Meet Author Phil Giunta

Tags

Firebringer Press, Speculative Fiction, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Short Stories

 

 

Author Phil Giunta is a regular fixture at GLVWG, and will share his advice on Writing the Compelling Short Story at The Write Stuff Conference™, Saturday, March 25, 2017.  GLVWG’s Dawn Sooy does the honors by asking a few questions about Phil’s life as an author.

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DS – I recently saw a short story of yours (Tower Sixteen), won second place in the Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest. What was the inspiration to write this story?

Phil – I’ve always been fascinated with the WWII fire control towers (commonly known as observation towers) that were constructed along the Delaware coast. Currently, only one is open to the public near Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park and every time I go there, I climb the spiral steps 75 feet to stand at the top and look out upon the park, the ocean, and the Delaware Bay. It’s a gorgeous view.

Long before Cat and Mouse Press started their annual writing contest four years ago, I knew I wanted to write a short story about those towers, but the idea just hadn’t come to me. I was usually buried in several other writing and editing projects. Then in March 2016, a friend reminded me about the writing contest and I learned that the theme for that year was Beach Nights. That’s when it hit me immediately—a ghost story! Most of my paranormal tales have a lot of heart and emotion. I wanted this story to be no different, plus it had to honor our military and those who served at Fort Miles. I know “Tower Sixteen” accomplished all of the above. How do I know this? I was told the ending brought one of the contest judges to tears. Who can ask for anything more?

Kathryn Craft – On Developing a Confident Voice and Macro Editing

Saturday, November 26, GLVWG welcomed Katheryn Craft as a guest speaker to help members understand how to develop a confident voice, and a self-editing process called Macro Editing. Dawn Sooy, GLVWG Secretary, summarized what we learned.

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The morning topic “Developing a Confident Voice, Ten Provocative Questions” began with Kathryn asking ten questions, then asking participants to write their interpretation of the question as it relates to a story.

For example:
1. In what ways can you trust the reader to bring her/his life
experience to the reading of your book?

a. Need to have a tone of confidence for your audience.
The readers can sense this while reading and will keep
them reading.

2. Which setting and character detail will evoke the
emotional world of your character?

a. Only put in details that are essential to the character
Sometimes writers tend to add words that take away
from the character.

Dog Days of Summer

Tags

Canis Major, Dog Days of Summer, GLVWG, Writing

From: Astronomy.com

Dawn Sooy, GLVWG Secretary, remarks about the constant heat during the last few weeks.

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            My two dogs and I have just returned from a short walk. I took a deep breath of relief when I entered the house, the air conditioning slowly cooling my body. For some reason, the phrase “Dog Days of Summer” passed through my mind, so I decided to look it up.

Wiki has the following description, “The dog days are the hottest, most uncomfortable part of the Northern summer. The American weather and farming annual, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, explains that the phrase ‘Dog Days’ conjures up the hottest, most sultry days of summer,” I can attest to that definition, and I am sure many of us in this area are struck by the heat when leaving the house.

Another interesting fact is the ancient Greeks associated this time of the year with Sirius, a star in the constellation that today refers to as Canis Major, literally the “greater dog” constellation.

May publications refer to the “Dog Days of Summer”. To mention a few:  Homer in the ‘IIiad,’ John Webster’s 1613 stage play ‘The Duchess of Malfi,’ Charles Dickens in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Richard Harding Davis ‘in The Bar Sinister.’”

So sit back, enjoy your pool if you are lucky, or grab a popsicle from the freezer. These days won’t last forever and soon we will be shivering in cold weather.

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Dawn grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania and has experienced the four seasons this state has to offer. She received a degree in Computer Science and worked in that field until 2014. Her interests are writing, reading, and fishing.

She is married to her husband, Bob and between them, they have four children. Recently her granddaughter had a baby and now enjoys the name Great Grammy Dawn.

Dawn has published five short stories, the most recent, “Dancing in the Moonlight”, is published in the GLVWG anthology Write Here – Write Now.  This collection is available for purchase through Amazon.com.

You can find Dawn at her Facebook Page, and coming soon, her new WordPress author site.

 

 

Under Construction

No … you haven’t accidentally landed on a different blog site. Like the vintage TV show, Outer Limits, we are sort-of in control of your viewing.

The GLVWG Blog site is currently under construction with a whole new face.  If you’re a WordPress user, you know the process … we test a few new faces in preview mode before selecting.  I apparently pressed the wrong button.

Don’t be surprised to see it change again as we look for that perfect template. Harder than it looks when accessing from an attic office and this old Selectric. I really should get a new system.

Still has all the same great article content.  If you like what you see, the window of opportunity is still open to comment.

 

Battle of the Books at the Bethlehem Public Library

GLVWG Write Stuff™ Conference

Conference Schedule – Saturday, April 9

7:00 AM  Check-In table opens:  Pick up registration materials at the check-in table

7:30 – 9:00 AM  Continental Breakfast in the Lehigh Room

Please Note:  Agent/Editor appointments will occur throughout the day in the Foundry. Please check your registration materials for the appointment timeslot assigned to you.

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8:00 – 9:40 AM    (Concurrent Sessions)

In the Cedar Crest Room:

  

Shawn Smucker 

The Ghost in the Room is You: Mastering Co-Writing and Ghost-Writing

As publishers continue to turn to more and more high-profile stories in order to sell books, they become increasingly dependent on co-writers and ghost-writers to help tell these stories. As independent publishing becomes more accessible, an increasing number of individuals would like to preserve their stories in book form. In this session, Shawn will share how he got into ghost-writing and co-writing, and what it takes to write someone else’s story well.

In the Muhlenberg Room:

Agent/Editor Panel

Moderated by Kathy McAuley

Kathy McAuley Agents will share insights, guidelines, and ideas for writers. These agents will also meet with participants to hear pre-scheduled pitches throughout the day.

In the Lafayette Room:

Robert Liparulo 

“Writing a Series” 

Readers and publisher love novel series. Readers get more of the stories and characters they enjoy, and publishers have found that their marketing budgets stretch further on multiple books with the same characters or storylines. For writers too, series have their benefits, such as already intimately knowing their recurring characters and often getting to use research that wouldn’t fit in a single story. Some series are planned—a big story that obviously needs more than one book to tell, or a character that’s just too darned cool to limit to one book. Others develop from the success of a standalone story—readers scream for more, and of course you (and your publisher) are more than happy to oblige. Robert Liparulo’s three series of novels (the John Hutchinson books, The Immortal Files, and the Dreamhouse Kings) were birthed both ways. Here, he’ll discuss the in’s and out’s of novel series, how to develop them and keep readers interested through multiple stories, and how to pitch them to publishers.

In the Moravian Room:

Mary Shafer 

“Researching and Writing Historical Fiction and Nonfiction”

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Meet Kelly Simmons

Tags

GLVWG "Write Stuff", Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences, Writing Tips

GLVWG’s Laurel Bruce had a chance to speak with Kelly Simmons, a former journalist and creative advertising director who started writing fiction over fifteen years ago, while studying creative writing and screenwriting at Temple University and University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her critically acclaimed novels {STANDING STILL, THE BIRD HOUSE and ONE MORE DAY} she is developing a TV series and has been writing a memoir for what seems like her entire life.

Laurel Bruce: Kelly it’s a delight to have you teaching two sessions at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference this year.

How has your background as a creative advertising director influenced your writing?

​Kelly Simmons: It taught me to produce under impossible circumstances​: absurd deadlines, ridiculous revision requests, and committees of clients who were tyrants. Compared to that, the publishing industry sometimes feels like a day at the beach. (Oops! Cliche!)

Laurel: Your first published book is “Standing Still.” How did you go about finding a publisher for this bo ​​ ok ​, AND did that differ from the process of publishing your new book, ONE MORE DAY?

​Kelly: Well, first off, I wrote 8 novels before I sold one. It took the right agent and the right manuscript at the right time. ​The same for my latest, ONE MORE DAY — there were several years in between book two and book three, in which it was hard to choose the right material for me, and for that moment in time. It’s a bit lightning-in-a-bottle-ish, even once you have an agent.

In 25 Words …

Tags

Plotting, Query, Synopsis, Three Part Story Structure, Writing Tips

By Geoff Mehl

 

The 25-word thing, is of course only the tip of the iceberg. Geoff Mehl shares what he’s learned about building from a three-act-story process where setup becomes introduction, character empathy building, inciting incident, conflict begins and ends with pinch points, and resolution/climax.  He’s learned from a number of agents that 25 words should be the very first paragraph in a query, and a useful exercise to plot a story.

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Remember the old contests when you were invited to extoll a product in “twenty-five words or less” and perhaps win a prize? It was a means for companies to reinforce a brand and consumer loyalty, get a feel for branding possibilities, perhaps have a giant idea bin for some of those classic advertising jingles.

Fast forward to this winter, when we all curl up and enjoy a really good story — ours — because we have this really cool idea for a marvelous tale and a lot of time for the keyboard.

“So you’re actually writing a story?”

“Yes!”

“What’s it about?”

And there we are, oftentimes mumbling our way through an explanation that goes on and on until our listener’s eyes glaze over and their thoughts turn to the pressing need to clean their refrigerator.

But merrily we press on as the darker days of winter close in, the glow begins to wither from the concept, the characters become boring and we run out of synonyms for “said.” Spring offers a reprieve, distraction, escape. Our once-grand idea, now just a sad little puddle of mush, gets put aside “to be fixed later, maybe, when there’s time.”

Searching for Light

Tags

Holiday Spirit, Human Spirit, Josh Groban, Light in the Darkness, Thankful, Writing Inspiration

From: Erhlif – Depositphotos.com

DT Krippene offers a holiday message with his favorite subject, searching for light in the darkness, and how it seeps into the stories we write. He likes to collect images on a Pinterest page of foreboding dark and light’s heartening beacon to inspire story scenes. Then sit back and listen to Josh Groban’s holiday song, “Thankful”.

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As a writer, I have always been fascinated with how light and dark invade each other’s boundaries. We equate light with warm, dark with cold.  Storm clouds brashly veil the sun with physical violence that can tear apart whole cities.  Heavily shadowed forest trails make us think twice if we should enter. Specters and ghosts do their evil in the dark, feeding a fear we cannot see. Darkness blinds us. Darkness scares us. Darkness hides that which goes bump in the night. It is why our stories give darkness the black hat, so the hero in white can save us.

It’s kind of what many of us do here at the Greater Lehigh Writer’s Group. We write about the light of human existence in a world that is often mired in chaotic darkness.  It could be characters who search for each other against extreme odds; enlightening prose in a sonnet; a biography that offers the light of wisdom gleaned from life’s lessons, or humor to make you smile (smiling BTW, is one of the best forms of human light). It’s that contrast of light and dark that feeds so much of what we write.

Disassembling a Fairy Tale

Tags

Brothers Grimm, European Folklore, Fairy Tales, Storytelling, The Goose Girl

When was the last time you read, or heard someone read, a classic fairy tale? Did you know the Brothers Grimm printed over 200 stories, but most of us are aware of only a handful?  Centuries ago, fables were told by word of mouth, perpetuated by folks who couldn’t read, or couldn’t afford a printed version.  When the Brothers Grimm collected and published popular folklore in the nineteenth-century, it opened a completely new door to literary romanticism in Europe.

GLVWG member and resident storyteller, Charles Kiernan, is one of those rare talents that can hold an audience captivated, no matter how many times you’ve heard the tale.  It isn’t just the words, it’s how it’s told. He shares with us the fundamental elements of a classic fairy tale.

And yes, his resemblance to Mark Twain is uncannily accurate.

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Charles Kiernan

I am going to take apart a fairy tale (I don’t think any harm will come to it from my doing so) to see what makes it tick. Below is a piece from the Brothers Grimm’s – The Goose Girl.

Illustration by Heinrich Vogele – From Wikipedia