Jan 21st Meeting Report

Last night we enjoyed a meeting at Albertsons where 29 people heard and critiqued 5 readers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Barnes and Nobles is contributing to the raffle at our conference. Are you? You should! Contact Amanda if you have something you would like to donate.

Did you happen to see the article in Writer's Digest featuring five literary agents who are seeking new clients? With this bit of advertising they may be swamped soon. A great way to get in touch with an agent is to attend a good writer's conference, like the one our group is hosting in April!

BRAGS:

Congratulations to Charles Fuller on the publication of an article in "The Firing Line" titled "Encoding the Zombie Apocalypse."

Congratulations to Darlien Breeze on having an essay published in a very popular Las Vegas calendar.

Congratulations to Donald Riggio on the airing of a song inspired by his book "Seven Inch Vinyl" on the popular SIRIUS radio show! "Bouncing a kiss off the moon" aired Sunday night, and is available on itunes.

UPCOMING MEETINGS:

The West Side meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday January 23rd. Our next weekly meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Church on Tropicana. For more information see the calendar on our website.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

"You mentioned surreal... what exactly does that mean?"

WRITING TIP from Jo Wilkins:

The elements of a good story never change. 

1. Start with the setup – who, what, when, & where. 

2. Present a conflict or complication for the main character(s). 

3. Increase the tension through each failure for the character(s) to reach the short term goals. 

4. Allow less tense moments for the character(s) to evaluate the progress. 

5. Reach the climax of the story when the main goal is reached. 

6. End with a short resolution for the character(s). 

Let your readers ride your story like the ups and downs of a roller coaster to keep them interested.

ARTICLE:

Our article this week comes from a member who hasn't been to a meeting for a while as he is busy touring the United States by motorcycle. Enjoy this article about the merits of a good "old fashioned" book by Kevin Parsons:

In Praise of Paper

Before you go harrowing off and tossing away good volumes of books as you peer at your wretched little screens, I'd like to say a few words in defense of the book. Yes, the actual book with a spine, mind you. 

Walk into a person's domicile anywhere and peruse over the tomes stacked along shelves throughout his house, and any fool can tell if that person is well read or not. Yet with a Kindle, Nook, or (shudder) an iPad- Dear God, they can't even figure out where the capital letter goes- you've no idea if he's got four hundred volumes of fine literature, or wastes his life away flinging round birds without any legs at minuscule green pigs. I suppose you both could crowd around the infinitesimal screen and search for his prose, each of you wrestling for position to avoid the glare on the screen. 

But to see books, lined up against the wall one against another; any fool can walk along and see that the person is well read, with works of C.S. Lewis, Hemingway and Twain right alongside current tomes such as King, Child, Dick Francis. Speaking of Francis, even one of limited intelligence could see the broken spines and curled pages of 'Hot Money' or 'The Edge' and know that those works have been read over a dozen times. But a little aluminum gadget gives no indication of whether one reads at all. Do these people perhaps live in sterile little aluminum apartments as well? 

Furthermore, these electronic 'marvels' haven't earned our trust. People of culture and breeding have suffered through the genesis of computers, having reams of data disappearing into the ether, as their dinosaurs of electronics have chewed up and ingested great quantities of work, leaving the hapless victim staring at a blue screen of death. Now we're supposed to buy volumes of work and store them inside these little demons, or- heaven forbid- trust invisible corporations built with young people who cannot even properly dress themselves to store our treasured tomes in some ridiculous 'cloud' somewhere? 

Imagine if you will a bright sunny day and you decide to take a holiday to the beach, sit on a lounge chair and spend some quality time lost in a book, say a Vince Flynn thriller. You bring all the appropriate equipment for a day in the sand including the aforementioned book. You take a risk that the book may be stolen, dropped in the sand, or somehow swept into the sea. A seven dollar risk, I daresay.
However, should an electronic gadget suffer a similar malady, you've practically got to declare bankruptcy, purchase another little beast and reset your pathetic computerized life.

But stop by a garage sale, or perhaps even a thrift store. Purchase a particularly old book. Allow it to fall open. A well read book will, you know. Take in the prose. Smell the aged paper. You've done a very fine thing. 

-Kevin B. Parsons

Kevin B Parsons is an entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker and avid motorcyclist. He’s started and operated nine businesses in six states, and purchased one business. He’s written a Children’s book, Ken Johnson and Roxi the Rocker, available on Amazon. He’s co authored six anthologies and written numerous articles and stories.

This year he appeared on the cover of American Motorcyclist magazine, along with the feature story he wrote.

Kevin has ridden and raced motorcycles since age thirteen, and is two time Best In The Desert champion. Currently he and his wife Sherri have embarked on a '50 States in 50 Weeks' adventure, riding a motorcycle with a pop- top tent trailer. He blogs every day during his adventure at www.50statesin50weeks.com, and is a regular guest blogger at www.authorculture.blogspot.com at www.geezerguysandgals.blogspot.com.