December 05, 2006

OKRWA December 2006 Newsletter


Happy Holidays From the Members of OKRWA!

From The Prez: Deborah Behrens:

It seems like only yesterday I took office, boy does time fly when you’re having fun. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about being the one chosen to represent this wonderful group of writers. It was a decision I will never regret. You’ve all been so gracious throughout the year. I’m definitely going to miss being your Prez, you’ve made it seem like such an easy task. Even though I hate to say goodbye, you’ll soon have Vicki as your new President and a whole new slate of wonderful officers to make feel at home. I know you’ll be as helpful to them as you have been to me. I don’t have much else to say this month other than I love you, Outlaws, and I can’t wait to see you all at the Christmas party!


Deb

December 2006 Program:

Christmas party at Donnell's! It's pot luck, so bring something yummy. We also play Dirty Santa, so bring one of your favorite books to share-- Unwrapped. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Directions are posted on the loop-- email directly for directions if you missed them.

Saturday, December 16th 1:00

New Releases:

Lakota Baby by Elle James

"Cooperate or you'll never see your son again."

Someone wanted tribal police chief Joe Lonewolf's attention, and now they had it. He had returned from war to learn he had a son--by Maggie Brandt, the woman he had never stopped loving but had forced himself to forget. If only it were so easy… Now they had only three days and each other--and nothing would stop them from rescuing their infant child.

Their frantic search soon unearthed deadly corruption in the South Dakota community--and old desires. With tensions rising on the reservation, the proud Lakota sought justice and found a kindred spirit in Maggie. He would need her courage if he was ever to set eyes on his beautiful baby boy.

A Season for Grace by Linda Goodnight

The moment they met, social worker Mia Carano knew Officer Collin Grace was the perfect mentor for a runaway teen in her care. After all, the boy looked up to him, and desperately needed a role model.

Though a childhood spent in foster care had hardened Collin, Mia would reveal the caring man she knew was inside. After all, breaking through his gruff exterior would fulfill a boy's Christmas wish…and maybe even her own.

Divine By Choice by P.C. Cast

After being mistaken for a goddess in the mythic world of Partholon, high school English teacher Shannon Parker settled in. She adores her sexy centaur husband, is getting used to her connection to the powerful goddess Epona and thoroughly enjoys the pampering from both! All is looking very right in her world…until she is wrenched from Partholon and sent back to Oklahoma.

As she struggles to return to the world and the husband she loves, Shannon discovers she is not alone.

A great evil has followed her. Now more than just Shannon's future is at stake, and she needs to somehow tap into our world's dormant magic. Her only ally is her husband's mirror image in Oklahoma--a man who loves her too much. Shannon must figure out a way to vanquish the ancient evil and not lose her life, her soul or her heart.

Along the way she discovers that being divine by mistake is a lot easier than being divine by choice….



Five Tips Keeping the Pace in Your Fiction
By Stacy Verdick Case

Eliminate Repetitiveness - Writers want to make sure the reader understands what’s happening in the story. Then make sure what you wrote was clear the first time, instead of slowing the pace by repeating yourself.

Rambling Man - Moving characters from one place to another, can slow the pace of a story. If one scene is in the living room and the next dramatic scene is in a grocery store, the reader doesn’t need to follow the character into the garage, out the driveway, past the church at the end of the block, waving to Mrs. Johnson – You see my point here, right? If there isn’t a horrendous collision that sends your character into a coma, ala soap writing 101, somewhere on the way to the store your reader will lose interest. End the scene in the living room, add an extra line and then begin the scene at the store.

A Whole Lot of Thinking Going On - If your character is having a problem with indecision don’t let them sit around thinking. Get their problems out of their head and into dialog. Better yet, add a scene that shows the characters indecision through their action or inaction.
DANGER, DANGER! – Is your character in enough danger from one chapter to the next? Danger can take many different forms. The easiest and most obvious is the physical danger. Don’t forget to use emotional danger. You as the writer have a moral responsibility to torture these characters as much as you can. Pile on the emotional danger along with the physical and see where that leads you.

The next step is a doozy! - Is your protagonist’s goal clear and are they taking a step closer in each chapter? Think of your story as a rollercoaster. Without the slow climb toward the giant hill and killer loops, the ride wouldn’t be as satisfying. Don’t deprive your reader. Notch them up the hill slowly but make sure each chapter is another step up and not a plateau.

Stacy Verdick Case is the owner of idothewritething.com a store that offers quality custom designed products for writers of all genres. Stacy invites you to visit her store and sign up for her free monthly ezine that offers writing tips to help keep you on track.

Stacy also has a lens http://www.squidoo.com/cafepress/thewritething where she offers free tips and tequniques and a blog http://idothewritethingcom-blogspot.blogspot.com/ where other writers can share their opinions about writing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacy_Verdick_Case



Member News:

Lynne Murphy aka Georgina Gentry , spoke at the November meeting of the Tulsa Nightwriters on the subject: "The Two Qualities Every Successful Writer Must Have."

Alice Clary won first place in the Emerald City Opener contest with her paranormal 'Tin Man' and agent Barbara Rosenburg requested a partial. She also won first place in the Writer's Voice contest with the same book and Chris Keeslar with Dorchester requested the full.



From the Editor:

I've enjoyed my term as newsletter editor and am handing over the reigns to Deborah Behrens who will be taking over in the new year. Please, send all member news, new releases, writing articles, etc to her at Debehrs@aol.com . Have a wonderful holiday season!

Rinda Elliott
http://relliott4.wordpress.com








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