First Things First

Hello, Herders! On June 1, when I posted the notice for last month’s meeting, the 7 day rolling average of new covid-19 cases in Benton and Franklin counties was 35. On July 1, the 7 day rolling average of new cases was 95. Not surprisingly, the Library remains closed to group meetings and it will not be possible to have our July meeting there. So, we will be meeting via Zoom again.

Contact me for the meeting code and password.

Introductions and Your Great News

Congratulations to Maureen McQuerry on her latest – a board book box set, Big Ideas for Little Philosophers, now available for pre-order. The covers are adorable – if you haven’t seen them yet, check them out!

What’s your great news?

Upcoming Events, Conferences and Workshops

• July 14, 2020; 11 am: A Zoom book launch party! Hosted by Liberty Bay Books. Illustrator Robin Rosenthal will show her art process! Register here: https://www.libertybaybooks.com/event/zoom-launch-event-big-ideas-little-philosophers 
• July 25, 2020; 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Craft Seminar presented by the Shipman Agency: Daniel José Older – Crisis Creates Us: Storytelling at the Breaking Point. https://www.theshipmanagency.com/classes/craft-seminar-crisis-creates-us-storytelling-at-the-breaking-point-with-daniel-jos-older
• July 31 – August 4, 2020: SCBWI Online Summer Spectacular. Advertised as a digital event featuring the biggest and brightest stars in the children’s literature galaxy. They plan to host it on Zoom, with video recordings available the entire month of August. You can participate live or watch at your convenience. The line up looks pretty darned impressive. Check it out:
  https://www.scbwi.org/events/scbwi-summer-spectacular-2020

Discussion – Beats!

What exactly are beats in fiction writing? There are differing definitions. One definition is: a beat is the smallest unit of a story. Put together beats, and you have a scene; multiple scenes and you have a chapter; enough chapters and you have a book. Shawn Coyne who developed the Story Grid approach to storytelling defines a beat as an identifiable moment of change. Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat, doesn’t really define a beat, but he has a nifty “Beat Sheet” that may be helpful to your story structure. We’ll talk about a few of these perspectives on beats in fiction.

• What are action beats and how can you use them in fiction writing? by Louise Harnby;
  https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/what-are-action-beats-and-how-can-you-use-them-in-fiction-writing
• Story Beats: Understanding Units of Story, by Shawn Coyne; https://storygrid.com/story-beats
• How to Outline Your Novel with Save the Cat! by Savannah Gilbo;
  https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/plotting-save-the-cat
• How to Write an Awesome Beat Sheet for Your Screenplay;
  https://industrialscripts.com/beat-sheet/#:~:text=A%20beat%20sheet%20is%20a,emotional%20points%20in%20your%20screenplay.

In addition, local author Allen Johnson has been accumulating examples of Gestures, Expressions, and Movement Beats by Category based on the works of best selling authors. You can find his list so far posted on the Wordherders webpage. Allen continues to update and refine his list.  If you have questions about the list or want to obtain his updated list, contact me and I’ll forward his email to you.

Marketing and Community Engagement

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Next Meeting

• August 10, 2020