March Speaker – Arielle Haughee

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March 2023

Speaker: Arielle Haughee
Topic: Crisp Up That Prose!
March 18, 2023, 10 a.m. to Noon
In person and Zoom – Register here
Meeting Location: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919

Crisp Up That Prose! – Tight writing is a necessity for attracting agents and editors as well as keeping readers interested. In this workshop, we’ll discuss frequently used fluff words, strategies for cleaning up sentences, and bad habits that can make prose cumbersome. We’ll utilize three strategies–cut, replace, and trim down–to make your writing as efficient as possible. Bring some of your writing that needs revision for a hands-on portion of class. You’ll leave with easy strategies to use in your writing and an editing checklist to help you spot fluff.
Arielle Haughee (Hoy) is a six-time RPLA-winning author and the owner of Orange Blossom Publishing. She is an editor, speaker, and writing coach, and was previously the Executive Vice President and Marketing Chair for the Florida Writers Association. She was honored with the President’s Award from FWA in 2020, and in 2021 Pling’s Party was awarded Children’s Book of the Year. Her press, Orange Blossom Publishing, publishes books about love, humor, and wellness for women and children. She is currently taking submissions for romance, women’s fiction, young adult, and nonfiction of interest to the female audience. More information at orangeblossombooks.com.
*Arielle is presenting via  Zoom; however, like usual, we are meeting in person and on Zoom.

January Speaker — Clarissa Thomasson

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January 2023

Speaker: Clarissa Thomasson
Topic: Suspending the Disbelief
January 21, 2023, 10a.m. to Noon

In Person and Zoom Meeting – Register Here

Location: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919

“Suspending the Disbelief” reflects the writings of Florida Historical Authors: Marjorie Rawlings, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Patrick Smith, Carl Hiaasen, and my own Florida books. The Florida setting of each of these authors directly affects both the characterizations and the plot and makes their stories come to life.

Clarissa Thomasson was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She received a BA in English Literature from Duke University and a MA in English from the University of

Florida. Thomasson taught English, journalism, and creative writing in Montgomery County, MD, until her retirement. Her first two novels, Defending Hillsborough and Reconstructing Hillsborough were chosen by the North Carolina Association of Public School Librarians for use in the high school study of the Civil War. Lorinda’s Legacy was “pick of the month” at Greensboro, NC Barnes and Noble.

In 2000, Thomasson returned to Florida and now resides in Venice, FL. She has written five children’s books in her Little Green Monkey series, four novels: Florida Shadows, Florida Secrets, Florida Sunset and Surviving Sarasota set in Southwest Florida, a World War II novel—Over the Bridge—and Venice Dreamers, which highlights Venice’s original settlers. Thomasson’s stage plays, Over the Bridge and Florida Shadows, each won first place in the Clarence “Bud” Jones Playwriting Competition at the Firehouse Theatre in LaBelle, FL, in 2014 and 2015.

Thomasson is also a freelance writer–having written for GRAND magazine, Yesterday in Florida—where she won a 2005 Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award for her contributions to Florida history—and Eastside Venice Neighbors—where she authored monthly articles on Florida history. She is also a contributor to the Venice Gondolier.

Thomasson’s newest book, Forgotten Florida, tells the story of the earliest American settlers on Florida’s west coast, was released September 1, 2022. More information at saltmarshpublications.com.

 

August Speaker — Mary Lou Williams

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August 2022

Speaker: Mary Lou Williams
Workshop Topic: The Art and Craft of the Personal Story
August 20, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon

In person and Zoom meeting – Register Here

Mary Lou Williams
Location: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919


Note: Google maps or your GPS may direct you to the back of the building. The entrance to the parking lot is on South Point Blvd. between Quigley Eye Specialists and Buckets Restaurant.
Handout for Workshop

 

Using two tried and true techniques, the Memory Map and the “StoryBox,”
participants will learn a fun, easy way to pull numerous story ideas out of their
own personal life experiences and turn any one of them into a well-rounded tale.
Participants will leave the workshop with one new piece that will contain all the
bones of a good story. Whether a story lover, a family storyteller, a performing
teller, a writer or a public speaker – this workshop will help participants build their
repertoires, enhance any presentation and transform life experiences into spellbinding narratives.

What participants will get from this workshop:

  • The Memory Map technique for finding a personal story
  • The “StoryBox” technique for crafting a personal story
  • A new tale that contains all the bones of a good story

Mary Lou Williams is a retired teacher and a professional storyteller. She holds a masters degree in education from Columbia University.  She has served on the board of the Florida Storytelling Association and has produced local storytelling workshops and concerts featuring national tellers.  She is also a member of Toastmasters and has achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster award.  She has written a book of her stories called Ten Fractured Fairy Tales.  She is a member of The Storytellers of the Round Table, a quartet of storytellers that produce and perform storytelling showcases at the Sugden theatre in Naples and the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers and perform regularly at Brambles English Tea Room in Naples. She won first place in the Story Slam contest at the 2018 Florida Storytelling Festival and was a featured teller at the 2018 Stone Soup Festival, the official state storytelling festival of South Carolina.  She won first place in the District 48 Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest  on May 13, 2022.

Website: Story-Theatre.com

More about Mary Lou

September Speaker — Lucy Tobias

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September 2022

Speaker: Lucy Tobias
Topic: Capturing Undiscovered Florida in Words and Photos
September 17, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon

In person and Zoom meeting – Register Here

Lucy Tobias
Location: Map
Word of Life Church
6111 South Pointe Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33919


Note: Google maps or your GPS may direct you to the back of the building. The entrance to the parking lot is on South Point Blvd. between Quigley Eye Specialists and Buckets Restaurant.

Lucy Tobias will give a PowerPoint presentation of undiscovered Florida (translation — drop dead beautiful photos); she presents ways to combine photos, video, and audio to your stories.  How much of Florida still remains a mystery to some of us?

Lucy will bring magic and excitement to the podium.  One additional benefit you will obtain from this presentation is a short exercise on writing the “hook”– the all-important first sentence of any book!  In journalism, this valuable tool is called a “grabber.”

Lucy Tobias is an award-winning author and blogger who looks at life and finds humor, beauty, and reasons for hope.

Tobias is a former newspaper reporter for the New York Times Regional Group.  She writes narrative non-fiction – taking readers on a guided tour to undiscovered parts of Florida and beyond with her adventures augmented with photographs and illustrations.

Her book, The Zen of Florida Gardening, won first place in outdoor books in the excellence in crafts awards (2021) for the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.

Wednesday Notes, published in 2022, is her newest book.  A five-star review on Amazon said in part: “Wednesday Notes invites the reader to reflect on the moments of goodness and grace that happen in life. The author’s insights and wonderful sense of humor shine through. Written during the pandemic, there is a tenderness and authenticity that shines through. Lucy Tobias is a faithful, thoughtful, fun-loving friend in the journey of life.”

Tobias is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association, the Florida Outdoor Writers Association, and ABC Books Inc.

She lives in Sarasota, Florida, sharing space with one dog, two cats, and an ever-expanding group of goldfish.  Her weekly blog, Wednesday Notes (free), explores the profoundness of everyday life, and she hosts a podcast called Pivot Points that interviews people about turning points in their lives.

Her website is: www.LucyTobias.com

Handout #1

Handout #2

July Speaker — Charley Valera

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July 2022

Speaker: Charley Valera
Topic: Pitch Your Writing
July 16, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon
Charley Valera
Why do I need a pitch? It was a cold early winter afternoon at the Manchester airport. I was flying to NYC to discuss my recently published book, My Father’s War. As we were getting ready to board, we were told the flight would be delayed because a storm front stalled in our path, and we’d have to wait it out.
As some of us commiserated, the talk was about the necessity to arrive on time and why. One of my fellow commiserators asked me why I was heading to New York. I bumbled about a book I wrote, and, er, it was about some WWII veterans, and er, ahm, my father was in the war, and I had interviewed some veterans. My pitch was embarrassing, and at that point, I knew it. I asked him why he was going there, and he handed me his business card. He was the COO for Hudson News. Great! I sure messed that up. Had I been better prepared, would my book be in every airport in the country? Maybe, who knows. I sure blew my chance out the window. That’s why I needed a great pitch.

Charley Valera has appeared on NBC/NECN, WPRI and other TV outlets. He’s been featured in magazines, newspapers and radio throughout the country. Valera writes articles and blogs for various media on topics from WWII, real estate and aviation. My Father’s War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers covers both theaters and all branches of war during WWII.  This book features more than a hundred personal photos and stories from WWII veterans. A licensed commercial pilot, Realtor, author, filmmaker, public speaker, father of two boys and husband to Cheryl, they live in southwest Florida. He can be reached through www.charleyvalera.com.