by CWC Marin administrator | Feb 26, 2020 | Classes and Workshops
Dear CWC Members & Friends,
We’re moving our meeting online this Sunday. Here are Instructions on How to Join Us.
Writing is rewriting—we’ve heard that so many times, it’s lost its meaning. But in the age of self-publishing, it’s truer than ever — too often, authors click “publish” before their books are ready for prime time.
Whether you work with editors or not, you as the author have to do most of the editing and rewriting. On March 22, author and CWC-Marin board member John Byrne Barry will present “Rewrite Right! 22 Ways to Make Your Book Better.” He’ll walk through 22 rewriting and editing strategies and tactics. Such as:
- Start scenes and chapters in the middle of the action.
- Map out chapters like you’re turning a combination lock.
- Eliminate unnecessary filter words.
- Make your setting work so it’s more than a description of your backdrop, but it advances plot, reveals character, echoes theme, and more.
- Always be in scene. (Or almost always.) If you can’t picture what’s happening, you may not be in scene.
John Byrne Barry is a writer, designer, actor, bicycle tour leader, and crossing guard. He is author of three novels — When I Killed My Father: An Assisted-Suicide Family Thriller, Wasted: Murder in the Recycle Berkeley Yard, and Bones in the Wash: Politics is Tough. Family is Tougher. For 25 years, he was a writer, editor, and designer for Sierra Club, serving as Director of Editorial and Design. More at johnbyrnebarry.com
by CWC Marin administrator | Feb 26, 2020 | Classes and Workshops
We are thrilled to welcome back David Corbett, one of the best writing teachers around, to present “Creating Compelling Stories with Three-Dimensional Characters and Four-Corner Conflict” on April 26.
He will be online. You must RSVP (below) to get the link for the meeting.
Desire drives action, action generates conflict, conflict creates suspense, and suspense keeps readers turning pages.
But desire and conflict operate on three distinct levels—external (real-world goals), internal (sense of self, meaning, purpose), and interpersonal (essential relationships). Building meaningful conflict means pitting your adversaries in struggles on all three levels—and interconnecting those three struggles to create narrative unity. And the more deliberate and focused the adversaries’ attacks on each other’s goals, relationships, and sense of self-worth, the greater the conflict and thus suspense.
Who will prevail? How? Why? Extending this to secondary characters, we can create what is known as four-corner conflict, creating additional thematic, dramatic, and moral complexity.
David Corbett is the award-winning author of the writing guides The Art of Character (“A writer’s bible,” says Elizabeth Brundage) and The Compass of Character. He has published six novels, including The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc HollidayHe has taught at the UCLA Writer’s Program, Litreactor, and at writing conferences across North America, and is a monthly contributor to Writer Unboxed, an award-winning blog dedicated to the craft and business of fiction. More at davidcorbett.com.
RSVP
To sign up, fill out the RSVP below and we will email you the link in advance of the presentation.
The presentation is free, however, we are asking for donations, which will contribute to the honorarium for our presenter. You can donate before or after the presentation.
(In-person meetings are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.)
by CWC Marin administrator | Feb 8, 2020 | Classes and Workshops, Events
If you’re thinking about self-publishing, there’s a lot of learn and no better person to learn from than Ruth Schwartz, book midwife and self-publishing consultant. She’ll be presenting on February 23 at 2 pm.
Ruth will explain the basics of how to get the most self-publishing juice from using KDP and IngramSpark efficiently and in the right order, including
- How to set your book up on KDP, and why to do your paperback first.
- How KDP makes it easy to add your Kindle edition once the paperback is set up.
- How to order proofs from KDP.
- Why to set up your book with IngramSpark — and why you may not need to bother.
- How to avoid paying any fees to IngramSpark.
Ruth Schwartz brings more than 40 years of book publishing, design and printing industry experience to every author’s project and has worked on over 120 independently-published books since 2012. She works with authors to turn finished manuscripts into finished books, complete with professional cover design, interior layout, and ebook editions — all up online and available for sale.
by CWC Marin administrator | Sep 9, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Events
If you want your book published by one of the big publishing houses, you need an agent. How do you get an agent? You write a letter.
Mary C. Moore, a literary agent with the Tiburon-based Kimberly Cameron & Associates, will be presenting “How to Query an Agent” on September 22 at 2 pm.
She will review the most important elements of query letters and critique a few live queries if participants print theirs out and bring them in.
Mary C. Moore graduated from Mills College, Oakland with a MFA in Creative Writing and English in 2012, dabbled in freelance editing and copy-writing before started an internship at Kimberley Cameron & Associates. She quickly fell in love with agenting, and dedicated two years as Kimberley’s assistant, before beginning her own client list, making deals with Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Macmillan and more.
by CWC Marin administrator | Sep 9, 2019 | Book Tour, Classes and Workshops, Events
California Writers Club Marin will be co-hosting two events this fall as part of Reimagine End of Life SF, a community wide exploration of big questions about life and death. More than 150 artists, storytellers, healthcare professionals, innovators, designers, faith and community leaders, organizations, and individuals will be banding together to amplify the end-of-life conversation.
Most events are in San Francisco, but also in Oakland, Berkeley, Petaluma, Mill Valley, and beyond.
We’ll be co-hosting “Why I Wrote an Assisted Suicide Family Thriller” on October 26 at Mo’Joe Cafe in Berkeley and November 2 in Mill Valley. Author and CWC Marin board member John Byrne Barry will read from his book — When I Killed My Father: An Assisted Suicide Family Thriller — and lead a conversation about end of life concerns — family decisions, dementia, dying, and more.
The book is fiction, but inspired by his mother’s last ten years, as she fell deeper into dementia.
The story follows psychologist Lamar Rose, whose father is suffering from cancer and dementia, and has asked his son to help him die. Lamar refuses, but his father keeps asking, and he relents. Then, at his father’s memorial, Lamar’s sister accuses him of murder from the pulpit of the church.
The event in Marin is at the Tam Valley Cabin, 60 Tennessee Valley Road. It’s free, but Reimagine urges folks to RSVP. After John reads from his novel and talks about what he learned while researching and writing the book, he will lead a conversation about the challenges and unexpected rewards that come with the end of life. Such as:
- What happens when families can’t agree about health care decisions?
- How do we respond when loved ones say they want to die?
- How do we treat dementia patients with kindness — reality therapy or compassionate fibbing?
- How we initiate end-of-life conversations when people refuse to talk about it?
Read more at johnbyrnebarry.com. You can also sign up through our Facebook event page.
by CWC Marin administrator | Jul 14, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Events
We had such a positive experience the past two summers hosting evening salons that we’re doing it again this summer. Open to a maximum of ten participants, the salons are hosted at a member’s home and everyone gets a chance to read and get feedback.
The first salon, on Thursday, July 25, 7 pm, will give participants the opportunity to read their book pitch — whether to a prospective agent or the blurb on the web.
Each reader will get five to ten minutes total for reading and feedback. The events will be potluck style so bring an appetizer or a bottle of wine and come join us!
RSVP to marincwc@gmail.com for directions and additional information. If you’re one of the first ten people, we’ll guarantee you a slot. We may have time for more.
We’ll host our second salon on August 22, where participants will be able to get feedback on their first pages.
