rivervalleywriters

       I want to tell everyone that attended the March 10, 2007 workshop at Talianos that it was a great success. It was all about writing, and our goal was to inform, as well as entertain people with an interest in literary things.
     Joyce Rapier spoke about where she finds her inspiration for her stories and poems, and offered suggestions for ways other writers might find inspiration from people, places and things they encounter in their daily lives.
     Abbe' Alice Kay Horton spoke about Time Management, and shared tips and offered suggestions for ways people can find time to write, even in their busiest days.
     Ralph Moore, who has been hospitalized recently, came to participate in the program. He shared his inspirational story of how he found River Valley Writers and began to seriously pursue getting his work published.
     Mext, I tried to offer some insight into what lies ahead for aspiring authors. While I vigorously encourage everyone that wants to write to do so, I also try to illustrate that writing is a serious business if you want to earn any money doing what you love.
     Then, Tina Dale, Features Editor for The Southwest Times spoke on her career in journalism.
     Talianos served up a fantastic buffet luncheon, and the noon hour was a chance to socialize while enjoying the food.
     Linda Seubold, publisher of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, was the Guest Speaker at 1:00 pm. She shared some anecdotes about her journalistic endeavors that eventually led to starting her own publication. At the end of her program, Mayor Ray Baker appeared out of nowhere as he so often does, and presented Linda with a rose and a declaration that March 10, 2007 was Linda Seubold Day in Fort Smith, AR. She was also issued a Community Service Award. The mayor honored the River Valley Writers with a declaration that we ruled the day, as well.
     Barbara Rogers, who did an excellent job as emcee for the event, spoke on Visitation To The Vultures' Eye. She said that Poe wrote the perfect metaphor in "The Tell-tale Heart". She was energetic and involved the young people in the audience in her presentation.
     Rosemary Webb displayed her three-ring binder and offered tips on ways to assemble and manage your research and materials. Then she introduced Don Watts who spoke about his writing workshop on recording family history.
     Herschel Parker is a songwriter. Most songs are written verse set to music. He performed some of his work, which is very good.
     Marjorie Harp talked about naming characters. She had some very interesting suggestions on ways to develop interesting character names.
     A young member from the audience named Dylan came forward and performed two really good songs that he had written. Seriously, he is very reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and told us his mother had named him after the legend. It was very exciting to see the talented youths in the audience. Irvin Martinez, a thirteen-year-old aspiring author, was able to answer several questions about classical literature asked by Barbara Rogers.
     To complete the day, we offered poets an opportunity to read some of their work, and several participated in that. A brief Author Fest followed that, and then a tired bunch of writers headed for home.
     We hope to repeat this event annually, and get bigger and better every year. I want to thank the Planning Committee who worked so tirelessly on this, and also thank the people who helped behind the scenes. They were invaluable.

I invite everyone to come to the monthly meetings of River Valley Writers. Hope to see you there!

Karen Brewer

Chairperson