July Minutes

Members, please review for approval at August meeting.

Northern Virginia Writers Club

July 2022 Meeting Minutes

7/16/22 1:00 PM

1. 1. Call to order by Michelle McBeth, president. 
   2. Roll call
      1. Names and types of writing (length and genre)
         1. Michelle McBeth, Jason Maddux, AJ George, Darius Jones, Dorothy Spruzen, Janice Sebring, Traci Carter, May Sue Dahil, Kevin, Dominique Hoffman.
         2. Guest: Vee James.
      2. Triumphs and failures.
         1. McBeth submitted novel to SciFi contest: SPSFC.
         2. A.J.: Working on audio book version of his “Sleeping God” novel.
         3. Dorothy: Got faculty invite, working on new audio book.
         4. Traci: To be in State anthology for the Fall.
   3. Approval of minutes from June meeting
      1. Minutes link was sent out with reminder email
         1. Minutes approved by voice acclamation.
   4. Officer’s Reports
      1. President
         1. Upcoming meeting topics
            1. August 20th – Tara Campbell -Writing for Social Justice.
               1. Next NOVA Writers meeting
               2. Virtual meeting
            2. Sept 17th – Art Taylor workshop
               1. 2nd next NOVA Writers meeting.
               2. Virtual/Hybrid meeting, locale TBD soon.
            3. First week of October -Creatures, Crimes and Creativity conference in Maryland.
            4. October 22nd -15th Anniversary party!
               1. Venue: Bull Run Winery, VA.
               2. Starts: Noon.
               3. Lunch provided.
               4. Photographer to come? To offer headshots of our members.
               5. In-person event (outdoor meeting in tent).
            5. Nov 19th -NaNoWriMo write-in
               1. NOVA Writers meeting.
               2. Join in and write, write, write.
            6. Golden Nib deadline July 31st
               1. Send in your poetry, nonfiction and fiction!
      2. Vice President/ Membership Chair (Maddux).
         1. Oct. 1: Art on the Avenue 
         2. 15th Anniversary Anthology of NOVA Writers Club.
            1. Space still available.
            2. Deadline: July 31.
            3. Send in your stuff: vp@northernvirginiawriters.org 
      3. Treasurer (AJ). 
         1. Revenues in 2022 so far: $1,315.
         2. Operating surplus: $60.50
         3. Ending cash: approximately $6,800
      4. Secretary 
         1. No report.
      5. Social Media Representative
         1. If you have Twitter handle, when you Tweet please use the Twitter handle of our club (@VirginiaWriters) in the post. And, most likely, we will Retweet it.
   5. Old Business
      1. Critique groups & beta readers
         1. Lori Eaton has shared sample survey with Michelle.
   6. New Business
      1. Upcoming writing resources/contests
         1. SPSFC -Opened yesterday
            1. Submit your SciFi novel!
         2. Virginia Writers Club Symposium -August 6 
            1. In person only
         3. https://library.loudoun.gov/writeon 
            1. Will announce winner at “Eat Local, Read Local”
         4. October 15th Eat Local, Read Local – Cascades Library Loudoun
            1. May still be able to get in, if others drop out.
      2. Social media document: Open discussion.
         1. Discussion: Using social media to boost members, sell books, recruit new members.
         2. Suggestion: Make Facebook Club page public.
            1. Originally intended as the club’s private message board. Maybe rationale should change.
            2. Michelle: “We’ll look into that.”
         3. Suggestion: Pay for Business Twitter account to schedule Tweets.
            1. Michelle says we will look at that, too.
   7. Speaker -Vee James – Chiastic Story Structure
      1. Chiastic story structure: Using repetitive themes or elements throughout a story to increase reader satisfaction.
      2. 7 Plot Points.
         1. Hook (normal life, but unique), Call to Action, Pinch Point 1 (forces action), Midpoint (learn and decide), Pinch Point 2 (Setback), Plot Point 2 (They/Protag get what they need), Resolution.
      3. Climax is seen as a “pay-off” despite individual plot events being surprising.
   8. Adjournment