go ahead and meet in December, so we'll address that as we get closer. For now, we've at least reserved the room, A-138. Meeting time stays the same--7:30-9:30 p.m.

In preparation for the January meeting, please consider your goals for the upcoming year. As a group we hope to hold everyone accountable on one (or more) writing/speaking goals for 2008.

In the meantime, have a blessed Christmas. I pray it will be a safe, enjoyable time to love on family and friends, even as you focus on the loving sacrifice of our Savior becoming man.

Blessings to all,
Leslie Wilsonwww.RealityMotherhood.com

NEW MEETING TIMES

Hello fellow writers,

Just a reminder: The Rockwall Christian Writers Group does not meet in December.

In addition, we have another change. Lake Pointe Church, which has graciously allowed us to meet in its facility for free for more than six years, has asked all non-church groups to change their meeting night to Mondays, which we will begin doing in January. We plan to meet either the second or third Monday of each month.

I'll send out a complete schedule for the year about a week prior to our first Monday meeting, January 14th. (That happens to be the second Monday; however, I've chosen that date only because the 21st is the MLK weekend and Rockwall schools have a long break over that weekend.) The meeting time remains the same--7:30-9:30 p.m.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season with your families and friends.

Many blessings,
Leslie Wilson
www.RealityMotherhood.com

A Serial Christmas Story!

RCWG member D'Ann Mateer has taken part in a serial Christmas story. You can read each entry daily here. D'Ann's contribution is December 5th.

NO MEETING IN DECEMBER

Have a holly jolly Christmas, writerly scribes! RCWG does not meet in December. So deck those halls and drink that cocoa!

Friends of the Library Luncheon

Leslie Wilson, D’Ann Mateer, and I are decorating a table for the Friends of the Library Christmas Luncheon. It’s a fundraiser for the library, so we thought it would be great as writers to support the library. Would you be interested in joining our table of eight writers? Here are the details:

The Center at Rockwall City Place
108 East Washington, Rockwall
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Each lunch - $15.00

Thanks for considering it. We’d love to have you join us! Please let me know by Wednesday if you can come. Email me at maryedemuth at sbcglobal dot net

With joy, Mary

November meeting this week!

The November meeting of the Rockwall Christian Writers Group is this Thursday, November first. We look forward to seeing you there.

NEW MEETING NOTICE: First Thursdays of the Month

Sorry to do this to you folks, but we're changing the WEEK that we meet--not the night, but the week. Due to some schedule conflicts with leadership, we will now meet on the FIRST Thursday of each month, not the second.

Here are the dates for the rest of 2007 and all of 2008. Please mark those calendars:

September 6, 2007
October 4, 2007
November 1, 2007
(As always, we don't meet in December.)

January 3, 2008
February 7, 2008
March 6, 2008
April 3, 2008
May 1, 2008
June 5, 2008
July 10, 2008 (Changed to the second Thursday because of the July 4th holiday.)
August 7, 2008
September 4, 2008
October 2, 2008
November 6, 2008

September meeting details are as follows:

Thursday, September 6, 2007 from 7:30-9:30 P.M.
Room A-138 at Lake Pointe Church

Directions:
From the I-30 side of the building:
Turn right under the stairs and look for a glassed-in room on the right--it's just before you get to the chapel.

From the Chili's side of the building:
Go into the doors under the portico closest to I-30--just north of the parking garage. Turn left and go down the stairs and the room will be on your left.

Also, don't forget that the church is often chilly. Dress in layers!!!

We will have time for critique so bring up to 5 pages (12-font or larger, one-sided, double-spaced) of work. Please make sure you bring enough copies for everyone--I'd suggest 8-10.

Hope you'll be able to join us!
Blessings,
Leslie Wilson
www.RealityMotherhood.com

Book Signing!

Many of you write Christian fiction. Even more of you read it. I just wanted you to know that there is a Christian fiction book signing event in conjunction with the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference here in Dallas. It will be held from 1:30-2:30, saturday September 22 at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria (14901 Dallas Parkway - Dallas, Texas 75254.)

Join a Great Writers Group Online...

I wanted to let you know about some great online groups. If you haven’t joined, it would definitely be worth the time to join. I recently became the owner of The Writers View and The Writers View 2.

The Writers View is for advanced professional Christian writers (700 members) who have several publishing credits. You can sign up (it’s free) here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWritersView/

The Writers View 2 (about 500 members) is for up and coming writers in the Christian market. You can sign up here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TWV2/

Both are online groups. We throw out a question twice a week. Panelists (folks in the industry) answer the questions as do the members. I’ve learned more through The Writers View than I have at conferences…and it’s free. If you want to take your writing to the next level, if you want to understand this industry, if you want to learn as much or more than you’d learn at a conference, please sign up.

Blessings,
Mary

Our Next Meeting

Come one, come all. Our next Rockwall Christian Writers Group meeting is August 9th. We would LOVE to have you stop in.

Details:

• Thursday, August 9, 2007 from 7:30-9:30 P.M.
• Room A-138 at Lake Pointe Church (NOTE: This is the same room (with the glassed-in back wall) that we met in last month when Kurt Bruner presented Story Structure.)
• Lake Pointe's building is large. To find us more easily, turn right under the stairs at the very front (I-30 side) of the building. Look for a glassed-in room on the right--it's just before you get to the chapel. If you park on the Chili's side of the building, under the parking garage, and go in one of the side doors, go down the stairs and the room will be on your left. For you old timers, this is a new room (not the former A-127). Y'all, please help people find it if they look lost.
• Also, don't forget that the church is often chilly. Dress in layers!!!We will have time for critique so bring up to 5 pages (12-font or larger, one-sided, double-spaced) of work. Please make sure you bring enough copies for everyone--I'd suggest 8-10.

Great Conference Advice

Editor Mick Silva of WaterBrook offers some great advice to authors attending a conference. You can read his post here.

Everything You Need to Know about Blogging

Do you want to start a blog, but don't know what to do? Here is an excellent post. I learned a lot, and I've been blogging a loooooong time.

Rockwall Christian Writers Group

Leslie Wilson, D'Ann Mateer, and Mary DeMuth at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. We met at the Rockwall Christian Writers Group!

Welcome to the Rockwall Christian Writers Group Official Spot on the Web!

Hello fellow writers,

I know this is a week early, but we're meeting on the first Tuesday (March 6th) this month because of spring break.

After welcoming guest speaker, Amy Van Vleck--the editor of Lake Pointe Life, Lake Pointe Church's own print and online magazine--for the February meeting, I know many of you are anxious to get back to critiquing.

If you would like, bring 5-10 copies of material to be critiqued--up to five pages, double spaced, one-sided, one-inch margins, 12 font or larger--and we'll get started after a very brief intro and update time.

Details:
Rockwall Christian Writers Group
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 from 7:30-9:30 P.M.
Room A-127 at Lake Pointe Church

Lake Pointe's building is large. To find us more easily, park on the I-30 side of the building and go in the front double doors. Go under the wide staircase and turn left. We're past the restrooms on the right. Also, don't forget that the room might be chilly. Dress in layers!!!

Next, check out this Friday's (3/2) Metro section of The Dallas Morning News. Marcia Carroll Burzair, who writes a bi-weekly column about Rockwall, profiles our group after visiting last month's meeting.

Finally, we'll also discuss posting a website for the group. Bring any and all ideas.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.
See you on Tuesday.
Blessings,
Leslie Wilson
http://www.realitymotherhood.com/

Everything You Need to Know about Us

Welcome to the Rockwall Christian Writers Group!

Mission Statement: To encourage fellow writers in the pursuit of publication while striving for the highest writing standards and to maintain our integrity and goal of glorifying God in all that we do.

Schedule: We will meet the second Tuesday of every month in Room A-127 of LakePointe Church (701 E. Interstate 30, Rockwall) from 7:30-9:30 P.M.

Format:
Approximately half of the time will be spent sharing/networking with one another about the following:
· Overviews of what we have been writing
· Industry information (who has merged, who is looking for what)
· Valuable websites
· Tools for writers (books, pamphlets, and other resources)
· Agent and publisher information and contacts
· Suggestions for getting published, marketing when published, etc.

The other half of our time together will be spent reading our work aloud and offering a helpful critique including:
· Proof-reading for errors
· Evaluation of style (both positive and negative)
· Suggestions for changes in the margins

Please bring any resources you wish to share as well as any work you want critiqued (up to 5 pages double-spaced with at least one-inch margins). We will hand out copies to everyone who comes, so be sure to have at least six copies of your work.

Membership information: There are no dues (at this point) or membership requirements (attendance, preparation) other than a love of writing. Just show up when it is convenient for you and encourage your fellow writers when you do. I would like to put together a roster with basic information, especially e-mail addresses, so please sign in.

Note: Please publicize this group to whomever you wish. As we grow we can better serve the individual needs of our members. Just to let you know, your work need not be Christian in nature, but rather, we want to provide a place for Christians to share information and critique work without being offended by the nature of work submitted for review.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this group, please contact Leslie Wilson at leslie@realitymotherhood.com.

Critique Procedures

Critique Procedure

1. Manuscripts should be five pages or less, double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins, header or footer with author name and page numbers. Bring enough for each person to have his/her own copy.

2. A member of the group will read the work aloud while others evaluate as they follow along.

3. Members write editorial comments on the manuscript. They ask questions, point out difficulties, and may suggest a different outline or approach. They may write a summary comment at the end and sign their name.

4. Comments do not necessarily tell the author what to write, but suggest improvements to make the manuscript marketable. Members share a few of these comments with the group as time allows.

5. Members should strive to give honest opinions, tempered with kindness. Be sure to make positive comments on the things that you like!

6. The reader of the manuscript will act as the evaluator for a general overview and discussion, including a page-by-page evaluation of the syntax, word choice, and clarity. Punctuation and spelling are marked on the manuscript but are not covered in the discussion except when a rule is in question.

7. During the group discussion, the author should listen and glean the valuable critique information. He or she may ask questions, but please refrain from (long) explanations of the work.

8. No author has to accept or implement anyone’s comments. Take the ones that help; forget the rest.

9. Authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit the same material (if desired) until the group believes it is ready for publication.

Information Sheet: Please Print

Please click on the permalink below and then print this sheet, fill it out, and bring it to the next meeting!

Rockwall Christian Writers Group
Information Sheet


Name:

Address:

Phone

(home):

(work):

(cell):

E-mail address:

Personal Writing Goals:










Past Writing Experience, Studies, Achievements:










Current Writing Project(s):