Arts

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OWFI Conference

Posted by LediaR on May 9, 2013
Posted in: Adventure, Award Winning, Creative Writing, Creative Writing Workshops, Fantasy, Ledia Runnels, Memoir, Novel, Self-Publishing, Workshops, Writing Conferences. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

Just got back from OWFI Conference, held in Norman Oklahoma. It is one of the best that I have ever attended. The group is very professional.

Here is a link to their website. http://www.owfi.org/

Here is their contact information:

Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.
PO Box 54302
Oklahoma City, OK 73154

President – Patty Stith
Treasurer – Barbara Shepherd

They have a yearly contest that includes 35 categories from essays to published novels.  Even if your entry does not place, critique feedback is given on all entries.

One of my writing “buddies” from the group I attend in The Woodlands, TX placed second in the essay category. WTG! Tracey Paul. Her essay was about a day hike gone bad for a diabetic who had not brought extra insulin in her pack. Tracey read the piece at our Monday night meeting before she entered the contest. It was very compelling.

For those of you who have enjoyed the memoir pieces posted on “Creative Musings of Ledia R” (my blog) taken from my days as a United States Naval enlisted, I found a publisher at the conference who might be interested in publishing my book.  Also, I spoke with an agent interested in reading my fantasy action adventure novel set in Japan.

Also, for quite some time, I have wanted to turn my fantasy action adventure novels into graphic novels, so I attended the session at the conference. There I befriended one of the speakers who has made a living as the writer side of the team that also includes several artists. He has agreed to mentor me as I adapt my novel to a comic book.

Good Times!

As always, hope you enjoy the site!

 

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Please Help Me Choose!

Posted by LediaR on April 14, 2013
Posted in: Adventure, Africa, Award Winning, Creative Writing, Demon, Fantasy, Ghost Stories, Gypsy, Horror, Ledia Runnels, Magic, Magic Book, Wizard. Tagged: , , , . 9 Comments

The last details of my new book Black Obelisk, Book Two of Keepers of the Ancient Tomes are in the works. Just one thing left to decide, which cover draws the most attention and best portrays the story? I would love to have your input. As a reader, your feedback is the most valuable.

Book Cover One

Book Front Cover

Book Cover Two

Brazzavile Book Front Cover

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Manic Mode! “Self-Publishing in Free Fall” Part Two

Posted by LediaR on May 17, 2012
Posted in: Creative Writing, Ledia Runnels, Self-Publishing, Techniques of Fiction. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 10 Comments
GA writer barnstar in tr.wiki

GA writer barnstar in tr.wiki (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My journey as a writer began when my two younger sisters and I would would lie awake in our bunk beds. While they listened, I made up stories resembling fairy tales to tell them. Later, in high school, I wrote free verse poetry, inspired by pop/rock songs such as Neal Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and “Make it With You” by David Gates of the pop-rock band, Bread. The stories and poetry I created took little more than imagination and heart to construct. Which is important, but…

A secret that I share when asked about my personal journey as a writer is that from elementary to high school, grammar was not an easy subject for me. I struggled constantly with simple things such as sentence structure and proper spelling. To this day, commas still drive me crazy. So, before venturing into the terrifying, wonderful world of self-publishing, I had first to learn the “rules” of writing, whether nonfiction or fiction was the desired outcome. To create compelling fiction, I would need a strong understanding of story structure, character, plot, scene, action, and dialogue.

There are scores of books on writing technique lining the shelves of my bookcase. At one time, I had so many that I loaded up the beginner books and gave them away to the local library and my weekly writers’ group. Over the years, I have taken correspondence writing course, attended writer‘s conferences, as well as taking literature and writing courses in college. I still study and listen to authors that I admire teach me the tricks of the trade. All the while, I continue to write and hone my skills. I know if I want to sell my writing, I must first become a skilled writer.

Determination and the willingness to make my dreams come true have proved powerful tools for me. That coupled with hours upon hours of writing and rewriting to get the desired results. To remind myself of what it takes to write well, I think about how to create a beautiful, livable house. Only a skilled architecture will do to draw up the plans. After that, I would trust only experienced carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and other craftsmen to build it. It is the same when it comes to creating sellable writing.

 Continued…

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