Rambling Rex

N IGHTSCRIPTS AUGUST, 2020 CINDY ROSE, EDITOR CAROL LAVERNE SNOW, CONSULTING EDITOR

You know the old adage, “You learn something new every day?”

Perhaps I don’t gain new knowledge every single day, but I am and

have always been eager to learn. Voracious, in fact.

My writing journey has long been one of consuming ideas.

Conferences, workshops, websites, seminars, retreats, blogs—you

name it, I’ve picked it clean. And one of my best sources of

information has been the Free Expressions workshops run by Lorin

Oberwenger—who coincidentally happens to be our speaker for

August’s Zoom meeting. (Her pen name, by the way, is Noelle

August—a double coincidence!!!)

COVID-19 has affected Free Expressions like it has the rest of

society, so Lorin implemented a series of Zoom webinars (just like

our meetings) featuring some of the top writing teachers in the

business (including Lorin herself). No way would I miss out on that.

While the webinars continue through this month, here are a mere eight

writing things of the many I’ve learned this summer:

1) Approach your first draft in lust, not love. The first draft is like

a backseat date with a hot mess. Rollick in the thrill of the moment,

free from commitment. But remain ferociously lustful for new and

exciting ideas. Falling in love with your first draft is an attachment

which will keep you from being critical and making improvements.

(Emma Dryden—Revision Toolbox)

2) Happy endings are expected, and can be easily forgotten. They

are often part of what makes a novel feel small and restricted. Better

to expand and broaden your story, perhaps with an unexpected loss or

gain that will shift the protagonist’s view of his/her world, goals,

situation, or self. Highlight your protagonist’s change of heart.

Challenge your reader with a satisfying, yet thought-provoking end,

and s/he will dwell on your story long after s/he has finished reading.

(Donald Maass—The Bigger Canvas and How To Use It).

3) Setting includes how a character experiences her/his own

body. Put yourself in your character’s skin, and experience the world

the way they would. If you’re 6’8” tall, you learn nobody cleans the

top of their refrigerator. For someone really obese, wouldn’t it be like

living inside a stuffed animal? Big thighs bang underneath a table.

IN THIS ISSUE

Rambling Rex Eight Things I Learned Writing This Summer — Rex Griffin ... 1 The Write Touch Every Scene Should Include — Kathryn Helstrom ............... 3 Writing By the Rules “Insure,” “En sure,” & “Assure” — Carol Laverne Snow ...... 4 August Meeting .............................................................................. 5 From Behind the Mask, an Anthology ........................................ 6 Annual Flash Writing Contest ...................................................... 6 First 5 Steps of Character Development — Bill Wetterman ...... 7 Me? A Poet? — Margaret Lee ...................................................... 9 Brags and Announcements ......................................................... 10 TNWC Hall of Fame ........................................................................ 12 The Bulletin Board ......................................................................... 13 How to Join TNWC ......................................................................... 13 Contact Information ....................................................................... 14 NightScripts Submission Guidelines .......................................... 14

What is it like to be musclebound, rail-thin, or old and frail? Get inside your character’s body before you write a scene. Taste what they taste, wear what they wear, feel that belt or bra strap digging into his/her flesh, or experience the fear of rolling your wheelchair down an icy ramp. (Grace Burrowes—Settings With Depth)

4) People tend to move too quickly through high intensity scenes. There are almost always opportunities to take your time with the unexpected thought, the sensory perception, the observation only the point-of-view character would notice. Language should match the emotion of the moment. Variety, too, is important. Like music you don’t want to hear the same notes over and over. (Lorin Oberwenger—Pacing)

5) We don’t always have to know right away why things are happening. Take away information and knowledge, so reasons are muddled at best. Or conceal some necessary element of your story. Make it unknown, unseen, undiscovered, or poorly understood on the part of your characters, especially your protagonist. When the reader puts it together in her/his mind, connects the dots and the meaning becomes clear, that cognitive evaluation will both absorb and fulfill your reader. (Donald Maass—Secrets, Mysteries, and How To Build Them)

Eight Writing Things I Learned

This Summer

by Rex Griffin

President

www.nightwriters.org

Continued on Page 2

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 2 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Rambling Rex, Continued from Page 1

6) Great characters have a unique, yet universal, aspect. Great

series characters have unique, universal characteristics that are

heightened and exaggerated to a high degree. One of these traits

is often a dogged determination, a refusal to quit. What is it

about your series character that fuels his/her determination?

What situation keeps her/him going despite every obstacle?

When you know where that determination comes from, put your

character in that situation in every book in the series. (Donald

Maass—Secrets of Series Characters)

7) There are two approaches to world building: from the top

down, and from the bottom up. These approaches can also be

looked at as architect and impressionist, or plotters and pantsers.

Key components of world building include the “Hard” elements

of setting and SPRITE (society, politics, religion, ideas and

culture, technology, and economy). A second key component is

the “Soft” elements of What, When, and How information is

chosen to be revealed. And third, world building involves

Dynamic Authenticity: Does the world make sense? Does it react

& evolve? Are “the rules” consistent? (Henry Neff—A Practical Guide to Worldbuilding)

8) If your protagonist bears a burden of guilt, it has affected his/

her behavior. What is the most obvious way a reader might

suspect your protagonist has something hidden in his/her past

that s/he regrets? What is s/he avoiding, what is s/he not talking

about? What is the secret s/he’s keeping, from whom, for how

long? What is the worst thing your protagonist has done to keep

it secret? Who else knows, is complicit, or is harboring

information? From whom does your protagonist most need

forgiveness? Why is that person unwilling to grant that

forgiveness? What is unforgiveable? If your protagonist has done

something wrong, and someone was hurt, how can you make that

worst? How can it be more wrong, more ugly, more careless,

more unforgiveable, more cruel? (Donald Maass—Character Arc)

COVID-19 might be a plague for the ages, but it can’t keep us

from learning and improving. These are only eight ideas that

represent the wealth of information I’ve picked up from Lorin’s

Free Expressions webinars, and the summer isn’t over yet.

***

You may have picked up that author, agent, editor, and

entrepreneur Lorin Oberwenger will be our guest speaker for the

Tulsa NightWriters zoom meeting Tuesday, August 18. The head

of Free Expressions workshops, Lorin is extremely

knowledgeable on both writing and publishing, and one of the

most helpful people you’ll meet. She will be speaking on

Effective Pacing.

FROM BEHIND THE MASK, the Tulsa NightWriter anthology,

is a GO! Send your stories about, of, or inspired by the pandemic

to me, at rexgriffin@aol.com, or contact me if you want to help

with selecting and editing.

In case you haven’t heard, our annual Craft of Writing

Conference has been cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19. We

intend the conference to come back gangbusters in 2021, though!

Freebie Alert! Get yourself a free copy of Nikki Hanna’s paperback book, “The Path to

Authorship. Listen up, Writer. How not to Write Like an Amateur.”

If you’d like a free copy send an email to Marion Grace at jnmgrace@att.net

and I’ll put you on a first come, first serve list. This will be while supplies last

and we will hand them out at the next time we are able to meet together at the

library. Get yourself on the list!

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 3 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Do you ever read a scene and feel like there is something

missing? We have talked about the basic scene structure:

Action (with a goal, a conflict, and a setback), plus the

Sequel (with a reaction, a dilemma, and a decision). But

there’s more!

Every scene needs a Setting, Action, Dialog, and

Thoughts.

Setting

The three types of setting are the elements of time, place,

and environment (both physical and social). Without these,

the reader does not know when and where they are in the

story. Time placement is crucial, especially if the story is

told from more than one point of view. Was he doing that

before or after she escaped?

Great prose illustrates not only the physical environment,

but also the social constructs of the time and place. The

society of a New York pub will be vastly different from an

Amarillo roadhouse. What is acceptable behavior in one

might be vehemently opposed in the other. Describe it!

Don’t let your characters operate in what I call “white

space.” What are the colors, smells, temperatures, and

sounds all around them?

A little tidbit: When describing a place, imagine you are

looking through a camera lens. Start out close by and

expand outward, or look to the distant object and pull

inward. Bouncing around near and far is as jarring on the

page as it is on the screen. (Of course, if that is the effect

you want, such as in a battle scene, it might work.)

Action

Many editors prefer that you start your scene with action

rather than setting or internal thoughts. This is a good rule

because it draws the reader into the scene. Every scene

must have an event that causes something else to happen,

which is the next scene. It can be as simple as adjusting his

toupee before meeting his old girlfriend, to crashing a

wedding party that turns out to be a mob family cover-up.

Getting the reader to wonder what happens next is always

the function of the scene’s action.

Even in the less animated scenes, make your characters do

something. She’s telling him how much she loves him, but

what is she (or he) doing while they are talking? Pacing?

Crying? Shaking? Looking out the window? Twisting a

wedding ring around his finger?

Dialog

Dialog can be action, especially when it is a tense

exchange. But it serves other purposes, too. It can be part

of the decision-making process in the Sequel of a scene:

two people trapped in a mine—how do they get out? It can

advance the plot, or it can reveal a character’s thoughts or

feelings, especially a non-POV character. The dialog

between Frodo and Boromir, when he tries to take the ring,

exposes the weakness and avarice of the man.

Dialog can also show the reactions of the characters to

events. Tom Hank’s conversations with the volleyball in

Cast Away reveal his frustrations and determination to

endure.

Thoughts

The internal dialog of the characters provides the sparkling

gem of the story: how they feel, process information, and

make decisions. The physical appearance is one

dimension, and the way they socialize with others is a

second. The third dimension, their emotional and mental

state, may conflict dramatically with either or both of the

other two. What he says and what he thinks may be two

different things. Her physical appearance may be lovely to

others, but if she sees herself as ugly, the whole story

changes. This is where the lifeblood of the drama is.

Reactions are hidden or exposed to other characters:

desires and offenses, love and hate, treachery, stupidity; all

the emotions are discovered by the readers in the internal

dialog.

Go back over all your scenes and make sure these four

elements are included. Your story will be richer for it!

The Write Touch By Kathryn Helstrom, Vice-President

EVERY SCENE SHOULD INCLUDE

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 4 N IGHTSCRIPTS

WRITING BY THE RULES

“insure,” “ensure,” and “assure”

by Carol Lavelle Snow

About the Author

Carol has an M.F.A. in

drama from OU but got

into the habit of

t e a c h i n g E n g l i s h

i n s t e a d — a t O h i o

University, TCC, ORU,

and Spartan. She has

acted in many plays

and directed a few. Her

scripts have appeared

on the Narrat ive

Television Network and

at Spotlight Theater.

She’s published two

novels and several

short stories. You can

find her poetry online in

magazines like Songs

of Eretz and StepAway

Magazine, and in print

in several journals,

including The Lyric,

Harp-Strings Poetry

J o u r n a l , a n d

Crosstimbers.

“Insure” is the easy one. Use this word if what you are talking

about is insurance.

John will insure his life for $100,000.

Their home was insured for $300.000.

“Ensure” on the other hand, though pronounced like “insure,” is

used if someone wants to make sure of something and is usually

used with “to” or in its infinitive form.

I checked the door to ensure that I’d locked it.

David was to ensure that the ride was safe.

“Assure” is used when you want to remove doubt from someone’s

mind to make them confident that something is true.

He assured me that the ride was safe.

Can you assure the members that they will not fail?

Books Authored and Coauthored

by Carol Lavelle

Snow

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 5 N IGHTSCRIPTS

August Meeting: Noelle August on Effective Pacing

August 17, 2020 via Zoom

Noelle August is the pen name of Lorin Oberweger. She is an award-winning author of at least eight traditionally published books, and is an independent book editor. With more than 25 years of experience in the publishing industry, Lorin produces workshops with Donald Maas and others at Free Expressions https://www.free-expressions.com/

This month, she will be presenting her workshop, On Effective Pacing. We will look at the issues of when to use exposition and when to employ more observable dramatic action; what kinds of scenes demand to be slowed down and savored and what scenes can be dispensed with more quickly; when--and if--we need aftermath or sequel scenes; and how to get a handle on the overall pacing of our novels, creating a sense of escalation and stronger drive as we move toward our story’s climax. Assemble your writing implements and expect to work hard and have fun.

Noelle August’s books include BOOMERANG, REBOUND, and BOUNCE. Her work has received glowing reviews from the New York Times, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, and others. Most recently, she co-authored THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK with Chris Anderson, director of the renowned TED organization.

We are extremely proud and grateful to have this outstanding instructor

as our guest speaker. Don’t miss it!

Our endlessly patient Communications Director, Blake Collier, will host the Zoom meeting. A couple of days beforehand, Blake will send out an email with the Zoom link to all members. At 7:00 on August 17, click on the link and connect to the meeting.

If you have not downloaded the Zoom app onto your phone and/or computer, please do it now. It is really easy. From your computer, go to the Zoom website https://zoom.us/ and sign up for free. There, you will find short videos to show you how to use the app. You can also download the Zoom app to your smartphone from your app store.

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 6 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Annual Flash Writing Our Tulsa NightWriters Club 2020 contest deadline is fast

approaching. It's 500 words including the title and it starts with the

words, a thunderous roar. The deadline is August 31. See

our website, tulsanightwriters.wordpress.com for submission details.

From Behind the Mask, An Anthology of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Deadline for submissions for our anthology of poems, stories and essays relating to the Covid-19 Pandemic is August 31. Stories can be fiction or non-fiction.

Don’t delay! Send your submissions to RexGriffin@aol.com. See previous issues of NightScripts or tulsanightwriters.wordpress.com for submission details.

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 7 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Consider some of literature's most memorable characters— Scarlett O'Hara, Lizbeth Salander, Ebenezer Scrooge, Huckleberry Finn, Katniss Everdeen, Harry Potter. Can you name the novels they come from and what they have in common?

Larger than life, they are also universally human

They see courage not as lack of fear but rather the ability to act in the face of fear

They learn from failure and rise to great moral victories

Compelling characters like these make the difference between a memorable novel and a forgettable one.

So, what are the keys to making a character unforgettable?

1. Introduce the protagonist and antagonist early, by name

The biggest mistake new writers make is introducing their main character too late. As a rule, the protagonist or antagonist should appear on stage at the beginning, and the reader should be able to associate his name with how they see him. Both should appear in the first ten pages to hold the reader's interest.

Naming your character can be almost as stressful as naming a newborn. You want something exciting and memorable, but not quirky or outrageous. Leave Blaze Starr and Holly Golightly to the melodramas. (Actually, I wish I had thought of Holly Golightly. Audrey Hepburn plays her in Breakfast at Tiffany's.)

Allegories call for telling names like Prudence and Truth and Pride, but modern ones should be subtle. I wrote my first detective story with a character whose last name is Brasher, and his nickname is Pop. He is both fatherly and impetuous.

For standard novels, common names are forgettable. Harry Bosch is forgettable on the surface but connected to the plot where his actual name is Hieronymus Bosch after the painter, and it becomes unforgettable. Ethnicity is important. You should not have a Frenchman named Hans Von Stubben.

2. Give your readers a look at them

You want a clear picture of your character in your mind's eye, but do not make the mistake of forcing your reader to see him exactly the way you do. Sure, height, hair and eye color, and physicality (athletic or not) are helpful. (William Bernhardt says Ben Kinkaid, the main character in many of his books, is never described.)

I teach character descriptions the same as descriptions of the sky, the weather, and settings. It is essential that your images are not lengthy paragraphs, but rather, layered in dialogue and shown in action scenes. (Jonathon spotted a jet stream trail in an otherwise cloudless sky. Versus: It was a clear day.) (Reacher towered above Malloy. And gripping his opponent's neck with both hands headbutted his prey, breaking the heavier man's nose.)

Hint at just enough to trigger the muse in the reader's mind, so he forms his own mental image.

Thousands of readers might have thousands of slightly varied images of the character, which is all right, provided you have given them enough information to know whether your hero is big or small, attractive or not, and athletic or not.

Interview your main characters as if they were sitting right in front of you. The more you know about them, the better you will tell their story.

How old is he? What is his nationality? Does he have scars? Piercings? Tattoos? Physical imperfections? Is his voice gravelly? Does he have an accent?

Give him a tag, in the form of a unique gesture or mannerism, that helps set him apart.

You will not come close to using all the information you know about him, but the more you know, the more plot ideas will come to you.

3. Give the main characters a backstory

The backstory is everything that has happened before Chapter 1. Dig deep.

What has shaped your characters into who they are today?

When, where, and to whom was he born? Who are his brothers and sisters, their names and ages? Where did he attend high school, college, or graduate school? What are his political affiliations, occupation, income, goals, and skills, and talents? How is his spiritual life, and who is his best friend? Is the character single, dating, or married? What is his Worldview?

4. Make sure your protagonist is human, vulnerable, and flawed.

Even superheroes have flaws and weaknesses. For Superman, there is Kryptonite. For swashbucklers like Indiana Jones, there are ssssnakes.

Lead characters without human qualities are impossible to bond with. Nevertheless, make sure their flaws aren't deal-breakers. They should be forgivable, understandable, identifiable. You want characters with whom your reader can relate, and to do that, they need to be vulnerable.

Create events that subtly exhibit their strength of character and spirit. For example, does your character show respect to a waitress and recognize her by name? Would he treat a cashier the same way he treats his broker?

The First Five Steps of Character Development

By Bill Wetterman

Continued on Page 8

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 8 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Developing Characters, continued from page 7

These are called pet-the-dog moments, where an otherwise bigger-than-life personality does something out of character—something honorable that might be considered beneath him.

Readers remember such touching episodes, and they make the key moments even more dramatic.

It was George Bailey's sacrificing his travel-the-world dreams to take over the lowly savings and loan that made his standing up to the villainous Mr. Potter so heroic in the classic movie. "It's a Wonderful Life."

You want to turn your Jimmy Stewart into a George Bailey.

Make him real.

Give him a pet-the-dog moment.

5. But also give your central character classic, heroic qualities

While working to make your main character real and human, be sure to insert the potential to be courageous.

Do not make the mistake of making a hero perfect. What reader can identify with perfect? Potentially heroic, yes. Honorable, sure. With a bent toward doing the right thing, yes! But perfect, no.

Your hero must overcome his failures to rise to the occasion and win against all odds. Give your lead character human strengths and weaknesses your reader can identify with. In the end, after he has learned all the lessons he needs to from his failures to get out of the terrible trouble you plunged him into, he should rise to the occasion and score a great moral victory.

A well-developed character should be extraordinary but relatable. Never allow your protagonist to be the victim. It is certainly okay to let him face obstacles and challenges but never portray him as a whiner or a coward.

Give your character qualities that captivate and compel the reader to continue.

Hopefully, I have sparked your interest enough to read the last five Steps to Character development in our next issue.

Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short. - Henry David Thoreau

I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within. - Gustave Flaubert

Anecdotes don't make good stories. Generally I dig down underneath them so far that the story that finally comes out is not what people thought their anecdotes were about. - Alice Munro

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 9 N IGHTSCRIPTS

When a friend of mine suggested

a few years ago that I “might want to

make poems,” I pricked up my ears,

not because I thought I would be

particularly good at it but because I

wondered why she thought so. She

was a poet whose work I admired. My

friend’s words stayed with me. I

thought about it for a while and

scribbled a few things now and then.

Later, when she asked me how it was

going, I told her that I had been trying

to write poems and I actually thought

perhaps I could, as long as I didn’t

have to call them that. The label

scared me.

Still, I enjoyed writing short

works and I liked the freedom of

writing whatever I wanted. My former writing experience

had been governed by the constraints of academic,

business, and technical writing. It felt good to put a pen to

paper and just let it drift. The writing led to surprising

places: back to my academic area (ancient Greece), my

favorite places (the central Oregon coast, northern New

Mexico, the Oklahoma prairie), and the inner archive

where my life experiences reside. Somehow, knowing that

I didn’t have to go there, that I could choose, made it

possible for me to explore those destinations in new ways.

I have been playing with poetry for about three years

now. It turns out you can write poems about anything you

want. Noble topics take well to poetry’s heightened

language, while mundane subjects

supply metaphors for larger ideas,

or charm through sheer simplicity.

I have even written poems about

writing poems. I think that’s when

you know you’re hooked.

Different voices enlarge one’s

poetic vocabulary. Reading other

people’s poetry can be especially

seductive: one poetic line seems to

spawn another. I wrote a poem on a

postcard a couple of weeks ago and

sent it to a new poet friend. She

replied with a new poem that began

with my poem’s ending line. I

delight in that additive,

collaborative quality. Although

many regard poetry as restrictive

and esoteric, my early experience has uncovered a playful,

communal dimension to making and reading poems.

I am enjoying my adventure into poetry writing but I

still have a lot to learn. That is why I joined the Tulsa

NightWriters. I am so glad I did. At the first meeting I

attended (January 2020), I learned about the Oklahoma

Writers Federation, Inc., annual writing contest. The

contest provided an opportunity for some desperately

needed feedback. More important, members of the Tulsa

NightWriters shared their enthusiasm and encouragement. I

entered the contest that same month and received some nice

recognition and some welcome judges’ critiques.

Me? A Poet?

By Margaret Lee

Me? A Poet?

“Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does.” — Allen Ginsberg, from Ginsberg, A Autobiography

“Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.” — Carl Sandburg, from The Atlantic, March, 1923

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 10 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Danny Carlton is about to publish his second non-fiction book. He published Emotional Energy last year, and

in a week, he will publish Liberal Logic: 101, based on content from his Facebook page by the same name.

Bill Wetterman has been asked to speak at the Republican Women of Oklahoma meeting on October 13th at

the Crown Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City about his book, Christianity Faces the 21st Century.

Michael Koch has a short story: "Eddie Carmel: The Good Monster" in the

current publication of Midnight Magazine #6. Copies can be purchased at;

midnightmagazine@bigcartel.com for $10.00.

Michael also is a featured story contributor in the Summer 2020 issue of

Saddlebag Dispatches. His story, "A Western Bad Boy," is a nonfictional

account of the life of western movie star Rory Calhoun. Unfortunately, due to

the corona virus, hard copies couldn't be published at this time.

You heard him mention it repeatedly in club meetings during his three years as club president,

mostly in the context of giving Jim Laughter a hard time for awarding it third place at OWFI,

and now it’s finally here! Joshua Danker-Dake’s science fiction thriller, Projections, releases

August 13!

How do you solve a murder committed with a weapon that doesn’t exist?

To find out, visit Josh’s new website, www.dankerdake.com, where you can find all the

particulars on what Projections is all about and where you can pick up a copy.

Faith Wylie reports more of an update than a brag. She entered her Scotland novel in Killer Nashville. It didn't

place but the critique was really helpful. She and John are still writing a weekly newspaper feature, and John is

doing a daily covid update for clients in Rogers County. She's working on Oologah's 25th anniversary

celebration of "The Cherokee Kid" monument in the town square on Aug. 15. She became president of the

Oolagah Historical Society in February, right before the covid scare. The museum manager and treasurer

retired about a month ago, so she needs to spend a day learning all the passwords and programs and figuring

out how to unlock the door without setting off the alarm. Preferably before Saturday when they do a walking

tour of the historic buildings and re-dedication of the monument. At the Wylies' home site, all the stuff that

goes under the slab is ready, so it should be poured any day. She recently bought a replacement for her

professional camera, over the budget that the insurance company gave her but she's going to submit it with an

explanation. (The Wylies' previous home and contents were destroyed in a fire.)

Continued on Page 11

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 11 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Renee’ La Viness reports that writing has become a family affair for her family.

On August 1st, Gene and Renee’ La Viness attended the 76th Annual Arkansas Writers Conference (AWC)

in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Due to COVID-19, their three grandchildren, who normally attend with them,

remained home in Broken Arrow.

In the state of Arkansas, everyone was required to wear face masks indoors unless speaking or eating, and

social distancing was evident. At the conference, only two people sat at each table, and attendees also received

a complimentary cloth face mask. If there had been any concern over the Coronavirus, it was practically

eliminated by the conference committee’s obvious dedication to the health and safety of all who attended. The

speakers were also given their own microphones.

Renee’ was the first speaker of the day, sharing “How to Outshine the Competition.” In the last session,

“Working With Others to Make Your Children’s Book Perfect,” she offered insight on the varying roles of

other publishing professionals who may be involved.

When contest winners were announced, Gene received awards for 1st Place, 2nd Place, and 3rd Honorable

Mention, in three of the contests he had entered. Renee’ took 2nd Place in one contest, and their granddaughter,

Xaundra La Viness, won 1st Place in the youth poetry contest.

An AWC anthology of all the 1st Place winning stories is being compiled. Gene and Xaundra will have

their work included, and Renee’ has been asked to submit an article about the helpfulness of entering contests.

Xaundra has decided to join the Tulsa NightWriters Club and may be seen at upcoming meetings and

events. She is excited to be a part of the group.

Continued

Call for Submissions NightScripts is seeking articles about any aspect of non-fiction writing or the business or writing. Deadline for submission is 9-1-2020.

M. Carolyn Steele

Journalist, Genealogist, Author of Historical

Fiction and Nonfiction

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 12 N IGHTSCRIPTS

Jackie King

Cozy Mystery and Short Story Author

Deborah Camp

Romance Author

Peggy Fielding

Romance Author and Writing Instructor

Charles W. Sasser

Freelance Writer, Journalist,

and Photographer

Tulsa NightWriters Club

Hot August Night

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 13 N IGHTSCRIPTS

We’d love to welcome you as a member! If you’d like to join Tulsa NightWriters Club, please contact

our treasurer, Marion Grace, at jnmgrace@att.net

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on Facebook:

Please note: Only Tulsa NightWriters Club members may join our TNWC Facebook group. Our public Facebook page is open to non-club members.

Visit the TNWC website for club

membership information.

Rex Griffin

President rexgriffin@aol.com

Marion Grace Treasurer

jnmgrace@att.net

Kathryn Helstom Vice President

kiamichikate@gmail.com

Carolyn Steele

Hospitality Director mcarolyn.steele@cox.net

Cindy Rose Editor

cindy-rose@cox.net

FOLLOW TNWC ON TWITTER

You can follow TNWC on Twitter: @TulsaNightWrite Please tweet our meetings and other events, and we will do

our best to retweet your writing-related tweets.

AUGUST 2020 PAGE 14 N IGHTSCRIPTS

TNWC Facebook Group for Club Members Only

TNWC Facebook Page (public)

Blake Collier Communications

Director blakeicollier@gmail.com

NightScripts Submission Guidelines

Deadline: 1st of the month (May- December) Specifications: Please do not format your text. Times New Roman, 12pt Single-space Attach graphics and/or photographs Send To: Cindy Rose cindy-rose@cox.net

CURRENTLY ACCEPTING ARTICLES

FROM YOUR EDITOR

Do you have an idea for strengthening

Tulsa NightWriters Club?

Send any ideas, speaker recommendations, etc.,

by e-mail, to the officer of your choice.

W E ’RE ON THE W EB

W W W . T UL SAN IG HTW R I T ERS . WO RD P RESS . C O M

GENRE FOCUS GROUPS

The Genre Focus Groups program is an opportunity for NightWriters who

write in the same genre to connect on an ongoing basis to support each

other, exchange ideas, talk about marketing, read each other’s work, and

offer feedback. If you’d like to be listed for a genre or to connect with

other writers, let us know—we’ll be glad to help.