2013 Meeting Schedule

Below is a list of our 2013 Meeting dates. We will meet at the West End Lodge Club Room: 4215 North Major Drive in Beaumont Texas. Meetings will begin at 7 pm. If you would like to see what the room looks like, please visit the website: www.venterraliving.com/westendlodge.

Please don't forget to return your "Writer's Bio" page to Sylvia Ney. The 2013 officers will use this information to plan next year's speakers and events.

Jan. 14 - 2013 Officer elections.
Feb. 11
March 11
April 8
May 13
June 10
July 8
Aug. 12
Sept. 9
Oct. 14
Nov. 11
Dec. 9

December 10th Meeting

Just a reminder that we will be meeting in the club room at Venterra Realty (West End Lodge Apartments)for our December 10th meeting. Simply take exit 853A from I-10 and turn left onto 105. You'll drive about 1.5 miles and turn left onto N. Major drive. The address in 4215 and will be on the right. The club room and office will be open - plese park in front.

We can get in as early as 6:30 to set up. Remember, the meeting starts at 7, but I know some of us are bringing snacks and want to set up coffee etc. Also, we are responsible for putting the room back the way we found it (clean) by 8:30. If we like this setting for our meetings, Lisa can schedule it for us each month FREE OF CHARGE. If you would like to see what the room looks like, please visit the website: www.venterraliving.com/westendlodge.

 

We will be discussing "Social Networking" and TGCW plans for the new year.

I will have a "Writer's Bio" page. Please fill it out and return to me. We will use this information to plan the next year. I am also asking about your areas of study and employment history so that if one of us is researching or writing about a topic or career, we know who we can go to for questions.

 
I'm so excited about the friendships, connections, and progress we are making. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you all!

Sylvia

TGCW Officers, Duties, Limitations, and Fees

Below is a list of TGCW 2012 officers. Following that is the job descriptions and limitations. Please review and feel free to comment, question or make suggestions. Also, if you are interested in holding one of these positions for 2013, please let us know by the January meeting so we may hold official elections. We are excited about our new group, officers and future plans to share, encourage and inspire each other in our writing and paths to publication.

2012 Officers:
President - Sylvia Ney     http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

Vice President – James Tate   http://jamesrtate.blogspot.com/

Secretary - Lanell Stuart     www.NotesFromNellie.blogspot.com
Treasurer - Laurie Kolp     http://lkharris-kolp.blogpot.com
Publicist - Kathy Haskins

Officers shall be elected in the following way: members interested in running for an office shall present their name for nomination, ballots shall be presented to the general membership in attendance at the January meeting, and Election of Officers for the coming year shall take place at the January meeting. Installation of new Officers will begin then. Any responsibility or activity not specified in subsections (a) through (e) below shall be presented to the membership at an official meeting.

(a) PRESIDENT: The President shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the organization, shall serve as spokesperson under the direction of the membership, call and preside over any meetings of the membership/officers or directors of the members or directors, serve as ex-officio member of all committees, execute corporation business as directed by the membership and established policy, and assist in the coordination of any corporate activities. He/She shall have the general powers and duties of supervision and management usually vested in the office of president of a corporation. In the event of a tie vote by the membership, the President shall cast the deciding vote. The President shall also appoint any needed additional chairperson.

(b) VICE PRESIDENT: In the absence or incapacity of the President as outlined above the Vice President shall assume the duties of President. The Vice President shall act as Program Chairperson for the regular meetings and is responsible for scheduling and coordinating speakers as decided upon by the general membership.

(c) SECRETARY: The Secretary shall give notice of all meetings of the corporation and of the Board. The Secretary shall be responsible for the recording and preserving of minutes and attendance of all meetings in an accurate and clear manner, and record all votes and the minutes of all proceedings in a file to be kept for that purpose; the Secretary shall relate necessary info. to the publicist and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board under whose supervision he/she shall be, shall collect and preserve documents relating to the history of the organization and maintain such documents in official archives and shall make such narrative reports to the membership as the Board directs.

(d) TREASURER: The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds of the corporation and of their disbursement under the direction of the Board and the general membership. The Treasurer shall keep a record of all moneys received and paid out, and make a monthly report of same to the Board and the general membership. All checks, drafts, and notes of the corporation must be signed by the Treasurer.

(e) PUBLICIST: The Publicist shall be responsible for gathering and publicizing material relating to upcoming events such as meetings, conferences, and other items of interest directly relating to the support and aims of the membership.

- All officers shall be elected for a term of one year with a term limit of two years. After a term limit of two years in a single position, members are allowed to run for a separate office. Officers may serve in the original capacity again after a 2-year hiatus. All officers shall serve without compensation.

- The Board may appoint such other officers and agents as it shall deem necessary, who shall hold their offices for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board.

- The officers of the corporation shall hold office until their successors are chosen and qualify in their stead. Any officer elected or appointed by the Board may be removed at any time by the affirmative vote of the majority of the Board present at any meeting. If the office of any officer or officers becomes vacant for any reason, the vacancy shall be filled by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board until such time as the general membership may vote to fill the position.

- In the case of the absence of any officer of the corporation other than the President or for any other reason as the Board may deem sufficient, the Board may delegate any officer provided the majority of the Board concurs.

If a person joins in the months January through June – Membership is $20 for that year.

If person joins in the months July through December - Membership is $10 for remainder of year.

After discussion of by-laws, we met new members, shared member news, discussed conference and writing opportunities, and then we discussed updating the web site, blog, facebook account and group email. James Tate and Carol Weishampel discussed self-publishing. If you have any questions about the self publishing process, please feel free to contact them by email.

Our next meeting will be Dec. 10 for "Social Networking", until then... Happy Writing!

November 12 Meeting

Our regular monthly meeting will be Monday, November 12, at Barnes&Noble in Beaumont, Texas. The meeting will officially begin at 7 p.m. However, if you are interested in meeting earlier to discuss our by-laws, some of us will be arriving as early as 6 p.m.

The meeting will include updates on the status of the group and planning the future.  We will also share member news and writing opportuities. Speakers James Tate, Carol Weishampel and Jerry Depew will present options on self publishing.

I look forward to seeing you all there. Happy Writing!

Sylvia Ney

Notes from October 8 Meeting

by Pam Thibodeaux

Here are some things we (as a group) have implemented to keep Bayou Writers exciting and new members coming back. [Some things TGCW may want to consider implementing].

1. Schedule regular speakers that can do more than tout their own books. Now, every writer longs to talk about their book, but in order to be an invited guest speaker, you must have something to share! Research instructions, tax information, promotion/publicity tips, writing rules and procedures, query and synopsis etiquette; these are just a few topics aspiring writers need to learn and published writers sometimes need to be reminded of.

2. Have at least 1 business or planning meeting a year. January is always a good time to plan the rest of your year, but hey, any month will do!

3. Make critiquing a regular part of your meetings or schedule meetings when all you do is critique each others' work. This can be done aloud or silently. We pass around 4 (5 if complete story) pages in manuscript format (1" margins, 12pt font) and each reader writes their critique on a separate piece of paper and passes it on to the author.

4. Writing prompts: Here are a few ideas.

On colored index cards write different things that need to be in a novel and/or short story (setting, character, profession, and situation) mix them up. Everyone picks a card out of each pile and writes something to be critiqued at the next meeting.

Cut pictures of people out of a magazine and give one to everybody. Everyone is to write a story about that person. Try and use ordinary looking people who appear in ads, etc and avoid celebrities.

An opening sentence or scene; read aloud or bring typed on index cards or a sheet of typing paper. Again, each person must use that sentence or scene to build their story around.

5. Have a contest for members only that relates to a workshop (previous or upcoming). Example; you have a workshop on characterization. Each member that attends must write a 3-page scene that shows their character to his/her fullest. Send those to the host/hostess of the workshop for critiquing. Pick at least 1 winner and 1 runner up. Make it even more special by creating simple certificates boasting the award and/or give a gift card to a local bookstore or office supply house to the 1st place winner and a certificate to 2nd place and 'honorable' mention to everyone else. Writers need encouragement as well as constructive criticism...this is a good way to provide it.

6. Grow as you learn. Implement new ideas; be open to suggestion; think about goals and vision for the group as a whole. Ex: have conferences? Collect dues? Eventually become NP? Slow, steady growth is best.

7. Be willing and able to delegate. As a founding member, I feel a responsibility toward my group, my writers; my friends. But no one person can do it all. Members should be willing to volunteer also. Otherwise it's not a 'group' but one person running an organization.

For more information on Bayou Writers' Group visit our website at: http://bayouwritersgroup.com

For more information on Pamela S Thibodeaux visit http://pamelathibodeaux.com

2012 Meetings

August 13 - Lenora Sibert called all interested contacts to join her at Barnes&Noble for the creation of a new writers group. They agreed to begin meeting the second Monday of the month @ 7 p.m. Laurie Kolp, Lanell Stuart and Kathy Haskins agreed to serves as group officers for the first few months. Kathy and Lenora put up their own money to start a website: http://www.texasgulfcoastwriters.com/ and register a domain name. Kathy also set up a group facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TexasGulfCoastWriters

September 10 - Sylvia Ney agreed to volunteer as group president, expressing the hope for formal elections by the end of the year. She then set up the Texas Gulf Coast Writers blog. Members expressed an interest in seeking nonprofit staus for the group and setting up bylaws. Attendees agreed they wanted an atmosphere of "sharing, support and encouragement" for the group and all visitors.

October 8 - Pamela Thibodeaux will be present to discuss and answer any questions about starting a group and seeking nonprofit staus. She cocreated The Bayou Writers Group which is in its tenth year, about to hold its ninth annual conference and boasts more than 100 paid members.

November 12 -  Nominate and vote for 2013 officers.

December 10 - Announce 2013 officers!

Welcome to Texas Gulf Coast Writers Blog

We are the Texas Gulf Coast Writers group in Beaumont, Texas. We convened our first meeting on August 15, 2012. We are excited about our new group, officers and future plans to share, encourage and inspire each other in our writing and paths to publication.

President - Sylvia Ney     http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/
Secretary - Lanell Stuart     www.NotesFromNellie.blogspot.com
Treasurer - Laurie Kolp     http://lkharris-kolp.blogpot.com
Web Design - Kathy Haskins