January Meeting

Happy New Year, Writers! May many uplifting words find their way to publication for the NJCWG in 2013.

Our next meeting is this Saturday, January 7,10-12:00, in the upstairs conference room.

We are privileged to welcome screenwriter Kevin Caruso as our guest speaker. He is best known to us as the son of Maude Pych, a longtime member of NJCWG, but he is known to others by his accomplishments in the bio below.

Please be encouraged to invite guests to this special meeting. We will begin promptly at 10.

Kevin Caruso’s screenplay THE RUT was a Nicholl Fellowship semifinalist and won the Cinestory Screenwriting Competition.  THE RUT is currently being packaged with director Karyn Kusama (GIRLFIGHT, JENNIFER'S BODY) with actress CHLOE GRACE MORETZ (CARRIE (2013), KICK ASS, HUGO), JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN (Starz Channel's MAGIC CITY, THE WATCHMEN, THE LOSERS) and RAY LIOTTA (GOODFELLAS) attached. 

He co-wrote the film I TRIED, featuring Hip Hip luminaries Bone Thugs N Harmony, for CodeBlack Entertainment.  The DVD went platinum, selling over 250 thousand units.

His screenplay EXPOSURES OF WAR received a perfect score and the highest monetary award ever from the New Jersey Council of the Arts.

In 2010, his “Southland” spec was the First Place winner in the Scriptapalooza TV Competition. 

Kevin is a graduate of William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. 

Kevin is currently repped by Joanne Wiles at ICM and managed by Scooty Woop Entertainment.

November Meeting Cancelled

Hello friends,

Some of us have power. Some do not. The church does have power and is available for anyone in need to sleep or to warm up. 

Since most of us are struggling to find gas, we think it best to not expend gas driving to the meeting. 

The next meeting will be our annual Christmas brunch on Dec. 1st at 10:00 am. We'll work out the details through emails to come. Until then, stay safe and warm! And use the "found" time to write!! 

Blessings,

Susan

Next Meeting - Saturday Nov. 2nd

Hi all! 

Hope you all weather the storm without incident! Right now, my house is among a few in my area who still have power. Thanking God for His ultimate power than calms storms! 

The next meeting of the NJCWG is this Saturday at 10:00- 12:00 at the newly renovated High Mountain Church. We are out of the gym and back upstairs! We'll be meeting in the upstairs conference room. Enter  through the side entrance. Proceed up the stairs, and go straight ahead. Conference room is last door on the right. 

The topic for this meeting is: Expanding on our Expertise.

Hope to see you all then! 

Susan

Rules of Writing

Seen on facebook, this brought a smile to my face and conviction to my heart! 

Susan

Note new meeting time this Saturday

Saturday, October 6 we will begin our new meeting time

10:00 am - noon

Clare will lead a discussion about writing techniques.

Please remember to submit pages for critique before Friday.
Kudos to you S. Jane, for your early submission!

1000 words

Can you relate? LOL

A bit of humor... and meeting reminder

Wish I didn't identify with this so much! Hope you are all having a blessed and restful Labor Day. Looking forward to getting together this Saturday after our summer hiatus. 

Reminder from Barbara's last post:

Our September 8 meeting will focus on Revision & Self-Editing. We will meet from 2-4:00. Please be prepared to share your summer progress and new goals for the fall. Submissions for critiques should be submitted no later than the Thursday before we meet. They will be reviewed in the order they were received. (See guidelines.)

 

September is coming

June's Take-home Thought from Psalm 139 was this:
Part of what God wove into us when he created us are the gifts he chose to give us. His expectation is that we will cultivate and develop these gifts and use them to bless others.

I hope you cultivated and developed your writing gift as you pursued your summer goals. We shared some lofty aspirations at our June meeting -- I am feverishly working to complete mine before we meet in September. Clare and Anne both had their articles about teachers accepted for publication, using their gifts to bless others.

You may recall that we decided to meet on September 8, rather than on Labor Day weekend. I hope that still works for everyone. I believe that Sr. Jane and Sr. Mary Jude are unable to attend on the 8th so we look forward to seeing them on October 6.

Our September 8 meeting will focus on Revision & Self-Editing. We will continue to meet from 2-4:00. Please be prepared to share your summer progress and new goals for the fall. Submissions for critiques should be submitted no later than the Thursday before we meet. They will be reviewed in the order they were received. (See guidelines.)

Write for Him,
Barbara

Congratulations Clare!

Congratulations to Clare Cartagena!
Her "teacher short story" was accepted for publication at Write Integrity Press.
Kudos Clare, and keep pursuing that dream ;D 

June meeting

Our next meeting is June 2, 2-4:00.

We will not meet in July, August is pending.

Please prepare your assignment with as much detail as possible:

Bring a written plan for your summer writing. Include goals & dreams, potential markets and a suggested writing schedule.

Critiques should be emailed to those on the list by Friday noon, June 1.

Next Meeting -

This Saturday, May 5 at 2:00

Susan Panzica will speak about "Writing to Today's Audience"

Thoughts to Ponder

From April’s meeting

 

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old — 

 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the

praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Psalm 78:1-4

These verses tell us that we have been entrusted with truth—the mystery of the ages. It is our charge to reveal the mystery. We are to tell of the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, of His power and His wonders.

As writers let’s prepare ourselves to share this revelation of God’s truth in all venues, at every opportunity. We cannot limit ourselves to one effort, one project or one venue. We must be open and alert, ready for unexpected chances. 

I see us as sprinkling God’s wisdom and truth wherever we find opportunity

Meeting Reminder

April 14 is our next meeting since the first Saturday falls on Easter weekend.

Remember your assignment as previously posted!

Assignment: Look in a market guide for a periodical, anthology or web opportunity that holds possibility for you. Jot down thoughts, notes or a completed piece for that market. Be prepared to share the market and your notes/article at the April 14 meeting.

Expanding our Horizons

 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.” Those are the words from Proverbs 10:11 that we discussed last month. We ended with the challenge to ask God to flow from our hearts through our words and then to let our words flow.

Today I want us to ask, “Where?” Where would the Lord want our words to flow? Most of us have something on our hearts to write. This is good and should be prioritized. But is there more? Are we stretching ourselves? Are we using our gift to its fullest potential? Are there manuscripts, publications, avenues that we’ve not considered?

Prov. 31:26 says, “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” There may be “instruction” on our tongues that is so familiar to us, we are not aware of its value or potential.

Could God have more for us than we’ve considered?

Take-away thought: Are there new places, un-thought of places where God wants to flow through us? Ask Him.

Next month: April’s meeting will be the second Saturday, April 14, since the first Saturday of the month is Easter weekend.

Assignment: Look in a market guide for a periodical, anthology or web opportunity that holds possibility for you. Jot down thoughts, notes or a completed piece for that market. Be prepared to share the market and your notes/article at the April 14 meeting.

Join us Saturday, March 3, 2-4:00, and explore

Expanding our Horizons

Are there untapped resources hidden within? 

Are there opportunities not yet considered? 

Let's talk about it!

If you have a writer's guide please bring it.

Thoughts To Ponder

Thoughts to Ponder

From the February 4 meeting

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him," Jesus (John 7:37-38).

What does that look like—streams of living water flowing from us?

Christ is the outflow of a life filled with Him. Like refreshing streams, the Living Water tumbles from our lives, extending its blessing to others— generous, abundant, constant blessings.

What does this say to us as writers?

Prov. 10:11 tells us “the mouth [words] of the righteous is a fountain of life….” Our words are more than letters on a page. They are a fountain of life, sparkling with refreshment.

Take-away thought: Ask God to flow from your heart through your words and by all means, let your words flow.

~ Barbara

Meeting - Feb. 4 - Release the Writer Within You!!

The next meeting of the NJCWG -


Saturday Feb. 4
2:00 - 4:00 pm


High Mountain Church
681 High Mountain Rd.
North Haledon, NJ 07508


If you're a regular attendee who canNOT make our meeting, please contact Barbara or reply to this email. Thank you!


This month's topic: Release The Writer Within You! 


Receive encouragement to release the writer within.

Be prepared for a brief writing exercise and bring suggested topics you would like addressed in 2012.

Next Meeting - Sat. Jan. 7

Dear fellow scribes,
Let's start the new year off right!

Our next meeting (sorry for the last notice!) is tomorrow - Sat. Jan. 7th at 2 pm.
Same place:
High Mountain Church
681 High Mountain Rd.
North Haledon, NJ 07508

Bring your goals for 2012!

Active vs. Passive Voice

One of my greatest struggles in writing is my bent toward Passive Voice. My husband says it's because I'm a passive person ;D Maybe that's it. Maybe it's because we're Christians, or just naturally polite, we'd rather say "I am loved by God." rather than "God loves me." OR "I was hoping that..." rather than "I hope that...." Just two quickie examples. I'm sure you can come up with many more. 

Here 2 posts from Grammar Girl to help us identify and overcome the Passive monster within. 

Active Voice:

http://tinyurl.com/86llxae

Passive Voice:

http://tinyurl.com/74uh8ht

 

December meeting - Note TIME CHANGE

The next meeting of the NJCWG is 
Saturday, Dec. 3rd 
10:00 - 12:00
681 High Mountain Rd., North Haledon, NJ


Our meeting will be a Christmas brunch. 


Please bring a 250 word Christmas-themed piece to share with the group. 










Food signups:
 - Orange Juice and Fruit Salad: Ann
 - Veggie Salad: Sr. Jane
 - Coffee Cake: Roberta
 - Potatoes: Clare
 - Quiches: Susan
 - Muffins, Bagels or Rolls: Barbara
 - Decorations & Paper Goods: Clare and Barbara
 - Salmon Mousse: Maude
 - Coffee: Debbie

If you weren't at the Nov. meeting to sign up and want to bring something,please just check the list above and fill in with whatever you'd like to bring.

Looking forward to being with you all on the 3rd!
Blessings,
Susan

Query Letters

Jody Rein of Author Planet is writing a series about writing effective query letters for nonfiction books. She shares excellent information, and another post in the series is coming tomorrow. Be sure to check her blog at:
http://authorplanet.org/

Query letters.  Yet again.

Holy smokes there’s a lot of query letter advice out here on the World Wide Web.   

And like everything in information-overload-land, that’s good and bad–it’s terrific for writers to have easy access to models and thoughtful counsel, but at the same time I’m a little concerned about the stressing out I see–the agony over each detail in each query; and the stridency of the dogma.  As in, “All query letters must start with x, end with y, and never, never include Popsicles.” 

Query letters are crucial, don’t get me wrong.  And yes, each book pitch does haveto include some standard elements, like, well, the title of the book. 

But ultimately each letter is as individual as the book that is being pitched and the author who is writing it.  So rather than trying to fit your query into someone else’s mold, I suggest you sit back, take a deep breath, scribble out a quick rough draft, andthen ask yourself if you’ve achieved the following goals.  I’ll elaborate on each in future posts.

To read the rest of the post including Jody's Seven Goals for Query Letters, click here: http://bit.ly/rvTr05