Brush Up on Your First Paragraph! at Cattlemens Restaurant

12409 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742

on Saturday June 15th, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Following on from Melissa’s welcome presentation on personal essays, she returns on Saturday, June 15 to bring a special treat to attendees at the quarterly CWC luncheon. Come for fun and learning as author Melissa Hart gives suggestions on members’ first paragraph from a manuscript they are working on!

If you have a paragraph you would like Melissa to comment on, it will need to be submitted in advance. Note deadline below of June 8. For $15, your paragraph will be read aloud by a third party, followed by suggestions and a short discussion. Five minutes total will be devoted to each first paragraph submitted. Author will remain anonymous, so there’s no “outing” of anyone – all fun and learning.

Mark your calendar now for June 15. Brush up on a first paragraph if you’d like to submit for a live mini-critique.  Following the meeting, member Susan Dlugach will offer a short session on poetry – what writers of all genres can learn from poetry.

Members with a published book or promo materials are invited to bring for the display table.

Members with books in need of a new home are invited to bring them to place on a table of free books Plan to have a good time as we all learn together!

Book your tickets for the event here.

Please note, the deadline for critique submissions has passed, but it is still worthwhile to attend as much can be learned from other critiques.

Reminders

What: Quarterly Luncheon, First Paragraph Blow-Up Live!

When: Saturday June 15, 11:30

• Social Hour: 11:30
• Membership meeting: Noon
• Melissa Hart & First Paragraph Critique: 12:45
• Post-luncheon special: 2 p.m.
• Susan Dlugach on poetry, what writers of all genres can learn from
• poetry. Donations appreciated.

Where: Cattlemens Rancho Cordova

Cost: Meeting Fee: $36, includes coffee, soda, meal, speaker, book displays, post-speaker.

What attendees should bring:  A copy of your published book or promo items to put on the display table. Any books you’re ready to pass on to a new home for the giveaway table.

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We also have Susan Dlugach who will instruct on,

A Poetic Touch Up
How It Can Improve All Writing Genres

What in the world can poetry teach writers of other genres, you might ask? And what could literary devices such as metaphors and alliteration possibly have to do with telling a story or giving a factual account of an event?

Let’s take a look at the ways quality fiction and non-fiction pieces use poetic techniques to create stellar writing that keeps the reader engaged. And believe it or not, no one has to be a Walt Whitman or a Maya Angelou to incorporate poetic strategies to liven up their narrative pieces.

Susan Dlugach, a retired English teacher, writes poetry, fiction and short articles and participates in local poetry groups.

Molly Dwyer will be presenting at Arcade Library

2443 Marconi Ave, Sacramento, CA 95821

on Saturday May 18th, 2024 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Join the Meeting on Zoom

Meeting ID: 832 1220 0475

Passcode: 568644

Narrative Authority comes from our sense that the writer is fearless and in control of the story they’re telling. We will look at text by several authors to see what they’re doing that creates the power of voice and discuss why and how the text is working. Using visual prompts, we’ll write two short pieces and share them, attempting to identify the sound of our own voices.

What attendees will learn:

• To understand narrative authority and voice in fiction and/or memoir writing.
• To understand the power and uniqueness of your own authenticity.
• To examine the text of successful writing to learn what a strong voice can do.
• To discover more about your own voice through prompted writing and discussion.
• To consider the precision of language, and language’s power to create.

Molly teaches creative writing at Mendocino College. She works as an editor, writing coach and workshop facilitator. Her debut novel, Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein, was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Fiction and won the Independent Publishers Book of the Year Award and an Indie Book Award for Historical Fiction. She’s founding president of the Writers of the Mendocino Coast, a branch of California Writers Club.

Brush Up on Your First Paragraph! at Cattlemens Restaurant

12409 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742

on Saturday June 15th, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Following on from Melissa’s welcome presentation on personal essays, she returns on Saturday, June 15 to bring a special treat to attendees at the quarterly CWC luncheon. Come for fun and learning as author Melissa Hart gives suggestions on members’ first paragraph from a manuscript they are working on!

If you have a paragraph you would like Melissa to comment on, it will need to be submitted in advance. Note deadline below of June 8. For $15, your paragraph will be read aloud by a third party, followed by suggestions and a short discussion. Five minutes total will be devoted to each first paragraph submitted. Author will remain anonymous, so there’s no “outing” of anyone – all fun and learning.

Mark your calendar now for June 15. Brush up on a first paragraph if you’d like to submit for a live mini-critique.  Following the meeting, member Susan Dlugach will offer a short session on poetry – what writers of all genres can learn from poetry.

Members with a published book or promo materials are invited to bring for the display table.

Members with books in need of a new home are invited to bring them to place on a table of free books Plan to have a good time as we all learn together!

Book your tickets for the event here.

If you want your work to be critiqued, you will need to register if here, and pay the critique fee of $15.

Reminders

What: Quarterly Luncheon, First Paragraph Blow-Up Live!

When: Saturday June 15, 11:30

• Social Hour: 11:30
• Membership meeting: Noon
• Melissa Hart & First Paragraph Critique: 12:45
• Post-luncheon special: 2 p.m.
• Susan Dlugach on poetry, what writers of all genres can learn from
• poetry. Donations appreciated.

Where: Cattlemens Rancho Cordova

Cost: Meeting Fee: $36, includes coffee, soda, meal, speaker, book displays, post-speaker.

What attendees should bring:  A copy of your published book or promo items to put on the display table. Any books you’re ready to pass on to a new home for the giveaway table.

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