2010-2011 OFFICERS ELECTED

Incumbent officers of NETWO were re-elected by acclamation at the June 17^th meeting. They are:

President…………………...Ted Rankin

Vice President……………...Skip Hughes

Treasurer………………….. Bryan Freeman

Secretary…………………...Joy Chitsey

Continuing to fill their present positions are NETWO Conference Director – Jim Callan, assisted by newly designated Conference Coordinator – Pattie Ball, and With Pen in Hand Newsletter Editor – Floy Smith. @

IN SYMPATHY

Gay Ingram’s son, David, died unexpectedly in his sleep June 27^th in Oregon.

Three members of Janice Glass’s extended family died in the Albert Pike flood, June 10^th.

Sincere condolences are extended to both families.

KEN SWINFORD PUBLISHES NOVEL

The Mount Vernon Optic Herald had an article the week of June 14^th featuring NETWO’s Ken Swinford and his newly published novel, “In This Earth and in Heaven.” The novel recently released by Sunstone Press is “almost a western, an action, a romance, and a Christian novel all in one,” according to Mr. Swinford. James Clois Smith, Jr., a Sunstone Press publicist quoted in the Optic Herald says “It Photo from Optic Herald

is truly colorful, interestingly written… and just plain entertaining.”

Started in the 1960s, he set the book aside in the mid-1980s after a publishing house in Dallas which had given a verbal commitment to print went bankrupt.

After completing his memoir, started in 2000, at the suggestion of Pat Hamilton (a NETWO alumna) he completely rewrote the novel, found a publisher on the internet and signed a contract in December 2009.

The book will be available soon at Hastings in Mount Pleasant, through Amazon.com and www.sunstonepress.com. @

Minutes of NETWO June Meeting

The members of the Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization met June 17, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at Applebee’s in Mount Pleasant. This was to make-up for the June 10 regular meeting. Seventeen members and two guests—Melanie Clifton and Julie Berg—were present. Our favorite member, Georgia Henson, was also able to make the meeting.

President Ted Rankin opened with the report from Jim Callan on the date for next year’s Spring Conference. April 29^th and April 30^th were the best dates due to Easter being the week when NETWO usually has the conference. Skip Hughes moved to accept the date. Gay Ingram seconded the motion which carried by those in attendance. Ted reported that Bryan Freeman and Pattie Ball would be making the arrangements.
Skip Hughes recommended keeping Applebee’s as the meeting place. Jory Sherman moved to accept the recommendation for the time being. Galand Nuchols seconded and the motion carried.
Discussions on extending the Friday before the Conference to a full day and adding a third agent or publisher to increase the representation for genres of Fantasy/Science Fiction and Children/YA were held.
Galand Nuchols and Ted Rankin had attended Silver Leo Workshop at Texas A&M, Commerce, Texas, entitled “Anatomy of a Story” presented by Dr. Fred Tarpley, Jim Ainsworth and Suzanne Morris. This was an excellent resource to improve one’s personal writing projects.
Ted Rankin brought up possibilities for future programs for NETWO. Ted thought it would be beneficial if each member learned how to critique each other’s work during the reading portion of the meeting. Paul Paris shared how he would like to start an online critiquing group. Ted asked Paul to head up the critique group project. Paul will present his findings at the July meeting.
Gay Ingram handed out copies of the NETWO directories she has been diligently working on. The cost for producing the directories was $81.88. Thank you, Gay, for all your hard work.
Election of Officers—Skip Hughes made a motion to keep the same slate of officers due to the success the club has experienced over the last few years. President Ted Rankin gave the opportunity for anyone that would like to hold an office to respond. No response was made. Jory Sherman seconded and the motion was carried. The officers for the coming year are: Ted Rankin, President; Skip Hughes, Vice President; Joy M. Chitsey, Secretary; and Bryan Freeman, Treasurer. Floy Smith will continue as the newsletter editor. Two new positions have been added to involve more members in decision making and the ability to run the meetings and the organization more smoothly—Paul Paris, Program Director, and Gay Ingram, Membership Director.
Treasurer’s Report—NETWO has a bank balance of $12,521.16.
Jory Sherman shared a copy of his latest press release. He will be at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts on Friday, June 18^th, and Saturday, June 19^th, from 1-4 p.m. each day. He also introduced copies of his two latest books—Shadows of Yesteryear and Savage Hellfire. He displayed some paintings he had been working on.
Member Kennith Swinford has become NETWO’s newest published author with his book In Earth and in Heaven.
Readers for the night were Bill Carl from his novel Flip of a Coin. Bill also read from Russ Jones’ writing project. Skip Hughes shared more of the operetta he is co-writing.

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted, Joy Chitsey

The following is the first of a series of articles that Gay has agreed to contribute.

A WRITER’S ATTITUDE CHECKLIST

By Gay Ingram

How does one know they are a writer? Beginning writers are filled with self-doubts. You’ve jotted down some thoughts in the past that just seemed to come together in a poetic manner. Or journal writing has been in integral part of your life since your Aunt Marjorie gave you a diary for your ninth birthday. Maybe because a particular topic interests you intensely, you’ve immersed yourself in it and now are eager to share your knowledge with others by writing about it. So, what determines whether a person is a writer or not? The solitary fact that you have this inner urge to put pen to paper and write qualified you as a writer.

A writer is someone who writes. It doesn’t take having something published to be a writer. All it takes is the desire to write. No outside force can validate you as a writer. If you have a desire to write, only taking yourself seriously as a writer is needed. Here are some habits to develop that will help you feel more like the writer you are.

1. A writer writes on a regular basis. Examine your life and find a time, hopefully during your best energy time. Make an appointment with yourself to write every day at this time. Write it into your calendar—each day at such-and-such time I will devote to my writing, even if it’s only fifteen minutes. Let nothing take precedence or interfere with the appointment you’ve made with yourself to write.

2. During that set-aside time, devote your energies to writing or thinking about your writing. Even if you don’t have a designated project to work on or an idea to develop, use this time to concentrate on your writing. Don’t use the time to pay bills or catch up on correspondence unless it is writing related. You can use the time to create a list of things you want to write about. Freewriting and clustering are excellent techniques for priming the writing pump.

3. Have a designated place to write. Always go to this place, be it a separate room or just a flat space tucked into a corner of the bedroom, at the appointed time to write. You may begin with just writing materials and a file folder or two. Add a shelf for the basic resource books you’ll be acquiring or tuck them under your writing surface if there’s no wall space. Do what you can to make this space look and feel like a writer’s space.

4. Everything you write has worth. Remember, you are your own worst critic. No artist or musician has perfect mastery of his or her craft immediately. It takes practice to perfect their skills. The same is true for a writer. Even bad writing can be a learning experience. Nothing you write is a waste of time. Practice writing is practicing your craft.

5. The state of being a writer means you are a writer all the time. Train yourself to think like a writer. Look at the world you live in everyday as a crop to be harvested for your writing. Carry a pen and notepad with you at all times. Don’t trust your memory to remember. If an idea or thought isn’t written down as soon as possible, it will be lost. Even one word written down will help revive the complete thought when you have time to get back to your notations.

Developing these good writing habits will go a long way in building your self-image of yourself as a writer. Getting the next best-selling “Great American Novel” published isn’t a requirement for considering yourself a writer; fulfilling that act of putting words on paper is what makes you a writer. Lift up your head and be proud to say: “I am a writer.” @