| The Fond du Lac Area Writers
Frank Scotello, President Email address: scotello@thesurf.com |
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| The Fond du Lac Area Writers
Frank Scotello, President Email address: scotello@thesurf.com |
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This site was designed, written and edited by our Webmaster, John Silah of Image Associates.
It was updated on Saturday, July 5, 2008.
Links to sections, for quick site navigation:
The links are listed here in alphabetical order, from left to right, and then from top to bottom.
However, the sections below, to which these links refer, are not in alphabetical order.
| Acknowledgements | Featured Writing | ||
| Follow-Up | Guest Speakers | Leadership | Meeting Information |
| Meeting Schedule | News | Newsletter | |
| Welcome | What's Next? | ||
| Writing Opportunities | |||
Our next meeting will be our annual summer picnic:
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Date: |
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 |
| Times: | from approximately 6:00 P.M. until about 9:00 P.M. or so |
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Place: |
Lakeside Park, at the DeNeveu Shelter, on the corner of Harbor View Drive and Winnebago Drive, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935, U.S.A. (Directions: Take Park Avenue north to the park, and then turn right on Harbor View Drive) |
| Topic | The topic is fun. This is a social gathering. Bring a dish to pass and your own beverage. Alcohol is okay but no glass bottles are allowed in the park. Guests are welcome. Frank will bring plastic plates, cups, flatware and paper napkins for everyone. |
| Suggested Writing Exercise | You can bring something in particular, or your portfolio, to share with the group, but this get-together is always more about socializing. |
There are a few writing opportunities for writers in this area. The following two are good ones for writers who wish to hone their skills. Note: neither of these two are money-making opportunities, since neither pays anything for submissions.
Hospice Hope is looking for articles, poems, etc. for their newsletter, "Healing Thoughts." This is a newsletter designed to give acceptance, comfort and inspiration to those near the end of their lives, and to those coping with the loss of a loved one. The new editor is Frank Scotello. Frank will be taking submissions at all of our FdLAW club meetings and socials, as well as by email. Submissions do to have to be new; they can be anything appropriate, written any time.
The official newsletter for the Fond du Lac Area Writers club was called "The Writer's Wire." Anyone interested in editing a newsletter for us may propose it at any of our meetings. Originally it was printed or photocopied, however typically such a newsletter these days would more likely be done via email. Even that is not done much due to the availability of this web page.
Welcome to the Fond du Lac Area Writers. We have been in existence for over 24 years. If you have an interest in writing, especially in improving your own writing skills, this club exists for you. Our meetings are always free of charge, and open to everyone, members and non-members alike. We welcome everyone's attendance and participation in our monthly meetings. If you consider yourself to be a writer, or if you want to be one, you are invited!
Origin: "The Fond du Lac Area Writers was organized in September, 1983 after several local writers attended the Wisconsin Regional Writers Conference held in Fond du Lac in the spring of that year. The group banded together under the leadership of Lois Pflum, the club's president."
From Catherine Whittier Lewis' Introduction to "For the Love of Writing," 1985
Purpose: "The club exists to provide opportunities and support for those in the area who see writing as an art form in high standing. It is both a self-help group and a social club. More than anything, however, we are a collection of people who love to write..."
From Frank Scotello's Introduction to "Gathered Thoughts."
Books: So far the club has self-published two books that showcased some of our members' writings.
Our first book was titled "For the Love of Writing" (soft cover, 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch size, 53 pages, introduction by Catherine Whittier Lewis, illustrations by Brian Benz and June Fohl, $3.00, 1986.)
Our second book was "Thoughts and Feelings" (soft cover, 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch size, staple bound, 43 pages, edited by John Silah, illustrations by Angie Meyers, Catherine Lewis caricature by Dik Butler.)
Our third book will be called, "Gathered Thoughts" (probably soft cover, 5 1/2 inch by 8 1/2 inch size, saddle-stitched, Introduction by Frank Scotello, approximately 88 pages) *
* This third book has been "in the works" for a long time now. The project has been delayed by a few problems, but may still come to fruition.
Members: Our members are a diverse group. We represent many different ages and occupations. Some of us are published authors, and some of us are not. Of those who have been published, some are in national publications or books, some regional, and some local. What we all have in common is a need to express ourselves creatively, and a love of writing.
Dues: Annual. Payable in April of each year.
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Mail notification - Dues are $5.00 per year for those who wish to receive a postcard notification of our meetings. |
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Email notification - Dues are only $2.00 per year for those who do not want a postcard notification. Members can choose to be notified via email, and/or can simply check this website for our meeting information. |
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How to pay - Please make checks payable to Frank Scotello. Frank is at nearly all of our meetings. Cash works too! |
| Membership is optional - There are no costs for those who do not need to be notified of our meetings and don't wish to be an official member. Attendance at any of our meetings is always free. There are no dues or fees of any kind to attend the meetings. The dues are just for official membership, mostly to cover the costs of notification. (You can save some money by just checking this website instead! Unless you want the incalculable prestige of being an official member!) |
Leadership: Our past club Presidents have included:
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Lois Pflum, Co-Founder (with Catherine Whittier Lewis) and First President |
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Roman John "Romy" Lamers (1917-2006) |
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Frank Scotello, current President |
Guest Speakers: Some of our speakers over the years have included the following, listed below in alphabetical order by last name:
Judy Barizonzi, former instructor at the University of Wisconsin - Fond du Lac
Ed and Mary Bok, Producers of the "Community Showcase" local cable television series
Bill Draves, author of "Bits, Pieces and Reflections"
Tom C. "Tommy" Faris, of Tom Faris and Associates
Tom Gruenwald, author of "Hooked on Ice Fishing" (1995)
Karen Hartman, author of "Dream Catcher, the Legend and the Lady" (1994)
Mike Hatch, author of "Horseshoes and Nuclear Weapons" (1995)
Mike Hauser, author of "Write Down Thy Mind"
Scott Huelsman, author of the Computer Multi-Media Novel, "Convictions"
Rachel Knighten, Assistant Professor of World Languages
Clem "C. J." Koehler, author of "Profile" (1994) and "Mind Games" (1996)
Michael Mentzer, author of "The World of Owen Gromme," and "Fond du Lac County, Gift of the Glacier"
Randy Moreau, television promotions writer and Producer for Channels 26 and 32 in Green Bay
Linda Jane Niedfeldt, author of "Red as in Russia and Measles and Love" (1992) and "Green as in Springtime, New Life and God's Will"
Jan Ohlemacher, author of "Beloved Alcoholic" (1984) and "Desperate to Be Needed" (1990)
Alayne Peterson, English professor at UW-Fond du Lac
Tom Ramirez, writer for "the National Enquirer" magazine
Gail Renderman, author of "Don't Drive on the Sidewalk: Inspirations through the Detours of Life"
Frank Scotello, our current FdLAW President
Edward Sheehan of the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac
John Silah, playwright, "Frankenstein, A Gothic Romance" (2003)
Noreen Gilpatrick Smith, author of "The Piano Man" (1991), "Final Design" (1993), and "Shadow of Death" (1995)
Thomas C. "Tom" Smith, author of "Rommel" (1994)
Jill Stiemsma
Dr. Darold A. Treffert, author of "Mellowing," and "Extraordinary People" (1989)
Jane Weeks, author of "A Place Called Knowing: Discovering Your Identity in Christ."
W.R.W.A. - Some of our club members are also members of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association. Membership in this state-wide group is optional.
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Frequency |
Monthly, twelve meetings each year, counting our summer picnic and our Christmas party. |
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Day |
We meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The dates of our picnic and Christmas get-togethers may vary. |
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Place |
At Moraine Park Technical College, 235 North National Avenue, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935 U.S.A. |
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| Times | From 7:00 P.M. until approximately 9:00 P.M. | ||||
| Exceptions | Meetings are held every month, except for the following:
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| Agenda |
Our style - meetings are very loosely organized, and very casual. Everyone is invited. You do not have to be a club member to attend our meetings. Speakers - Sometimes we have a Guest Speaker. Assignments - Sometimes we have a suggested "assignment." Participation in these exercises is always optional. They are to give us some aspect of writing on which to focus, a little more incentive to write something, and something to share and to get feedback on. Ideally, we like to tie it into something that is going on at the time, such as a guest speaker, a holiday, or something in the news. Writer Report - A new feature of our meetings is to have one of our members give a report on a writer (or perhaps on a book.) Our goal is to have some fun while learning more about the writing process. All of our members are encouraged to spread the word, and bring a guest. |
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Date |
Agenda |
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April 2006 |
Topic for discussion - the future of the club. Dues month. |
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May 2006 |
Ross Purcell spoke about Moliere. Members wrote "The dumbest thing..." |
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June 2006 |
Alayne Peterson spoke on "The Blues - Form, Style and Themes." |
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July 2006 |
Picnic at Lakeside Park. A dozen members attended. Good food and fun. |
August 2006 |
Frank Scotello spoke about the old Italian Commedia dell'Arte. |
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September 2006 |
Gary Wetzel gave a moving talk about Leo Tolstoy. |
October 2006 |
Ghost stories (see below.) John Silah read three classic ghost poems. |
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November 2006 |
Rachel Knighten, spoke about Medieval Spanish Literature. |
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December 2006 |
Christmas Party. Rick Neis graciously donated a nice door prize. |
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January 2007 |
Topic: "Writing about self." Members wrote something about themselves. |
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February 2007 |
Topic: A continuation of "writing about yourself." Same writing exercise. |
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March 2007 |
Topic: Influences. We wrote about the person who influenced us the most. |
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April 2007 |
Publication of our book was discussed. Dues month. |
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May 2007 |
Ed Sheehan spoke about Dame Daphne du Maurier. |
June 2007 |
Open mic - our members read any of their writings that they wished to share. |
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July 2007 |
Our Annual Summer Picnic was held at the Pump Shelter in Lakeside Park. |
August 2007 |
Topic - Using the computer—things such as margins, drop capital letters, etc. |
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September 2007 |
Speaker Dean Wild spoke about science fiction, fantasy and horror. |
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October 2007 |
A follow-up to Dean Wild's topic, our writers wrote SF, fantasy, etc. |
November 2007 |
Frank Scotello spoke on the subject of "the novel." |
| December 2007 |
We held our annual Christmas Party at the Sunset Supper Club. |
| January 2008 | All about the novel: we continued our discussion from November. |
| February 2008 | We held a Creative Writing Workshop. Members shared their writings. |
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March 2008 |
Our guest speaker, Karl McCarty, spoke about his two books on the war in Iraq. |
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April 2008 |
A Writing Portfolio Workshop, about creating a portfolio of your writings. |
| May 2008 | Frank Scotello spoke about the topic, "What is poetry?" |
| June, 2008 |
Our topic was "Writing about someone you know." |
| Tuesday, July 22, 2008 |
Our annual summer picnic. For details, see News above. Ongoing suggested writing exercise -- write something for "Healing Thoughts," such as a poem, an article for Hospice Hope's monthly newsletter. |
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Coming |
Future speakers will include:
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We're always trying to arrange meeting topics that our members want to see. Some suggestions are listed below, in alphabetical order. Please let us know which of these, or what other topics, you would like to see covered at a future meeting. You may suggest them at our meetings, or email Frank or John.*
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Archetypes - Characters listed by Joseph Campbell, found to be common in most mythologies. who are they? Why are these characters so enduring? What did they represent? How do they compare with stereotypes? |
| Autobiographies - Should you write your own life story? How should you write it? |
| Biographies - |
| Blogs - Writing on-line, for all the world to see |
| Character-driven versus Plot-driven stories - Which should you use? Can you do both? |
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Children's literature - How do you write for kids? |
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Eulogies and obituaries - What should you write for a person's final rite? What should you avoid? |
| Family Histories - Should you write your own family history? What is the best way to write it? |
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Genres - What are the differences between categories such as Children's Books, Newspaper Column Writing, Eulogy or Obituary writing, Romance, Science Fiction or Westerns? How should your writing change for each genre? |
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Graphic Art Novels and/or Comic Books - |
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Guest Speakers - Do you know someone who has something published? Do you know someone who would be a good guest speaker for one of our meetings? |
| Illustrations - What types of illustrations are appropriate for your writings? |
| Inspirations - What inspires you to write? Art? Music? Other writings? |
| Letter Writing - How should you write letters to the newspaper editor? What about personal letters and emails? |
| Local Authors - An overview of books written by Fond du Lac area residents. |
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Motion Picture Screenplays - How do you write for the movies? |
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Science Fiction and/or Fantasy - How do you write science fiction and fantasy? What are the differences between them? |
| Styles - What are some of the different styles of writing? Which style should you choose for your project? How do you develop a style of your own? |
| Workshops - These are the meetings where we work on our writings. |
* Requests: Please email your suggestions or recommendations to our President, Frank Scotello at scotello@thesurf.com, or to our Webmaster, John Silah at jsilah@fdlct.com. Thanks for your input.
Acknowledgements - The Fond du Lac Area Writers has no official affiliation with Fond du Lac Community Theatre, but we would like to thank FdLCT and Dotnet Internet Services for helping our club by allowing our web page to be posted on their site.
Our webmaster is John Silah of Image Associates. John's email address is jsilah@fdlct.com.