August Minutes

Members, please review the August minutes for approval during the September meeting.

Northern Virginia Writers Club

August 2023 Meeting Agenda

8/26/2023 1:00 PM

1. Call to order – Club Pres. Michelle McBeth.
2. Roll call.
   1. Names and types of writing (length and genre):
      1. Michelle McBeth, Club President, Sci Fi
         Traci Carter, Club Social Media Volunteer, historical romance short/novel
         Lori Eaton, Club Kind Critiques Volunteer, crime novel
         Caroline Crocker-1st meeting, Fiction-WWII
         Craig Lipman Sci Fi short stories
         Mark Roddy,1st meeting, religious, historical novels, holiday short stories
         Bob Scates, Sci Fi novellas
         Dennis Findley, memoir novel
         A.J. George, Club Treasurer, mystery-thriller-horror novel, short fiction
         John Wren, novels, short stories psych thriller, Sci Fi
         Jennifer Koon, screenwriting
         Isabelle Missud, series novels
         Deb Hall, 1st meeting, fiction, poetry, newspaper
         Vee James, fiction
         Roger Hammons, speculative fiction novel, short story
         Gerald Geddes, historical fiction/China and US history, 1st meeting
         Karen Paley, freelance articles, memoir
         Patricia Cleveland, mystery
         Art Taylor, speaker, short story
         Dreama Frisk, fiction, poetry
         Carolyn Klein, fiction, Club Website Volunteer
         Dorothy Spruzen, fiction, urban series
         Kerri Stoeck, 1st meeting, short story, thriller
         Mary Jo Levesque, 1st meeting, playwriting, short stories
         Kevin Connor
   2. Triumphs and failures
      1. Dennis Findley: hit milestones with royalties and testing UK international sales.
3. Approval of minutes from last meeting
   1. June meeting minutes link sent in newsletter.
      1. Approved!
      2. Motions to approve: 1^st A.J., 2^nd by Dennis.
      3. Passed by voice acclamation.
4. Officer’s Reports
   1. President – McBeth
      1. Upcoming meeting topics
         1. September 16 – Tara Campbell-“A Little Weird Can Go a Long Way”
         2. October 21 – Robin Sullivan
            1. Watch for library location!!!!
            2. How to Monetize Novel Writing in 2023 and Beyond
         3. November 18-NaNoWriMo or Jason Indie publishing example
      2. Arlington County Fair Events: club promotion, met potential new members and sold member books. Recommendation for next year.
   2. Vice President/Membership Chair -Maddux/absent
      1. Art on the Avenue Oct 7^th, call for volunteers coming in next newsletter
   3. Treasurer – George
      1. Summary Expense $ 2546.52, Revenue $2775.80, Net Assets $5708.55 YTD (Report submitted)
   4. Secretary -Jones/absent
      1. No report
   5. Social Media – Traci C.
      1. Members welcome to send links to TC to post on socials about new books, etc.
5. Old Business
   1. Upcoming writing resources/contests
      1. CreaturesCrimesCreativity -Sept 8-10
      2. Winery event October 1st
      3. EatLocalReadLocal -Oct 14^th
      4. Fairfax Courthouse Farmers Market sells books, Ask about Fairfax Funky Flea.
      5. Check out online calendar
6. New Business
   1. Business from the floor?
      1. Events discussion.
         1. The potential need for a larger location was brought up for future meetings (current church meeting room fills).
         2. Will send notices in newsletters.
7. Speaker – Art Taylor -Pro Prose: Tips for Tightening Yours
   1. Art is a GMU professor and also leads a writing craft workshop on prose at the line level with MFA students. He drew on that today with our engaged group.
   2. Slides included dialogue tags, filtering, passive voice, and creative writing. The presentation was recorded.
   3. References he suggested: WRITING FICTION by Janet Burroway; THE ART AND CRAFT OF FICTION by Michael Kardos; THRILL ME by Benjamin Percy; MEANDER SPIRAL EXPLODE by Jane Alison.
   4. His website: www.arttaylorwriter.com  Announced he will have an article in Journal CLUES about his suspense writing course.
8. Adjournment