California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

Dedicated to Educating Writers of all Levels

Monthly meeting at Cattlemens

Mark your calendar for another exciting Cattlemens meeting Saturday, June 17!

TELL ME WHY: CREATING REALISTIC & BELIEVABLE MOTIVATION FOR (ALL) YOUR CHARACTERS

Featured speaker:  Anna J. Stewart, USA Today Bestselling Romance Novelist

What you will learn:

  • What is motivation and how does it apply to character.
  • Why motivation is important to your characters and your story as a whole.
  • Film and TV examples of strong (and not so strong) character motivation.
  • The difference in creating motivation for villains versus heroes.
  • Motivation examined in relation to goals and conflict.

Networking & Coffee: 11:30 am.

Book display – Bring a copy of your book to display and SELL!

Book giveaway – Bring a used book you think others might enjoy.

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

Native Californian Anna J Stewart is the author of more than 50 romance novels and novellas. Currently under contract with Harlequin and ArcManor, she writes sweet to spicy happily ever afters across the romance genre. A former Holt Medallion winner, a Daphne, and National Readers’ Choice finalist, she’s also been lucky enough to have one of her books optioned for a TV movie.

Special post-meeting club fundraiser: “Public Speaking Tips for Writers,” by member Linda Champion, Toastmasters District Champion, Speech Evaluation, a 30-minutes verbal presentation, written tips, and plenty of time for questions! (Attendees who stay to hear Linda are invited to give a donation to the club!)

Purchase Tickets

 

Monthly Meeting, May 20 – Beginning Again: Putting Fun Back Into Writing

Saturday, May 20 2023

 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Arden-Dimick Library
891 Watt Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95864

Free Meeting – Open to the Public

Zoom link

Come see your fellow writers! Hear what everyone’s working on! Find new friends who share your genre!

 

Kirsten Casey
Kirsten Casey

with

Kirsten Casey

Author 

Beginning Again: Putting Fun Back Into Writing.

Nevada County Poet Laureate, Kirsten Casey, wants you to enjoy the process of writing, even if you feel undisciplined and blocked. Her approach to writing will entertain you and inspire you. Remember why you started to write and come to renew that sense of inspiration.

I will boost your creativity, through a glimpse into the ways I find inspiration, and I will provide prompts to renew your curiosity and love for writing.

You will learn where to look for inspiration when you don’t feel inspired.

  • the internet is your friend, the internet is your enemy.
  • accountability in writing, what does that mean to you?
  • fun prompts that are useful in any genre of writing.
  • encouragement without judgment, learning to accept your own approach.

Kirsten Casey is the current Nevada County poet laureate, and an active California Poet in the Schools. As laureate, she is writing poems celebrating local historical places, people, and events. She is also holding community workshops to promote poetry and to make the process of its creation more accessible. Her second book of poetry (with the working title Instantaneous Obsolescence) explores historical and literary characters struggling with social media. Kirsten Casey.

 

Writers Network December 3 – Making a Good Mystery: Pacing, Clues & Character.


Saturday, December 3, 2022

9:30-11 am

CH Cafe & Grill (formally Perko’s)
6215 Sunrise Blvd (just off Greenback)
Citrus Heights 

OR

Click here to join Zoom meeting

 

Claire Booth

 

 

Claire Booth

Crime Fiction Author and Journalist

Take the elements of a good mystery—like pacing, dialogue, and character development—and transfer them to any genre of fiction.

Attendees will learn about:

  • How to use the three-act structure to monitor your novel’s pacing
  • How to avoid the dreaded “info dump”
  • How to use clues in the right places
  • How to write dialogue that doesn’t give things away
  • How to keep the suspense going

Claire Booth, speaking on “Making a Good Mystery: Pacing, Clues & Character.”

Claire Booth is a former journalist who has reported on high-profile stories all over the country, including that of a California cult leader who became the subject of her nonfiction book The False Prophet. She now writes the Sheriff Hank Worth mystery series. Her latest is Dangerous Consequences. Find out more at www.clairebooth.com.

 

 

First Friday, August 3- Pushing the Envelope

Crossing Genres: Benefits and Challenges

 

with

Michelle Hamilton

Author of 37 Fantasy and Adult Novels

First Friday Network
August 3, 2018
9-11 AM Coco’s, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights
Bring Market Leads & Marketing Tips

ML Hamilton has been teaching high school English and journalism in Central California for the last 25 years. Teaching students to appreciate literature is rewarding; however, she always dreamed of publishing her own novel.

That dream came true when her first novel, Emerald, was published by Wild Wolf Publishing in 2010. In 2015, she decided she had learned enough from her publisher to venture out on her own. She then independently published the remainder of her novels, which number 39 to date, with many more planned in the future. In 2017, she ventured into editing the works of others. To date, she’s helped 40 manuscripts become published.

In addition to teaching and writing, she has three sons, two dogs, and three cats. And sometimes a stray rabbit living under her deck.

Visit ML Hamilton at her websites: authormlhamilton.net or blackcatediting.weebly.com.

 

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, at the corner of Madison and Sunrise,  starting at 9 a.m. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.

First Friday, July 6 – Presenting the Written Word

Beyond Technicalities:

Extending Your Image as an Artist

through Self-Publishing Products

with

Todd Boyd

Coordinator & Host, “Writers on the Air”

First Friday Network
July 6, 2018
9-11 AM Coco’s, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights
Bring Market Leads & Marketing Tips

Put aside the technical/business side of publishing to discuss the creative and artistic side of the written word with Writers on the Air host Todd Boyd.

Writers on the Air is a monthly venue where attendees read their work in an open mic format and  are recorded, then aired on an internet channel, KUBU, 96.5 LP-FM and streamed at accesssacramento.org. Each month features two local writers as well as an open mic which is open to the public at the Sacramento Poetry Center. Featured Readers have included local novelists and short story writers, such as Amy Rogers, Azi Sametipour, Katya Mills, Frederick Foote and many other published and unpublished poets and storytellers, most well representing the Sacramento writing community. WOA also produces an iTunes podcast called The Writers On the Air Show.

Previous open mics and featured readers can be listened to at www.writersontheair.com.

Todd has been a carpenter, a railroad worker, and a social studies teacher. He self-publishes his work in various formats, hosts an internet radio show and open mic events, and blogs. He will bring samples of different ways to present the written word. A poet, Todd has also written a novel, two poetry chapbooks, a collection of short stories, and a journal of personal history. Some of his work in audio form can be found at www.writersontheair.com and at his blog- www.saylavproductions.com.

Todd is a strong advocate of the written word and other artistic media, allowing each person to create and experiment with his or her personal vision.

 

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Avenue, Citrus Heights, at the corner of Madison and Sunrise,  starting at 9 a.m. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.