Redwood Writers

Upcoming events and classes

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:34:00 +0000

There are many worthwhile upcoming events and classes for writers and for members of Redwood Writers. Please mark these on your calendar. These are listed in order of their occurrence.

Speakeasy: A Quarterly Literary Saloon

@ Aqus Cafe, Petaluma CA.

Gather for a drink, a bite & a feast of words with hosts
Susan Bono & Ransom Stephens.

Spring Edition: April 7, 2010 7-9 p.m. @ Aqus Café, 2^nd and H Petaluma

Admission: $5 (sliding scale) to benefit The Phoenix Theatre After School Tutoring Program

Featuring
Gwynn O'Gara, Sonoma County Poet Laureate
Patricia Volonakis Davis, author of Harlot's Sauce & founder of Harlots' Sauce Radio
Dan Coshnear, author of Jobs and Other Preoccupations, editor of 95% Naked
Ransom Stephens, introduces his new novel The God Patent, starring Petaluma
Susan Bono, editor-in-chief of Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative

ATTN: WRITERS! Bring a short piece of writing and enter the drawing for the 2 open mic slots (7 min. each)!

Mark your calendar now for the Summer edition, July 22, 2010!

About the writers:

Gwynn O’Gara is the author of Snake Woman Poems, Fixer-Upper and Winter at Green Haven. She has taught with California Poets in the Schools for twenty years, and was recently selected as Sonoma County Poet Laureate for 2010-2011. Her poems appear in the current issues of Calyx. Beatitude Golden Anniversary issue, Sage Woman, and What the World Hears, the CPITS 2009 Anthology.

Patricia V. Davis is the author of Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece, which was called "delicious" by Marin Independent Journal, and a "compulsively readable, cross-cultural memoir that is both hilarious and heartbreaking”, by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, author of Love in Translation and Midori by Moonlight.

Daniel Coshnear - dan@coshnear.org - works nights at a sixty day shelter for the homeless in Santa Rosa. He teaches fiction writing at a variety of SF bay area university extension programs. He is author of Jobs & Other Preoccupations (Helicon Nine 2001). Recent publications are in Juked and The Third Coast and in the anthology, 95% Naked: Fictions and Nonfictions, which he edited.

Wine country writing teacher, freelance editor, and publisher, Susan Bono has become a literary icon the old fashioned way: by writing, sharing her work and opening channels for others to share theirs. Susan is the gentle mistress of personal essay; bask in her affection for the written word at www.tiny-lights.com.

Ransom Stephens is a professor of particle physics turned writer and speaker. His new novel, The God Patent (www.TheGodPatent.com), is set right here in Petaluma; the SF Chronicle called it “…a narrative that sings of the heart and the scientific method as two parts of the same song.”

Message from Redwood Writer member Tom Mariani:

Our recent Newsletter gave a great plug for the Redwood Writers' participation in the National Endowment for the Arts annual BIG READ.

We will meet at the Glaser Center 547 Mendocino Ave. Sign-in starts at 6 pm The program will begin at 6:30. A parking lot is directly behind the center.

Bring a non-member friend and be prepared to discuss your favorite parts of Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER. We will also have an opportunity to make some adventures of our own. Try your luck at a game of marbles or a bow-and-arrow contest. Pirating, Robin Hooding and cave exploration will also be included. I will also need a volunteer with an armspan of six feet, if you can "fathom" what that is about.

Snacks are pot luck. As gracious as the manager of The Glaser Center, David Templeton, was to allow us to use their boardroom for our meeting, he would not allow me to bring in firewood for a campfire. Therefore, Starbucks will provide hot coffee.

Admission is free, but bring some cash. For a dollar a ticket, or ten for half a sawbuck, you'll be in a drawing for a blank Mark Twain journal so you can start to write about your own adventures.

SPRING CREATIVE WRITING
A SEA OF PROMPTS
with Stefanie Freele

Spring is coming and oh what a wonderful time for new fresh writing! In a relaxed and supportive atmosphere students will create new prose and poetry based on prompts, exercises, assignments and suggestions.

Requirements: Beginners and experienced writers welcome. Participants should be prepared to be creative and occasionally silly.

Stefanie Freele is the author of the short story collection, Feeding Strays, published by Lost Horse Press (2009). She is also the 2010-2011 Healdsburg Literary Laureate. Her recent and forthcoming work can be found in Glimmer Train, American Literary Review, and The Pedestal Magazine. Stefanie has an MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts and is the Fiction Editor for the Los Angeles Review.

3 Weeks: 10-12am Fridays – April 9, 16, 23 - $50 Plaza Arts Center – Healdsburg

Contact: Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com or 707-889-0473

"Exercises teach you how to hear the outside world as a sea of prompts, a sea of exercises for potential stories." Pamela Painter

This message is from Juanita J. Martin:

Hello RW members:
This message is to inform those members that come to the Barking Dog, that the program will be next Sat, April 10th at 5:30 pm.
This month I will feature Gwynn O'Gara, Sonoma County Poet laureate 2010-2011. There will be a booksigning, an open mike session, and light refreshments. This is honor of National Poetry Month.

Next month in May on the 1st, the readers from 95% Naked anthology will read. There will a flyer at the next general meeting.
Some of those readers include our own President (LInda), Harry Reid, Elaine Maikovska, and others.

Please come and support your fellow writers.

Juanita J. Martin, Host of UniverSoul Open Mike Series
RW Historian

This comes from Jordan Rosenfeld, a longtime friend of Redwood Writers.

Revise for Publication April 16 to May 14, 2010. $159 regular. $129 early registration discount before April 10, 2010.
You can register at the following link:
www.jordanrosenfeld.net/events-classes.html .

20 FOR $20.
Looking for an editor, but not sure you want to commit to a full manuscript up front? Try my 20 pages for $20 sample edit!

www.jordanrosenfeld.net/editing.html.

What: Authors' Luncheon

Where: Cloverdale Senior Center

When: Saturday, April 17

1-3 p.m.

Why: Our own Mary Lynn Archibald will be one of the honored authors participating.

There will be a book signing after.

311 N. Main St. Cloverdale

894-4826

You can reserve table for 4-6 people, or reserve individually.

http://www.cloverdaleseniorcenter.com/?p=466

Classes with Patricia Volonakis Davis

A Writer's 'Platform' and Blog: What? Why?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 1:00 - 3:00 pm and Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 1:00- 3:00pm Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA

In this seminar for both aspiring and experienced writers (and other professionals looking to gain customers through social networking) we will discuss exactly what a 'platform' is, what a 'blog' is, and why blogs are so valuable to anyone who is either seeking to gain or widen their audience.

Participants will learn WHERE the best spots to blog are, WHEN a writer should blog, and most importantly, HOW each individual writer's blog should vary in topic, length, frequency, etc. Participants will leave this workshop with a working online blog in place, and concrete knowledge of how, in as little as two hours per week, we can build our readership to help our sales.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
12 noon – 1 pm
In Honor of April ~ Poetry Month
Albert Flynn DeSilver, First Poet Laureate of Marin
“Creativity & the Art of Leadership”
Center for Student Leadership, Bertolini Student Center, Rm 4643

Leaders create reality. They are the master artists of their lives. With
the clarity of their intention and attention they create lives of
harmony, beauty, and abundance for themselves and for their community.
What is true creativity, and how do we tap into that powerful stream?
How do we become such leaders of inspiration and invention? First, by
simply deciding to.

And also by committing to a new vision for our selves and for humanity
at large. By being willing to believe in and actively participate
within, a new paradigm of empowered responsibility and infinite possibility.

Albert Flynn DeSilver
http://www.theowlpress.com/afd_photos.html
http://www.redroom.com/video/marin-poetry-chair

He is an internationally published poet, writer, artist, teacher, and
entrepreneur. He is the current Poet Laureate of Marin County California
and the CEO of Visiting Angels, Santa Rosa, a Homecare agency that
provides caregiving services to Seniors throughout the North Bay.

Contact: Sahara Chaldean, Student Center Coordinator, Student Affairs
schaldean@santarosa.edu (707)527-4460

Lynn Henriksen and Kate Farrell will be offering a

Wisdom Has a Voice Workshop: Daughters Remember Mothers

Close to Mother's Day, this memoir workshop is an opportunity to honor and record a special memory about mother.

And we have exciting news about our upcoming Wisdom anthology and a call for submissions!

April 24th, Saturday, at the Sitting Room in Cotati

3-hour workshop is from 9:00am - Noon

Limited to 12 participants (women only)

Cost: $35

To sign up, you can visit our website, http://www.wisdomhasavoice.com/workshops/

Email: Lynn@wisdomhasavoice.com

We won't make you do sit-ups at the next Self-Publishing Boot Camp Workshop: Ten Steps to Self-Publishing Success on May 1st! SBW members get a $15 discount for this all-day workshop with Lisa Alpine and Carla King.

Held at the historic Mechanics' Institute in the San Francisco Financial District.

Saturday, May 1

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1cpLQiYiscQ/S7oRRa9hWrI/AAAAAAAACK8/Hgko5utkWRQ/s1600/Self+publishing+bootcamp2+2010.jpg9:30 - 4:30 pm

$155 (CWC members $140)
The fee includes the 87-page Self-Publishing Boot Camp Workbook (a $29.95 value)

To register, go to http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/pages/workshops/ and use this discount code: SBWWS

Dave LaRoche of the South Bay branch gave this testimonial:

We, at SBW, have benefited from a workshop very similar to that being produced here and I heartily endorse this duo, their interest and knowledge related to book publishing in its many current forms. Their presentation is crammed packed with the current publishing opportunities, advanced in an organized way, entertaining, and well worth the fee.

Another friend of Redwood Writers is Becca Lawton.

Becca's Environmental Poetry Series
One Wednesday and Three Thursdays in May: Th May 6, Weds May 12, Th May 20, and Th May 27, 4 to 6 p.m. $100 + $20 donation until closed. Sign up by email: becca@beccalawton.com. Partial scholarships available! by contacting J.J. Wilson, boxcar@sonic.net.

Becca's Publication Action Plans.
Becca is working with writers on developing their own Publication Action Plans! She offers personalized guidance in writing a schema for fleshing out your work and getting it into print. Flat fee: conference and feedback on work samples included. For more detail, email becca@beccalawton.com.

Upcoming Contests

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Here are a few upcoming contests, in order of their deadlines with the closest one being mentioned first:

Flash Fiction, Memoir and Creative Nonfiction Contest by Writer Advice

We were alerted to this contest by B. Lynn Goodwin who spoke at the last Redwood Writers Conference.

WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction that mesmerizes the reader in 750 words or less. DEADLINE: April 15, 2010. Entry fee: $10 per submission. First prize: $150. Former prizewinners are the judges. Complete guidelines, mailing address, and prizes at www.writeradvice.com.

Poetry Chapbook and Poetry Book Contest by Heartsounds Press:

Redwood Writers member Liz Pinto alerted us to that her online Pulse Literary Journal is accepting fiction submissions and has two poetry contests. This is more than just submitting one or two poems. If you have a collection of poems worthy of publication, you might garner publication as a chapbook or a book.

Larry Kramer Memorial Chapbook Contest

Send 16-24 pages of poetry.

Deadline (postmark date) April 15th, 2010.

William Dunbar Book-length Poetry Contest:

Send 48-54 pages of poetry, single-spaced, one poem per page.

Deadline (postmark date) May 1st, 2010.

Please note that the deadlines listed here are correct. Their website has conflicting deadline dates, and should be corrected soon. I verified the deadlines with Liz Pinto and the ones listed here are correct. I did not want to wait any longer to post this information.

Redwood Writers 2010 Short Story Contest

Redwood Writers Short Story Contest begins immediately and is open to all residents living in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake, and Mendocino Counties and all CWC members statewide. Submissions must be unpublished works and postmarked by May 15th. No more than two submissions per author allowed.

The cost is $10 per entry (or $8 for CWC members). Winners will be announced at the Redwood Writers' general meeting on August 8th. In addition to receiving cash prizes, the first place winner will be considered for publication in the popular Redwood Writers Anthology. Winning writers will also have their stories published in a special edition Redwood Writers newsletter.

Entries will be judged on clarity, originality, and cohesion by well know writers and judges Dan Coshnear and Stefanie Freele, Healdsburg Literary Laureate of 2010 - 2011.

Entry guidelines are found on the Redwood Writers web site.

$2,000 Awaits Winners of Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition

Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, created to enthusiastically support the efforts and talent of emerging writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard.

Writers will compete for a $1,000 first-place prize, $500 second-place prize, and $500 third-place prize in this internationally-acclaimed competition. Several honorable mentions are also awarded each year. As an added prize, beginning in 2009, The Saturday Evening Post will publish our first-place winner. Payment by The Saturday Evening Post for publication of the winning story will be in addition to our $1000 first-place prize.

Stories in all genres of fiction are welcome. Maximum length is 3,000 words, and writers retain all rights to their work. The final deadline is May 15, 2010; winners will be announced at the end of July.

For complete guidelines, please visit www.shortstorycompetition.com, e-mail shortstorykw@gmail.com, or send an SASE to the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, P.O. Box 993, Key West, FL 33041.

Workshops with Ransom Stephens

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:34:00 +0000

Here are two upcoming workshops given by Redwood Writers member Ransom Stephens.

Tools of the writer and how to use them

To write stories that grab readers - whether fiction or memoir - you have to understand your tools: point of view and characterization, dialog and description, showing and telling, metaphor and simile, pacing and voice, backstory and flashback, repetition and opposition. We examine every tool and see where, why and how they can be put to work constructing great stories. Bring your story idea or manuscript and let's get to work!

Instructor: Ransom Stephens, Ph.D.

Saturday, March 20, 10a-4pm, Sebastopol: Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

How to Give a Great Reading

You've just been invited to read at a literary event. Don't panic! Ransom Stephens has produced hundreds of readings and wants to prepare you. Choose the right piece for each venue and time allotted and discover your strengths as a storyteller so that you can enjoy this opportunity to develop your audience.

Instructor: Ransom Stephens, Ph.D.

Saturday, April 3, 1p-4pm, Sebastopol: Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

Memoir Workshop for Capitol City Young Writers

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Here is another upcoming event that features two California Writers Club members and was organized by friend of Redwood Writers, Verna Dreisbach.

On Saturday, March 13th, aspiring young writers and avid readers, from grades 6 thru 12, will mingle with peers, published authors and book industry professionals featuring several guest speakers, followed by a writing workshop. This event will highlight the art of memoir. Guest authors include Patricia V. Davis and Linda Joy Myers.

MEET THE AUTHOR

PATRICIA V. DAVIS -

Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece, is an award winning finalist in the 'Multi-Cultural, Nonfiction' Category of the National Best Book Awards 2008, sponsored by USABookNews.

Patricia’s essays, opinion articles and celebrity interviews have appeared in various newspapers and magazines nationally and internationally. She is the author of published poems on women's issues, including,“If This Woman is Being Operated Recklessly” which appeared alongside Laurence Ferlinghetti's work in New Press magazine. Patricia is also the editor-in-chief of Harlots' Sauce Radio, non-partisan e-magazine and podcast at www.harlotssauce.com.

CAREER EXPLORATION LINDA JOY MYERS, PHD -

is a practicing therapist of thirty years in Berkeley, California. She has taught writing as a healing courses to her clients and has trained therapists in this method. She is President and Founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers and author of The Power of Memoir: Writing Your Healing Story.

WRITING WORKSHOP Led by, PATRICIA V. DAVIS

One of the tougher genres to write, memoir combines the truth of non-fiction with the craft of fiction. Not an autobiography, the memoir needs to be carefully considered and constructed. As a painter chooses his scenery, so must a memoirist choose their stories. From traditional to experimental, narrative to fragmented, a memoir has no single form, no specific guideline or method - memoir demands the writer create art. Discover the many forms of this genre, how to avoid the most common mistakes and where to begin. If you have a work in progress, please bring the first page to workshop.

Saturday, March 13, 2010 9am - Noon

Sacramento State University

Forest Suite, 2nd Floor

Student Union

Park in Structure II

For more information about the Capitol City Young Writers organization, please visit their website.

Upcoming writing classes by Jordan Rosenfeld and Becca Lawton

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:11:00 +0000

March 1-28. Fiction's Magic Ingredient (Part One)

Taught by Jordan E. Rosenfeld
March 1 through 28, 2010
Full price: $149. $109 early registration discount if you register before February 15, 2010.

The muse doesn't go on vacation, so why should you? Stimulate your writing with a fun, self-paced online class that will revolutionize your writing with Jordan Rosenfeld, author of the writing guide Make a Scene and, with Rebecca Lawton, Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life.

In this class you'll learn the "magic" ingredient to create powerful, page-turning fiction and instantly take your writing to a whole new level.

Each week you'll receive a lesson and two assignments that can be applied to a work-in- progress or as stand alone exercises. You'll receive weekly feedback from Jordan and have the opportunity to interact with classmates.

Activate and enliven your writing
Create a stylized, "sexy" experience of "real time"
Build a powerful, layered "tapestry" on every page
Design an easy to follow "map" for your plot
Demonstrate unforgettable characters

MORE Mini-Workshops will return in April, including:

Image Building
Method Writing
Part Two will be back in May

Visit Jordan's website for more information.

May 2010 Environmental Poetry Series

$90 + $10 donation to Sitting Room if paid in full by March 1; thereafter $100 + $20 donation until closed. Sign up

Writing about nature, our experiences in the outdoors, and the environmental big picture is something that many of us aspire to and is something we do with devotion, passion, and attention to detail. In this series we'll share close readings of some acclaimed environmental poets (Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, Leslie Marmon Silko, and others), and we'll compose poetry of our own on natural themes. Please come prepared to read and discuss, write from prompts, and explore leads and inspirations we brainstorm ourselves. Our goal will be to support each other in creating publishable work; we'll all leave the final class with at least three leads for getting poems created in session into print.

Rebecca Lawton, author and natural scientist, won the Ellen Meloy Award for Desert Writers and other awards and has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes in prose and poetry. Her memoir, Reading Water: Lessons from the River, was a San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Bestseller in 2008. She has taught with California Poets in the Schools, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Redwood Writers Club, Petaluma Writers Forum, and Write Free (with Jordan E. Rosenfeld).

Becca's website

Upcoming Screenwriting Workshop

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:32:00 +0000

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club will host a

Screenwriting Workshop

Saturday, March 27, 2010

10:00 am to 11:30 am

Petaluma Novak Center (the Senior Center )

211 Novak Drive

Petaluma, CA 94954

(707) 778-4399

On-site registration and check-in for those pre-registered begins at 9:45 am sharp. Cost for the workshop is as follows:

CWC Member Price: $10 Non-member Price: $15

The workshop will be facilitated by Charlotte Cook, President of KOMENAR Publishing, and Hollywood screenwriter Jon James Miller.

The workshop is entitled, Adapting Sideways--The Not-So-Straight-Forward Transition from Screenwriter to Novelist. The process of adapting a screenplay into a novel presents unique storytelling issues. Charlotte Cook and Jon James Miller have been working for a year to adapt one of his award-winning screenplays into a novel. The effort has produced a number of insights, strategies, and techniques for making the transformation. Though aimed at screenwriters, this facilitator pairing has plenty of advice for novelists who want to create novels that could be optioned for the screen. This has become a hot topic because the ‘spec market’ for screenplays has all but disappeared with conventional wisdom in Hollywood that “screenwriters should find a market for their material as a novel first.”

Please visit our website to download a copy of the registration form, fill it out, and mail it in to our P.O. Box with your check or money order, payable to 'Redwood Writers.'

About Charlotte Cook:

Charlotte Cook is president and story editor of KOMENAR Publishing as well as a popular presenter at writers’ conferences and events, and a successful teacher and workshop facilitator. www.fictionwriteideas.com

About Jon James Miller:

Jon James Miller earned a Bachelor of Science in Cinematography and worked for several years in cable documentaries for A&E, Lifetime and The History Channel while writing original feature length screenplays in LA. www.jonjamesmiller.com

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Upcoming Events by Redwood Writers members

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Here are two upcoming literary events that feature members of Redwood Writers.

Radio broadcast:

Linda Loveland Reid and Mary Lynn Archibald were interviewed by Rosemary Manchester. That show will be aired on "A Novel Idea," at 7 PM on Feb. 10th, on KRCB Radio. 91 FM. Redwood Writers featured prominently in their conversation. You can listen on air, on line, or wait for a podcast to be posted!

The next event is online and will be ongoing, and our member Mark Sloan calls for participation of our members as well as asking to help spread the word.

Here is Mark's message:

Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History, and the Wonder of Childbirth. It should be a lively, unscripted (not to say chaotic), interactive event - just the tonic for that midwinter "H1N1-writer's-block flu"...

Where: LibraryThing.com

When: February 8-21 (Two whole weeks! Surely you can drop by at some point...)

What to Bring: Your questions, comments, birth stories, new parent anecdotes/traumas, grandparental pearls of wisdom...basically, anything that comes to mind. (Snacks are okay, too. They're kind of hard to share, though.)

How to sign in:

If you're not already a LibraryThing member:

1) Go to http://www.LibraryThing.com

2) Click on "Join Now" (there's no obligation in joining, though it's a great site)

3) Enter a new member name and password

4) Click "Join Now" again

5) Scroll down the right hand side of the page to "Author Chats"

6) Click on "chat here" by my name and fire away...

Hope to see you there!

Take care,
Mark Sloan

PS: Birth Day continues to get great reviews, both in press and from readers. You can read more at http://www.marksloanmd.com.
PPS: Please pass this invitation along to anyone you know with an interest in birth and babies!

Literary Agent Amy Rennert at Writers Forum

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:33:00 +0000

Writers Forum proudly presents Amy Rennert

Thursday, February 18, 2010 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door

The Amy Rennert Agency specializes in books that matter. Amy has spent more than 20 years in the publishing business, pursuing her passion for the written word. The agency represents a select group of quality fiction and nonfiction writers--many of them award-winners--and dozens of agency books have been New York Times and national bestsellers.

Amy Rennert is the former editor in chief of two national magazines and she is on the faculty of the Stanford Publishing Course.

A unique opportunity to chat with a literary agent. Bring your question on a 3 x 5 card. Cards will also be available at the event for you to use.

For more information: www.thewritespot.us

Marlene - mcullen@comcast.net

Upcoming events by Patricia V. Davis

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:24:00 +0000

On February 12-14, the San Francisco Writers Conference will be held at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in SF, and I will be speaking on Sunday, February 14, at 11-11:45 p.m. in a session titled, Bestseller! What You Need to Know for a Knock-Out Writing Career.

Lots of important information will be covered in this session, including working with retail booksellers, getting attendance at your events, how to blog to raise book sales, bad agents vs. good agents, behind the scenes facts about the industry that you must keep up with in order to make decisions about your career, and more.

Then in April, I will be teaching two separate courses for Marin Adult Education (www.marinlearn.com) They are:

I. Descriptive Writing That Your Readers Can ‘Taste’, ‘Smell’, ‘Feel’, and ‘Hear’

“Cerulean blue water and halcyon days”. “Eyes that sparkle like stars.” Yuck.

No one can a picture a location or a character through these clichéd, meaningless phrases. A good writer helps readers truly visualize the setting and the characters they are describing. But portraying the place where our action happens, and depicting people in our story, all without falling into the “been here-done-that-and-it’s-all-so-boring”, is one of the most challenging components of writing.

In this workshop, participants will read samples of descriptive writing that overcome the formulaic, and discuss what it is about them that creates a mind image for the reader. Then, with some simple but effective writing exercises, the class will leave armed with new techniques for crafting vivid word visuals of their own.

Time and Place:

April 6 and April 8, Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. at Sir Francis drake High School (in classroom 308)

Cost: $45.00

II. A Platform and a Blog: What, Why, Where, When, and How?

New writers who are looking to publish their first work are told that they need a 'platform', and that an easy way to build one is to create a 'blog'. In this seminar for both aspiring and experienced writers we will discuss what exactly a ‘platform’ is, what a ‘blog’ is and why blogs are so valuable to writers who are seeking to either gain and/or widen their audience. You will learn where the best spots to blog are, when a writer should blog, and most importantly, HOW each individual writer’s blog should vary, meaning what the topics, lengths, frequency, etc., should be. Participants will leave this workshop with a working online blog in place, and concrete knowledge of how, in as little as two hours per week, we can build our platform and readership to help our book sales.

Place and Time:

April 20 and 22, Tuesday and Thursday 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. at Redwood High School

Cost: $45

Hope to see some Redwood Writers at these events!

Warm regards,
Patricia

Patricia V. Davis
Editor-in-chief, HS Radio e-magazine
"Writing the Sauce of Life"

podcast: www.harlotssauce.com
website: www.patriciaVdavis.com

The Book of Gretel by Zara Raab

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Dear friends,

I thought you might enjoy my chapbook, The Book of Gretel, coming out this spring from Finishing Line Press. In this linked set of poems, I tell the story of the lost Gretel, evoking the sensations, perceptions and imagery of a child homeless and at home in nature. If you go to the Finishing Line website www.FinishingLinePress.com, and click on “New Releases,” you’ll see the chapbook there.

“These beautiful and unsettling poems proceed with dreamlike assurance through a landscape fully imagined and brilliantly described. In Raab’s transformative retelling of the folk tale, the northern forest itself joins Gretel as a central character: it is dripping, fog-bound wilderness, a place where “the promises of rain are kept” and homelessness becomes a metaphor for our abiding state of being.”

—Jean Nordhaus, Poet and author of The

Porcelain Apes of Moses Mendelssohn and

Innocence.

Finishing Line Press

Post Office Box 1626

Georgetown, KY 40324

Order your copy today by sending $14.00 (check or money order made out to “Finishing Line Press”) to the above address. Shipping is only $1 per copy.

Alternatively, order online at http://www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases.”

Booksellers: email Finishing Line Press for information at finishingbooks@aol.com.

Pre-order purchase ships March 26, 2010.

Best wishes,

Zara Raab

www.zararaab.com

Article on Ransom Stephens in the San Francisco Chronicle

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Ransom Stephens at the Redwood Writers 2009 Editing Workshops

Read the wonderful, in-depth book review and author profile about Ransom Stephens and his novel, God Patent, in the San Francisco Chronicle!

Ransom will be one of our presenters next Saturday at the second "Craft of Writing" workshop in the series.

Saturday, January 30, 2010 Create Tension
10:00-10:50 Overview: Examples of tension. Why is it important? How can we achieve tension?
Presenter: Ransom Stephens
11:10-12:30 Create tension workshop Brief review of tension and how to create.
Workshop/exercises on creating tension.
Presenter: Stefanie Freele

And Ransom will also be a presenter at the San Francisco Writers Conference in February.

Congratulations to an up and coming writer in our midst!

Kate Farrell

The Craft of Writing: A Series of Revision Workshops

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:58:00 +0000

The Craft of Writing:

A Series of Revision Workshops

Presented by the Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club

All workshops held at the Petaluma Senior Center, 211 Novak Drive, Petaluma 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.

Pre-registration is recommended.

January 23, 2010 - Write Tight(ly)
What is tight writing? Why is it important?
How can we achieve this? Examples.

Presenter: Jeanne Miller

Write Tight(ly) workshop
Brief review of tight writing and how to achieve it

Presenter: Jean Hegland

January 30, 2010 -Create Tension

Overview: Examples of tension. Why is it important?
How can we achieve tension?

Presenter: Ransom Stephens

Create Tension workshop
Brief review of tension and how to create it.
Workshop/exercises on creating tension.

Presenter:Stefanie Freele

Saturday, February 6, 2010 - End It Right
What is the right place to end? Not too soon or too late.
Why is this important? Examples of endings.

Presenter: Ana Manwaring

End It Right Workshop
Brief review of right places/ways to end a story.
Workshop/exercises on ending a story.

Presenter: Becca Lawton

You can register online via Paypal or you can print out a PDF form and mail it with a check.

The first 40 people to sign up for the complete series will also receive a copy of Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld

Thank you to many of our local donors for their support of Sonoma County’s literary arts.

Redwood Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Donations for our workshop series are gratefully accepted at www.redwoodwriters.org - just scroll down and click on the ‘Donate’ button.

"writers helping writers"

Winter Women's Writing Workshop in Marin County

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

This announcement comes from Redwood Writers member Tomoko Harada Ferguson:

My Winter Women's Writing Workshop will run from January 11 - February 22. Six sessions: Monday evenings, 7 - 9:15 pm. No class, February 15. Location: Revolution 9 in downtown Fairfax (14 Bolinas Rd.) http://r9fairfax-com.doodlekit.com/home

Class will be limited to ten students.

Writing can be empowering, healing, reflective, fun. I believe writing shared in the Fall Writing Workshop was all of these things. So please join me again! Invite friends, too.

Let your writing blossom... In a supportive, nurturing environment you’ll be creative, discover your unique voice, and surprise yourself with your strong writing. Build a community of writers. Experience is not necessary. All levels welcome. Details at: http://writersblossom.wordpress.com/

Fee: $150 for 6 sessions. For new people who would like to try my class, pay $25 for the first night; no further obligations. To enroll, please e-mail or call me ASAP.

Thank you and I hope to see you soon!

Warm Regards,

Tomoko Ferguson

tomokoferguson at mac dot com
http://writersblossom.wordpress.com/

Pamela Gray's Screenwriting Secrets

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:54:00 +0000

Special $10 Reservation Price for Redwood Writers

Pamela Gray’s Screenwriting Secrets

Saturday, 7:30 PM JANUARY 9^TH

Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot St. (1 block N. of Hwy 12)

Local screenwriter Pamela Gray was chosen by Variety magazine as "one of ten screenwriters to watch." Now you can not only watch her, but learn how the celebrated screenwriter takes the time she needs to find her story, nurture it along, coax her characters into life, and find the deep truths that won’t emerge using a formulaic, Hollywood approach.

Pamela will illustrate her presentation with clips from her films:

“A Walk On the Moon,” (with Viggo Mortensen and Diane Lane)

“Music of the Heart,”(with an Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep)

“Betty Ann Waters” (with Hilary Swank)

Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movies

"Calm at Sunset," and "Love Letter,"

And even the episode she and Jeri Taylor penned for "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Film Columnist and Redwood Writers President Emeritus, Gil Mansergh will host Pamela on Saturday, and he has made special arrangements with the Sebastopol Center for the Arts so Redwood Writers (and their guests) can get a special $10 advance reservation price by phoning (707) 829-4797.

Pamela Gray on KRCB-FM 7:00 PM January 6^th

Tune in to KRCB 91.1 FM (or streaming online at krcb.org) at 7:00 PM, Wednesday January 6^th for “Word By Word: Conversations With Writers” when Gil Mansergh talks with Pamela Gray about her screenwriting projects and Arlene Mandell provides information about the “Why I Love the Library Essay and Art Contest.”

Website is back online!

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:45:00 +0000

Just a quick post to let everyone know that our website is back online!

Temporary problem with our website

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:52:00 +0000

Unfortunately our web hosting company did not give us advance notice that our account was coming due. We had paid several years in advance for the service, but nothing was sent to warn us that we would lose our service or any deadline in which to pay.

So this morning we discovered that our account has been suspended.

We will be paying to get our website turned back on as it is an important communication tool to our members and to the literary communities at large.

Until further notice, if you have any messages you want sent to us, feel free to leave a comment here.

Thanks,

Linda McCabe - Membership Chair, Redwood Writers

Upcoming literary events in Sonoma County

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Tuesday, November 10, 6pm–8pm

THE WRITERS' BLOC SERIES: NaNoWriMo WRITE-IN
In November, people all over the world participate in the "National Write a Novel in a Month" event, and this year, Copperfield's joins in the fun! We're inviting you to our first annual NaNoWriMo Write-In. Bring your laptop or your paper and pen and WRITE! No rules, no fees, and no prizes, just the wild ride of writing. For more information, check out nanowrimo.org.
PETALUMA

Friday, November 13, 7pm

THE WRITERS' BLOC SERIES: JEFF VANDERMEER
Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the Twenty-first Century Writer/9781892391902
and Finch Award-winning writer Jeff VanderMeer introduces his new books: Booklife, a blend of traditional career and creativity advice with the best ways to thrive in our new internet-based world and Finch, his final novel in the Ambergris cycle. Take-away writing exercises and prompts aimed at enhancing creativity and honing career focus will be provided. Free Finch CD soundtrack by critically acclaimed rock band Murder by Death with purchase of the novel, while supplies last.
PETALUMA

Tuesday, December 8, 7pm
THE WRITERS' BLOC: CAROL SKLENICKA
Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life/9780743262453
Ten years in the making, local writer Sklenicka's Raymond Carver, offers a generous and wise portrait, of the beloved American writer. Sklenicka shows how Carver's quintessentially American life fostered the stories that knowing readers have cherished from their first publication until the present day.
SEBASTOPOL

NaNoWriMo - how to get involved with a national writing movement

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:50:00 +0000

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a world-wide writing contest with no prizes, no judges and no entry fee—just a very crazy deadline. The goal? Write 50,000 words of a new novel during the month of November.

But wait. Doesn’t that outrageous word count make you sacrifice quality for quantity?

Yes. Exactly. And that’s the point. Something magical happens when you are forced to produce an average of 1,667 words per day. For one thing, you can’t possibly spend a week perfecting your first chapter and meet the deadline. Instead, for thirty glorious days beginning on November 1 and ending at 11:59 PM on November 30you get to fire your internal editor and allow your imagination free reign. And, like so many Wrimos who have come before you, you too may learn to embrace and even rejoice over the true meaning of the words “rough draft.”

The only conditions are that you begin a new work of fiction (no resurrecting that old manuscript you put aside years ago) and you must write a novel—not a collection of short stories, poems, or memoir.

For more information and/or to signup for NaNoWriMo 2009 (go ahead, do it. You know you want to) log on to www.nanowrimo.org. When you signup, make sure to select Marin-Sonoma as your home region. This will allow you access to the online forum for our area where local NaNoWriMo events and write-ins will be listed.

Local kickoff event at the Central Branch of the Library, 3rd & E Streets, Santa Rosa, on Monday night, Oct. 26 from 6:00 -- 8:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served and questions will be answered (note the order of my priorities!)

Debbie Koehler

Municipal Liaison (ML) for NaNoWriMo, Sonoma County

Redwood Writers Announces Its Poetry Contest Winners

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:31:00 +0000

Becca Lawton, photo by Paul Christopulos

October 6, 2009, Sonoma County -- The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces the winners of its Poetry Contest, in conjunction with our 2009 Writers Conference.

The contest was, in part, a celebration of the California Writers Club centennial celebration. It was open to all residents living in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. All winning submissions were previously unpublished works and they were judged on clarity, originality, and cohesion. One of the judges, Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County Poetry Laureate, reports that, "I'm an imagery poet. All of the poems submitted had strong images, making it hard to choose. I think you'll enjoy reading these winning selections."

Winners were announced at the Redwood Writer's - CWC general meeting held on October 4th. More than fifty entries were received. The following poets won the contest and will read their entries at the pre-conference dinner event on October 23rd:

Place Poet County Poem

First Rebecca Lawton Sonoma Journal

Second B.J. Stolbov Sonoma Ode to a Little Yellow Pencil

Third Jodi Hottel Sonoma Three Roosters

As Rebecca Lawton said of her winning entry, "It's truly exciting to have a poem chosen about a place I so dearly love." Rebecca writes prose and poetry about the canyons and rivers she knows and loves. Her winning entry, "Journal," is from her poetry collection in progress, Swimming Grand Canyon.

B.J. Stolbov is a cook, a nurse, a T'ai Chi and Chi Gong teacher, a bocce player, and is completing his latest poetry collection, Moments.

Jodi Hottel is a retired high school English teacher, who tries to spend as much time as possible grazing in that emerald strip between worry and hurry.

The contest was organized by the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference Committee and judged by Terry Ehret, Sonoma County Poetry Laureate Emeritus and Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County Poetry Laureate.

Press coverage of Becca Lawton's win was included in the Sonoma Valley Sun.

The evening of poetry with dinner on October 23rd is open to everyone aged 18 and over and the cost to participate is only $30.00 per person. Please register on-line at

http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html or download a registration form and mail it to the address shown below. Walk-ins are discouraged as space is limited.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference, including the evening of poetry is organized by the Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club, celebrating its Centennial. This event is supported, in part, by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The James Irvine Foundation.

About Redwood Writers Evening of Poetry:

The Redwood Writers 'Evening of Poetry' takes place on October 23, 2009 from 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm, at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. The cost is $30. Speaker-poets include Al Young, Mike Tuggle, Armando Garcia-Davila, Carolyn Miller, and Lynn Knight. Armando Garcia-Davila is also the emcee for the evening of peotry.

About Redwood Writers 2009 Conference:

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 from 7:30 am - 6:00pm (check-in from 7:30 - 8:15am), at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. This one-day conference, part of the California Writers Club Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting. Copperfield's Books is our exclusive on-site bookstore seller. Conference web site: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

Publications for sale in the Vintage Voices Shoppe

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:41:00 +0000

SESSIONS AND PRESENTERS
The Saturday schedule features three tracks of programming, where experts will talk on the craft, genre, and technology and business of writing.

A number of our presenters have books for sale and they will be sold in the Vintage Voices Shoppe, as well as a number of other books on the craft of writing.

There will be many opportunities during the day to have your copy(ies) signed by the author.

Presenter Publications for Sale in the Vintage Voices Shoppe – Alexander Room

Tamim Ansary

West of Kabul, East of New York

Destiny Disrupted: History of the World Through Islamic Eyes

JUST RELEASED - The Widow's Husband

Catharine Bramkamp

Death Revokes the Offer

Time is of the Essence

Patricia Volonakis Davis

Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece

Jody Gehrman

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty

Triple Shot Bettys in Love

B. Lynn Goodwin

You want me to do What? Journaling for Caregivers

Seth Harwood

Jack Wakes Up

Steve Hockensmith

Holmes on the Range

The Crack in the Lens

Adair Lara

Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Writing Essays and Memoirs for Love and for Money

The Granny Diaries

Jordan Rosenfeld

Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life

Kemble Scott

SoMa

Sower

Mark Sloan

Birth Day

Ann Wilkes

Awesome Lavratt

All book sales are handled on-site by our exclusive bookseller, Copperfield’s Books.

An Interview with B. Lynn Goodwin by Kerry Granshaw

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:27:00 +0000

B. Lynn Goodwin was first published in the mid-eighties. Dramatics Magazine printed a number of articles she wrote in the form of the diary entries of a student in a high school drama class. The series was so well received that she drafted a YA novel using the characters she'd created for the articles. As a high school drama and English teacher she was able to confer authenticity to the project.

Lynn writes and journals daily and has an impressive list of publications to her name. An organization called The Other Side of Creativity requested and printed her two short books, From An Author's Point of View: Tips on Writing and From An Author's Point of View: Tips on Marketing. She has also been published in Voices of Caregivers; Hip Mama; the Oakland Tribune; the Contra Costa Times; the Danville Weekly; Staying Sane When You're Dieting; Small Press Review; Dramatics Magazine; Career, Caregiving, Self-Care NCDA Monograph; 24/7—a caregiving anthology (forthcoming); Families of Loved Ones Magazine (forthcoming); Kaleidoscope (forthcoming) and numerous e-zines.

In December 2008, Tate published Lynn's You Want Me To Do What? – Journaling for Caregivers. Journaling helped Lynn when she cared for her mother and she wanted to assist others to process stress by using the same technique that served her well.

She finds that teaching stimulates the creative process. Lynn loves finding ways to introduce new writing techniques to students and to encourage each unique voice. For that reason she has chosen to give a workshop entitled Finding Your Writing Voice at the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference.

Lynn owns the excellent website Writer Advice. New issues are released quarterly and offer author interviews, reviews, information on contests and markets, writing by readers on Flash, and an annual Flash Prose Contest.

To quote Lynn: "No one else has your story to tell, so share your unique experiences with the world.

Editor's Notes:

[1] For more information, visit Writer Advice at www.writeradvice.com. If you'd like to contribute, please e-mail Lynn at Lgood67334 at comcast.net.

[2] Be sure to sign up for the October 24^th Redwood Writers 2009 Conference to hear Lynn and many other excellent conference facilitators. More conference details: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

An Interview with Darrend King Brown by Jean Wong

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

"He taught Simon Says to an entire village of Laotians, is a Class A chess player, and managed to water seven elephants at a Shell Station..." Does that sound like one of our colorful California writers? Actually it's part of a bio of Darrend King Brown, who has been editing for the last twenty-two years. He started writing when he got a grant from The Colorado College to study homelessness, and went on to publish articles and speak on this subject. One of his stories about a tramp got Darrend into the prestigious M.F.A. writing program at the University of Arkansas. Since then, he has written, taught, and done editing work in the United States, China, Japan, Ireland, and England.

Darrend says that his "favorite thing is to watch someone get better at writing. I get so proud." He knows writing can be a lonely task and that "all writers get rejected repeatedly. They have to be self-motivated, disciplined, and good at creating stuff. Then they need to be able to analyze, rework and market their writing, which requires many diverse skills."

Darrend asks writers: "What are you trying to do?" He then guides them to focus on what are the "most important things to work on to get there." He is careful to avoid a judgmental approach. "I'm treating their work with respect and telling them what it needs to meet the standards they've set for themselves." He feels that most writers are very receptive to his suggestions and that certain weaknesses in their writing will come up "more than once, so there's always opportunity to reinforce my point. Sometimes I'll work with writers who are improving very quickly, in which case the critique tends to help their next project more than their current one. That's always a fun place to be."

Darrend finds that "straightforward editing of a story's structure and language comes easily, but that the biggest challenge is clarifying the trends in someone's writing. This takes thought and inspiration and if that can be done well, it feels like a victory."

Intrigued by his interest in chess, I asked Darrend if this mindset helped him to look at a work from various angles, so he can see how one part of the structure affects the other or what sections need to be either trimmed or developed further. "Sometimes, yes, I get different insights from thinking of a plot in visual terms. I've noticed chess-playing brains are pretty infrequent in fiction writing. It's not a better way of thinking, but it's a rarer one in this field."

As to his ventures in the arena of authorship, Darrend reveals, "I do write myself. I have a novel I've been working on for a while and I think it's really good. Unfortunately, I have a large editor in my head at all times, so it goes slowly, slowly."

Editor's Notes:

[1] For more information, go to http://www.darrendkingbrown.com/.

[2] Editing is the act of re-visioning --- looking at your written work in a new way. The editor's job is to help you shape your work into its final form and to make you look fabulous. The editor is on your side, trying to make you look the best you can be. Writers and editors are collaborators. Darrend will be one of the editors on hand at the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference on October 24th. More conference details: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

An Interview with Seth Harwood by Karen Batchelor

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Obscurity, Our Enemy

According to web-savvy author Cory Doctorow, "Our enemy is not piracy, but obscurity." Seth Harwood concurs; he gives away his hard work.

Seth's main character is Jack Palms, a former celebrity who has kicked a drug habit, fled Hollywood and gotten into shape. He finds himself in San Francisco entangled with KGB agents turned cocaine dealers. The story is all action, all the time.

Seth started writing about this character after working on his MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Because he loved action movies, he decided to try writing action heroes. Jack Palms was born.

After finishing the first in the series, Jack Wakes Up, he started giving it away. He serialized the story in podcasts—free audio recordings—online to attract a reader base. It worked. The adventures of Jack Palms drew a large audience—large enough to convince print-on-demand publisher Breakneck Books to take a chance on a debut novelist. The POD system creates a higher per-book price, but a much lower risk-to-publish. Since that publication, hit #1 in crime/mystery on Amazon.com, Seth has bought out his contract with Breakneck and signed with Three Rivers Press (Random House), a big, traditional New York publishing house.

Apparently Three Rivers does not agree with the philosophy of both Doctorow and Harwood. Although they will make the first few chapters available free online, the publishers will not allow the entire novel online for readers to download as a PDF. His podcasts, however, are all still free.

Seth is now working on a prequel to the four Jack Palms books (Jack Wakes Up; Jack Palms II: This is Life; Jack Palms III; Czechmate) and he is podcasting as he writes, once again intending to create a large fan base before the book is even available in paper.

The wave of the future is lapping the shores of the present. Seth sees our new markets expanding into e-books, iPhone applications, Kindle-readable, whole books to download in a PDF format online and audios. But he doesn't think the book of paper will ever go away. It's still his favorite way to read.

Seth is a busy guy. Not only does he write, but he also teaches, and he will be teaching us October 24 at our 2009 Conference at the Flamingo Hotel. He is on a panel with others who understand new and different ways to move books from obscurity to the limelight.

Editor's Notes:

[1] Seth Harwood was our guest speaker at the Redwood Writer general meeting on September 13.

[2] Seth Harwood spoke at a Writer's Digest conference in New York September 18-19 and this fall is teaching an online creative writing class for Stanford University. Check out www.authorbootcamp.com or find out more about him and download his podcasts at www.sethharwood.com.

[3] Seth Harwood is part of a four-member panel at our October 24^th conference. Joining him are Gil Mansergh, Kemble Scott, and Patricia V. Davis on the topic of "New Ways to Get Published." Their session is slated for 2:00 – 3:00 pm in the "Technology and Business" track. For more: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

An Interview with Susan Bono by Tricia McWhorter

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:23:00 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to lunch with gifted editor, publisher and writer Susan Bono. Everyone I talked to in my pre-interview information-gathering phase told me that Susan is extremely talented, funny and delightful. They were absolutely correct.

In addition to running an editing and coaching business for writers, Susan is the intrepid publisher of Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative, a literary magazine currently in its fifteenth year of publication. Tiny Lights appears twice a year in hard copy and has an on-line presence as well. [1]

Susan started out teaching high school, but when her children were born, she left teaching in order to stay home with them. When they reached the ages of nine and seven she returned to college at Sonoma State and took classes in the personal essay from Gerry Haslam, whom she credits with helping her find her way into editing and publishing.

Susan told me that her work as an editor combines her love of teaching and writing. It felt like a way to blend the two, since the collaboration between editor and writer is much like the dynamic between student and teacher, where one is coaxing the very best from the other. Publishing seemed a good way to combine all these interests, since having an audience for the work is something all writers need. Susan said that her life works best when she maintains a balance between editing, publishing and writing.

I asked Susan what tips she could give aspiring writers. Here are a few of her favorites:

1. Jump on every opportunity you have to get your name out there by being published. Don't worry if the publication is large or small. The important thing is to build credibility. (I'll give a plug here: check out Tiny Lights if you write personal essay. You may want to respond to one of the prompts listed on Searchlights and Signal Flares Tiny Lights on-line writers' exchange at http://www.tiny-lights.com/searchlights.php .)

2. If you have a blog or website, be sure to note that at the bottom of all of your correspondence and submissions; otherwise you're wasting an opportunity to get your name in front of people.

3. Be organized. If you want to make money as a writer you also have to think of it as a business. Keep track of your submissions: who, what, where and when you send things out. Calendar upcoming submission and contest deadlines and think ahead so you'll be ready to send in your work. [2]

4. Let publishers know if you are sending out simultaneous submissions. If you hear one of your pieces is being published, let the other publishers know so they don't waste time reviewing your work. Susan said that she has been in the position of having chosen a story as the winner of a Tiny Lights writing contest only to discover that the piece had already been published elsewhere with the stipulation that it not be republished. The writer had wasted her time as well as her judges' time.

5. Publishers are busy. If you submit something and don't hear back, don't assume it was because they hated your work. It's possible the publisher loved what you wrote but was too busy to respond immediately. They may have gotten distracted and your story might have become buried under the mountains of paper on their desk or lost in their inbox. There could be lots of reasons why you haven't heard anything. It is okay, and smart, to politely follow up.

6. The most important thing of all? Just write.

Susan Bono can be reached at www.tiny-lights.com. You can also follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petaluma-CA/Tiny-Lights-A-Journal-of-Personal-Narrative/125809459485.

Editor's Notes:

[1] Go to Susan Bono's website at www.tiny-lights.com to find out about contests and submission guidelines.

[2] This point was underscored by our October 4^th guest speaker, Stephanie Freele. She suggested the minimum items to track regarding submissions on a spreadsheet are as follows:

Title Market Date Date Date Redone Comments

Sent Rejected/Accepted

[3] Editing is the act of re-visioning --- a way of looking at your written work in a new way. The editor's job is to help you shape your work into its final form and to make you look fabulous. The editor is on your side, trying to make you look the best you can be. Writers and editors are collaborators. Be sure to come on out and say hi to Susan on October 24^th at the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference.

More conference details: www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

[4] Be sure to find out more about Tricia on her blog Thought Threads at http://www.triciamcwhorter.com.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Redwood Writers Conference

pallas.athena3@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can I attend the poetry evening and not the all day conference?

A: Yes. The poetry evening is just $30 per person AND can be paid by check or
money order and sent to our PO Box:
Redwood Writers
P.O. Box 4687
Santa Rosa, CA 95402.

Q: I noticed that lunch is provided during the all-day conference. What
about breakfast?

A: Breakfast is not included. A hearty lunch of grilled salmon Caesar salad will
be served. Mid-morning, coffee, tea and water service will be available. In the
afternoon, soft drinks and cookies will be provided.

Q: I can’t eat or meat or milk products. What can I do?

A: At check-in in the morning, be sure to ask for a special vegetarian, non-dairy
lunch to be made available. The Flamingo Hotel will accommodate your dietary
needs.

Q: Can I pay for the Conference by check instead of credit card?

A: Of course, make the check or money order payable to 'Redwood Writers.' The
online PayPal was provided as a convenience. About half of our attendees
registered online with credit card.

Q: Can I still see an editor?

A: Sorry. All slots were filled as of the August 15th deadline.

Q: When is the last day I can register for the Conference?

A: October 19th. The final head count is being submitted to the hotel.

Q: I was registered for the Jack London Conference (JLC). Can I come to
your Conference now?

A: Yes. You should have received your refund from the SF/Peninsula organizers by
now and can apply it towards the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference registration.
Not only that, but the board of the Redwood Branch of the CWC has authorized
the reinstatement of the early bird rate to make it easier for JLC registrants to join
us on October 24th. So, for any CWC member that was registered for the Jack
London Conference, the Redwood Writers will honor the early bird discount of
$125.00 for CWC members to attend the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference.
This results in a $20 savings for CWC members across the State.

Q: I have to cancel owing to a last minute trip. Can I get a refund?

A: The refund policy states “Requests postmarked prior to August 30, 2009 at fee
paid less $50. Requests postmarked after August 30, 2009 receive no refund.”
However, you may choose to send a substitute. This has worked well in the past
for both people involved.

Q: Can I bring friends to the Poetry event?

A: Yes. Poetry dinner event attendees may register for the “Evening of Poetry,”
even if they cannot attend the all-day Conference. Registration deadline for the
$30.00 “Evening of Poetry” is also October 19th.

Q: Can I just attend the Conference for the keynote addresses?

A: Sorry. This is not an available option.

Q: Does the Flamingo Hotel have WiFi?

A: Yes, the hotel has WiFi, however, there is a charge for access to the Internet.
WiFi fees are $4.95, $7.95, and $9.95 for 4, 8, and 24-hour windows,
respectively. That means that if you use your credit card for 4-hours of WiFi to
check e-mail, and you started at 7:30 am, then the WiFi access will only last until
11:29am. WiFi access is offered in windows across a fixed time period, NOT as a
cumulative use of time.

Q: Is there a charge for parking?

A: No. Parking is offered at no charge. Due to the number of attendees expected
for the Saturday conference, overflow parking is provided by the Long’s (now
CVS) Drugstore across the street.

Q: Will the presenter’s have their books for sale.

A: Yes. Be sure to come to the Vintage Voices Shoppe where the bookstore will
be in operation, managed by our exclusive bookseller, Copperfield’s Books.

Q: How can I qualify for a free conference pass?

A: There are no conference passes available.

Q: Can I stay overnight at the Flamingo Friday night at a special rate?

A: Yes, since our 1-day conference starts early (7:30 am check-in) and people
may be attending the “Evening of Poetry” or driving for over an hour to arrive
from the Bay Area, we have special hotel rates established at the Flamingo Hotel
for the Friday night:
"Special rates of Deluxe King or Double/Double $99, Executive King $119, and
Suites $199 have been arranged for the conference eve. Please call the
Flamingo hotel directly at 800-848-8300 or 707-545-8530 and mention the
Redwood Writers for the discount. You may wish to enjoy a great evening of
poetry on the 23rd, relax at the hotel and be up early for the all-day conference
on the 24th."

Q: How much wine does Sonoma County produce?

A: Sonoma County’s 260 wineries produce eight percent of California’s total wine
output. Sixty thousand of the county’s one million acres are planted with
winegrapes.