Tag Archives: village

Our Words, Music, and Village community

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Looking for details on faerie portals and Faeries’ Tales?
Visit our Absolutely Wild! web page.

The Latest…
(updated 6/7/2023)

The next roundtable gathering of the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors, & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) writers’ collective, will take place at: 11:30 a.m., Thurs., June 8, 2023, at Mimi’s restaurant in Chandler, AZ. Our established authors will meet in-person to discuss an ALWAYS nonfiction anthology revealing our author origin stories.

Avatar for Book Shepherd Ann Narcisian Videan

Come on in!
     I’m so glad you’ve found our little online community! Here, we share ideas to create and market better writing, music, and “village.”
     Throw in a few “Coffee CommuniTea” coffee and tea-shop reviews, and we’re golden, right? What better places for writing, enjoying music, and creating community?
     Our goal is to generate success together, using fresh tactics to get the ‘verse buzzing about cool creative endeavors. Come in and join us…
—Ann

………..

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd
Write • Edit • Publish

P.S. Learn more about my novels on my Amazon Author Central page.

Find me elsewhere online.

 

Ann Videan’s Phoenix-area writing events this spring:

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Ann with her books at the Tempe Public Library

You may benefit from these writing events…

Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors, and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS)

Meet in-person with the ALWAYS writers’ tribe of established authors to discuss writing and support one another. In March, we’re talking about the structure of the ALWAYS group and how to better interact with and support one another. I hope you can join us! (We meet the second Thursday of each month in Gilbert, except for the first Thursday of each quarter when we meet in Phoenix.)
Romeo’s Euro Cafe, downtown Gilbert, AZ
11:30 a.m., Thurs., March 14, 2019

My Words Jump Off The Page!
[A presentation at the Society of Southwestern Authors—Valley of the Sun Chapter.]

Authors, learn a handful of writing and editing techniques to help you discover ways to build visual imagery and emotion, and subconsciously compel readers into your story. I’ll share my thirty years of marketing experience to show you how to make your story “jump off the page” for readers and publishers. In this two-hour hands-on session, explore:

  • The edits I make most often as an editor
  •  What to look for when hiring an editor
  • Leveraging the scene question to develop a compelling plot line
  • Writing with active voice, and deep point-of-view
  • More effective editing tips using MS Word

Tempe Public Library
2:30–4:40 p.m., Sunday, April 28, 2019

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan, Book Shepherd
Write • Edit • Publish • Word-of-mouth strategy

P.S. Learn more about my novels on my Amazon Author Central page.

 

Super, short-writing secrets re: magazine publishing

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Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS)

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My first foray into short story writing involves writing Faeries’ Tales to accompany hand-sculpted faerie portals. I  can see my tales published in sci-fi/fantasy publications such as Faerie Magazine. Where can you see your short pieces published?

Established writers, would you like to see your short stories, essays, poems, or articles published in magazines? Windy Lynn Harris, founder of Market Coaching for Creative Writers, will give us tips on how to make it happen. At our next gathering, ask her how to categorize your work, write a stand-out letter, format your MS and find hundreds of editors looking for writers like you.

Next gathering:
Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS typically meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Old Spaghetti Factory
1418 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com

If you’ve RSVP’d, please show up. If you run into a conflict, please let me know before the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS

Are you an established writer who:
• Needs contacts to help your writing?
• Wants advice about your writing?
• Likes to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.

Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

Book plotting made easy — ALWAYS

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Do you know the direction your story will take? Learn plotting techniques from other established writers at our May 14 ALWAYS author gathering over lunch in downtown Gilbert, AZ.

Do you know the direction your story will take? Learn plotting techniques from other established writers at our May 14 ALWAYS author gathering over lunch in downtown Gilbert, AZ.

 

Established writer, gather with us to talk plotting at the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) tribe meeting  on May 14, 2015, in Gilbert, Ariz.

 

TOPIC:
Let’s share our secrets about plotting stories. Bring an outline, book, or recap of your favorite plot development techniques to share with the group.

Next gathering:
Thursday, May 14, 2014
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of the month.)

Where:
Romeo’s Euro Café
(downtown GIlbert, AZ)
207 N. Gilbert Rd. #105
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
(480) 962-4224

Back-up location:
Joe’s BBQ
301 N. Gilbert Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-3805

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com

If you’ve RSVP’d, please SHOW UP. If you run into a conflict, please let me know BEFORE the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.

Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

Authors, understand the legality behind your books, ALWAYS

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TOPIC:
Do you know the legal ins and outs regarding your book? Let’s get together with Megan D. Scott with The Kleinman Law Firm, to learn more about keeping our content legal and protecting our work.

Josh Groban, Phoenix 2013

In your book, can you use photos of celebrities like the one my daughter took at the Josh Groban concert?
Can you even use their names? Can you use music lyrics and quotes?
Should you officially copyright your writing?
Find out by attending the Dec. 12 ALWAYS writers gathering in Tempe, AZ.

[In case you’re wondering, Josh is the guy in the shadows just to the right of the violinist
and behind the guy with his knee up.]
Photo: 2013 CEVidean

Next gathering:
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(ALWAYS meets on the second Thursday of each month.)

Where:
DAVE & BUSTERS
(private board room)
Tempe Marketplace
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy
Tempe , AZ – 85281
480-281-8456

back-up location:
Tea Infusion
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy # 1064
Tempe, AZ 85281-4927
(480) 967-1141

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook Event page
or
• Contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com

If you’ve RSVP’d, please SHOW UP. If you run into a conflict, please let me know BEFORE the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group meeting. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS

• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?

If so, our tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.

Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

Montezuma’s Castle: Living 100 feet up a cliff face

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A word-of-mouth marketing example from the lens of Ann Narcisian Videan
to inspire your business tribe/village.
…………………………..

Montezuma's Castle, just off I-17 south of Flagstaff, AZ. @2013 ANVidean

Montezuma’s Castle, just off I-17 south of Flagstaff, AZ. @2013 ANVidean

On the way back from Northern Arizona University, where my daughter took a college tour recently, she and I stopped to play tourist at Montezuma’s Castle.

The Native American ruin lies just over 30 minutes south of Flagstaff, and a short jaunt down a narrow road into the desert. You think you’re in the middle of nowhere when suddenly the Visitor’s Center parking lot looms ahead.

Hand-packed mud holds the walls together. ©2013 ANVidean

Hand-packed mud holds the walls together. ©2013 ANVidean

Another ruin, probably housing 100 people, in greater disrepair lies at the bottom of the elevated dwelling

Another ruin, probably housing 100 people, in greater disrepair lies at the bottom of the elevated dwelling. ©2013 ANVidean

Along an easy 1/3-mile loop trail along Beaver Creek, you can witness how native Arizonans lived in a structure built 100 feet up in a cliff face. They made use of all the materials available to them: a natural cave, stones, soil, Arizona Sycamore trees, and nearby water to carve out an amazingly robust and protected life for themselves.

Humans are truly ingenious, are they not?

I totally suggest a visit, and a chat with the knowledgeable ranger staffing the center there.

What other impressive sights can you recommend in Arizona?

Secrets to choosing the perfect book marketing, ALWAYS

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You’ve written and published your book. Now you must sell it. But how?

At the next authors’ Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) gathering, we’ll discuss this overwhelming topic with best-selling author and publicity guru Raleigh Pinskey.

Standing in front of shelves lined with Celestial Seasonings teas is very similar to standing in front of shelves (or Web pages) filled with book publicity options. Which do you choose to get the best bang for your book? How do you make yours stand out? Publicity, is one answer. This topic will be addressed at our August 2013 authors' ALWAYS gathering. Photo: @2013 ANVidean

Standing in front of shelves lined with myriad Celestial Seasonings teas is very similar to standing in front of shelves (or Web pages) filled with book publicity options.
Which do you choose to get the best bang for your book?
Photo: @2013 ANVidean

When:
Thurs. Aug. 15, 2013
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Where:
Tea Infusion
2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy.
Tempe, AZ 85281-4927
(480) 967-1141

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by RSVPing through the “Join” link on our Facebook page or contacting Ann Videan, avidean@videanunlimited.com.

If you’ve RSVP’d, PLEASE show up. If you run into a conflict later, please let me know before the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

ABOUT ALWAYS
• Need contacts to help your writing?
• Want advice about your writing?
• Like to hang with other cool writers?
The Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) is an informal group of established fiction and nonfiction writers in the Phoenix area who want to support each other’s work, share ideas and best practices, and just discuss writing topics. I’ve led this group since 2006.
Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting. We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

Coffee CommuniTea Debut

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Coffee and tea shops attract villages of like-minded people. But, not just coffee and tea lovers or people seeking community, relaxation and entertainment. Business folk hold meetings in these watering holes. Artists display work. Writers meet with their book clubs and critique partners. Music lovers come to relax and hear local acts. What a perfect environment to complement my goal to support all things Words•Music•Village?

Join us on this journey to discover indie coffee and tea shops, starting in the Phoenix metro area.  You’re expected to be an integral part of the conversation, adding your own hot spots and providing commentary on what’s posted. Consider this blog as our own online village to capture the cool, the hot, the fun, and the funky in this Coffee CommuniTea.

So, ready to join me for a cuppa?