Writing and Publishing Nonfiction

Free Monthly Meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A) 

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Presentation 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Sign-in and social time 12:30-1:00

 

with

Scott Thomas Anderson

Veteran Award-Winning Journalist and Producer

Trying to fit real-life events into a pretty literary package can backfire publishers and readers, but
success can come the opposite way when writers commit to unrelenting authenticity.

Here’s what you’ll learn from this presentation:

• How to avoid the common landmines that aspiring nonfiction writers accidently step on
• How to understand the difference between the genuine rules and perceived rules within mainstream
  nonfiction
• How to step back and re-evaluate whether you’re truly seeing the best story under the surface of
  real-life events
• How to pitch a nonfiction writing project to elements of mainstream media and publishing
• How to work productively with editors on complicated nonfiction projects

Scott Thomas Anderson is veteran journalist whose work regularly appears in The San Francisco
Chronicle, The Sacramento News & Review and Distiller’s Magazine. He’s also the writer and producer
of the documentary podcast series, “Drinkers with Writing Problems,” which travels to cities around the
world to study the link between drinking culture and creative legacies. Click here for Scott’s extended biography.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING

Creating a Strong Character Arc

Free Monthly Meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A) 

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Presentation 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Sign-in and social time 12:30-1:00

with

CS Lakin

Award-Winning Novelist, Copyeditor, and Writing Coach

You know your story needs a strong character arc, but how do you create one? In this PowerPoint presentation, aided by movie clips, you’ll not only learn what’s involved in moving a character from his persona to his essence; you’ll understand what the specific six scenes are and where they are placed in a novel to craft believable character change.

     The protagonist’s transformational journey is an important consideration in fiction, and something you’ll want to ponder before you get too far in plotting your scenes.

     Why? Because stories are about a character who desperately wants something, and while all successful stories involve external conflict, those that go deep into the levels of character, showing the greatest obstacle—self—tend to be stronger stories.

Here’s what you’ll learn from this presentation:

• What specific transformational steps your character will take and how they coincide with your plot’s five turning points.
• How to believably show a character moving from “persona” to “essence” from the start to the end of your story.
• The purpose of each stage of transformation and what it needs to accomplish.
• How the theme of your story—which is your character’s inner motivation made universal—can be brought out through these key scenes.
• The transformational journey of your protagonist lies in the answer to this question: What does my character have the courage to do at the end of the story that she doesn’t have at the beginning?

     Whether you are in the plotting stage or the revision stage of your novel, it’s not too late to craft a strong character arc that will sweep readers up in a journey of the heart.

C.S. Lakin is an award-winning author and blogger at Live Write Thrive. She has written twenty novels and ten writing crafts books and works full-time as a copyeditor and writing coach. She teaches writing workshops in person and online at cslakin.teachable.com.

CLICK HERE FOR WORKSHEET

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Building Platform for your Novel

Free Monthly Meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A) 

Saturday, August 21, 2021

Presentation 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Sign-in and social time 12:30-1:00

with

Erika Mailman

Freelancer and Award-winning Novelist

Writing a novel is time-consuming. It’s great to have a “palate cleanser” of writing an article that gives immediate gratification (yes, publication, and payment) and builds platform for your novel. For example, if your novel is set in 16th century Portugal, it might help to publish an article about Portuguese history to start building platform for querying your book.

We will learn:

            -how to pitch magazines and newspapers.
            -how to interview subjects.
            -how to write for this market (style differences from novel writing).
            -how to share the work upon publication.
            -how to generate ideas for the next article.

Erika Mailman is a six-time traditionally published novelist (historical fiction and teen fiction), and has built a freelance career with clips from Washington Post, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, Rolling Stone, Diversity Woman, and others. See: https://erikamailman.com

 

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING

Free Monthly Meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A) 

Saturday, July 17, 2021

NOTE EARLIER START TIME

Presentation 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Writing to stimulate, educate and inspire.

with

Staajabu

Writer, Poet, Artist, Producer

Staajabu will share with us:

• Nourishing the body and mind to be receptive to inspiration.
• The importance of solitude and rest
• Finding quiet amid chaos. You don’t have to go to the mountains.
• Relaxation techniques to enhance visualization
• The benefits of listening, observing, feeling, reaching

Originally from Camden, NJ, Staajabu is a writer, poet, producer and graphic artist. She is best known for performing  spoken word with daughter Dr. V.S. Chochezi as Sacramento’s  mother/daughter poetry team, “Straight Out Scribes.” Since 1990, they have performed at over 500 events, self-published eight poetry anthologies and produced 2 CDs.  “Caledonia’s Daughters”, a small book of sci-fi short stories by Staajabu is their newest work available from Amazon. www.straightoutscribes.com

Read an extended bio here.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING

Free Monthly meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A) 

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Social time: 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.

Presentation 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

with

J. Scott Coatsworth

Award-Winning Sci-Fi Novelist

Both sci-fi/fantasy and queer characters involve stepping into the unknown. Take a journey through the undiscovered country with me! Learn:

• How to write LGBTQ+ characters without appropriating queer culture.
• How to avoid some of the worst tropes about queer characters.
• How to find LGBTQ+ Beta Readers.
• Self-Publishing Tips and Tricks.
• Answers to your questions about writing sci fi and fantasy.

Scott lives with his husband Mark in East Sac. He started reading fantasy and sci-fi at nine, but wondered where all the gay people were. A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi, QueeRomance Ink, and Liminal Fiction with Mark, and is a full member of SFWA.

Click here to join the zoom meeting.