The Don Wannabe's and Two Beautiful Women

What did they all have in common? Laughter, Good Friends, Common Interests, Reading Flash fiction and Same place in Time. Sounds like a movie title to me or even a best seller. Are you still guessing?

They all attended yesterday's meeting of the Wannabe's at Panera. I am sorry that I notified everyone so late in the week. My teaching schedule and work at Cox has my dance card pretty full...just like many of us retirees. For those of you who were not able to attend here is your copy of the


The Wannabe Journal

On March 26th our group discussed the following topics:

Don Q is finishing the final edits on his Santa Stories book. He will soon begin his search for an agent and publisher. He is currently using his Kindle which he received at Christmas to read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Ironically the style and use of southern, ethnic dialogue in this book is similar to the other book he is reading entitled: "An Irish Country Christmas" by Patrick Taylor which is written with a very strong Irish "Ulster" dialect. So strong that the author felt compelled to included a Glossary of words and expressions in the final pages of the book. Don believes that his sudden concentration on dialect is a hidden lesson that he missed during one of Nancy's classes. Someone once said:" When you are ready to learn, your teacher will appear".

Ginger was welcomed back to the group and discussed her current project of writing a short memoir of her dad's life during the last century. She has a treasure load of material on his life in the form of old letters and journals. We discussed the different Web sites where you can gain information on your family history and software programs that can help you store that detail. One program that was recommended was My Family Tree which will help create and store digitally family trees and help organize family history like photo's and stories. This software also has the capability of linking to Ancestry.com which is the main data base that the Mormon Church maintains in Utah for historical genealogy info. It seems ironic that Don P has created a similar project recently so we spent some time helping Ginger finalize how she would get this project off the ground.

Martha discussed the importance of diaries and how they aid our passion for writing. What do you use to journal with? How often do you enter information and who are you creating it for?

Don P: We found out that Don P is a very talented guy who has not slowed down since he retired. And here I thought that the only thing I had in common with Don was our first name and retirement. He composes a monthly newsletter for his model sailboat club and he is extremely interested in Flash Fiction. Writing short stories which are somewhere between 400 and 1000 words. We discussed various software tools such as Microsoft Publisher and Adobe "PDF" Formatting software that you would use to create files in case you pursued self-publishing your projects. Another one of our members: Peter, has published his works on a Flash Fiction web site called East of the Web.

Here is its web address: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/indexframe.html

Here is a copy of Don's short Story entitled:

The Wedding



"Mind if I ask you something" John said. "Do you mind if I don't go to the wedding with you."

With a startled look on her face Joan replied, "But you're the groom. You have to be there. What are you thinking?"

"Well I told you I would rather elope than go through all of this. I still think it’s foolish to spend all of that money when we could use it for other things. We just slip across the Nevada state line, go to Vegas, and have a nice wedding there."

"But all of the invitations have been sent out. What do we do about those? It would make us look ridiculous."

“Maybe, maybe not. Think what we could do with all of that money. I can think of a hundred things. I was talking to Mary, your maid of honor, about it yesterday. She had all kinds of things to suggest. She’s a very smart girl. She is also very pretty. I found her very interesting to talk to.”

“What are you talking about. You just met her three days ago.”

“I know, but we talked like we had known each other for years. She is very easy to talk to. Why don’t we call this whole thing off and make other plans.”

“When you say ‘Call the whole thing off’ what exactly do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I think I need to talk to Mary about it.”

Wow...I just wonder what happened next.....

Don H. who is one our many participants who are instructors at LLI is working a novel on memory. Sorry I can't remember the title....just kidding. As a matter of fact we discussed a number alternative titles for such a book that focused on this interesting topic and suggested: The Senior Fix or Remember Me? Don is going to share the outline of his proposed book at next months meeting in April.

April Seminar's

Mad Anthony's Writers Conference will be held in Hamilton, Ohio on April 16th and 17th. The fee is $125. but that includes lunch and the availability to have someone evaluate your manuscript or ptich your novel proposal to a publisher. Jane Freeman is a main speaker that day and she is excellent. Our own Nancy P us a contributing instructor for this workshop.

The Erma Bombeck Seminar is at UD in April and enrollment is full. Hopefully someone will provide some feedback on that workshop at our next meeting.

Our meeting will be on April 23rd.

Hope everyone has a beautiful Easter holiday with friends and family. For all those snow birds in the audience it is time to start packing and checking Mapquest for directions back to the mother-ship here in Dayton.

The Wannabe Journal

The Wannabe Journal
February 26, 2010


"Omit Needless Words"........That was the recommendation of one of our attendee at today's meeting of the Wannabe's. That advice even if it only is three words is one of the basic tenants to writing a good novel no matter what genre it is. These three little words set the tone for an excellent meeting. See what a little snow and cold weather can do for a group of people with over active right brains.

We also welcomed a new member this morning: Ms. Tricia C. who read from her latest manuscript. She is also a local artist in the Dayton area who will have a showing of her glass artworks at a local gallery in the next few weeks. More about that later in a separate email.

Today's meeting format was very informal with each person taking a turn discussing their current projects. The following is a brief summary of what we discussed:

Don H: Discussed the guess speakers at the Mad Antony Writers workshop that he and his friends attended in Hamilton on Feb 13th. The two authors that he highlighted were:
1. Marilyn Walton's self published book entitled "Rhapsody in Junk, A Daughter's Return to Germany". Don discussed her session on editing and researching the history involved with this B-17 crew who were shot down over Germany during WW II.
2. "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith. A discussion of Motholeli's memoir written by a young African girl.

I will bring copies of the handouts from the workshop to next months meeting.

Dan V: 1) Rainey by Clyde Edgerton - humorous novel written by a man but with a Southern woman's point of view - excellent read, funny, and bet you can read it in three nights max. Like the folks said that I gave the book to read - "I know these people!"

2) All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg - memoir of an Alabama poor white trash boy who does good and helps his mother after all she did for him and his brothers (a true love story between mother and son), and definitely some tips to writers about the power of observation and narration. Rick Bragg won a Pulitzer for feature writing for the New York Times.

3) Glad River by Will Campbel - a somewhat dark novel of three Southern boys of varied backgrounds drafted into WW II and fighting in Guadacanal and then their life after the war. As I mentioned one boy was from Mississippi who refuses his mother's wish to be baptized; one is a coonass from the LA swamplands who has trouble speaking English, and one is a Redbone Catholic (mixed race of Native American, African American, and European). The novel does explore the human condition, especially in regard to the meaning of community.

Then the last book I mentioned was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. This populist has written three best sellers, and all his books are available on audio, and are nice companions on long drives. The chapter I referred to in Outliers was the one on the Code of Honor Ethics of the South, and it should give you great insight if you ever have to tell a story with Southern characters in it. Malcolm Gladwell is an entertaining and intelligent writer.

Don P: Here is what he is working on.


1. "The Life and Times of Donald Jerry Peacock". This one is my life journal.

2. "The Legacy of Charles Leroy Peacock and Florence Irene Bowman". This one is the story of my parents.

Linda: She is working on a novel/memoir about her families history in the coal mining region of Western Pa and West Virgina. Part of her research involved reading a story by Gin Phillips: The Well and the Mine". The Well and the Mine is the story of one Depression-era family in an Alabama coal-mining town,...is a great mystery novel. For those of us struggling with POV issues this is a good study for technique.

Paul: His project was timely in that he described his secret passion and the focus of his current literary interests: Writing a cookbook for his children of his wife's receipts which her parents brought from Greece. He took plenty of notes of suggestions from the Wannabe's from "include Pictures of the family members" to "writing dialogue to support the story" and "where the receipt originated". Very interesting for style that someone said was similar to Paula Dean the famous Food Network personality.

Martha: Yes the famous author of the hole in the floor Christmas story came to our meeting this month. It was wonderful to have her back. She recommended a number of novels that she is currently reading or has recently finished:

1. First-time author Kathryn Stockett's recent book, The Help is a novel about maids and servents who worked in the south and the informal culture that developed around them.

2. Any of the series of books by Sue Grafton, a note author of detective mysteries.

3. "A Woman's Place" by Lynn Austin is a book set just after Pearl Harbor with four woman who become the character study of how life changed for them when they had to go to work in the local ship yard.

Mary Lou: Our snowbird sent her contribution even though she was sitting by the pool in Florida at the time.

The Candy Castle stories help parents and grandparents stretch their little ones’ creative thinking skills. Ten stories (3,000 words) are targeted to children 4-8 years old. In the stories, children name themselves, their parents and siblings, their friends and relatives, even their dog and pony.


This is excerpt from her children's interactive book which she is developing and hopes to publish soon.


Don Q: These are the novels that I have finished or started reading:


1. John Grisham's book entitled "Ford County". Great short stories about rural Mississippi.

2. Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol".

3. An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor. This fictional novel was written by an doctor from Northern Ireland. This novel takes a concerted effort to read because of his use of the dialect of Northern Ireland.

4. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. is an inspirational, quick read about a college professor who pursues his dreams. You can also watch his video but it is also good to read the book. I provide this book to the top students in my MIS class at UD as prize for doing the best job in a team presentation at the end of the class.


Tricia: She mesmerized the group by reading from the memoir that she is currently working on. She also made a few recommendations of books that she indicated had made an impact on her life.


1. James Frey "MIllion and one Rules"

2. "The Broken Horse" or "The Glass Castle" which were written by Jeannette Walls.


Other News:


Writers Digest International Self Publishing Book Award Here is the link: http://www.writersdigest.com/selfpublished


Education: Sinclair Community College has a number of writing classes in their spring term which begins March 29th to June 13th. Many of the classes are offered with the option of auditing the lectures and class material. Others are offered through their LLI program which is similar to the classes at UD.


Speaking of UD an interesting class that is listed in their Spring lineup is entitled: Best American Short Stories of the 20th Century. And for those who are writing memoirs the title "Unsentimental Journey: Completing your Past seems like it might help with all those genealogy questions.


Seminars and Workshops:


1. Only a handfull of openings exist. The cost is $ 375 but includes breakfast, lunches and some diners.
2010 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (Event Details)
Thursday, April 15, 2010 - Saturday, April 17, 2010

2. The 2010 Mad Anthony Writer's Conference is an opportunity to learn from experts, network with writers, have your manuscripts reviewed, and to give your dreams of being a published writer a chance to come true. The reduced price for early registration of $90 has been extended to March 15th.

When: April 16-17, 2010

Where: Various locations throughout Hamilton, OH

Featuring: 3 Editors, 2 Publishers, 1 Multi-Genre Agent

Keynote Speaker: Jane Friedman, Publisher/Editor of the Writer's Digest

Friday, April 16

* Murder & Mayhem: Spend the morning & afternoon honing your mystery & crime writing skills by "investigating" a crime scene, attending a mock trial,& more. * Mad About Books (5-7 pm): Featuring Gary Burbank, book signings, & family fun, this event is FREE & open to the public. * Mad Anthony Mixer (7-8 pm): Mingle with your fellow writers & workshop presenters a convenient distance from the hotel. * Panel Discussion (8-9 pm): Panel discussion of issues & trends in the Publishing Industry.

Saturday, April 17

* Attend our Fiction, Non-Fiction, & Career Workshops. This year, we will even have a special genre salute to Christian Writing. * Appointments & Manuscripts Critiques: Meet one-on-one for professional guidance in a specially arranged appointment.

3. Antioch Writers Workshop July 10 to the 16th. This years format has changed and so has the pricing with more flexibility for the participant. Here is the web site for this years week long seminar: http://www.antiochwritersworkshop.com/

4. Books on the Banks Seminar in October of 2010 will be provided at a later date.

Next Months Meeting......................March 26th at 9 AM at Panera on Brown Street

Are You Affraid of Twitter?

Career Choice; Should I Twitter


Are you afraid of Twitter?
At today’s Wannabe’s meeting we discussed the use of Twitter and other social networking tools. Twitter is just one of many tools that people of all ages are beginning to use to communicate with friends and interest groups from across the landscape. The age of pervasive computing started 40 years ago with the beginning of the Internet as we know it today. Since the early beginning of email we have slowly migrated from written communication to digital formats for everything that makes up our lives. We see this transformation in many ways: the migration of computing platform from pc desktop units to blackberry’s and I-phones, the advent of self publishing, e-books and even digital subscriptions for such storied news journals as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. What do all these happenings mean to the writer of today?
First of all it means that we are no longer approaching the digital age we are in the middle of it. Technology executives have recently, within the last two years made predictions that seemed farfetched at the time. The CEO of IBM, Sam Palmisano predicted that the popular pc was going to be passé in the near future. He predicted that the platform of the future would be the cell phone. We have witnessed this transformation with recent announcement: the touch screen technology, faster networks (4G), notebook laptops (no hard drive), cloud computing and video(U-tube) have all transformed the cell phone that occupies you pocket of your jacket or purse. At the end of this month (January 2010) we are about to begin another round of announcements which will push the technology curve further. Apples impending announcement of a tablet pc will transform digital media and how we use it even further. Google has undertaken a major project to digitize many of the publications that are stored in libraries and publishing archives. There is a movement towards e-books using such devices as Kindle, nooks and soon to be announced Apple alternative. For the writer you have the ability of publishing a book and getting royalty cheeks without having to bear the cost of printing 2,000 copies by using such sites as Createspace and LuLu.

You might still be asking yourself: Why should I care? We all still know people who are not active on the Web. According to recent statistics we rank 8th in the world in internet connection per capita. Still everyone has hobbies and interests. People are passionate about collecting stamps, genealogy, gardening or even bird watching. In the past we fostered those interests by either reading or joining groups. Today we are slowly migrating towards interacting with people of interest through the use of social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook. And the myth that these tools are only used by the young is contradicted by recent statistics that show the fastest age segment of these tools is between 40 and 60. Social Networking tools will allow you to keep in touch with not only your friends, relatives, business associates, classmates but also your interest groups. For Writers it is great. Twitter allows you to keep track of people who write with a feature called lists. Through the use of Tag’s (#), groups like writing, litchat, amwriting and ficwriter are only 140 characters away. Blogs and personal Web site are just another step in the social networking hierarchy. They are the location where you would store information that is of interest to you and a group that you associate with. Blogs are where a writer would demonstrate their writing talents and collaborate with others. Twitter should not used as marketing tool to advertise you publications. The Web sites and Blogs are used for that purpose.
You might think that his form of email communication with others is too complicated. Many people link their information that is posted on Twitter groups to their Blog site using a tool called Ping.fm. Think of it as a traffic cop that directs the information that you write on twitter, to your blog sites and other social networking tools such as Facebook and Linkedin. Ping.fm allows you to set up a profile to tell the various tools that you use what messages are posted where without you having to key the text or clip and paste. It has been predicted that Twitter and Facebook will eventually replace the traditional email system as we know it today.
Someone asked me if I was concerned about privacy in sharing all my personal information on the web through the use of these tools. My answer was No. For about thirty dollars anyone can go to the web and pay a search company to check me out: where I have lived, my age, telephone numbers, court history and other information that is in the public domain. I control what I post where. I can use sites like Writers Digest Community to share my writing questions and knowledge with other people of similar interest without leaving the comfort of my den and bunny slippers. You still have to be careful in protecting your information that is posted by setting up your profiles correctly. You ultimately control your own information. I am too busy to be paranoid.
Our world is getting smaller. Like Thomas Friedman said in his bestselling book: The World is Getting Flat. We are now part of the next great revolution. As writers, especially those of us who write for pleasure, we should not be afraid of new technology. It actually allows us more ways to share our writing and passion with others from around the world. Here are some web addresses for some of the items that I have mentioned above.

FeedBlitz: “There are no rules”
Twitter: http://twitter.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/login.php
Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start
Writers Digest Community: http://community.writersdigest.com/
Remember to keep writing and exercising that right brain. We are all former pupils of Nancy and such we need to practice what she preached. Have a great weekend and our next meeting is on February 26th. Hope to see you all then.

Poets Attention

For all those inspiring poets out there Ms. Cathy Smith Bowers will be conducting a couple of classes in the area on February 12th to the 15th(Presidents Day) in nearby Loveland, Ohio. Ms. Bowers will be one of the speakers at the AWW conference in July.

Grailville Retreat and Program Center in Loveland, OH is offering two Practice of Poetry events during Presidents Day Weekend: Dream Work Retreat for Women: Dreams as a Resource for your Writing and your Life held Friday, February 12 - Sunday, February 14 and The Abiding Image: Crafting Poetry from your Life open to both men and women on Monday, February 15 (Presidents Day) from 9:30-1:00 pm. These Practice of Poetry programs are designed to help participants use writing as a support to their spiritual and creative lives. Both are led by poet, teacher and Haden Institute faculty member Cathy Smith Bowers with writer and Grailville co-director and founder/facilitator of its Practice of Poetry programs, Pauletta Hansel.



Like receiving a letter from God/ and not bothering to open it Cathy Smith Bowers says about ignoring our nightly dreams in her newest book, The Candle I Hold Up to See You. The Dream Work Retreat is offered for women interested in using the wisdom and symbolism of dreams as inspiration for poetry. We will explore ways some of the world’s most revered poets have used their own dreams as inspiration for their art and craft. We will also discover ways of crafting our own dreams into poems. No experience with poetry necessary—only a love of language and an eagerness to write.

Up Coming Writers Conferences in the Dayton Area

Upcoming Writers Workshops in 2010

Enclosed you will find some information about some writers workshops which have been announced for 2010. I have personally attended two of them and would recommend either. Ironically the first two are held on approximately the same dates in April.
A. The Mad Anthony Writers Conference at Miami University campus in Hamilton. It will be held on April 16th and 17th. The Keynote speaker is Jane Friedman, Publisher/Editor F&W Media (Writers Digest). The cost for the entire seminar for Friday night through Saturday afternoon is $125. Additional charges for Manuscript critique or pitch proposal cost an additional $15. Each. There will be sessions on Fiction, Non-fiction, and Writing as a Career and Christian Writing. Christian Writing is the focus of this Conference. There is also the Murder and Mayhem Workshop which costs an additional $55 if attended with the Writers Conference otherwise it cost $80 if you choose this workshop by itself which is held on Friday. I have attended this workshop last spring and found that it was very helpful. Having Jane as a speaker is worth the price of admission. I also noticed that Alice Pope who is the editor of Children’s Illustrator’s and Writers Digest will be there this year. That is icing on the cake for those of you who are writing Children’s books. Their web site is: http://www.madanthonycbf.org/

B. Another Writers Conference which focuses on humor writing, human interest writing and networking and getting published that is held at the University of Dayton from April 15th thru the 17th. The cost of the three day workshop is $ 350. The list of speakers and sessions for this three day event is impressive. Check out the conference detail using this link: https://www.regonline.com/bombeck2010

C. The third workshop that I would recommend for writers and poets is the Antioch Writers Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Their Workshop lasts an entire week with lectures in the morning and small group work sessions in the afternoon where you read and discuss a copy of a recent manuscript that you are working on. The cost of the program is about $ 800 for the entire workshop both morning and afternoon. I attended this event last summer and loved the entire experience. Here is the web site for additional information: http://www.antiochwritersworkshop.com/

I am sure there are other writers conferences including the Writer’s Digest Intensives which I have already spoke about in another Blog entry as well as Writers Workshops in Kentucky and Indiana that I have not mentioned. If you know of any that you would like to recommend please send me a note or add a comment to the Blog entry.

A Writing Workshop in Cincinnati---an impression

Instructional=Yes/Intensive=No

Last weekend I attended Writers Digest Intensive Workshop in Cincinnati. I came away with mixed feelings about what I had gained from the experience. In all fairness these are entirely my opinions and I want to make sure that no one takes my comments and observations out of context. I am not speaking for anyone else but a retired business professional who has taken up writing as a way of satisfying his secret life as a “right brainer”.
Let’s start with the facility where our class was held. I was surprised that our confirmation for the class that we received ahead of time did not include instructions for the program. Since the advanced class material did not include a link that provided directions. I proceeded to use Map Quest which gave me bad directions the first morning. I chalked that up to operator error. Not a very good way to start your day.
The session was held in lunch room. I wish I could describe the room more favorably but what is they say about lipstick and pigs? Our room had small tables which only seated one or two people comfortably. It was well lighted but was not conductive for presentations and seminars. Slide shows were projected on a small portable screen near the entrance to the room. People in the back of the room had problems reading the screen shots. Cincinnati is the home of GE Aircraft Engine plant and the room in the afternoon sounded like part of their facility. The noisy blowers or loud fans in the back of the room were extremely loud. As a matter of fact the instructor for that part of the program had to constantly walk back to hear the questions.
The last item that frustrated me was the fact that there was no feedback mechanism at the end of the seminar to allow the attendee to provide input so that the staff could work to improve their product for the next time. I have been a part time professor for over ten years and every class I teach I seek feedback. I am not so vain to think that I cannot improve my product is some way.
Now that I have that off my chest let me tell you the good news the first speaker in the morning was Jane Friedman, an Editorial Director at Writer Digest. She did a terrific job of detailing the changes in the industry. She also provided an excellent review of the tools that authors can use to build their platform and market their products. I had heard her speak at another seminar in Middletown last spring. Jane provides excellent advice on how to use the available social networking tools to promote your works and build a platform for your works. Twitter is used for learning technique and information about the writing community, Blog’s are used to describe your personal works and opinions and Facebook for talking about your activity with your friends and relatives.
The afternoon session was interesting and very informative as well. Chuck Sambuchino was excellent. Seemed somewhat opinionated at times, especially when his recommendations contradicted what Jane had outlined in the morning. But this observation in this industry should not surprise the faint of heart.
Chuck did an excellent job of explaining the different genre's and some of the guidelines associated with word counts for different types of works. He has more detailed information on this topic and Literary Agents on his blog site: WWW.guidetoliteraryagents.com. He back up what Jane had said in the morning lecture about business nature of publishing.

The last session in the afternoon before my glass of Chardonnay was entitled "Why I stopped Reading". When I read this on the agenda for the Workshop in the morning I was tempted to visit the nearby hospital to get an ample supply of plasma. Yes you got that right. It was billed as a panel discussion of what the editors, the individuals who had read the manuscripts which had been submitted in advance or the workshop had observed. Observations like "show don't tell", POV violations, use of italic's to note thinking instead of dialogue were just some of the issues that they discussed.
I personally made note of who said what during this session. Why would I do that? Well...it gave me the chance to compare the comments from my one on one with an editor on Sunday with what she outlined the day before as traits that would make her stop reading. In my case she should have stop reading long before she got through the fifty pages of manuscript that I had submitted ahead of time.
Ms. Alice Pope is a talented editor of Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market. Her feedback was very beneficial in that it confirmed all my worst fears. The advice that I received last summer was not correctly implemented because I had failed to answer the very first question you should always ask yourself when writing a book...what is the story? Is it a memoir, essay, or fiction? I had spent over five months worrying about POV instead of focusing on my style and who was my audience. I had lost my voice. I took what originally was a set of short stories that were like a memoir and inserted a touch of fantasy thus making it a morph of what would be called a fictional memoir. Trouble is there is no such classification in literature that I know of. Many of my problems were caused by not being “all in.” Either make the story a fictional story for young adults or make it a memoir of short stories. Now that I have learned my lessons I will write the stories I wanted to tell in the first place and remove the fantasy which cause my POV problems. Thank you Alice. For providing that important lesson to me. It seemed ironic that all the non-verbal communication that I received from my manuscript review last weekend was similar to a rejection letter. In my case it was well deserved.
I personally did not come away with warm fuzziest about whether my manuscript had potential as a memoir. But then again I could not expect Ms Pope or any other editor to tell me that at this stage. But in all fairness I know now what I have to do...start to edit and revise. Ms. Pope’s “From the Editor” at the beginning of 2010 version of her book Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market provides some excellent examples of why editing is so important. The advice applies to all forms of writing not just Young Adult and Children’s.
That's my story and the lesson that I came away from the Workshop with. You don't always have to implement changes to your work just because a published author tells you. Now if you will excuse me I have some editing to do…

Two people are reviewing my manuscript on Santa's Magic. The big test will come in two weeks.