December Meeting

Next meeting is Tuesday, December 13. The focus will be holiday themed. Each person is asked to bring a short story, poem, or inspirational writing with Christmas emphasis to be critiqued. Writings are voluntary but all are asked to attend. Whether you submit a writing to be read or just participate in the process, valuable lessons are learned through these critiques.

Criteria for writings:

• 10 copies
• 300-500 words
• Double spaced
• Times Roman Font

See you at the December meeting. Questions? Email me at vdippold2@gmail.com.

November Meeting - Carolyn S. Hennecy, Author/Speaker

Meeting - November 8 - 6:30 PM

Meet Carolyn S. Hennecy, author of "Orange Blossom Wishes," former director of Polk Writers Group and public speaker. She will be sharing tools and techniques on creative writing, blogging and communicating through the written word, as well as identifying your market and how best to reach it successfully. Carolyn will also be available to answer questions regarding establishing a presence with media.

View additional information on her website: http://www.orangeblossomwishes.com/

Tuesday Night Meeting

Tuesday Night

6:30 PM

You don’t want to miss this meeting.

These are beginning times for many of you

or continuing steps for others.

We will work together.

We will write together.

We will encourage each other to success!

See you Tuesday evening.

ASSIGNMENT: Bring 300 word article/story/poem with 10 copies.

POLK AUTHOR and ILLUSTRATOR'S FESTIVAL

All day Saturday, authors and illustrators lined Kentucky Avenue. It was an exciting day to network with publishers and other authors. Next year....could one of you have a book here?

Pictured are:

Otto Dippold, author of How to Make a Wet Plate Camera and How to Make Accessories for a Wet Plate Camera. These books have sold around the world!

Melissa Dippold-Brady, author of Florida Fossils for Kids. This book was a huge hit for educators and kids. Melissa's expertise and insight into fossils kept parents and kids at her table!

Congratulations to Otto and Melissa!

E X C I T E M E N T

by Vivian Dippold

Last night was the first meeting for the newly formed Lakeland Writers Connection. I was so pleased with the attendance. From published novelists to novice writers, we forged a bond to see success in writing.

The comment: “There’s excitement here!” made me smile. Once you know me, you’ll realize I do get excited! Not just for my interest, but for success, achievements, and recognitions of others. I can be a cheerleader. I can jump for joy and turn summersaults for others (well, at least figuratively!). I look forward to “cheering” on your behalf.

The questionnaire of personal goals offered a gamut of aspirations. I ambitiously look forward to the fulfillment of each of these goals.

“Lifetime career. Encourage women and children through fiction.”

To be published.

To publish novels.

To publish inspirational books.

To share experiences with others.

To instruct others in areas of my expertise.

Help others learn the craft of writing.

To be a better communicator.

To be able to focus my ideas in one direction.

To grow as a writer.

To make people smile, cry, or be encouraged through my stories.”

To my fellow writers: We will write. We will grow. We will focus. We will…succeed.

Plan now!

We’re meeting the second Tuesday of September at 6:30 PM.

Mark your calendar!

I can’t wait to get started. Books are waiting to be written.

Articles are gearing up to be published.

Don’t miss this premier meeting.

This is it!

See you there. - Vivian

It's all about the HAT you wear!

Vivian Dippold

You have waited and waited. Finally, the time has arrived! Change has happened. Graduation is over, a job awaits. Nine months have passed, the baby is about to be born. It’s the first day of school and that kindergarten child gets to ride the school bus with the older sibling. And, the list can go on. Those anticipated opportunities creep up on us and before we know it, they are here…and gone. But when the waiting started, it seemed like forever.

But, the HAT. What about the HAT?

I’ll get to that. First, Joyce Meyer says:

We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting because change is a process. Many people want change, but they don't want to go through the waiting process. But the truth is, waiting is a given—we are going to wait. The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way? If we wait the wrong way, we'll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God's way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait. It takes practice…we develop patience, which is one of the most important Christian virtues.

You must understand that a key factor to this waiting situation is how you wait. Mark Twain wrote: “All good things arrive unto them that wait - and don't die in the meantime.” That’s it! Don’t die in the meantime.

Okay, but I still don’t get it. What does a HAT have to do with this!

Listen, it is all about the HAT…the HAT. You wear it on your head to protect you from the elements - or just to look nice. You know – Hope, Anticipation, Trust!

Welcome to LWC!

My name is Vivian and I am a writer. I am a Group Leader for the Florida Writers Association. I have recently been transplanted from Pennsylvania into warm, sunny Florida. It is a happy day for me.

While I have enjoyed a life of teaching and school administration, I love to write. I write short inspirational stories, poems, educational support materials, but the dearest to me is a conception of historical based young adult novels. One novel is almost complete; the other complete in my mind!

I want to encourage you to write, to find your niche. I want you to feel comfortable in your voice. This blog will give you updates, insights, and articles to guide you in your process.

I pray for a long, eventful journey! - Vivian

A Place of Refuge - Vivian Dippold

There’s nothing like floating in warm clear waters looking up at the billowing clouds on a background of the clearest blue. There is the white sandy beach with only a few multi-colored umbrellas with no one under them. It has to be my Euphoria. It is the place I crave the most.

It has been over three years since my husband of 44 years and I began the cancer journey. In that time he has had two bouts of cancer – prostate and rectal. And due to the cancers, he has suffered through the anxiety of an early retirement which brought about lingering emotional distress. It has been a tough, arduous journey. And, it still continues.

My refuge is that serene place of quiet contemplation where the clouds meet the horizon, where the sun shines brightly and warms the water. I place my head back and sing songs of praise to my Creator. I relax knowing that the One who made all of this surely knows my name and He cares about me.

In all of our distress, there has to be a Place of Refuge, a place where all is well. Not only is my refuge cradled in an empty beach, clear warm water, and a sky of white billowing clouds but it is more so in the strong enveloping arms of the One who created all that beauty. This is where I know all is well.