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Spotlight Archives

The following people presented information at one of our workshops or lectures:

August 2 Rebecca Carron & Brad Cook's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Feed Your Head: What Good Writers Should Read To Become Great Writers" (pdf*)
July 18-20 Doreen Hulsey's Online Seminar:
Spotlight: "Establishing Your Internet Presence: Using Your Own Website and/or the SLWG Website to Advance Your Writing Career" (pdf*)

July 12 Harvey Stanbrough's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Writing Effective Dialogue and Electric Narrative" (pdf*)

June 7 Walter Bargen's Workshop:
Spotlight: "The First Line is the Poem" (pdf*)

May 15 Kevin M. Mitchell's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Deadly Serious: The Craft of Being Funny on the Page" (pdf*); Forward from St. Louis Dad (pdf*)

May 3 Demian Franworth and Shawn McDonald's Workshop:
Spotlight: "The Art of Blogging for the Writer" and "The Top Ten Interent Resources" (pdf*)

Apr. 5 Harvey Stanbrough's Lecture:
Spotlight: "The Nature of Poetry: Structure and Sound" (pdf*); Handout (pdf*)

Mar. 20 Judy Merrill Larsen's Lecture:
Spotlight: "7 YEARS + 300 REJECTION LETTERS = ONE PUBLISHED NOVEL!" (pdf*); Handout (pdf*)

Mar. 1 Missouri Writers Guild's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Networking Secrets for the Professional (or Would-Be Professional) Writer" (pdf*)

Feb. 2 Bobbi Smith's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Publishing from A to Z" (pdf*); Prologue and chapter one from her book Lawless, Texas (pdf*)

Jan. 17, 2008 Qiu Xiaolong's Lecture:
Spotlight: “Distance & Perspective in Writing” (pdf*)

Jan. 5 Joanne Waldman's Workshop:
Spotlight: "From To Do to TA-DA! Overcoming Blocks & Barriers to Reach Your Goals" (pdf*); Handouts: "From To Do to TA-DA"; "Values Game" (pdf*)

Nov. 15 Barri Bumgarner's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Inspired by the Dark -- Let Fear Work for You!" (pdf*); Excerpt from Dregs (pdf*)

Nov. 3 Julie Failla Earhart's Workshop:
Spotlight: "First Sentence Expectations" (pdf*)

Oct. 18 Eleanor Sullivan's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Building Tension: The Secret to Super Story-Telling." (pdf*)

Sep. 20 John Lutz's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Fresh, but Familiar: What Editors Want and How to Turn Genre Writing to Your Advantage" (pdf*)

Sep. 8 Dwight Bitikofer 's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Revving Up Your Read! ~ Live Performance Skills for Writers" (pdf*) Check out a couple of Dwight’s poems: click here (pdf*)

July 7 Mark Sableman's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Beyond Myths and Old Wives' Tales: Copyright, Contracts, and Law for Writers" (pdf*)

June 2 Ryan D. Jones and Julie Failla Earhart's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Convince Your Readers You Know What You're Talking About (Whether You Do or Not): Tips on Effective Research for Writers of All Genres" (pdf*)

May 17 Bobbi Linkemer's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Forget About Fame: Confessions of a Ghost Writer" (pdf*)

May 5 Dick Weiss's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Some Things Change; Storytelling Remains The Same" (pdf*)

Apr. 19 Richard Beban's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Thirteen Things Every Writer Should Know : A Baker's Dozen of Tips That Will Definitely Improve the Quality of Your Work and Help you Entice the Kind of Readers You Deserve" (pdf*) Curricula Vitae (pdf*) Handouts (pdf*)

Apr. 7 Patsy Zettler's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Quotes and Anecdotes: How to Get Them, Use Them, and Not Abuse Them" (pdf*) Workbook Handout (pdf*)

Mar. 22 Dan Dillon's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Picking Up the Pieces: How I Turned a Failed Project into a Successful Book" (pdf*)
Mar. 3 Margo Dill-Balinski's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Creating Success--Steps Designed to Take Your Work More Seriously" (pdf*)

Feb. 15 Richard Burgin's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Literary Symbolism in Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily' " (pdf*)

Feb. 3 Suzann Ledbetter's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Who-Dunnit Mystery" (pdf*)

Jan. 18, 2007 David Meltzer, John Brandi, and Michael Castro's Lecture:
Spotlight: "NEO BEAT ATTITUDES: A Convergence of Beat Poets" (pdf*)
Jan. 6, 2007 Julie Hood's Workshop:
Spotlight: “Ready, Set, Go! How to Set Achievable Writing Goals for 2007” (pdf*)
Read a chapter of her book The Organized Writer (pdf*)

Nov. 16 Ridley Pearson's Lecture:
Spotlight: “Stranger Than Fiction: Stories of Ridley Pearson’s career,
including how one of his novels helped to solve a homicide and jail a killer!”
(pdf*)

Nov. 4 Valerie Vogrin 's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Finishing Lines: How and When to End Your Story.” (pdf*)
Read an excerpt from Valerie Vogrin’s novel, Shebang.
Handout1, Handout2 (pdf*)

Oct. 19 Mary Troy's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Loving the Unlovable: How to Be True to Your Characters” (pdf*)
Excerpt from "In the Sky Lord," a brand new short story by Mary Troy
Listen to an audio interview: "New Letters On The Air" interview and reading. (Uses Windows Media Player)
Sept. 21 Rick Skwiot's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Structuring the Memoir” (pdf*)
Sept. 9 Carol O'Dell's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Critiques: How to Dish ‘em Out and Take ‘em!” (pdf*)
Handout (pdf*)

Aug. 5 Paul Thiel leading a panel discussion for Workshop:
Spotlight: “What is good writing? Let’s Argue!” (pdf*)
June 15 Susan McBride's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Breaking the Rules: How to Write What You Love and Sell Big!" (pdf*)
June 3 Patricia Corrigan's Workshop:
Spotlight: “Deadline is My Middle Name: Insights from a Veteran Newspaper Reporter, Freelance Feature Writer, and Book Author” (pdf*);
Handout1
, Handout2, Handout3 (pdf*)
May 18 Ron Bechtel's Lecture:
Spotlight: "The Emerging Opportunities for Authors in Screen Adaptations" (pdf*)
May 6 Ruth-Miriam Garnett's Workshop:
Spotlight: “Poetry: It’s Hard Out Here For A Metaphor” (pdf*); Flyer (pdf*)
Apr. 20 Richard Newman's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Last Ones Standing: The Resilience of Successful Writers" (pdf*)
Apr. 1 Julie Failla Earhart's Workshop:
Spotlight: “Copyrights and Wrongs? How to Protect Your Work No Matter How You Publish It” (pdf*)
Story: "Affair on Crozat Street"
Mar. 16 Mark Tiedemann's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Why 1984 is Literature, But Star Troopers is Not” (pdf*)
Mar. 4 Dorry Pease's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Keep Your Audience Enthralled: Techniques to Show, Don't Tell" (pdf*)
Handout1, Handout2, Handout3 (pdf*)
Feb. 16 John Dalton's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Beginnings: Essential Qualities of a Good First Chapter" (pdf*)
Handouts (pdf*)
Feb. 4 Denise Pattiz Bogard's Workshop:
Spotlight: “Jump-starting a Novel” (pdf*)
Handouts (pdf*)
Jan. 19 Michael Castro's Lecture:
Spotlight: "A Poet's Odyssey" (pdf*)
Jan. 7 Donna Volkenannt's Workshop:
Spotlight: "How to Get the Most Out of
Writing Conferences, Contests, and Critique Groups"
(pdf*)
Dec. 3 Doris Mueller 's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Insights into Writing for Children" (pdf*)
Nov. 17 John Bricuth (Pen name for John T. Irwin) Lecture:
Spotlight: “When an Author is Also an Editor” (pdf*)
Nov. 5 Mary Menke's Workshop:
Spotlight: "5 + 5: Critique Session for SLWG Members" (pdf*)
Oct. 20 Richard Burgin's Lecture:
Spotlight: "What Editors Want" (pdf*)
Oct. 1 Cathi LaMarche's Workshop:
Spotlight: So You've Written the Great American Novel—Now What? (pdf*)
Sept. 15 A Celebration of St. Louis Writing (85th anniversary dinner):
Spotlight: A Celebration of St. Louis Writing (pdf*)
Sept. 3 Mary Menke's Workshop:
Spotlight: "5 + 5: Critique Session for SLWG Members" (pdf*)
Aug. 18 Daniel Fenton's Lecture:
Spotlight: "The Playwright’s Process—From Idea to Script" (pdf*)

Newsletter article: "Daniel Fenton: Playwright Encourages Playing with Writing" by Ruth Begnaud (pdf*)


Aug. 6 Shirley Kennett Workshop:
Spotlight: "Writing and Marketing a Mystery" (pdf*)

Newsletter article: "Unraveled: Clues to Successful Mystery Writing" by Erica Streid (pdf*)


June 16 Robert Nazarene's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Writer’s Block: Fact or Fiction?" (pdf*)

Newsletter (poem): "The Writer: A Sestina, Inspired by Robert Nazarene" by Julia Gordon-Bramer (pdf*)
June 4 Edward Boccia's Workshop:
Spotlight: "Listening and Seeing: Poetry and Painting" (pdf*)

Handout (pdf* - please note that this is a very large file and will take some time to download.)

Newsletter article: "Ed Boccia's Gifts: Written Pictures & Painted Words" by Virginia Price (pdf*)


May 19 Michael Erbschloe's Lecture:
Spotlight: "Getting Beyond the Idea: How to Make your Non-Fiction Book Sizzle" (pdf*)
The River Road Journal (pdf* premiere issue - this is an exclusive offering to the St. Louis Writers Guild from the publisher)

Newsletter article: "Michael Erbschloe: Multi-faceted Author Provides Perspective on Writing" by Virginia Price (pdf - scroll down to the article)
May 7 Linda Senn's Workshop:
Spotlight: "How to Write Fascinating Memoirs" (pdf*)
Handout (pdf*)

Newsletter article: "Fascinating Workshop on Writing Fascinating Memoirs" by Peggy Haldeman (pdf - scroll down to the article)
Apr. 21, 2005 Michael Kahn,
"How to Get Started Without Getting Taken."

Newsletter article: "Michael Kahn: Worth Standing Up For" by Peggy Haldeman (pdf - scroll down to the article)

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