February 2011 Speaker: Mike Farris with Farris Literary Agency

Join us Saturday, February 12th, when Mike Farris of Farris Literary Agency will discuss legal issues for writers, that can range from copyright and defamation concerns to selling your book to Hollywood. He has also graciously agreed to look at member's one sheets as time permits.

Mike Farris is a literary agent with Farris Literary Agency and an entertainment attorney with the Dallas, Texas, law firm of Tipton Jones.  As an agent, he has placed several award-winning novels for publication, including Balaam Gimble's Gumption by Mike Nichols, winner of the 2004 Texas Institute of Letters John Bloom Humor Award, and Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush by Sheldon Russell, winner of the 2006 Langum Prize for Excellence in American Historical Fiction. Mike represents various university presses and has successfully placed subsidiary rights to their published books, including negotiating the sale of movie rights to producers and Hollywood studios. Most recently, he closed a three-book deal with Berkley Publishing for his client Sharon Pape's upcoming A Portrait of Crime mystery series and sold the rights for a potential television series to a major Hollywood studio. Mike is also a writer and award-winning screenwriter.  

DFW Ready Writers meets:

Saturday, February 12th

11:00 am
La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121
Colleyville, TX
(See map in sidebar)   

Visitors welcome!!

Upcoming Speakers include:

Michelle Stimpson - Writing characters of color

Lila Guzman - Writing for Children and Young Adults

Private Investigator - Brandon Parker

James S Rogers - January Speaker

Do you need new ideas for a story?


Do you write suspense or crime novels?


Do you need infomation to make your other novels more interesting?


This meeting is for you.

Senior Forensic Investigator James Rogers has worked thousands of crime scenes ranging from simple vandalism to multiple homicides. He also teaches crime scene investigation techniques to his own and other law enforcement agencies. In his near quarter-century career he has observed much of the evil that man does.

As a follower of Christ and student of scripture he is: a Bible study teacher, prison ministry counselor, international mission team member, and phone/internet operator for NeedHim Ministries. In these he has seen the good that man—in Christ—can do.

Popular knowledge of C.S.I. and Christianity is wrought with inaccuracy. The combination of Crime Scene Investigator and Christian gives him a unique understanding of these indulgent errors.

He has a mission to expose the truth and set the record straight.

James’s non-fiction book, Blood and Light – Evidence of Truth:

• Reveals the truth of scripture found inside the crime scene
• Provides actual crime scene investigation training
• Investigates the greatest crime of all time and how it was solved

Saturday, January 8, 2011
11:00 am
La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121
Colleyville, TX
(See map in sidebar)
 
Visitors welcome!!

December, 2010, Ready Writers' Christmas Program and Party

What a way to end the year and then usher in the new! Author, speaker, teacher, and Christian Advocate Gail McWilliams will be speaking on “Seeing Beyond” on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at DFW Ready Writers.

Have you been floundering with your writing? Are you unsure of your purpose or where you are heading with your talent? Gail will motivate you to “See Beyond” impossibilities and reach new summits.

You are invited to take part in “Seeing Beyond,” a challenge for most visual people. Many typically think they are limited or stuck. What if you began to see that you are positioned for greatness beyond anything you could imagine? Gail McWilliams will inspire you with her humor, experiences, motivation, and vision. She will help you “see beyond” impossibilities as you reach for new summits. She says, “When you choose to look past the horizon, the sky is the limit.”

Gail McWilliams has an instinctive ability to capture and lift the spirits of people, empowering them for a renewed reach toward dreams and purpose they once thought impossible. She has a vivacious personality, effervescent humor, and an uncanny capacity to deliver her life-message. No wonder Gail is met with such broad and energetic approval across the nation as she delivers penetrating inspiration, motivating audiences to ascend new summits.

Her love is people and her passion is leaders. Gail’s versatility generates invitations from a wide variety of organizations where she effectively customizes her life-message to benefit any audience, leaving them inspired and motivated. She couples courage with a joyful determination to seize every day for good and blaze a triumphant trail for others to follow. She has extensive experience in public speaking, television and radio, as a recording artist and life coach, and is a compelling author.

Her first book, Seeing Beyond: Choosing to Look Past the Horizon, with foreword by Zig Ziglar, is in its second printing. It captured the attention of people worldwide, leaving them wanting more. She responded with another book entitled Engaging the Heart: Understanding the Treasure Within. Both books are also published in Spanish. Gail is currently working on a new book.

Gail recently spoke at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is a recipient of the first Hope for Life Award given by The Justice Foundation. She appeared with the Governor of Texas twice last year and spoke throughout the nation of Spain this past spring.

Gail and Tony have been married for 32 years and she is the mother of five miracle children the doctors said she would never have. She gradually began to lose her eyesight with each baby. She states, “My eyesight is impaired but my vision is keen.”

Gail McWilliams resides in Dallas, Texas with her family.

Also in December, a break from the traditional party:


The December 11th, DFW Ready Writers will be a celebration Jesus Christ’s birth. Everyone, whether member or not, is invited to share the Christmas Party. This year, however, we will forego the usual exchange of presents to contribute toward one of our own. Please bring a gift card in any denomination from a major store. We'll commemorate the reason for the season with our writer friends and colleagues.

DFW Ready Writers Meetings for November & December, 2010

 Storyboarding

Have you ever had to leave your writing for a few days or even weeks? When you returned to your manuscript did you have a hard time getting back into the story?

Try storyboarding. It is a method of putting your story together in a visual way so that when you study the storyboard you are immediately drawn back into your book. The mood, the setting, even the characters come to life once again. A storyboard makes the writing flow easier, smoother, and gives you visuals of your characters, places, and things. With storyboarding, those sometimes illusive characters seem to jump off the board and right into the room with you, helping you write their story and keep you on track.

Janet will show you how she begins then adds to her storyboards. She’ll reveal little tricks of the trade and give you ideas for making one of your own at the DFW Ready Writers’ November 13 meeting. Join us while we learn a new technique when Janet Lee Barton presents: Storyboarding.

Born in Roswell, NM, JANET LEE BARTON has lived all over the southern U.S., but she and her husband now call Oklahoma home. Several years ago, they bought a house with a daughter and her husband. With two teenage granddaughters in the mix, life is quite an adventure! They laughingly call it their "Generational Living Experiment."

Janet loves being able to share her faith through her writing. Happily married to her very own hero, she is ever thankful that the Lord brought Dan into her life, and she wants to write stories that show that the love between a man and a woman is at its best when the relationship is built with God at the center. She's very happy that the kind of stories the Lord has called her to write can be read by and shared with women of all ages, from teenagers to grandmothers alike. You can find out more about Janet at: http://www.janetleebarton.com/ .

Coming Opportunity!

Vice President Janice Olson has just set a date with speaker, writer, and literary agent Mike Farris of Farris and Farris Literary Agency in Dallas, and also an entertainment attorney with Tipton Jones. He will be speaking to our group in February 2011. Mike handles CBA and ABA clients, has had several clients’ books turn into movie contracts, and is very knowledgeable about the publishing and movie industry.


Mike has graciously offered to take a look at one sheets from of our members. If you are looking for an agent, or would like to have an agent look over your one sheet, over the next few months get busy and polish that baby of yours and bring a one sheet with you at the February meeting. If you are in doubt of what a one sheet should look like or say, many of our authors and writers would be willing to send you examples of what one should look like. But remember:  a one sheet is just that—one sheet, and no more.

So please don’t abuse Mike’s kind nature by bringing multiple one sheets. Only one per person. He will not look at a manuscript, synopsis, or chapters. He will not discuss that gem of an idea you have running around in your head. Take advantage of this opportunity that is just around the corner.

If you have any questions about this, please email Janice@jkolson.com.

Brag Lines October 2010

Did you know that our member Richard Pickett is a musician and songwriter as well as playwright and prose writer? He recently sent query letters "all over Texas" concerning his Christian opera and, so far, Wayland Baptist University and Abilene Christian University BOTH took it, and said they'd read it after Christmas, and consider premiering it next year.

His Christian songwriter-partner, Karen Kite of Abilene, met a successful Christian TV writer. The three are going to write a "children's Christian musical TV show" and pitch it to producers. Also, Karen signed a contract with an Oklahoma outfit who will book her to sing their Christian songs all over the country, and release them on a national CD. So things are lookin’ up for Richard. Hallelujah!

Lena Nelson Dooley signed a three-book contract with Strang, taped an interview with TheChristianAuthorsShow.com which aired October 11-12, was interviewed by Romantic Times at the ACFW Conference, and had a video interview at Conference with www.ChristianRetailing.com . She’s working hard on deadline right now.

Beth Shriver sold:
Reclaiming Tess—Release date June 2011 and
Love is a Rose—Release date December 2011
Check out the link below to watch Beth’s interview and make a comment:
http://www.thebalancingact.com/story/?id=2090

Leanna Ellis was a guest blogger this weekend, talking about how she wrote Facelift when the words wouldn't come right after her dad died. Stop by http://siamckye.blogspot.com/2010/10/when-words-wont-come.html , read it and leave a comment.

Fringe member Lisa Buffaloe is proud to announce Nadia's Hope placed runner-up in the women's fiction category of the Genesis contest. She’ll be the speaker at her church's women's retreat October 22-24th. The topic is "Living free".

Lynne Gentry's submission to B&H for an African series wasn't picked up, but maybe another publisher will recognize this gem.

Jane Thornton's latest article, “Alone at Midnight,” is available at
http://www.thechristianpulse.com/2010/10/14/alone-at-midnight/

There you are, folks! DFW Ready Writers are writing, selling, blogging, talking, and even singing!

October 9th: Voice with Michelle Stimpson

Voice

Voice is what keeps readers coming back to your work page after page, story after story, book after book.  Though every work has its flaws at some level, voice forgives a multitude of sins and engages your reader from beginning to the end.  The beautiful thing about voice is that it's unique and natural – it’s YOU!

Let’s face it: next to a great idea, voice is what appeals most to editors and readers. Absent this essential human trait, a computer could have been programmed to spit out your novel. So how do you include your own voice without overwhelming the reader? And how can you bring “you” into a third-person narrative so that readers will fall in love with the way you tell a story? In this session, we’ll take a stab at those questions by analyzing bestselling authors’ works to discover their unique voices and practice techniques to kick up the voice in your own novels.

Bio:

Michelle Stimpson is an author, a speaker, and an educator who received her Bachelor of Science degree from Jarvis Christian College in 1994.  She earned a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002.  She has had the pleasure of teaching elementary, middle, and high school as well as training adults. 

In addition to her work in the field of education, Michelle ministers through writing and public speaking.  Her works include Boaz Brown, Breaking Bondage to Biscuits, Divas of Damascus Road (National Bestseller), The Good Stuff, Trouble In My Way, and the upcoming release, Last Temptation.  She has written and published over 40 short stories through her educational publishing company at www.WeGottaRead.com. She also ministers to women through her blog.

Michelle lives near Dallas with her husband and their two teenage children. She is active in the Creative Tyme Ministry at her home church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Visit Michelle online at www.michellestimpson.com.