Dorothea Helms is coming on April 3!

The Uxbridge Writers' Circle members are excited that Dorothea Helms (aka The Writing Fairy) will be joining us on April 3 to share some of her wisdom and, we hope, to scatter some fairy dust. If you are not a member and are interested in attending, contact Vicky Earle at vickyearle@gmail.com.
We members will bring our questions and are sure to be motivated to write on!
Depending on Dorothea's schedule, we might have time for our word challenge. April's words are: private; heritage; labyrinth; neon; rat.
What a great way to launch into spring!
To check out our blog; go to uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca

Ted Barris Inspired Us!

We were honoured to welcome Ted to our meeting on February 6.

Ted has a great website at www.tedbarris.com where you will find an extensive biography.

Ted has authored 18 bestselling non-fiction books and has received numerous prestigious awards (please go to his website for more information on Ted).

Ted shared some of his experiences as a writer, which inspired us all. I made a few notes to share with members who weren’t able to attend.

• ·         Writing is half the battle, selling is the other half
• ·         The key to non-fiction is to have an uniqueness which illustrates your strength in a particular subject/area of interest
• ·         Focus on something in your writing which demonstrates your expertise and knowledge – even in fiction
• ·         Prove yourself repeatedly in a realm of expertise
• ·         Radio is still surviving – connect to talk shows. Each day they are looking for material. Getting exposure on radio will build your credibility and profile, and increase your media literacy
• ·         Every author should have a website. It helps to develop a profile. Wordpress is a good tool for website development and management
• ·         Fire Canoe: McClelland and Stewart saw an article in the paper and followed up with Ted
• ·         When pitching an idea for a book: provide sample chapter, table of contents, who you are and why you are the person suited to write the book
• ·         Present an idea that’s unique
• ·         Are there any days of significance/anniversaries/celebration which can be a hook for your story?
• ·         I don’t like to write a manuscript unless I know where I’m going with it
• ·         Each chapter has a different focus, but they are usually in chronological order – more or less in sequence
• ·         Start your book with a “bang”
• ·         If you have an outline, it can provide the publisher with some confidence or reassurance that you know what you’re doing
• ·         Legitimate publishing is desirable, but self-publishing might be more reachable and feasible. Friesen has a wing of their printing company that offers self-publishing services
• ·         Believe in good quality and building a readership using a legitimate publisher
• ·         I have never had an agent but use a lawyer’s services for my contracts
• ·         Have used the services of the The Writers’ Union of Canada and of the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada – they provide some guidance on the content of contracts, for example
• ·         Smaller publishing companies look for new writers
• ·         Agencies look on new writers favourably
• ·         There are grants available to writers, including through the Canada Council
• ·         I pay a student to transcribe the interviews I conduct (usually with veterans and their families)
• ·         I still use paper a lot. My desk has transcripts, a laptop, reference books, dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus
• ·         It is imperative that a writer no plagiarize
• ·         Archives in Ottawa: due to staffing cuts, it is best to visit. It is not possible to search on-line and phoning them is no longer helpful
• ·         If you are contemplating writing a book, it might be best to consider getting an article/story published first. This serves as a stepping stone to credibility. Think smaller and then bigger
• ·         Review the magazine(s) to identify style, how they handle articles/stories – and tailor to their readership
• ·         Be braver!!

Ted Barris: Special Guest at February 6 Meeting

Ted Barris has kindly accepted the Uxbridge Writers' Circle invitation to come to our next meeting. He is well known and highly respected, especially in this community. Ted is the recipient of numerous awards for his writing and we are excited that he will be sharing some of his experiences as a writer with us. As always, non-members are welcome to join us. Our meeting is scheduled for 1pm in the large boardroom, Uxbridge Arena. Please email vickyearle@gmail.com.
See you then!

Fun With Word Challenges!

Rosemarie Dawson-Hill has written a great story using the words for the December challenge. You can find it by clicking on the "Word Challenges" page. Enjoy!
The February words are: seaweed; burro; spurt; leather; gaseous; harlequin. 
We enjoy hearing each other's poems/stories/memoirs/songs using the member-selected words each month. It never ceases to amaze us how different each piece of writing is! It's a lot of fun, and motivating as well! Check out the "Word Challenges" page to find ones from different members for the same month: www.uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca

Writers' Circle Meeting Dates for 2018

See the page "dates of meetings" for 2018 posted on our blog.
We're looking forward to a productive and fun year of writing and sharing. The first meeting is on January 2 and one of the pieces members will be sharing is a story/poem/memoir based on these words: dog-eared; rambunctious; crackers; spark; waterfall; stray. We never cease to be amazed at the exciting variety of stories members create from the same list of words!
Keep checking uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca for samples.
Happy New Year and Happy Writing!

Last Word Challenge for 2017!

Members of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle are poised to write their final piece for 2017. Participants are welcome to write a short story, poem, lyrics for a song, memoir, non-fiction or any other creative piece using all of the following words: relief; pole-axed; bottle; daisy; temperamental; lost.
Or we can simply listen and enjoy others' contributions.
We meet the first Tuesday of each month (all twelve!) at 1pm in the Uxbridge Arena. If you can't join us, then sign up to receive an email each time we post something new, such as samples of our members' word challenges, as well as other fun things like quizzes.
Happy writing!

Our Favourite Books!

We're starting a list of our favourite books - click on "Our Favourite Books!" above (uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca).
We'll be adding more!
We hope you're trying your (writing) hand at our monthly word challenges: the words for November are: nurse; trite; habitual; sling shot; conniving; disingenuous; signature.