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meeting on Saturday, August 28, 2010
at the Heritage Cafeteria 1364 E.
Battlefield (at Fremont) Springfield, MO
12:00 Noon Break
1:00 Meeting
August's speaker will be
Terry McDermid author of
seven novels and hundreds
of short stories
2:00 Business Meeting
a list of present and recent
past speakers along with
their topics.
August 28, 2010
Terry McDermid will Speak on "Writing Through Rejection." At first,
author Terry McDermid tried to think of a more positive title than
"Writing Through Rejection" for her presentation, but she decided
that, since she's had her share of rejections, how to deal with
those "declines" could be an encouragement to other writers. She
often quotes Abraham Lincoln's bit of wisdom: "Success is going
from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
An avid reader, Terry spends a lot of time in libraries and has
learned that books and magazines about writing, and attending
writers' groups have all helped in her journey.
Enterprises under the name Tessa McDermid. She's also published
hundreds of short articles and stories for adults and children.
Some of the publications include Harris' Farmer's Almanac, Teaching
Today, Instructor, Woman's World, True Confessions, Primary
Treasures, and Bride's. Her current project is a trilogy set in a
small town near Springfield, Missouri.
July 24, 2010
The Springfield Writers' Guild presented a panel of experts
in the field of self-publishing. The meeting was a forum
discussion of the various topics of self-publishing. The panel
consisted of professional editors, authors, printers and
marketing experts, including author Nick Weyland, author/editor/
designer Reta Stewart Allen and Ron P. Simmons, COO of ViaTech
Publishing Solutions.
technical and non-technical content "on-demand." Simmons has
advanced degrees and has been published several times by major
publishers. His own books on Leadership have been sold all over
the world.
June 26, 2010
Rebecca French Smith, Executive Editor for Missouri Life
Magazine, presented guidelines for writing for the magazine,
as well as what the magazine looks for in submissions from
writers. Missouri Life was named Magazine of the Year Finalist
2009 by the International Regional Magazine Association (INRA).
Smith is a native Missourian with roots that run five generations
deep in the Ozarks. Her aim for the magazine is to share
interesting Missouri places, people, and events with readers.
She has been writing for the magazine since 2005 and was appointed
managing editor in 2006. Today she is the Executive Editor, as
well as Web Editor for MissouriLife.com and Missouri Lifelines,
the magazine's e-newsletter.
Smith has won numerous awards, including a gold award by INRI for
travel writing.
May 22, 2010
Sondra Gray Spoke on "Marketing Strategies for the Unknown
Author."
How would it feel to be abducted by a total stranger and taken
to places you had never been, especially if you were a starving,
abused kitten? Author Sondra Gray and her husband, Walter, found
the kitten on a loading dock as they were preparing for one of
their trucking assignments. The Grays adopted "Punkin" and Sondra
wrote a children's book about him.
Sondra and her husband are independent truckers and live in
Louisburg where Sondra serves as pianist for their church. They
have three sons and five grandchildren.
She has written short stories and poetry primarily for young
readers for a number of years. According to Punkin is her first
book, based on actual occurrences and Sondra's perception of
Punkin's "cattitudes" and actions.
Sondra developed strategies for marketing her book and will
present her marketing knowledge and experience at the May
meeting of the Springfield Writers' Guild
April 24, 2010
Speaking on "Finding a Fictional Voice," Mike Pulley explored
the key elements editors look for in particular genres, such as
detective fiction, literary fiction, mainstream fiction and
commercial fiction.
Pulley has taught writing at Ozarks Technical Community College
since the college opened in 1991. He has also been a university
instructor, high school teacher, college admissions counselor,
and paralegal. He holds an MA in Language and Literature from
the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has done post-MA study
in linguistics.
His short fiction has appeared in the following literary journals:
Berkeley Fiction Review, Sonora Review, South Carolina Review,
South Dakota Review, Furnace Review, Review Americana, and SN
Review. He has written five novels and a collection of short
stories.
cycling. He has two children and eight grandchildren. Michael
lives in Springfield, Missouri, with his wife Ann.
March 27, 2010
Jennifer Bondurant offered writers various ways to write
query letters to prospective publishers at March 27th Springfield
Writers' Guild meeting at the Heritage Cafeteria on Battlefield
Street at Fremont in Springfield.
City Magazine and operates her own public relations/marketing
firm, CatchPhrase Communications. As an award winning freelance
writer, her work has appeared in Kansas City Homes & Gardens, St.
Louis Homes & Lifestyles, Show-Me Missouri Magazine, Columbia
Home & Lifestyle and Ozarks Magazine. An avid fiction writer,
Bondurant holds an undergraduate degree in English from
Westminster College in Fulton, MO and a Master's degree in
creative writing (fiction) from the University of Missouri-
Columbia, and working on her second novel. In 2007, she founded
the not-for-profit Auxvasse Creative Arts Program, with a goal
of fostering creativity and expanding cultural horizons for
children and families in rural Callaway County; she continues to
serve as chairman of their board of directors.
February 27, 2010
The Ozarks Mountaineer editor, Fred Pfister, spoke on
"Writing About the Ozarks." Pfister, a retired English
professor, spends time writing, teaching, and speaking on
Missouri place names, folklore, and other topics. He worked
his way through college as a radio announcer and an actor in
the Beacon Hill summer stock theater. He has an M.A. from the
University of Arkansas and a doctorate from the University of
Mississippi. His books include The Littlest Baby: A Handbook
for Parents of Premature Children (Prentice-Hall), and The
Insider's Guide to Branson and the Ozarks Mountains. He
describes The Ozark Mountaineer magazine as "more timeless
than timely" and dedicated to covering the Ozarks' history,
culture and folklore.
as membership chair of the Ozarks Writers League.
January 23, 2010
Shirley McCann offered valuable information on how writers
can supplement their income by writing short stories and ways
to market them. McCann's fiction has appeared in Woman's World,
Alfred Hitchcock, The Forensic Examiner, Story House Coffee,
and numerous confession magazines. She is currently President
of Sleuths' Ink, a mystery writers' group in Springfield.
night in bed with a huge pot of Earl Grey tea, but when you're
on-the-go, you can't beat the 'quick reads.' And they're just
as fun to write."
November 28, 2009
Media consultant Tim Smith presented information to help
writers understand and apply new technologies to self-publish
and market writing. Smith is an award winning television
producer, radio reporter and Internet professional with 20-
years' experience in television, radio, print and Internet
media. He helped start several national websites for broadcast
journalism and television production students at the high
school and middle school level, as well as regional and local
websites for not-for-profits and small businesses. He is
currently the Online Media Consultant for Community Publishers,
Inc., a newspaper and online media company based in Bolivar,
Missouri, and Bentonville, Arkansas. He produces and markets
online media content for eight local newspapers and ten
associated web properties.
Smith's presentation explored websites, social networking
sites and other electronic media, as well as the "new" print
media and how to apply these tools to extend the reach of a
writer's work in multiple formats.
October 24, 2009
Barri L. Bumgarner, Publicity Chair for the Missouri Writers'
Guild, imparted some valuable information about
membership and the mission of the organization.
After years of teaching in a junior high classroom, Bumgarner
released three novels. Her young adult novel, Dregs, tackles
brutal clique issues that lead to school violence, and won the
Walter Williams Major Work Award, runner-up, 2008. Her other
two novels are both award-nominated thrillers: psychological/
suspense thriller Slipping and debut sci-fi thriller 8 Days.
She currently teaches at the University of Missouri, while
completing her PhD. Her current projects include writing a
prequel to 8 Days, a sequel to both Slipping and Dregs, and
a true-crime book, Shades of Gray: The Steven Rios Story.
National radio show host Jim Bohannon and award-winning author
Barbara Hodges have reviewed her novels.
September 26, 2009
Dr. Mick Sokol, Associate Professor of Theatre at Drury
University, spoke on Playwriting/Screenwriting. Sokol has
a Master's Degree in Playwriting (1992) from Southern Illinois
University (Carbondale), a BFA in theatre design from Florida
and a PhD in Theatre History from Georgia.
and stagecraft, and Alpha Seminar (Drury's freshman studies
program). He also designs most of Drury's shows, directs some,
and organizes a lot of productions of plays written by Drury
students. This summer will be the fourth year of producing an
evening of student- and faculty-written plays. "Short and Funny"
will be the first, followed by three others. Sokol wrote one and
will direct another.