September Newsletter

Our September Write On! Meeting on Blog Talk Radio is on Wednesday, September 15 at 8 pm Pacific/11 pm Eastern. Call in or listen online.

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Concentrate on your craft without leaving Los Angeles. Join writing coach Debra Eckerling, creator of WriteOnOnline.com and WriteOnTrackLA.com, for a Writing Retreat in LA, Monday nights, starting the end of September. Details and register here.

Support the Blogs of Write On! Members. Add your blog by commenting on this post. You can also post your blog link on the Facebook page. Thanks!

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Congratulations to the winners of the Write On! Summer Challenge: “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”

1st Place: John Bezpiaty – Posted on Write On! Online

2nd Place: Cara Holman

3rd Place: Belinda Paez

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Congratulations to Laurie Dinnerstein, September winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your October goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win an iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post your October Goals here. Thanks!

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THE SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE: SHORT FICTION & NON-FICTION/ESSAY QUERY CONTEST

Remember those article and short-story queries you promised yourself you would submit this year? Now, you have an extra reason to sit down and work on them. Author Wendy Burt-Thomas, The Writers Digest Guide to Query Letters, will select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from the finalists!

PRIZES

First Place: A medium-length (or 21,000 word) one-reader iScript (an iScript is a digital recording of a manuscript, read by an actor)

Second Place: A 20-minute writing-coaching session with Debra Eckerling, Write On Track LA via Skype or phone

Third Place, eBooks, courtesy of VBT: Writers on the Move’s Carolyn Howard-Johnson (author of the acclaimed HowToDoItFrugally series): The Frugal Editor and The Great First Impression Book Proposal.

Email your query in the body of an email to Debra@WriteOnOnline.com by Thursday, September 30. Winners will be announced on Monday, October 11, 2010, and in the October Write On! Newsletter. For complete submission guidelines go to the website.

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Please note: I will send an email confirmation within a few days of receiving a submission. If you submit and do not hear from me, please message me on Facebook or send an email to my alternate address. Thanks!

EVENTS
On Thursday, September 16 celebrate The Writers Store‘s move to Burbank at the Grand Opening Celebration. Details on Facebook. Lots of Michael Wiese Productions authors planning to attend the event, including Sheldon Bull, Michele Wallerstein, and Pamela Jaye Smith, several who have been posted/interviewed on Write On! Online. Then, check out Screenwriter Karaoke, which starts at 8:30 pm, at Sardo’s Sardo’s Grill and Lounge, 259 N. Pass Ave., in Burbank, California. Write On! spoke with creator Merrel Davis during the Great American PitchFest. Watch the video interview for more info. RSVP here.

Becoming Jimi Hendrix release party with co-authors Brad Schreiber and Steve Roby from 7:30 to 9:30 pm on Friday, September 17, at Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave, Los Feliz, for a guitar raffle, reading, PowerPoint presentation of rare Jimi photos, and Q and A.

The next Dream It, Then Do It “Power Lunch” with Debra Eckerling and Marla Martenson on Blog Talk Radio from 11 am – 11:30 am Pacific Time/2 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 22. Marla will be out of town, so Deb will be flying solo. Listen. Call in. Learn. Here’s the link!

Debra Eckerling will be speaking about Connecting on Twitter at the at the Westside LA TweetUp for Networking Professionals on September 29 in Santa Monica. Then, on October 5 will be leading a panel of how writers are using real-time web/twitter at the The #140 Character Twitter Conference;the event runs October 4 – 5 in Hollywood.

Chicagoans, Facets’ second annual Fright School is coming up this October. Beginning October 1, Facets is showing a horror film every Friday and Saturday at midnight. Each film will be introduced by a staff member who will hang around into the wee hours for a Q&A. The session ends on October 30 with the silent version of House of Usher, which will be accompanied by a live, original rock score. For more info, go to http://www.facets.org/pages/nightschool.php.

ONGOING
Scriptchat was created for the purpose of bringing new and seasoned screenwriters together to learn and grow. Since screenwriters are global, Scriptchat has two chats each Sunday: 8pm GMT is EURO #scriptchat, moderated by Mina Zaher (@DreamsGrafter) and 8pm EST, moderated by Jeanne Veillette Bowerman (@jeannevb). The same topic is discussed at both chats., and the topic changes every week. Remember, Script Chat is a community, not competitors. Everyone has something to learn . All transcripts are posted on the blog, as well as tons of screenwriting resources: http://www.scriptchat.com.

Want to hear your work read? AltScreenPlay meets on Thursdays, starting at 8 pm at Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA, and is moderated by Matt Byrnes, mbbyrnes@gmail.com. Readings begin in the order in which the author arrived. Bring 1-10 pages of your screenplay, and make enough copies for each role. No RSVP necessary. Feel free to sit in without bringing any material of your own.

The Los Angeles Public Library now has a Screenwriters Workshop four Saturdays a month at different branches, from 10:30 am – 12 pm, and every Sunday in the Farmers Market community room from 3 – 5 pm, hosted by Sasha Karova. Learn format and workshop original material (screenplays, 1/2 hour sitcom, and 1/2 hour and 1 hour episodic) with an open reading or read-through. Open reading is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please RSVP to WritersUnblock@aol.com.

Meditation Friday Nights at The Learning Garden the 2nd Friday of the month. Meditation begins promptly at 8:00 pm. Please dress in layers and bring a blanket and cushion to sit on. Meditation lasts about 40 minutes around a fire in the peaceful surroundings of the Garden. Donations go to The Learning Garden. For more information contact Camille at (310) 382-4323.

WRITE ON!
Our September Write On! Meeting on Blog Talk Radio is on Wednesday, September 15 at 8 pm Pacific/11 pm Eastern. Call in or listen online.

The October Write On! Meeting on Blog Talk Radio will be October 13 at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern. Please send 2-3 line newsletter items to Debra@WriteOnOnline.com by October 11. Post your October Goals on Write On! Online.

Write On! Online has new content Monday through Friday.

Mondays – Write On! Reviews:
This feature rotates between TV with Phillip Ramati; Film – Maria Fotopoulos; Tyler Weaver’s Tech; and Writing Resources with Jeanne Veillette Bowerman. Last week, we had guest Melody Lopez review actor Danny Trejo, Machete.

Tuesdays – Author Q&As:
Magdalena Ball, The Compulsive Reader
Brad Schreiber, Becoming Jimi Hendrix
Pamela Jaye Smith, Symbols*Images*Codes
Paula Bruno, Come Hell or High Water
Brandon Stauber, The Wine Spies

Write On! Wednesdays – Send 2-3 line upcoming events to Debra@WriteOnOnline.com

Thursday Expert Columns:
Playwriting by Laura Shamas
Steve On Screenwriting: Your Screenwriting IQ, Part 1 by Steve Kaire
Jens Gems … For the Healthy Writer: Recharge to Move Forward by movement and fitness coach Jennifer Waak
Write On! The Fiction Writer’s Guide To Diversity by Jeff Campagna

Friday – Video Interviews:
Musician Danny Moynahan
Erin Levy, Mad Men
Steve Levitan, Modern Family
Roz Wolf, Roz Wolf PR
Aura Imbarus, Out of the Transylvania Night

Published Authors: Share your knowledge by participating in a Write On! Q&A, Video Interview, or Expert Column. Email Debra@WriteOnOnline.com for more information.

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Purple Pencil Adventures: Teen and Tween writers, a new Purple Pencil Adventure is posted every Friday! Learn more on the Facebook Page.

FRIENDS OF WRITE ON!
Write On! Track Personal Training for Writers! Writing coach Debra Eckerling trains individuals, experts, and entrepreneurs, so they can organize, articulate, and complete their writing projects. Email Debra@WriteOnOnline.com or call 310.908.8980 for more information! Also, read Helena Harper’s interview with Debra on her Blog.

Dream It, Then Do It!: Communications specialist/writing motivator Debra Eckerling and life coach/matchmaker/author Marla Martenson have teamed up to bring you workshops, tools, and inspiration to turn your dreams into reality. Become a Fan on Facebook.

iScript.com has added a new audiobook component to their offerings. Now, you can get high-quality audiobooks made of your writing!

Chambers of Commerce, connect with your community. Check out MyChamberApp.com.

Screenwriters and filmmakers, read the StoryLink eZine for interviews, expert columns. contests, and events.

You can write a short story! Let best-selling authors Geoff Hoff and Steve Mancini guide through the short-story writing process with their simple, practical, effective, and fun creative writing system. Learn more here.

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If you’d like to support Write On! Online and promote your business or service, email Debra@WriteOnOnline.com.