I don’t know about you, but I love the fall. My garden is winding down and the chilly mornings bring a refreshing change I need to reinvigorate my life. We had another wonderful meetup in September at Freight House Coffee and our October Meetup will be at the same location. We may be able to return to the library in November when they reopen to the public.
I hope you are devoting time to a new writing project or polishing a sample for us to read this month. We will be table reading at this meetup so either bring a few copies of your short or up to ten page sample from a longer work. If you would like to share a PDF instead you may send it to glasscityscreenwriters@gmail.com and we can share digitally at the meetup. It’s always fun and we learn a whole lot by hearing our work read out loud. We also welcome any local actors who would like to join us to read scripts, it’s a great way to connect and learn.
Freight House Coffee has two large patio areas. If the weather is good we can utilize the patio for the table readings to have a bit of privacy. Hope to see you at the Meetup!
If you missed the Maumee Film Festival last weekend of September, it was a wonderful weekend full of local and regional films and filmmaking panels. We had such an amazing time connecting with friends and meeting new ones. This was the last fest for Old West End. I plan to release it onto YouTube close to Halloween, so look out for that!
Finally, on a personal note, I am close to completing the first draft of the feature I’m writing during the WGF Veterans Writing Project. It’s always exciting getting that first draft out, even though you know there will be many more rewrites before it is ready to share. The things I am learning in this program are immensely helpful. I am so grateful to my mentors, and hope to pay it forward, helping Glass City Screenwriters by sharing the knowledge I have gained.
Don’t miss the Film Toledo Fall Mixer, get your tickets soon! Dress up as your favorite movie or TV character to win prizes. Monday October 21st at Toledo Spirits.
Get busy doing what you love!
–Virginia
Fall brings the ebbing away of daylight hours. It feels sudden at times, like when you run out of light before completing outdoor chores in the evening. It can also feel as if the darkness becomes a part of your thoughts and dreams. My writing, like my thoughts, is enhanced by the supernatural turn of the seasons. If you have something dark or creepy to express, this is the time of year when the gloomy clouds and the haunting wind and darkness will guide your writing.
Speaking of writing, get busy before or during our next Meetup (October 21st at 12:30 pm Oregon library). We would like everyone to try to write one or more 1-3 page scenes/screenplays.
No pressure, but what we are looking to do is partner with local actors and/or an acting group, to benefit from mutual practice and possibly film some simple short films. I know personally I am guilty of complicating the writing with elaborate set ups and scenes. This practice will be focusing on one, to at most four characters in a scene (one location) that is mostly dialogue driven and easy to produce/act out.
How does that sound? I think it will be a really fun exercise and we will all benefit from having something to share afterward. So get busy writing or bringing your ideas for the October meetup, we will make solid plans for November and will be looking to share with actors before then. It will be exciting to create something together especially for our many newer members, so join us!
If you missed the exciting news recently, FilmToledo was officially recognized by the City of Toledo as our area film commission. That means they will be working together to assist and advise local and out of town productions. This comes after years of work behind the scenes by Glass City Screenwriters members Michael DeSanto and Charles Wetzel Jr. Congratulations!
Lastly, our film Old West End is still on the festival road. We had a local screening at The Valentine Theater in Brood X film festival as part of Momentum. Also KinoDrome awarded the film a medal for runner up in the Ohio short film category. Congrats team!
See you all soon, and happy writing!
If you are a writer of horror, the month of October is like a month-long celebration full of films, TV shows, and genre film festivals.
The weather turns cooler, the leaves change, and coffee seems to taste better. Personally I find it an inspiring month to write. Finding a new focus as my mind is back from summer vacation, it’s time to get back to the serious business of producing pages of story.
At the next GCSW meeting, we will continue reading each other’s work to gain insight from writers of different backgrounds and hear our words spoken out loud. Also starting this month I am adding a monthly talking point. Each month we can discuss and educate ourselves on an aspect of writing. In October we will discuss Character Development. Here is an article and a video to get you started!
Saturday October 15th is the next meetup at Oregon Library, keep writing and hope to see you there!
-Virginia