What happened to my website?

If you have gone to www.glendacouncilbeall.com to find the writing schedule for Writers Circle around the Table, you have probably found Blue Heaven Press instead.
I am sorry, but something went wrong and I haven't been able to fix it yet.
So, to find the Studio Schedule for classes at Writers Circle around the Table, click on this link instead:

https://tinyurl.com/k3cgdht

You will see the description of the June 1 class and the bio of Vicki Lane. Please send your registration to me, Glenda Beall, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904 or to the PO Box 843, Hayesville, NC 28904.  Fee for this three hour class is very reasonable as are all of our classes.
$50.00. 

This class is for fiction and nonfiction writers. Vicki Lane has been publishing books for many years and has a great following of fans. She keeps in touch with her readers on her blog and they keep up with Vicki between books.
I like that Vicki is open and honest about her life and her writing. You will enjoy meeting Vicki and learn so much from her class. Hope to see you at the table.

Writing Again

Thursday, March 9.
Tonight I read three pages from a memoir I began some years ago. I read them at our critique group, and I am so glad I took them for feedback. I had read only a  few lines before I realized how lacking my story was and how much more I can do to make it good.

I feel motivated to write again after my experience tonight. I have not written anything but blog posts in a  long, long time. Somewhere in the past year, I let everything come ahead of my creative nature. I am ready to come back, to follow my passion again.

The  process of publishing is a long one. Nothing good comes easily. This week I sent a manuscript to an editor. It is a compilation of short prose pieces, non-fiction and one short story. Included in this manuscript is a  collection of stories by my friend Estelle Rice. We decided a few years ago to publish a book about our beloved pets and other animals in our  lives. I think it will be a good read.

In the coming weeks, I will go down to my studio on certain days just to write. Most writers try to write every day, and I usually do some kind  of writing almost every day. But I have not done any serious writing lately. That is what I miss. 

One of my past students told me he is writing several pages on his novel every day. He described the joy he feels when he becomes lost in the story, in his writing and hates to put it aside to go on with the rest of his life. I have felt those moments. I want to feel them again.

Two More Classes Left

There are only two more classes in my six week Creative Writing Course at Writers Circle - Dialogue and Characterization. Both of these subjects are important to those who write personal essays or short stories.
It has been said that dialogue is the part of a novel, story or prose piece that the readers do not skip.

In the modern world of today, readers have been trainded by movies and TV shows to enjoy fast paced scripts filled with action, emotion, and interesting characters. If a story begins with long passages of description, no matter that the writing is excellent, readers of today will likely skip it and find the action or they will stop reading and go on to something else. Character-driven stories draw the reader in if the characters are clearly defined and appealling in some way.

A main character should not be perfect. We don't relate to perfect people. After all, none of us is perfect. We don't like for our characters to be all black or all white. We are all shades of gray with good and bad.
When I write about my father, I don't show  his bad traits only. He had good traits that people admired. His sense of humor was wonderful, his storytelling kept his audience on edge. But I can tell also about his temper and how he could hurt us with his sharp tongue. I can tell how he was insecure and jealous of my mother when he had no reason to be jealous at all. All of these traits made up a man.

Often we best show the character of a person by using dialogue. We can show his mood, his personality with dialogue. We can move a story along with dialogue. We don't want to use dialogue in such a way as to insult our reader. I mean we don't want to use a conversation between two people to remind the reader of something in the past he has already read or quickly cover action in the story in order to move on to another scene. And the use of punctuation in  dialogue is baffling to many experienced writers.

We do have room for one or two students in these last two classes,. Call 828-389-4441 to register.
The dates are July 20 and 27. fee: 18 dollars each.

Registration open now

Come and sit on the porch in a rocking chair, write, write, write at Writers Circle, my home studio.

The long Memorial Day weekend is over. I hope you had time to do all the things you enjoy. I did. Tomorrow we are back to "real life."
That means it is time for me to start thinking about registration for my six weeks of creative writing classes beginning Wednesday, June15. Also, we have Ronda Birtha teaching another class on How Indie Authors Use Social Media. Her class in May was superlative. All poets and writers should take a class such as this one to be sure they are using Facebook, Twitter and blogs to their best advantage, and using them safely. These classes are taught at Writers Circle in Hayesville, my home. Contact me by email if you want to register or need more information. nightwriter0302@yahoo.com


"Do you obsess about the tone of your writing when you revise? You should." Writers Digest, July/August issue - Adair Lara.
Some excellent articles in this magazine. Above is from Make Your Tone Pitch-Perfect. We will discuss tone in my classes this summer.