by CWC Marin administrator | Aug 23, 2020 | Member News
Hello Writers!
Thank you to all of you who responded for our brainstorming session. Your assistance was invaluable, and your passion for the Marin branch heart-warming. Although we did not manage to recruit new board members (but did recruit one volunteer), we decided that we would buckle down and not only keep the branch going, but sow the seeds to help it grow.
To that end, in addition to Marin pulling together an exciting speaker program lineup for the year, we have made an agreement with Redwood Writers (CWC in Santa Rosa) to provide even more opportunities for our members. Our agreement will allow our members to participate in Redwood Writers’ online meetings at the member rate, and vice versa. Members will not have to become a dual member for this discount.
If members choose to take advantage of Redwood Writers’ online meetings, our members have the opportunity to pay the Santa Rosa branch $30 upfront for their year’s meetings through June 2021 (with the exception to December and February meetings which are open to Redwood Writer members only). Otherwise, they charge a $5 member rate for each meeting attended. More info on how to do that to come.
Marin’s meetings will continue to be $5 for members and $10 for non-members with the exception of possible special events which would have their own pricing structure with a discount for members.
One of our brainstorm participants said that “last year was one of our best years yet.” We hope you’ve been able to take advantage of our rich programming this past year including presentations by David Corbett on “Compelling Stories with Three Dimensional Characters and Four Corner Conflict,” Mary C. Moore on “How to Query an Agent,” and Ruth Schwartz on “Best Practices for Self-Publishing with KDP and IngramSpark,” and many other incredibly talented presenters. You can see our past events on our website. (As always, we welcome your ideas for new programs).
With our collaboration with Redwood Writers, we expect nearly twice the number of equally-engaging online meetings this next year for you to enjoy. If we are lucky, we may have a few in person gatherings if conditions permit.
So, we invite you to renew your membership in the California Writers Club–Marin today.
Why Join CWC-Marin?
We will continue to feature programs to help you with your writing:
- Enhance and improve the craft of your writing
- Stay on top of the latest trends in marketing & publishing
- Learn from industry professionals and/or peers
- Network with industry professionals and peers
- Get savvy about marketing your work
- Receive valuable editorial input by establishing or joining a critique group
- Obtain support and camaraderie from other writers
CWC Member-Only Benefits:
- Receive discounts on all CWC branch meetings, workshops and events.
- Get published in The California Writers Club Literary Review — find out more at www.calwriters.org.
- Exposure – Check out our website — cwcmarin.com — where we feature Member Profiles of current members.
- Publicity – Get your events posted on our branch’s Facebook page and in our email newsletter.
- Access to Redwood Writers’ online meetings at the member rate is included in your membership.
- You can join other CWC branches at a discount (only $25) under what is called “Dual Membership.”
Your membership is vital to help us continue to deliver quality programs for writers like you. So, whether you are a current member or you have let it lapse, please join today.
Current Members:
Current members can renew for only $45 if paid by September 30. The fee for new members and members renewing after Sept. 30 is $65 — that includes the state organization’s $20 fee for new members. To renew, please look out for the PayPal invoice shortly, or go to https://cwcmarin.com/join/. If you wish to pay by check, please make it payable to CWC and send it to: CWC- Marin, Treasurer, 124 Tiburon Blvd, San Rafael, CA 94901.
Former Members and New Members:
Come back and join in the fun. Go to our website https://cwcmarin.com/join/ to join for $65.
Students:
Join the fun for only $10. Go to our website https://cwcmarin.com/join/ to become a member.
Out of the Area:
Consider a Dual Membership for only $25 when Marin is your second membership. Go to our website https://cwcmarin.com/join/ to join.
Renew today! Our membership year runs from July 1 – June 30.
Upcoming Events:
Due to the fires, our September event line up may change. We will announce the upcoming events by early September.
The first online event will be on Saturday, September 19th 1:00 – 2:30 pm. Details to follow, but mark your calendar.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at marincwc@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you again on Zoom!
Sincerely,
The CWC-Marin Board
Mike Van Horn, Alison Marshall, Jett Walker, Mary Krefting and Diane Vickers
by CWC Marin administrator | Jan 10, 2020 | Member News
We’re sorry to share the news that Carmen Appell, former board member of CWC Marin, died in December. We will miss her quiet spirit and we express our condolences to her sons and their families.
Here’s an excerpt from the obituary in the Marin Independent Journal:
Carmen Teresa Appell Oct 26, 1951 – Dec 10, 2019
Our beloved mother, daughter, sister and wife passed away unexpectedly on December 10, 2019 due to complications from cancer at Marin General Hospital.
Carmen is survived by her two sons; Donald J. Baker III and Daniel M. Baker and their spouses Julie C. Baker and Anna C. Psaila as well as four grandchildren and a niece. Carmen was preceded in death by her Father Hugh M. Appell, Mother, Dora A. Appell, Brother, Robert Appell and sister Luísa Appell.
Carmen worked professionally as a social justice and victims advocacy paralegal for 30 years before her retirement in 2016.
She was born in Mexico City in 1951 as her parents attended and taught at Mexico City College after their service in WWII as radio operators during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942.
She was an avid writer and active member of the Redwood Writers Club. She had recently completed her memoirs. A memorial will be held on January 12, 2020 at the Fairfax Women’s Club from 12-3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to the American Cancer Society
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by CWC Marin administrator | Jun 7, 2019 | Member News
Hi, I’m taking over as president of CWC Marin from Mary Krefting, who has done a magnificent job pulling our club through a tough time.
I will run the meetings, but Mary will still help line up excellent presenters and stay on top of finances.
John Byrne Barry will keep turning out great newsletters and updating the website.
The other board members are Alison Marshall, Jett Walker, and Carmen Appell.
I’ve been a CWC member for a few years. I write science fiction. Book 1 of my trilogy, “Aliens Crashed in My Back Yard,” was just published. I’d love to connect with other club members who write — or read — science fiction.
Our June 23 program is on creating audio books, led by Becky Parker Geist. See more here. During July and August we will schedule two evening discussion groups, our Summer Salons, where participants will have a chance to read their writing and get feedback from the others. Last summer these were very powerful. We limit the salons to ten people, so sign up early. We’ll let you know the dates though the newsletter as well on our website and Facebook page.
We’d love to hear what kind of presentations you’d like. Here are a few of the options we’re considering. Please tell us which of these appeal to you, and what other topics you’d like.
- editing
- agent interviews
- the latest twists from social media for book promotion
- book conferences, how to prepare, how to get the most from them
See you on June 23!
Mike Van Horn
by CWC Marin administrator | Mar 31, 2019 | Classes and Workshops, Craft, Events, Member News
[Note: This event has been rescheduled from April 3 in Berkeley to June 5 in Oakland.]
On June 5 at 6 pm, I’ll be leading a two-hour workshop for the California Writers Club in Berkeley — Setting That Works: How Memorable Setting Can Advance Plot, Reveal Character, Echo Theme, and More. We’ll be gathering at WeWork, 1111 Broadway, Oakland. (If you were at the CWC Marin meeting this past November, you saw an earlier version of this workshop.)
We all know that the primary job of setting — in fiction, memoir, and narrative nonfiction — is to immerse readers in the scene. So they can visualize it, feel it, smell it.
But the most memorable and effective setting is more than a pretty, or gritty description. It’s lean and strong because it’s working hard. Doing two or more jobs. Not just showing the reader where the story is taking place, but also advancing your plot, unifying various elements of your story, revealing character, echoing theme, setting mood, and more.
In this hands-on workshop, we will review the different ways setting can strengthen your story, and do several writing exercise putting what we learned into action.
One of the most common jobs of setting is defining, revealing, or changing character. For example, in Larry McMurtry’s western, Lonesome Dove, the characters are so defined by the setting, they almost couldn’t exist elsewhere.
The story follows two retired Texas Rangers and their fellow cowboys as they drive a cattle herd from Texas to Montana, facing bandits, Indians, disease, and the harshness of the landscape. The challenges of the Old West breed a certain kind of character — a loner, macho, self-reliant, independent.
You can read about the other jobs that setting can do in Setting That Works: How Memorable Setting Can Advance Plot, Reveal Character, Echo Theme, and More.
Sign up here.
by CWC Marin administrator | Mar 12, 2019 | Book Launch, Member News
Aliens Crashed in My Back Yard, Book 1 of Mike Van Horn’s trilogy, has just been published on Amazon.
Selena M, a singer who fears she’s going over the hill, rescues the surviving—very non-human—alien. She decides to nurse it to health and send it back home. Turns out the alien is also a singer, and they help each other recapture the soul of their singing. But the government has very different ideas.
This is a light-hearted, humorous, non-shoot-em-up sci fi tale. Seven of Selena’s songs are included. For an excerpt, go here.
