California Writers Club – Sacramento Branch presents.

How to Write & Submit Short Personal Essays to Magazines & Newspapers

Saturday, February 17th

1 pm to 3 pm

At Arcade Library

2443 Marconi Ave, Sacramento, 95821

In this fun and lively presentation, veteran essayist and author Melissa Hart helps you to identify topics for your personal essays, then explains how to craft them for magazines and newspapers. She’ll offer revision and submission tips, as well as how to negotiate payment, fan mail, and the occasional internet troll.

We will be looking at:

       

• How to identify compelling personal essay topics based on their life experience.
• How to craft the rough draft of a personal essay.
• How to revise a personal essay.
• How to find suitable magazines and newspapers for submission and reach out to editors.
• How to navigate the publication and post-publication process.

        Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 831 1220 0475
Passcode: 568644

 

California Writers Club – Sacramento Branch presents.

Building a Critique Group

Saturday, January 20th

1pm to 3pm

At the Arcade Library

2442 Marconi Ave, Sacramento, CA, 95821

If you are in a critique group, want to be in one, or have years of experience in critique groups, we invite you to join us for a round table discussion of what factors make a critique group a success.

We will be looking at:

        The various structures of groups, what works, what doesn’t work.

        The factors of quality critiquing, what information is useful, what is not.

        Different genres, the types of critiquing useful to them.

This is more than critique groups; this is a writer’s support group. Please join us to share your expertise, or simply bring your interest.

This could be your New Year resolution! To join or form your own critique group.

 

Dierdre Wolownick

1pm at Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave, Sacramento, 95864

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 333 487 6691
Passcode: 500305

How to Succeed – at Anything

Dierdre Wolownick will be giving a presentation, using slides and narration.

Program Itinerary

You’ll learn:

• How to differentiate between a goal and a dream (for writing, or anything else)
• The importance of (the right kind of) baby steps toward that goal.
• How to structure your baby steps to make your goal feasible and approachable.
• The order, or Categories, of those steps • How to deal with doubt.

Dierdre’s writing has won awards & is published around the world (memoir, textbooks, essays, articles…) A (retired) language professor, she has also been an orchestra conductor, musician, marathoner, publisher and mother of 2 extreme athletes. At 60 she started rock climbing, and at 66 became the oldest woman to climb Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan (with her son, Alex Honnold, of the Oscar-winning documentary, Free Solo). She recently returned from a speaking tour in Europe, and in 2024, the documentary about her life, Climbing Into Life, will be available.

 

Saturday October 21st Celebrate California Writer’s Week with us

Mark your calendar for another exciting meeting Saturday, October 21!

Members will be reading their work

Come and hear what all the writing is about. Support your fellow writers.

Program Itinerary

Saturday October 21st, 1pm-3pm

Fair Oaks Library, 11601 Fair Oaks Blvd. Networking & Coffee:

These authors will be reading from their books:

• Terri Dorow, reading from Just Lo
• Rosemary Covington, reading from Swimming in Mud
• Bonnie Blue, reading from Finding My Soul: Five Years at the Findhorn Community
• Lynda Smith Hoggan, reading from Our Song: A Memoir of Love and Race
• Sandra Navarro, reading from Cooking With My Ancestors and She Always Wore an Apron
• Mari-Lynne Infantino, reading from The Bird Tattoo Murders

We will also have a book display – Bring a copy of your own book(s) to display and SELL!

 

 

Mark your calendar for another exciting Cattlemen’s meeting Saturday, September 16!

BUILDING YOUR STORY STRUCTURE: So the rest doesn’t come crashing down!

Featured speaker:  Jennieke Cohen

Does your story sometimes fall flat and you’re not sure why? That could be because it’s missing the fundamental building blocks of structure. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the basics of story structure and how to apply them to your own writing—whether you’re revising or starting a project from scratch. Using some well-known books and movies, we’ll pinpoint the difference between a satisfying story and one that’s easily forgotten and leave you with the tools to apply structure to your own writing.

What you will learn:

• Dealing with structure early can save a lot of aggravation in revision.
• If you’re working on structure after the book is written, make sure all the appropriate story beats are present.
• Knowing what kind of story you’re writing not only helps with structure, it’s important to know how to sell your book to readers, agents, and editors.
• It’s easy to get off track in the middle—we’ll discuss how having structure can prevent the dreaded saggy middle.
• There’s no one way to write a book. But almost all strong stories have a strong underlying structure.

Jennieke Cohen is the author of two young adult historical novels, both of which have been translated into multiple languages. Her debut book, DANGEROUS ALLIANCE, was a Junior Library Guild selection, and her latest, MY FINE FELLOW, is a 2023 Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book. She’s worked as a nonfiction ghostwriter and as a writing consultant to Silicon Valley tech companies. A UC Davis graduate, Jennieke also has a master’s degree in professional writing from USC.

Visit Jennieke’s website at www.JenniekeCohen.com

Program Itinerary

Networking & Coffee: 11:30 am.

Lunch: 12:00 noon.

Featured Speaker: 1:00 pm.

Post Meeting Presentation: 2:30 pm, See below for details.

Prize Draw: Time as appropriate.

We will also have a book display – Bring a copy of your book to display and SELL!

Meal: Plated, with vegetarian option

Meeting cost: $32, advance purchase; walk-in, $37. Required of all attendees, receipt available which can be tax deductible. Sadly, our prices have gone up to cover bank charges.

Purchase Tickets

Post-meeting presentation & club fundraiser: A 30-minute presentation, tips, and Q’s & A’s! (Attendees who stay are encouraged to give a donation to the club!)

Amplifying Your Author Brand:

Tips for Pitching Print and Online Magazines

CWC member Brina Patel will discuss how authors can write for print or online magazines to publicize their books or build their writing portfolios. Learn effective strategies for writing a compelling pitch and honing in on your impactful story ideas. You’ll walk away with Brina’s 7-step pitching process that’ll help you send your story ideas off with confidence!

Brina Patel is a content writer whose bylines have appeared in several publications including Business Insider, Byrdie, Well+Good, and Verywell Mind. Brina also edited the Rituals anthology with Bell Press Books, and her creative nonfiction has been published in Heartwood Literary Magazine and LEVITATE Magazine. In her free time, Brina enjoys traveling, reading, going on adventures with friends, and sharing writing tips on her blog at:

www.brinapatelwriter.com.