Make Your Writing Sing
Author-writing teacher Carmen Goldthwaite knows how to accomplish this with simple literary techniques that can
dramatically alter the fiction/
nonfiction writer’s narrative voice, and attendees at this month’s IABC meeting will have a better idea how, too, before they even get back to the car.
nonfiction writer’s narrative voice, and attendees at this month’s IABC meeting will have a better idea how, too, before they even get back to the car.
Goldthwaite is a seventh-generation Texan who combines her love of writing with
passing on the skills she has developed over “a few” decades. She teaches in SMU’s creative writing program and also conducts small-group classes in her home.
After teaching a few years in TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication, she was named writer-in-residence in
its Texas Center for Community Journalism.
Earlier, her investigative reporting led to statewide awards and to syndication
with Scripps Howard News International. She has longtime affiliations with SPJ,
Western Writers of America, Investigative Reporters & Editors, the Texas Press Association and Texas State Historical Association.
“We write for the ear as much as for the eye. Seduce the reader,” she says, “with techniques that add to the rhythm, the music of words, the mood and the
pictures we want to convey.” There you have it: Writing that sings.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26
Place: Texas Star Conference Centre, 1400 Texas Star Parkway, Euless
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20; online add $1,
walk-ins without a reservation add $5; lunch included
walk-ins without a reservation add $5; lunch included
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Defamation and Invasion of Privacy: What Communicators Must Know
What kinds of statements create exposure for a claim for defamation? Everyone has heard about invasion of privacy, but what is it really, in a legal
context?
Fort Worth trial attorney Laura Elkind will discuss the basics of defamation and invasion of privacy at the next PRSA
meeting. More importantly, she will address how to avoid these claims
altogether.
Elkind is an experienced commercial litigator and trial attorney with more than
20 years of experience in both state and federal courts in Texas.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13
Place: Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth
Cost: chapter members $25, national members $30, nonmembers $35, students $20;
walk-ups add $5
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No meeting this month. Activities will resume with customary vigor in September.
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Former journalist Scott Morgan, now a professional writer, editor and creative writing teacher, has this
rousing talk about talk — “You Talkin’ to Me? How to Write Better Dialogue in Your Fiction” — and he’ll give it at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting, 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at the Richardson Public
Library. What makes for good dialogue, what makes for bad dialogue, and what do
the words your characters speak actually convey? Morgan knows, from writing
"Character Development from the Inside Out," an Amazon bestselling guide to
better characters; "How to be a Whiny Beeyotch: 71 Writing Excuses Meet the
Back of My Hand," a motivational guide for writers; and “Stories My Evil Twin Made Up,” a collection of short stories. More on Morgan
here and on the Writers’ Guild of Texas at writersguildoftexas.org.
IABC local update: Martha Germann, founder and CEO of the Mindful Games Institute, will discuss “Thriving Beyond Survival” — increasing productivity and having more fun along the way — at the IABC Dallas luncheon Tuesday, Aug. 12, at Maggiano’s NorthPark. Info here.
PRSA local update: PRSA members make the news. Balcom account director Ashley Freer, chapter president-elect Michelle Clark, APR, and treasurer-elect Lisa Albert have been selected to participate in Leadership Fort Worth 2014. Leadership
Fort Worth contains four programs through which it engages emerging leaders,
re-inspires established leaders and creates meaningful civic connections. It
addresses issues by promoting discussion and challenging participants to make
an impact. Clark is account director for Global Prairie Integrated Marketing
Communications. Albert is TCU director of strategic communications. | Sandra Brodnicki, APR, and John Brodnicki wrote an article for The Strategist on the shaky crisis communication plan that emerged following the disappearance
March 8 of Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, to Beijing. They interviewed TCU associate professor Amiso George, APR, Fellow PRSA, and ABC News analyst/aviation consultant John Nance for the piece. Sandra Brodnicki is president of Brodnicki Public Relations. John
Brodnicki, ATP, certified flight instructor, is a veteran aviator who serves as
the agency’s aviation consultant.
PRSA local update II: The 2014 Southwest District Conference is booked for the Hilton Downtown Baton
Rouge Capitol Center, Oct. 29-30, with an optional excursion to New Orleans on
Oct. 31. Keynoter Devin Lemoine, president of the leadership development company Success Labs, will present “Tales from the Crypt: Secrets to Managing a Successful Career and Being a HiPo,” or how to get tagged as “high potential” in an organization. Lemoine also will explain why you should “own” your professional development and the three things you can do to ensure career
security. Sponsored by the PRSA Baton Rouge chapter, the conference is expected
to draw attendees from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and
Texas. Registration is $299 for PRSA members, $399 nonmembers, with a $50
discount through Sept. 29. Info
here.
