WRWA Newsletter.pub - Wisconsin Writers Association

Board Decisions and Actions
by Boyd Sutton, based on Board Minutes by Robin Butler, Secretary
The WRWA Board of Directors has
met three times since the last summary,
on June 23 rd , and on September 22 nd and
24 th . In addition, your Board has begun
to conduct business via e-mail when
necessary, so some decisions and actions
are taken between formal Board meetings.
Each newsletter will include a
summary of key decisions and actions.
For additional information, please contact
the WRWA Secretary, Robin Butler.
Beginning with the spring 2007 edition
of The Wisconsin Regional Writer,
the Board will publish the Association’s
annual Income and Expense report so all
members can have access to that information.
The Spring 2007 Conference will be
May 5, 2007, at the Holiday Inn in
Manitowoc. The Fall Conference will be
September 28-29, 2007, at the Voyaguer
Inn in Reedsville. The Writers’ Roundtable
will be held starting at 6:30 p.m.
on Friday evenings for those who come
Friday. The Board decided to begin its
regular semiannual meetings at 1 p.m. so
Board members have plenty of time to
conduct a full business meeting and so
that members who wish to do so can
attend the Writers’ Roundtable on Friday
evening.
A formal policy for Honorary Lifetime
Membership was approved and is
presented on page 13 of this newsletter.
Jim Williams and Jack Magestro will
act as an Ad Hoc committee to investigate
ways in which WRWA members
can financially support the mission of
WRWA through such avenues as wills,
memorials, endowments, etc., and will
report to the Board at a future meeting.
If any members have experience or specific
thoughts along these lines, please
contact Jim or Jack.
Effective immediately, the Board will
meet formally in person only in conjunction
with the Spring and Fall Conferences,
unless there is a special reason to
have an additional in-person meeting.
As much business as possible will be
conducted via e-mail in order to speed
up decisions and actions. The Secretary
will retain a written record of such business
and will report it in conjunction
with the minutes of the semiannual inperson
meetings. Members should raise
issues requiring Board attention to any
Board member.
Starting with the 2007 Spring Conference
and continuing thereafter, the cutoff
for conference registration will be
five days before the hotel requires a final
meal count. That will make the cutoff
dates a little earlier than they have
been. The Registration Chair, Jane Osypowski,
suggested that the Board look
into the possibility of accepting credit
Page 19
cards for conference registration and
meal fees.
The Family Membership fee was increased
from $30 to $35. All other membership
fees remain the same, subject to
review next September.
A committee was established to implement
the proposal, approved at the
General Meeting on Saturday, September
23 rd , to establish a First Chapters
contest. As he made the proposal, Boyd
Sutton will chair the committee. Additional
members are Claudia Anderson,
Jeffifer Turner, and David Rank. Anyone
who wishes to express an idea or
viewpoint on a First Chapters contest
should contact one of the committee
members. The committee’s implementation
plan will be delivered to the Board
for action in early 2007.
Roxanne Aehl, Robin Butler, Barb
Jensen, and Jim Williams were welcomed
as new Board members. Their
terms expire in September 2010, The
Board elected officers to the following
positions, their terms as Board officers
(not Board members) to expire in 2008:
Don Schambow, Predident; Nate
Scholze, Vice President; Robin Butler,
Secretary; Jim Williams, Treasurer.
The next regular Board meeting will
be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 4 th ,
2007, at the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc.
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Just the FAQs by J.R. Turner
Q. Do I need an outline for my novel, or is it okay to just write the book
A. Writing anything is so subjective, it would be unfair of me to dictate which style is best for any author. The rule of thumb is to
write the way that most inspires and excites you. However, there are pros and cons to writing with or without an outline. Writing
free form can lead to confusion, difficulty in creating a concise plot, and character mistakes—such as blue eyes in chapter one and
grey eyes in chapter seven. On the other hand there are those who, once they’ve completed an outline, feel the story is already
written and they lose the excitement of seeing the book unfold before them.
I recommend playing with different approaches until you find one that suits you. I found an outline with Roman numerals and
chapter headings too constrictive for my tastes. Eventually I developed a way to free-write, while still having a simply structured
synopsis to follow. Study different styles of outlining, how to draft a synopsis, and visit author Web sites or read biographies,
preferably in styles that resonate with you. Other options may be using a “book bible,” which is a compilation of scene summaries
written once the scene is completed or keeping charts that maintain important details about your characters. Many character chart
templates can be found online and in writing how-to books. Try combining different aspects until you discover what works best
for you.
Have a question for award winning author J.R. Turner Send an email, subject heading to Just the FAQs, to jturner4@charter.net
or snail mail J.R. Turner at 3135 Bush st. Stevens Point, WI 54481 We’d love to hear from you!