Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is January 14-25, 2009. Wino Writers will be in attendance not just because Tony Curtis and Harry from Sex and the City aka Evan Handler will be there promoting their books (although they are big draws for us!!), but because the 12-day cinematic examination of Jewish life, culture and history is jam packed full of Jewish genius and Alan Alda!

According to the website (which will have more information on Dec. 9th), “AJFF is the second largest Jewish film festival in the United States (and largest film festival in Atlanta), attracting an audience of 15,000 and showcasing some 50 international works that examine various aspects of Jewish life. Moviegoers cast their ballots for the Best Narrative and Best Documentary film of the Festival, with winners receiving the AJFF Audience Award. Screenings are supplemented with guest appearances by filmmakers, actors, authors, academics and other expert panelists. In 2007, the AJFF was recognized with prestigious grants from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).”

Check out the festival and tell us what you think!

A Nearby Writing Retreat

Wino Writer Beth recently did something that we all wish we could do when we’re near the end of a project or when our writing begins to stagnate like long forgotten produce in the back of our refrigerator – she took a writer’s retreat.

She did not, however, go to the beach or even more than fifteen miles from home. She went to a Marriott in downtown Atlanta. Not just any Marriott though. She went to one that did not have a lot of action nearby, but did have the most valuable asset to a writer seeking solitude: room service.

W.W.Beth said that she was not tempted in the slightest to leave her room and she got more writing done than she has in months (okay, years). She reports that the drawback of this setup is that you do get a small case of cabin fever and she felt completely burned out in the end, which caused her to occasionally flip on the TV, which was, according to her own self-imposed rules, illegal.

Nearby Retreat verdict: bring a friend and bring a bottle (and only one!) of vino.

Bitch, Bitch, Bitch

We don’t normally do this. We just drink wine and write. We don’t ever recommend wine. Why would we? We don’t know the first thing about tannins or palettes or legs or any of the rest of that gobbeldygook. But we do know dagone good wine when we drink it.

Of course, we can tell that the fancy expensive stuff (e.g. costing more than $3) tastes better. But we don’t discriminate against a bottle or box of anything. Still, after trying out the Bitch Barossa Grenache, the 2005 varietal (I Googled that word), we decided to let the world know how we feel: That bitch was good!

And she ain’t that pricey neither. She runs about $9-12 depending on where you live and where you buy. If you can’t find it, here’s a good listing of places that sell it.

Give her a try. Tell us what you think. We don’t mind none.

Quips and Tips…and Inspiration

We Wino Writers have found that occasionally we run outta gas (but we never run outta wine:). Still, when we get stuck in this patch of writing doldrums, we like to go to a seminar, hit up a conference or at the very least get a pep-talk from someone making it in the biz.

Here’s one inspirational site that we like cause it gives us words of advice, it isn’t preachy and it motives us to move forward:  Quips and Tips for Freelance Writers.

Help a Reporter Out

Often I find that if you’re a writer, you’ve done some PR or you would like some publicity yourself. I know this is true for the wino writers.

One free way to follow press leads is through Help A Reporter Out or HARO. Run by Peter Shankman, self-proclaimed CEO, entrepreneur and adventurist, the press leads he gets are varied and his emails are often humorous and informative.

Sign up and follow the leads, but if you find that you or a client of yours would be a good fit, remember to pitch well. That means, sending a short bio with your applicable merits, answer the lead the way it asks in tips, with advice or information and be done with it. Brevity is key!

If you pitch poorly, you might wind up on the Bad Pitch Blog. Dun dun dun.

If you have a question about pitching, ask away and if you have advice, please leave a comment.

Happy pitching!

Free Freelance Job Postings?

Yes, there are free freelance job postings out there on the that there internet.

Check out Freelancewriting.com – they have a morning coffee newsletter that goes out every Tuesday morning and pools tons of freelance opportunities. Some will be geographically specific, some will come from Craigslist postings, but there is good stuff there. I’ve used it and gotten work.

Also look at Freelance Writing Jobs. While this is a blog, jobs and useful advice can be found there.

What other sites list freelance job postings without calling for a free to apply?

Writer’s Best Friend

We have found a way to end all excuses about writing – the Alphasmart Neo. A modern day word processor that weights only 2 lbs and is small enough to be stowed in a purse, you can take this little guy anywhere, whip it out and write some pages.

The Neo saves as you type and there’s no pesky distractions aka “internet” to get in the way of writing. If you want the internet on your Alphasmart, get the Dana. This, however, is not advised for Wino Writers or anyone else who has an addiction to Porn, I mean Google. With 3 AA batteries, the Neo works for something like 300 hours. That’s about all the time you need to crank out your next novel.

The cost is $220. Look in Writer’s Digest for a discount coupon. Or, if you’re hard up for cash, buy an older model like the Alphasmart 2000 or 3000 on Ebay (if you do, make sure you get all the cords you need).

This sucker won’t exactly make you look cool, but it is a point of interest and good for chit chat with your coffee shop neighbor or plane mate. Just remember not to tell them that these machines are mainly used in primary schools:)

Gimme a Grand

The Shya Scanlon 7-Line Story Contest is back, this time judged by Brian Evenson. The rules are simple: write a story that is seven lines (not necessarily sentences) or less within margins that are 8.5″ or less. Fiction, non-fiction, prose poetry or any other excellence is allowed. The winning story, along with a handful of finalists, will appear in Opium7 which will debut on Oct. 6.

The Deadline: August 15, 2008
The Reward: $1,000, and publication in Opium7.
The Cost: $10 for a single entry; $17.50 for two
How to Submit: Send your story to OpiumPrize@gmail.com (after you’ve paid)
The Odds: We can’t know until all entries are in, but we publish many stories from our contests (from our most recent contest: 10 appear in Opium6, over 30 on OpiumMagazine.com).

Atlanta Writer’s Club Picnic

The Wino Writer’s will be attending the annual Atlanta Writer’s Club picnic this coming Saturday, June 21st at the aptly named Picnic Pavilion. Find more details at the AWC site. This will be a chance to meet other local writers,
mix, mingle and enjoy some fine picnic fare, so come on and join us!

Doubts Are Traitors

I was recently reading a blog post about Aaron Patzer, found of Mint, and felt that the words he spoke about starting a business mirrored my own feelings about writing my first novel.  Patzer said:

“(I) oscillated day to day between thinking “This is the greatest idea ever!” and “This will never work.  Who am I to take on Intuit and Microsoft?  If this was a good idea, someone would have done it before.” It’s very emotional, and I don’t think people ever tell you about that.  You see your net worth quickly draining, you have no idea what’s going to happen next, and you’re sitting alone in a room with no help, no resources, just your brain and sheer will-power.  When ever I got down, I would listen to “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra, or think about a Shakespeare quote I liked as a kid: “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we might oft win, by fearing to attempt.”

I think this is what most writers go through at some point and I think he’s got it right – when the doubts creep in, stay positive, pick yourself up and move on.