Below please find the link to the final version of the fourth installment of Greg Elliot's writer's education series, "A Primer on Writing for Television and the Movies Part Four: The Rewrite: You’ve written your script, created your bible, now what?”
A big thank you to MWSA’s Writers Education Committee Chair Jim Tritten, our instructor Greg Elliot, and all of our webinar series participants. We hope you enjoyed the series.
The following is from MWSA member Raul Herrera, author of Capturing Skunk Alpha and member of the Swift Boat Sailors Association (SBSA). He wanted to pass along this information for those attending the MWSA 2024 Annual Conference in September.
“I was the president of the SBSA during the time we, in concert with the Maritime Museum of San Diego, were able to secure a Swift Boat, Mark II, from Malta. Today, the museum has custody of the boat, PCF-816. Numerous Vietnam Era / SBSA area members (The Dirty Boat Guys) keep her in the best shape possible. The history is here - https://swiftboatsailorsmemorial.com/exhibits/show/pcf816/pcf_816_history.
“MWSA may already have planned tours in conjunction with the 2024 Conference, but perhaps you might be able to add this information in forthcoming conference announcements. Some of the attendees might be able to squeeze in a visit. PCF-816 is an in-the-water museum craft. Rides are available.
“In addition to the Maritime Museum, the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado is home to the Vietnam Unit Memorial where boats from three Task Force Unit (TF-115, Swift Boat PCF-104; TF-116 PBR; and TF-117, CCB-118) combat craft make up a beautiful static display. Website - http://www.vummf.com/.
“They face a memorial wall built by Task Force veterans and volunteers and was formally dedicated on 21 May 2005. The Memorial wall contains the names of the 2,564 Navy and Coast Guardsmen who died in Vietnam during the period 1960 to 1975. I can provide contact information for group or individual on-base visits.”
Thank you, Raul, for sharing this information about this unique exhibit in San Diego. Raul’s can be reached by email at raul@skunkalpha.com, and he is scheduled to be one of our seminar presenters.
On September 26, 2024, MWSA members will host a Write Your Story (WYS) event for local military, veterans, and their families while we are in San Diego from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Location for the event is the Admiral Kidd Catering and Conference Center, Bldg. A-3, Nimitz Room, on Naval Base Point Loma, Harbor Drive Annex. Lunch is included.
This event is geared toward newer writers who want to tell their stories but may not know where to begin. We encourage MWSA members to get the word out to friends and family in the San Diego area who may be interested in this free event.
MWSA members attending the annual conference may attend, space permitting. We are limited to 40 attendees. Please contact WYS Logistics Coordinator Valerie Ormond at writeyourstory@mwsa.co if interested. Please note that for those without base access, registration is required by Jul. 25; all others may register by Sep. 6. Valerie can place members on a space available list and will notify by email in mid-September if there is room to attend.
MWSA announced our 2024 Awards Finalists this Saturday, July 6, via a recorded video announcement.
If you missed watching live (or “listening” live during our watch party), the announcement videos are available on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Visit our 2024 season page to see a list of all the finalists and their books. That page also has links to the video announcement on each of the social media platforms mentioned above. You can also see a copy of the press release announcing our finalists.
MWSA will announce our 2024 Awards Finalists this Saturday, July 6, at 8 PM Eastern (7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific Daylight Time).
The announcement will be broadcast on our Facebook and Instagram accounts at that time. You can watch the video live by yourself using the Facebook and Instagram links below.
But why watch by yourself when you can watch it with your fellow MWSA authors at a live online watch party? ;-)
Zoom Watch Party
This year, we’re trying something new: a finalist announcement watch party on Zoom. Join us 5-10-15 minutes before the scheduled time. Then, we’ll watch the video together live at the times listed above (8 PM Eastern).
After the video airs, we’ll spend another 15-30 minutes congratulating this year’s winners and/or fielding any questions you may have. Use the link below to join us on Zoom.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89879264354?pwd=0sqzjCEtps9AJ0OS3PggXPxVsIEoF9.1
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos
https://www.instagram.com/mwsa.member/
If you miss the live presentations, we’ll post the video on our website and our allied social media sites. We’ll also publish a list of our finalists on our 2024 season page shortly after the live video announcement (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2024-season)
Good luck to all our 2024 authors!
Here is an excellent opportunity to enter a no-cost writing contest open only to veterans and active duty military personnel.
The 2024 contest rules include the following.
• Submit a manuscript in any genre (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction) of up to 20 pages. Prose submissions must be double-spaced. Work must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are fine, assuming you inform us of acceptance elsewhere.
• The judge will select winners from a group of finalists chosen by Iowa Review editors. All manuscripts, whether selected as finalists or not, are considered for publication.
• Proof of military service is not required when submitting. (We request documentation only when a writer's work makes it to the final round of judging.)
• To submit online, please visit https://iowareview.submittable.com/submit between May 1 and 31, 2024, and follow the instructions.
For full details, please visit https://iowareview.org/veteranswritingcontest.
Good luck!
Jack Woodville London, Director Emeritus of the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA), will speak on the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings at Omaha and Utah Beaches in Normandy, France. Jack will speak at the Brittany American Military Cemetery at Montjoie-Saint-Martin, France, on June 6, 2024, and at the Normandy American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on June 7, 2024.
Jack, in his own words:
“I am humbled by this invitation. Like many of us, I grew up in a small town where the men and women of my parents’ generation had served in the war, become heroes in their service, and never spoke of it. Only when I served I the Army myself did I begin to learn the magnitude of courage and the gravity of sacrifice that the men and women of the generation before us summoned to go ashore in France and in all the theatres of war and to fight, suffer, and too often die for our country in a war that demanded honorable sacrifice by every living American, man, woman, and child.”
The invitation to Jack to speak in France on D-Day is almost certainly because of the books he has written, particularly his historical World War II trilogy French Letters, for which he won the Author of the Year Award and for which the final novel, Children of a Good War, was named best historical military fiction of 2018-2019. Click here to order the books. Friends are encouraged to send messages to Jack at jack@jackwlondon.com.
For more information or an interview with Jack, please contact Marlena Brown (mlbpublicity@gmail.com).
Did you know a wealth of wisdom is posted on the MWSA website? Recordings of writer education webinars and presentations made by specialists willing to share their knowledge, all with information on how to draft your story in various genres—from memoirs to short stories to screenplays—provide plenty of food for thought. Let’s review where you can find these nuggets and how you can learn about upcoming virtual events sponsored by our organization.
First, recordings of previous events can be accessed on the MWSA website, usually within one day of the live event. On your computer or smartphone, navigate to https://www.mwsadispatches.com/writers-education, where all is revealed. A link to this URL is also posted on the Facebook MWSA Public Page and in all announcements or invitations.
Currently, on the MWSA website, you can find five presentations by Greg Elliot, screenwriter/author/editor, that address story structure, emotion, and writing for big and small screens. Next is a four-part series by Dawn Brotherton, where she outlines the steps we all should take before drafting a book that we intend to submit to an agent, a publisher, or even to our reviewers. Dawn covers character traits, backstory, point of view, and punctuation (just in case you were not paying attention in High School English). Next, Ruth Crocker addresses Navigating Nonfiction, Jim Tritten has a presentation on Writing Short Stories, and Wendy Meyerhoff walks us through making websites winners.
Clicking the above link will take you to the library of past presentations. What about where to see the next live presentation? If you are a member of MWSA or follow the Facebook MWSA Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/, you should get an eBlast via the email we have in our database, or you should receive a Facebook Notification or invitation to the event. Here is an example of a Facebook posting for our next Writer Education event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1852762208497164/, on Saturday, June 15th, which is also Valdemarsdag—Danish Flag Day. Events are also posted on the MWSA website. Here is a link to the next event: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2024/4/writing-for-screens-big-and-small-part-3
To attend a live event, click on the URL in any announcement or invitation. Right now, that URL is always https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09, but please check the most current notification to make sure it did not change. Once you click the link, your participation will be like any Zoom meeting. The moderator will mute everyone while the speaker is making the presentation. Questions or comments are best handled by putting them in chat, and they will be dealt with at the end of the presentation by the speaker or the moderator. Once the live event is completed, a link to watch it will be posted to the library, as explained above. Generally, all the slides or other materials used in the presentation are also posted.
Please take advantage of these informative events put on by your organization. Writers Education is a great resource. If you have any suggestions about additional speakers (including yourself) or new topics, contact anyone on the board or, if you like, directly to me at jtritten121@comcast.net.
A sneak preview from Greg Elliot:
Many of the ways we tell stories for the movies and television are similar to how we construct a tale for a novel, or a short story. One of the big differences is how we use dialogue.
MWSA Writers Education Series continues on Saturday, April 20, at 5:00 PM EST with Greg Elliot. In this installment, Greg will continue his presentation about screenwriting and writing for television.
The Zoom link is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09 and is also in the graphic. We hope to see you there!
Back by popular demand, the MWSA Writers Education Series continues on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 5:00 PM EST with Greg Elliot who will speak with members about screen writing and writing for television. The Zoom link is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09 and is also in the graphic. We hope to see you there!
The publisher of Dithering Chaps asked Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) to pass this offering on to our members.
Subject: Lines in the Sand
Writing Competition: Poetry up to 30 lines; Flash Fiction up to 400 words.
Deadline: Feb. 29, 2024
£5 per entry
Enter at www.bournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk
MWSA is not affiliated with this organization and suggests those considering involvement conduct their own research.
The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) provides the following to members who may be interested in submitting to this program. This was brought to our attention by one of our MWSA members.
Call for Submissions: Prose, Poetry, and Visual Art
Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) is excited to launch a 2024 anthology with publisher Unleash Creatives. We seek authentic, compelling, and polished short stories, creative nonfiction, humor, poetry, photography, and visual art.
Theme: Partnerships, The Untold Stories
Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.
Prizes
We are offering an Editors’ Choice Grand Prize of $500 and three genre prizes of $250 for winners in prose, poetry, and the visual arts. All finalists will be considered for publication.
Guidelines
Deadline: March 1, 2024
Accepting submissions from U.S veterans, service members, military spouses, family members, and caregivers. Leave all identifying information off the submission itself. The first round will be judged anonymously. You can submit one submission per category. Reprints accepted if not published within the last year. The writer / artist must retain rights to their work.
Prose Submissions
Maximum length is 2,000 words.
Double-space, use a 12pt font, and add page numbers.
Submit as a google doc or PDF.
Poetry Submissions
Use a 12pt font and add page numbers.
Submit as a google doc or PDF.
Visual Art Submissions
We welcome all types of visual art including photography, sculpture, textile, painting, drawing, etc.
Submit a jpeg or png file at 300 dpi.
We abide by the CLMP Code of Ethics and pledge to conduct our contests as ethically as possible. Namely, submissions are read without identifying information and evaluated by at least two reviewers.
Questions?
Contact programs@asapasap.org
The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) is soliciting price quotes for 2024 MWSA Publications
Title: MWSA Magazine Dispatches
Opening Date: 01/01/2024
Closing Date: 02/01/2024
For details, click here (or on the image to the right).
Use your military service—and your DoD ID (or local library card)—to get this valuable freebie.
Go to https://libbyapp.com/ to set up your account, or download the Libby app from your device’s app store.
Once you’re at their website or have downloaded the app, go to the Library section (icon with three horizontal lines at the bottom of the screen)
Select or add the Department of Defense library and then “DoD MWR Libraries.”
You’ll then go to an authentication section where you’ll enter your DoD ID number and date of birth (they may also ask for the last four of your SSN).
Start borrowing!
If you don’t have a DoD ID, you can still set up an account by using your local library card, but this process may require a call to your local librarian to figure out their system. I had to call my library to figure out what my PIN was. My card uses the last four digits of my library card account number, but your card might be different.
Heck, it’s free and worth the effort.
We’re sharing presentation slides that Jim Tritten (our 2023 MWSA Writer of the Year) made which cover some details about writing for and about the military.
You can browse the slides below, or click on the image to the right to download your own copy.
Thanks Jim!
We’ve received several requests for the slides that MWSA Awards Director Betsy Beard used for her briefing during this year’s general membership conference in New London.
Click on the image to the right to download a copy in PDF format.
Visit our Facebook page tomorrow (September 16) at 6PM Eastern for a livestream of our awards banquet.
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos
If you miss the live presentation, the recording should be available on the link above.
We hope to post all the medal winners on the 2023 Season page shortly after the banquet.
MWSA is seeking viable candidates for copyediting and layout services for the 2024 editions of Dispatches magazine. See the details below.
The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) is soliciting price quotes for Dispatches magazine
Opening Date: 09/05/23 | Closing Date: 10/14/23
Scope of Work: Scope of Work: MWSA Dispatches Magazine: Copyediting, Layout, Design, Publication, Distribution, and Marketing Support.
Period of Performance: 10/16/2023 – 11/20/2024. This includes four issues of the magazine to be published: 04/15/2024, 07/15/2024, 10/15/2024, and 01/15/2024.
Option Years. At the Sole discretion of the MWSA Board of Directors, this contract may be extended for a total of not more than three option years. If an Option Year is exercised, it will include a maximum of a 2.5% inflation rate.
Option Year 1: November 2024 – November 2025
Option Year 2: November 2025 – November 2026
Option Year 3: November 2026 – November 2027
About MWSA
MWSA is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation to support military writers. The purposes of the organization are to help military service members, veterans, their families, supporters, and historians record history and the complexities of military life, and to encourage writing as therapy. The organization focuses on using the writing of MWSA members to educate the general public, students, and the military community.
Contract Performance Work Statement for MWSA Dispatches Magazine
This MWSA Request For Quote (RFQ) seeks a Price Quote and relevant experience qualifiers from knowledgeable individuals and businesses to become a compensated provider, working with MWSA volunteers to provide services to compile, format, edit, publish, and market MWSA 2024 Dispatches magazines. Specific services will include:
1. Work with the MWSA Publication Chair/Editor-In-Chief and other volunteers to produce the MWSA quarterly Dispatches magazine.
2. Produce magazine softcopy, providing copyediting and layout and design services
3. Provide eMagazine layout and design
4. Provide eBook layout and design (as needed)
5. License and supply graphic content (as needed)
6. Photo restoration (as needed)
7. High-resolution image conversion (as needed)
8. Provide cover art design for MWSA approval.
9. Supply complete versions for review and approval to MWSA Publications Chair
a. PDF for print version
b. PDF for eBook w/embedded cover version (as needed)
c. PDF w/cover for eMagazine version
10. Provide upload to the Print house for distribution.
a. Amazon/KDP
b. Ingram (as needed)
11. After Publication Marketing
a. Provide cover art jpgs of hi-res and web for MWSA IT/Social Media
b. Supply designs, jpgs, pngs, PDFs as requested for marketing via IT/social media marketing
12. Set up MWSA sales account through Print house.
a. Ensure all sales royalties are paid directly to the MWSA Treasurer
b. Ensure all ad royalties are paid directly to the MWSA Treasurer
c. Ensure control by MWSA board over title (active or retired)
d. Changes to document (as needed) in case of misprint or error
13. Provide quarterly royalties statements to MWSA Treasurer as requested.
a. Note: No royalty or administrative costs will be retained by the contractor. All proceeds from sales after print cost will be paid directly to MWSA. Contractor will provide documentation of such upon request.
14. Offerors will provide all names of individuals who will support this effort. Updates to names shall be provided to the MWSA Publications Chair throughout the period of performance.
15. This effort can be canceled at any time for the good of MWSA. Offerors may terminate after thirty days’ written notice.
Please provide Price Quote for this project including the following:
16. Examples of experience with similar projects in the past five years.
17. Two work reference points of contact (name, email, and phone number).
Email proposals to the MWSA Contacts listed below by 10/14/23.
MWSA Contact:
Gary Zelinski, MWSA Publications Chair. communications@mwsa.co
Click to visit website
From the Cuddy Foundation for Veterans website (not affiliated with MWSA):
Our foundation accepts original submissions from veterans, active duty personnel, and anyone who wishes to help us develop this creative outlet.
Purchases of our journals will directly benefit the missions of The Cuddy Family Foundation for Veterans! Moving forward, we will try to release poetry and short story journals twice a year.
Here are the submission deadlines for future journals:
August 30, 2023 - Volume Six
February 29, 2024 - Volume Seven
August 30, 2024 - Volume Eight
Guidelines
Submissions should be sent in the body of an email to this address: info@tcfffv.org
No attachments, please.
While we have not established a line or word count limit for submissions, please use discretion as we anticipate a large volume of entries for each quarterly edition.
All submissions should be original works that have not been previously published.
Please include your full name, mailing address, phone number, branch of service (if applicable), and any relevant social media or author links in the email with your poem(s). Poets are welcome to submit more than one poem per submission period.
Please include your full name, mailing address, phone number, branch of service (if applicable), and any relevant social media or author links in the email with your poem(s). Poets are welcome to submit more than one poem per submission period.
Many thanks to the organizations and individuals that have helped to spread the word about our poetry and short story journals to veterans and others!
Your Dispatches editorial staff has created a new section on our website to help MWSA members submit articles or advertisements for publication in our quarterly magazine.
In this new section of our website, you’ll find a
Submission form with requirements and instructions
includes a contact form and a file transfer portal to send documents and files
Click here to email our Dispatches staff with general inquiries or comments