Is SWA really of benefit to a writer?

Revisited - 4/10/15

 Meet Sheila S. Hudson

Award Winning Author and SWA Board Member Emeritus

1993 Met Amy Munnell at local book club

1994 First attended SWA, won award for Inspiration and gained encouragement from Linda Tomlin  and Cec Murphey to launch freelance career. Completed course from Christian Writers Guild;  3rd Place for Inspiration SWA; 3rd place for Linda Tomblin Inspirational Writing Award.

1995 Won Honorable Mention for “On Forgiveness” from The Black Mountains Christian Writers Retreat sponsored by Linda Tomblin; 1st Place for Most Rejection Slips from 2nd Wednesday Writers; 1st Place for Most Outrageous Rejection Slip from 2nd Wednesday Writers, 1st Place for SWA Limerick Award.

1996 2nd Place for SWA Non-fiction and 2nd place for Children’s Literature. 

1997 3rd Place for SWA Limerick Award and 3rd Place for Non-fiction.

1999 1st Place for SWA Limerick Award and 3rd Place for Inspiration.

2000 Two Honorable Mentions SWA Limerick Awards; Honorable Mention for Juvenile Writing;  Honorable Mention for Non-fiction.

2002 Honorable Mention for SWA Limerick Award; 1st Place Limerick Award; Honorable Mention for Inspiration.

2003-2012 Joined SWA board as Assistant PP Editor. Remained on SWA board until 2012 serving two two-year terms as SWA President. Served another two-year term as co-president with Amy Munnell. I served as Registrar for many years and assisted Tim Hudson with his role as meeting planner.

2013 2nd Place for Bill Westhead Award; 1st Place for Holiday Seasonal Writing; and 2nd Place for Inspiration.

2014 1st Place for Humor Award; 1st Place for Holiday Seasonal Writing;  1st Place for Bill Westhead Award; 2nd Place for Inspiration; published 13 Decisions That Will Change Your Life in November with Dancing with Bear Publishing.

2015 Published Murder at Golden Palms (Thursday Club Mysteries Book 1) with Take Me Away Books in July 2015; published 13 Decisions That Will Transform Your Marriage with Dancing with Bear Publisher in August and Murder at Sea (Thursday Club Mysteries Book 2) in October also from Take Me Away Books.

2016 Published Thursday Club Mysteries Book 3 and Book 4 - Murder at the Monastery (February) and Murder at the Mandelay (May) also from Take Me Away Books.

Register today!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Have You Met the Faculty of the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop?

We have hired a diverse group of successful writers to teach our classes this year! In addition to their classes, faculty members will be available to meet one-on-one with our attendees and share mealtimes and social hours so students can really get to know them.  So let me introduce you...

Agent-in-Residence: Jeanie Loiacono, CEO and President of the Loiacono Literary Agency 

http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Jeanie is the agent for SWA Board of Directors members John House and Buzz Bernard. While Jeanie's favorites are mystery/thrillers, romance, historical, and southern fiction, she and her agents seek most fiction genres, plus memoirs, general nonfiction, YA and children's books. The agency’s motto is “Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary!”

Publisher: Bob Babcock, Founder and CEO of Deeds Publishing 

http://www.deedspublishing.com/ 

Based in Athens, Georgia, Deeds Publishing is a family-owned publishing company, offering both traditional and custom publishing as well as consulting, editing, ghost writing, layout, and design services. “We can help new authors navigate the intimidating path from manuscript to published book, and we can also help seasoned writers publish their next masterpiece.” Deeds has published 150 books – fiction and nonfiction – since opening in 2005.

Novel: David Fulmer 

http://www.davidfulmer.com

A former journalist, David is an award-winning author of mystery/thrillers, such as Chasing the Devil's Tale (a Shamus Award winner for Best First Novel), The Blue Door and Rampart Street. David was chosen as the Georgia Author of the Year for Fiction in 2006 for Jass, and on multiple “Best Book” lists since 2001, including in the Los Angeles Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookList, Library Journal, among others. 

Nonfiction: Jedwin Smith

www.jedwinsmith.com/ 

A 2-time Pulitzer nominee, Jedwin was the recipient of 57 major writing awards during his 36 years as a print journalist, traveling wherever the story led: Lebanon, Ethiopia, to the ocean's depths and to the clouds in the sky when he co-piloted WWII fighter aircraft.  He has written three books, including Fatal Treasure about treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his search for the Atocha, the richest of all Spanish treasure galleons, and the memoir Our Brother's Keeper.

Young Adult Fiction: Michele Roper a.k.a Gillian Summers 

www.gilliansummers.com

Michele partners with Berta Platas (a former SWA instructor) to write fantasy novels as Gillian Summers, including The Scions of Shadow Trilogy series and Faire Folk Trilogy.  Under her name, Michele recently released the first title in a fantasy series on Kindle: Yuletide at the Country Dragon Veterinary Hospital: The Dragon Healer Chronicles.

Screenwriting: Michael Lucker 

http://www.luckydogfilmworks.com

Michael is a returning instructor for us from many years ago. As a screenwriter, he has created more then twenty feature screenplays for studios such as Paramount, Disney, DreamWorks, Fox and Universal, including "Vampire in Brooklyn," "Home On the Range" and "Spirit," a nominee for Academy Award in 2002. In television, Michael has worked with Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, History Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery, Weather Chanel, OWN, TLC, A&E, HGTV, DIY, MSNBC, NBC and TBS.  His company, Lucky Dog Filmworks, now serves as his home for writing, directing, producing and consulting. He lectures at Screenwriter School and Emory University. 

Commercial Writing: Peter Bowerman 

www.wellfedwriter.com/

Veteran commercial freelancer Peter Bowerman will lead attendees into the lucrative field of freelancing-writing for businesses. He will discuss the skills you need, why companies outsource, where the work is, how to get it, what to charge, networking strategies, and more.  Peter is the author of the award-winning The Well-Fed Writer, The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds and The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, and his client list has included The Coca-Cola Company, BellSouth, IBM and many others. 

Marketing: My Write Platform 

http://mywriteplatform.com/about/ 

My Write Platform is the brainchild of mother-daughter team Debra and Meredith Brown. They taught marketing and social media for us a few years ago to great reviews so we are glad to have them back. Both are published and award-winning writers. Debra has vast experience marketing in the business world and Meredith has worked in the magazine industry and as a literary agent. Many SWA authors are included among My Write Platform’s clients.

Keynote Speaker: Janet Sheppard Kelleher

http://www.janetsheppardkelleher.com

Janet is an award-winning creative nonfiction writer, columnist, and speaker, living in South Carolina.  Her memoir Big C, little ta-ta, was the Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Nonfiction winner at the 2011 Southeastern Writers Workshop.  Published in October 2015, it is now an Amazon Best-Seller.  Her work has appeared in various editions of Not Your Mother’s Book, Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Petigru Review and others.  In 2015, she became an internet sensation for her pink “Chemo-Hawk”, garnering national attention, like an interviewed by the “Today Show” and being chosen as the keynote speaker at the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Register today!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

The Southeastern Writers Association Workshop--A “Boutique” Conference (REVISITED)

As we countdown the days until the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop begins, we want to tell everyone how good it is and encourage them to join us!  Three years ago, SWA's vice president, Buzz Bernard revealed how the Workshop changed his writing life.  Could it change yours?  Maybe!

From the then Purple Pros Blog, Tuesday, September 3, 2013 

It wasn’t an easy decision for me.

I had to burn a week’s vacation and shell out several hundred bucks just to mingle for five days with 75 people I’d never met before. While I’m not shy, I’m not by nature exceptionally outgoing. Thus, having to hang out with a bunch of folks I didn’t know was well outside my comfort zone.

Not only that. This was to be at a writing conference. The people there would be–GULP–real writers. I knew for certain I’d be exposed as the Great Pretender, a shameless charlatan. My work would be sliced and diced. I’d become the laughing stock of St. Simons Island.

But . . . I wanted to be a novelist. So I schlepped off, with great trepidation, to the 30th annual Southeastern Writers Workshop in 2005, over eight years ago.

Eight years ago. Nine conferences ago. Three published novels ago.

The bottom line: It paid off.

It paid off so well, I felt compelled to give something back. So two years ago I joined the Board of Directors and now serve as vice president.

Some of the people I met at the 2005 gathering became close friends and I’m sure will remain so for many years. Others, whom I met at subsequent workshops, instructors especially, became great encouragers. These were folks who kept me going when I was ready to run up the white flag after 10 years, 4 manuscripts and no takers. When I was ready to surrender and just piss away my money on golf courses and 19th holes instead of writers workshops. When I was ready to simply throw up my hands and say Screw it.

Thank God for the Southeastern Writers Association.

And here’s where I let you in on a little secret. My writing was, in fact, sliced and diced at that first conference. But guess what. So was everybody else’s. It’s called learning. It’s called earning your spurs. It’s called trial by fire.

It’s what virtually every real writer must go through, whether it’s at St. Simons or in a prestigious MFA program.

Here’s another little secret: My slicer and dicer at that first conference was NY Times best-selling author Steve Berry. Steve had been through the mill before he hit it big, so he knew what it took to get there. Ironically, he later became one of my great encouragers.

Steve doesn’t do critiques any longer, but believe me, there will be plenty of exceptionally skilled instructors at the 2014 workshop who will do for you what Steve did for me. Yeah, it might be painful. But these are people who will also help you put things back together. Gently. Skillfully. Professionally. They’ll help take your writing to the next level.

A final note about the SWA Workshop and what make it unique. It’s small, limited to no more than 75 students. There’s a distinct camaraderie that develops among and between students and faculty. You get to know one another. You chat over meals and during coffee breaks. You make new friends. You network. It’s a “clubby,” not a “cliquey,” atmosphere.

By way of contrast, I went to a huge West Coast conference in the summer of 2012. It had great instructors and presenters. Big names. Lots of attendees. Lots and lots of attendees. Somewhere north of 500, maybe 600.

Yeah, I met people. We’d sit at breakfast or lunch and attempt to converse over the din of a dining area that seated several hundred. We’d trade names and business cards. Then never see each other again as we elbowed, literally, our ways to whatever sessions were next on our schedules.

Months later, I got emails from several of the attendees I’d met informing me of this or that accomplishment. I’d send back polite attaboys, but never had a clue who any of the folks were. The encounters were too brief and too many.

Take away this: You’ll remember the people you meet at the Southeastern Writers Workshop.

H.W. “Buzz” Bernard is a best-selling, award-winning novelist. His novels include Blizzard (the most recent), Eyewall, Plague and Supercell.  Buzz is a native Oregonian and attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he earned a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science; he also studied creative writing.  He’s currently vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association.  He and his wife Christina live in Roswell, Georgia.

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Contests Deadline EXTENDED!

The SWA Board of Directors has extended the deadline for submitting work to our contests. 

The new deadline is May 28 by 11:59pm.

The 9 Contests are:

• The Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Novel
• The G.T. Youngblood Award for Short Fiction
• The Vega Award for Speculative Short Fiction
• The Julie L. Cannon Award
• The Bill Westhead Memorial Award
• The Angel Award for Holiday Seasonal Writing
• The Thomas Max "You Are Published" Contest
• The Award for Excellence in Inspirational Writing
• The Humor Award

Don't miss out on all the CASH PRIZES!  See the submission guidelines here!

Register today!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

WIN SOME CASH! FINAL DAYS!

The Countdown Is On!

The deadline for submitting to SWA's 9 Workshop Contests is May 15 (@11:59pm)!

The 2016 Contests

• The Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Novel
• The G.T. Youngblood Award for Short Fiction
• The Vega Award for Speculative Short Fiction
• The Julie L. Cannon Award
• The Bill Westhead Memorial Award
• The Angel Award for Holiday Seasonal Writing
• The Thomas Max "You Are Published" Contest
• The Award for Excellence in Inspirational Writing
• The Humor Award 

★  NO Entry Fees* ★  Cash Prizes  ★

See the complete guidelines here.  Look at some of our happy 2015 winners!  That could be you!

Register today!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

*Contests are open to workshop attendees only.

Meet Our Scholarship Winners!

Congratulations to Charles Harned and Teresa Durham! 

We look forward to seeing you in June!

Many thanks to all our fine applicants!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Register Today!

WIN SOME CASH!!!

Join us for the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop, June 17-21, and you can submit any or all of our contests ~ for FREE!

Register for one day or all four ~ there's no minimum requirement!  And there a so many contests to choose from!  Do you have a novel, a short story?  Maybe humor, inspirational or personal narratives?  No matter!  There's a contest for you!  And best of all...

Every contests awards CASH PRIZES!!

2016 CONTESTS:

• The Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Novel
• The G.T. Youngblood Award for Short Fiction
• The Vega Award for Speculative Short Fiction
• The Julie L. Cannon Award
• The Bill Westhead Memorial Award
• The Angel Award for Holiday Seasonal Writing
• The Thomas Max "You Are Published" Contest
• The Award for Excellence in Inspirational Writing
• The Humor Award

The submission DEADLINE IS May 15, 2016.  

Read the full guidelines on our website.

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

A Lesson Learned From Another Writer’s Works

I learn something from every book I read. Today I re-learned the danger lurking in character names. In one paragraph, the author had Jamie, Jennifer and Jimmy. One danger is using a name that is acceptable for either sex. I had to think back to remember Jamie was not a guy. A couple of paragraphs later, a last name was mentioned. Oops. Whose last name?

Yes, the full name was given earlier, on a page I read yesterday, and I couldn’t remember the connection. I’ve read books by that author before—a national award-winning writer who is VERY successful—and I’ve had the same problem. First names give way to last names over and over—takes awhile for me to get them all straight, and I “ain’t no dummy.” Makes me wonder how easy it is for other readers to keep ‘em straight.

I have always tried to make it easy for my reader to recognize my characters’ names by the same rule a speaker is supposed to follow. The KISS rule, “Keep it simple, Stupid.” (The Stupid refers to the speaker and the author.)

I give ‘em a name, continue to use it, and keep in unlike any other character’s name.

In my upcoming memoir, I had to change names of real people because there three men with the same name:  Bob the hunter, Bob the game warden, and Bob the judge. I changed the hunter’s name, but each time I mention the warden or the judge, I made it clear who was who.  By the same token, I try to keep the story/writing above the  “simple” because if I don’t, I’ll lose the reader in the first couple of pages.

I think the most important aspect of writing is to avoid confusing the reader—and thereby losing the reader, who won’t come back for another book.

Susan’s novel When Darkness Fell won the Indie Award for best Regional Fiction. Her first novel The Bottom Rail placed as semifinalist in the Georgia Author of the Year Awards for first novel.  Two short stories won first place in their genres from the Knoxville Writers Guild in 2015.  She has won numerous awards for fiction, nonfiction and poetry at various SWA workshops.  She has eight published books, two at the publishers.

Bonus Blog — 7 Days Remaining!

★☆★ WRITERS ★☆★

Would you like to attend the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop

TUITION FREE?

The 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop is June 17-21 at Epworth by the Sea on the gorgeous St. Simons Island, GA!  SWA is offering two scholarships!  One for Student Writers (high school and college) and one for Adult Writers!

Win one of two scholarships to the SWA Writers Workshop!

Here’s how to enter:

• Student Writer: ages 15-25 and enrolled in high school or college.  If the student writer is under 18, a parent or guardian must accompany him/her.
• Adult Writer: age 18 or older
• Submit a 500-word essay describing your journey as a writer and how attending the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop will change your writing life.  Include why you are the most deserving of the scholarship.  Student Writers must include the name of their school or college.
• The entry deadline is midnight on April 18th. Please email your entry to purple@southeasternwriters.org with a subject line of SWA Student Scholarship or SWA Adult Scholarship.
• The scholarship pays for tuition only.
• Winners will be announced May 1st

Lessons Learned from a Private Investigator

from FundsforWriters, Volume 16, Issue 14

I write mystery, so that means I'm reading and researching sites, blogs, and books by cops, agents, and private investigators to make my work more authentic. However, in reading a PI site (Diligentia Group), I found the following post about lessons learned over the years as an investigator. I wasn't three items into it before I saw these lessons could be applicable to writers. 

http://www.diligentiagroup.com/legal-investigation/17-lessons-i-learned-from-15-years-as-a-private-investigator/

1. Always be learning. Learn by doing and observing others.
2. Know thyself. Know your strengths and where you need help, and don't be shy about either.
3. Differentiate yourself. Don't be ordinary. Create a brand.
4. Authenticity. Being genuine and authentic is very attractive these days when the world is wrought with fake and "Buy my book."
5. Stick to your principles. Be honest and straightforward. Protect your reputation.
6. Be helpful. Good things happen when you lend a helping hand.
7. Don't be everything to everyone. Pick your genre, find your readership base, and avoid trying to write for every reader out there.
8. Do work you are proud of. If you write slow, so be it. If you write Christian, erotica, YA; whatever the style, voice and genre, own it.
9. You are never the smartest or dumbest person in the room. Ask questions. Learn more. Help others do the same.
10. Don't stop thinking of new ideas. You're in a creative environment, and change is happening all around you. Be constantly seeking ways to be unique.
11. Adapt. This industry changes fast. Roll with that change.
12. Embrace technology. Yes, that means learning ways to publish, brand, and network, whether you like it or not.
13. Follow the facts. Make decisions or form opinions based upon fact, not rumors, gossip, innuendos, or half-truths.
14. Be inspired. Be aware of the world around you.
15. Do great work. Don't shortchange the quality of your writing.
16. Be skeptical. Operate with a critical eye. Don't fall for the latest class, how-to, software, or book that claims to teach you the perfect way to [fill in the blank].
17. Persistence. Probably the most important of the list, persistence carries you through those times when you think you should not be writing.

Amazing the similarity, huh?

Thanks ~ Hope

C. Hope Clark is a freelance writing expert, author of the award-winning Carolina Slade Mystery Series,  and the Edisto Island Mystery Series, and editor of FundsforWriters.com, a weekly newsletter service that reaches 40,000+ writers. Learn more at her website chopeclark.com

5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Southeastern Writers Workshop

The staff and faculty of the Southeastern Writers Workshop strive every year to make the Workshop the BEST tour days of your writing life. Here are a few things you can do to make your time even better.

Enter to win a  scholarship!  

TWO are available - Student and Adult! Deadline is April 18.  Read the details.

Enter as many of the contests you can!  

Nine contests offered and each has at least one cash prize!  Deadline is May 15.  Full guidelines are here.

Submit up to three manuscripts for evaluation for FREE! 

Each evaluation comes with a 15-minute one-on-one consultation. Deadline is May 28. Submission guidelines are here.

Go to ALL the classes!

We have gathered some of the best writers and industry professionals in the country.  You can learn something from everyone that may lead you to literary success from all of them. Find faculty bios and the class schedule is here.

Network!  

Over meals, between classes, in the bookstore, at the evening socials. There is plenty of time built in to network with fellow attendees and faculty members. If you don't have a writing family, you can build one at our workshop.

Check out our website - southeasternwriters.org - for all you need to know about the Southeastern Writers Workshop, June 17-21 at Epworth-by-the-Sea, St Simons Island, GA!

Register Today!

Make the Most of Pivot Points

from "I Need Coffee" on the Huffington Post

Attorney Katie Rose Guest Pryal writes the blog I Need Coffee, a blog covering all things writing with the aim toward how to make a living writing. Katie is also the author of Entanglement: A Novel and Love and Entropy: A Novella and a contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Toast, Dame Magazine, and other national venues.  She recently discussed ways climb out of your "rut," banish your "funk" and knock through your "block."  Below is a excerpt:

"...So I decided I needed a different metaphor for thinking about this kind of writing space, a metaphor that’s less negative than, say, “rut.” I settled on the phrase “pivot point.”

"A pivot point, at its most basic, is the center of any rotational system.

"In basketball, you plant your pivot foot so you can move while not getting called for a traveling violation. That’s a good thing.

"When you are drawing with an old-fashioned compass, you firmly plant the sharp tip as your pivot point, and then you rotate the clamped pencil around it to create a perfect circle. That’s a good thing, too, so long as you didn’t accidentally stab yourself with the compass point.

"A train engine on a turntable rotates on a central pivot point, allowing something immensely heavy to change direction and head off another way. That’s kind of amazing, actually.

"Examples of pivot points abound. The examples are important because I really want to stop thinking about funks, ruts, and plateaus. I want to embrace these moments as moments of possibility rather than impossibility. (I sound very new-agey and unlike my ordinary practical self, but what I’m suggesting is very practical. Please bear with me.)

"At a pivot point, you do, indeed, stop moving forward. But you also have a multitude of possibilities around you. You pause in your forward progress, and you look around, taking in the different paths, and then pick a new one..."

Read Katie's entire article.

Would you like to attend the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop TUITION FREE?

You could be here!

Win one of two scholarships to the SWA Writers Workshop!

Here’s how to enter:

• Student Writer: ages 15-25 and enrolled in high school or college.  If the student writer is under 18, a parent or guardian must accompany him/her.
• Adult Writer: age 18 or older
• Submit a 500-word essay describing your journey as a writer and how attending the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop will change your writing life.  Include why you are the most deserving of the scholarship.  Student Writers must include the name of their school or college.
• The entry deadline is midnight on April 18th. Please email your entry to purple@southeasternwriters.org with a subject line of SWA Student Scholarship or SWA Adult Scholarship.
• The scholarship pays for tuition only.
• Winners will be announced May 1st

Why you should attend the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop:

• Full access to Jeanie Loiacono, CEO and President of the Loiacono Literary Agency, and Bob Babcock, Founder and CEO of Deeds Publishing
• Specialty classes: Screenwriting, Young Adult, Marketing and more
• 3 free manuscript critiques by our faculty of award-winning writers
• Contests with cash prizes
• Sell your books in the Workshop Bookstore

Registration is now open!