CCMWG 2009-2010 Meeting Information:
This year the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild Meetings will be held at Orr St. Studios, unless otherwise noted. For more information on Orr St. Studios, go to http://orrstreetstudios.com/orr_history.htm
See map for directions.
Orr Street Studios are not on the corner of Walnut and Orr Street, as map quest driving directions suggest. The studios are a bit down the block on Orr Street. There is a new neon sign, so look east when you are driving on Orr Street, and you will see a striking gray structure with many windows, trimmed in red. This is the place!
Get Inspired at our Monthly Meetings!
Mark Your Calendars and reserve these dates ... we're planning many great speakers, so don't miss out!
The Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild normally meets the first Sunday of each month. Please confirm dates, times, and place by checking the schedule below before each meeting.
The meetings run from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Each begins with a brief business meeting followed by either a speaker, workshop, or critique group. Recent speakers have brought us programs on poetry, copyright law, mystery writing, self-publishing, submitting non-fiction to magazines, marketing, and writing science fiction.
We alternate speakers with small group critiques for prose (short stories), poetry, non-fiction and novel. This format encourages writers to build on their strengths with respectful help from other writers who recognize that each person has an individual voice and unique life experiences. Go to the Groups page of this web site to find the critique guidelines.
All meetings are free and open to the public, with the following exceptions:
- September is a members’ only meeting.
Our annual conference, which takes place around the first Saturday in November, requires registration and a fee.
Visit the Groups page for information about special interest group (SIG) meetings sponsored by the Chapter.
2009 Meeting Schedule:
December 13, 2009 - (Date Changed) Celebration with readings and snacks
2010 Meeting Schedule:
January 3, 2010 - Bridget Bufford - Creating Characters with Archetypes
Bridget Bufford, a St. Louis native, now lives in mid-Missouri. She works part-time for Superior Garden Center, leads creative writing workshops, and offers writing classes through the Columbia Area Career Center. Minus One: A Twelve Step Journey (Haworth Press/Alice Street Editions) is her first novel; excerpts have been featured in The Harrington Lesbian Literary Quarterly, Pillow Talk II, Body Check, and Writing Alone & With Others. Bufford’s poems and essays have appeared in several anthologies and journals. She has a BHS in Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
February 7, 2010 - Critique
March 7, 2010 - Jim Muench - The Art of the News Release
In today’s world of 24-hour news and information, many viewers and readers give little thought to where their news comes from. They either believe that news simply happens or that it originates with reporters. However, most stories begin as news releases, often peddled by public relations people, the salespeople in the free market of ideas.
Jim Muench, a local public relations consultant, has more than 20 years experience in the public relations game. Before trying his luck as a free-lance writer and public relations consultant, he honed his media relations writing skills as a salaried PR person, serving as science writer for the MU News Bureau, director of public relations at Westminster College, public information director for the state’s Division of Energy and director of communications for the Department of Economic Development.
In “The Art of the News Release,” Muench will pass on the secrets of writing effective news releases that translate into good stories in the media.
May 2, 2010 - Sharon Hanson - Theme-based Memoir.
Sharon Kinney Hanson
B.A. English/Journalism and Professional Writing
M.Ed., Instructional Media: Television and Film
Sharon began her writing career in East ST. Louis, Illinois at age seven when she composed, bound, and illustrated a short story. It was a fictionalized biography that featured her dog Sox. She soon turned her talent toward art, photography, and poetry. In college and in later life her poems appeared in various literary journals, among them River Styx, Helicon Nine, and The Sou'wester. Her first professional feature article was purchased by her hometown newspaper, The East St. Louis Journal.
Upon graduating from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, she accepted a copy editor position for a St. Louis publishing house, and later accepted a writing position for that alma mater's publication office, and later still, assumed the managing editorship of Florida's Elegance Magazine. When she returned to the Midwest, Sharon established a small press business in Jefferson City, Missouri; it was about that time that she joined the Missouri Writers Guild and eventually served this organization in various offices.
Sharon has written op eds, features, and book reviews for Bloomsbury Review, The Ruminator, Missouri Magazine, Columbia Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, area business journals, and other publications.
Her biography, The Life of Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash, was published by Southern Illinois University Press (Carbondale, in 2004). Other titles are: Katy Trail: From Jefferson City to Boonville (1992); Art Museums & Galleries in Missouri (1994), She was senior editor of the anthology titled Memories & Memoirs (2000); editor of Tyrant's Tears (1990, poems by Betty Cook Rottmann), and senior editor of Missouri Women Writers (1987).
Currently, Sharon is writing and researching a theme-focused, non-fiction work about orphanage- and fostercare-children, and also compiling a collection of her poetry, titled Lifelines.
CCMWG will hold a Book Signing, Well Versed: Literary Works 2010 & Books by CCMWG Members, Author readings at 2:30 P.M. The Public is Invited
July 11, 2010 - Chloie Piveral - He Said, She Said - Tricks to Improve Dialogue.
Chloie Piveral is a writer, editor, and workshop leader. She is the muse in Sensible Muse Services, specializing in writing workshops and creative content editing. Her editing resume includes the New York Times Bestseller, “If I Am Missing or Dead” by Janine Latus. Each year, Chloie guides a select group of writers through her 8-month long novel writing boot camp, the I CAN (Complete A Novel) workshop series. She is also founding partner of Piveral-Brooks PR, a Public Relations firm for published authors. In 1992 Chloie received her BFA in Performance Theatre from the University of Missouri, where her keen ear for the spoken word was refined. Her works have appeared in The Mid-America Poetry Review, Well Versed and The Columbia Business Times.
Does your dialogue drag? Is it clunky or stilted? Do you have trouble even knowing where to begin? Or do you just wish you had a few tricks to tweak your form? Fix these problems and more at a fun dialogue workshop.
Come hear the Sensible Muse talk July 11th from 2-4pm at Orr St. Studios; He Said, She Said-Tricks to Improve Dialogue, presented by The Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild.
September 12, 2010 - Members Only Meeting
October 3, 2010 - Critique
Fall Conference - October 23,2010 Columbia College
November Meeting - Replaced by conference
December - Celebration with Readings and snacks