|
|
Meeting Announcement: Our May “End of Year Party” will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at the home of Jackie Siglin, south of Alpine. (See more information below.)
Writing Assignment: Okay, Gang! Is third time a charm? These are GOOD topics! Let’s rock these!
500 words on one of the following of your choice:
- Good Old Days (past, non-fiction)
- The Devil May Care (horror, mystery)
- What Lies Within (faith, inspiration)
Refreshments: It’s a Pot Luck!
TMTW “End of Year Party“
Spring Potluck May 21, 2013, 6 PM: Our May meeting is always fun and full of sun!! We’ll be at Jackie Siglin’s house. The TMTW will furnish beverages and paper goods. Please let Jackie know what you plan to bring so she can make sure we don’t have too much of something. And don’t forget your writing opportunities: Good Old Days (past, non-fiction), The Devil May Care (horror, mystery), What Lies Within (faith, inspiration). This is also the meeting where we elect officers for next year. Please consider taking a job you haven’t tried before. Our club needs all of us to keep it strong.
Please RSVP to me at ten.d1368900361nebgi1368900361b@1ak1368900361salad1368900361ekab1368900361 OR RSVP to TMTW at gro.s1368900361retir1368900361wliar1368900361tniat1368900361nuoms1368900361axet@1368900361suksa1368900361, and directions will be emailed to you!
Hasta la vista,
Jackie
Is It May Already?
David and I have a joke between us, “Is it Friday already?” The weeks seem to fly, and it’s similar to the way this writers’ year has flown. (Addendum: When you are young, and working 8 to 5, you say, “Is it Monday already?)
Continue reading May Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our April meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine.
Program: 2013 Retreat in Review
Writing “Opportunity”: 500 words on one of the following of your choice:
Good Old Days (past, non-fiction)
The Devil May Care (horror, mystery)
What Lies Within (Faith, inspiration)
Refreshments: Delicious treats from Elaine Davenport.
President Chat
It’s impossible to write a blurb for this month’s Log of the Trail without babbling about the magnificent Spring Retreat we just concluded. We had over forty people in attendance throughout the weekend, and the presenters were fantastic, knowledgeable as well as entertaining. Nina Amir, blogging to book coach, Bill ONeal, Texas State Historian, and Juan Perez, poet, kept the retreat fast paced and information filled.
Continue reading April Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our March meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Fort Davis Public Library in Fort Davis, TX. If you wish to carpool from Alpine, meet us in the Big Bend Telephone parking lot before we depart at 6:20 pm. (Note the new earlier departure time so we arrive with time to spare!)
Program: Eleanor Taylor. My experience with e-publishing. My novel, WET MY MOUTH WITH HONEY, has just been published by OutskirtsPress.com–a process consuming the last five months of my life–and I’d like to share my experience with the group. I hope it will be beneficial to some that might like to try that publishing route.
Writing “Opportunity”: Darrell’s assignments this year are a little tougher because they specify a genre, but remember your way of interpretation will be fine. We want you to WRITE, and changing the challenge to suit you will be great. His assignments are for fun and to stretch our abilities. Remember, out of town writers, send yours in by email and we’ll read it and insert it in the 2014 Chaos West of the Pecos (the deadline has already passed for the 2013 Chaos). Choices are:
Good Old Days (past, non-fiction)
The Devil May Care (horror, mystery)
What Lies Within (Faith, inspiration)
Continue reading March Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our February meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine.
Program: “Plot and the Plot Whisperer” - presented by Anne VanLoon
Writing “Opportunity”: 500 words on one of the following of your choice:
Young and the Restless – Romance
The Secret Storm – Mystery
Edge of Night – Science Fiction
Refreshments: Delicious treats from Darrell White.
No President Chat. Instead, NEW UPDATED INFORMATION about our wonderful Writers Spring Retreat! Click Here to Read!
Continue reading February Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our January meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Fort Davis Public Library in Fort Davis, TX. If you wish to carpool from Alpine, meet us in the Big Bend Telephone parking lot before we depart at 6:20 pm. (Note the new earlier departure time so we arrive with time to spare!)
Program: Reba Cross Seals. Self and Peer Editing, a synopsis of the creative writing course she took at Sul Ross last summer.
Writing “Opportunity”: Darrell’s assignments this year are a little tougher because they specify a genre, but remember your way of interpretation will be fine. We want you to WRITE, and changing the challenge to suit you will be great. His assignments are for fun and to stretch our abilities. Remember, out of town writers, send yours in by email and we’ll read it and insert it in the 2013 Chaos West of the Pecos. Choices are:
Elm Street [Mystery genre]
Big Iron [Western genre]
Doll Face [Horror genre]
Continue reading January Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our December CHRISTMAS PARTY POTLUCK will be held on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at the home of Anne VanLoon in Alpine at 6:30 pm.
Writing “Opportunity”: The word limit is 500 words. And note there is a specific genre for each one!
- Footprints in the Snow (Mystery genre)
- Faded Mistletoe (Romance genre)
- Up On The Rooftop (Comedy genre)
Celebrate Christmas with the Trail Writers
Our Christmas party will be at my house (Anne VanLoon) in Alpine on Tuesday evening, December 11th at 6:30 PM.
As per the usual format, we will have a pot luck supper. When you decide which specialty you wish to bring, please email me that you are coming, how many are coming with you, and what dish you will bring.
Continue reading December Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our November meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine.
Program: eBook Publishing – Pros, Cons & Kindle vs Nook – presented by Kip Piper, Internet Marketing Expert & Trainer
Writing “Opportunity”: 500 words on one of the following of your choice:
A Turkey Defense
Love in Fall
Hot Time in the Old Town
Refreshments: Delicious treats from Elaine Davenport.
President Chat
Thankful for November and Thankful for Texas Mountain Trail Writer friends!
Seems the older I get the more thankful I become; however, the less I want to decorate my home and prepare huge feasts. Is that an oxymoron?
Congratulations to our writers who are participating in NaNoWriMo at this time. My tang gets tungled when I try to say it, but it means National Novel Writing Month, and that month is November. If you are participating, please comment through the Log of the Trail or email me, moc.l1368900361iamg@1368900361slaes1368900361ssorc1368900361r1368900361.
Our November meeting is a week early this month to avoid conflicting with Thanksgiving plans. It will be in Alpine, November 13, 2012 at the Hallmark Apartments on Hwy. 118 north. The program is one that is of great interest to writers in the current printing and distributing climate, e-book publishing. It will be presented by Kip Piper who has a number of years of business experience on the internet. Refreshments will be provided by Elaine Davenport.
Continue reading November Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our April meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine.
Program: Last minute details of upcoming Conference Retreat
Writing “Opportunity”: Write what you want…500 words!
Refreshments: Delicious treats from Darrell White.
President Ramblings
We live by choice in far West Texas, tucked away from the bigger writing world. I like to think it gives us an edge with creativity. All we have to do is look out our front door and see the natural world, at its finest with sunrise, cactus blossoms and the face of a baby fawn, but also at its cruelest with drought, fire, and wind. How can we not write?
Yet, isolation has its drawbacks. We share our work with others in the Texas Mountain Trail Writers, but we don’t have many opportunities for a wider audience.
Continue reading April Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our March meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2012, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Fort Davis Public Library in Fort Davis, TX. If you wish to carpool from Alpine, meet us in the Big Bend Telephone parking lot before we depart at 6:30 pm.
Program: “The Art of Weaving Your Story”
Writing “Opportunity”:
- Spring Equinox
- March Magic
- Search The Wind
Please avail yourself of the opportunity to pick one of the above topics and write our regular limit of 500 words (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or whatever). Or challenge yourself to an exact word limit of 100 for any one of the topics (this idea is compliments of Anne VanLoon–thanks, Anne).
President Ramblings
I’m sitting in Fairbanks, AK looking out the window at a foot of fresh snow. The temperature is close to zero and it is so delightful. I’m happy to be back to my home of eighteen years and glad to see good friends. I thought I would write – brought my journal and my laptop, but so far haven’t squeezed in time for much but a few ideas percolating in the back of my brain. At least I will try to write those down – otherwise in my aged state, they will enter an unknown universe never to be thought of again.
Continue reading March Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
Meeting Announcement: Our February meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2012, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine.
Program: Diane Brown will talk about her book, “Life Instead,” and how it came to be. I can guarantee it will be a fascinating presentation. Diane survived a plane crash and bravely wrote about her experience then went on an unexpected adventure to publication and beyond.
Writing “Opportunity”:
- A Snowy Night
- Valentines
- A Matter of the Heart
Choose one or incorporate one or more of the topics into one story (or poem)–use your vast and endless imagination. Limit is 500 words. Go wild! At the meeting, you may read your work or not, as you prefer. Just enjoy doing it.
President Ramblings
How do you write? Do you set measurable goals or decide to wing it? Do you slave over each word or let it flow as it comes? Do you have a different writing style for different types of writing?
I recently read and enjoyed, The Sea, by John Banville. It is a literary work, full of gorgeous words, which won the Mann Booker prize in 2005. Mr. Banville, under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black, is also the writer of mystery novels. Here is what he says about his writing:
Continue reading February Newsletter | “Log of the Trail” →
|
2013 Annual Writers Spring Retreat
|
Follow Us!