So… We did it… AGAIN!
June was our second, annual SHOW-MO MONTH!
You came, you showed, you read; we came, we
saw, we heard and we responded, and… next year, we’ll do it again!
We had loads of folks participate in our second annual SHOW-MO. Throughout the month of June, at various places in our region,
Local Liaisons*, and other enthusiastic Southern Breeze members*, hosted
critique meet-ups so members could show and share up to the first ten pages of
their work, and give and receive feedback to help improve their writing in time
for the Southern Breeze Writing Contest submission deadline.
SHOW-MO was intended to foster a sense of
community amongst our members, encourage submission to our annual Southern
Breeze Writing Contest, and help members up-their-game by improving the quality
of their pages.
June is over, the SHOW-MOs have concluded, and
the contest deadline has come and gone.
Did we accomplish our goals?
YES!
Just look at the pictures and you’ll have to
agree the meet-up part was a resounding success. And how could it not be?
What’s more fun than hanging out with a bunch of children’s book writers and
illustrators as they discuss writing and illustrating children’s books? (The
proper response is “Nothing; that’s what.”)
Here’s feedback from this year’s participants
and Show-mo hosts:
From Cathy Hall, who hosted a Show-Mo in the Gwinnett County area in Georgia:
We had a terrific
turnout for the Show-Mo at the Five Forks Library--we gathered first for a
short and informative presentation from author Rebecca Petruck (BOY BITES BUG).
And then it was right to work on our manuscripts! We had two groups: a PB group
of five and a novel group of six; most of the attendees were Southern Breeze
members but we had one young writer (a rising 4th grader) who I hope one day
will join SCBWI. :-)
Special thanks to
Rebecca Petruck who joined the novel group to give feedback to our middle grade
and YA writers, to Lisa Stauffer who jumped in to facilitate the PB group (her
PB comes out in August 2018!) and ARA Sharon Pegram who always lends a hand
with whatever I need.
From Temika Grooms who hosted a Show-Mo in the
Decatur, Georgia area:
The Southern Breeze
ShowMo 2018 for Decatur/DeKalb was held on June 2, 2018 at the Kirkwood Library
in Atlanta, Georgia. SCBWI members and
non-members gathered for the love of storytelling as they shared and listened
to the first 10 pages of each manuscript.
This diverse group provided constructive criticism and support for
authors from picture books to middle grade.
Opportunities like these are important for craft development and
participants look forward to more critiques in the future.
From Suzanne Purvis, who hosted a Show-Mo in
the Florida Panhandle area of our region:
We had a fabulous lunch
thanks to Lisa Black who hosted us at her beachfront condo in Destin. We had a
blast and even critiqued too. :-)
From Paula Puckett, who hosted a Show-Mo in the
NE Georgia Mountain area:
North Georgia East
Write and Draw Event was held in May at the Sautee Nacoochee Center. Attendees were able to have time to work on
individual projects and attend featured displays, such as the miniature quilt
display put together by the Mountain Laurel Quilter's Group and the Folk
Pottery Museum.
We would like to plan
another opportunity to get together in the future at this location. Please get in touch with Paula Puckett for
more information.
*Thank you, thank you, thank you a thousand
times over to our SHOW MO volunteers for making this happen. And yes, I’m
calling you out: Cathy Hall, Suzanne Purvis, Bobbie Canada, Melissa Miles,
Susan Montanari, Carrie Dalby, Martha Hynson, Temika Grooms, Stephanie Moody, MeLeesa
Swann, and Paula Puckett.
If you missed submitting this year, don’t sweat
it! We have other events taking place throughout our region (check-out the
regional events page here, https://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/events/
) and… next June will be here before you know it.
Tootles!
T. K. Read
Critique Group Coordinator, Southern Breeze.
