Writer, Speaker & Global Adventurer

Mike will discuss the basic elements of decoding your characters DNA, your plot, and your book.

You will learn about:

• How to create your own bible relating to your book
• Understanding your characters DNA, or the 100 Thing You Should Know
• Self-interview or Introspection
• Interviewing your character(s)
• Building a hybrid character

Mike Brandt started writing travel articles in 1999 after completing the Two Oceans Marathon, a 35-mile ultra-marathon, in Cape Town, South Africa. Mike has published numerous articles/short stories, including three stories in the SSWC’s 2019 Anthology. He has written articles for international travel magazines about Belize and volcano boarding in Nicaragua. Recently he completed a crime thriller on Mt. Elbrus in southern Russia.  Mike is an extremophile who enjoys traveling to remote corners of the world, skydiving, mountaineering, marathoning, and writing stories about his adventures.

Mike has been a member of CWC Sacramento Branch since 2013. He has been a speaker and panelist at national conferences.

Gini Grossenbacher, M.Ed.

Award-winning Novelist, Poet, Editor, Publisher

Lisa Cron says, “A story is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes as a result.” Thus, story is what happens to our character internally, not externally. Our workshop will examine five key ways to deepen the character’s internal agenda and reveal her struggles through her inner lens. Writers will take away useful character-building strategies they can use crafting on their stories, memoirs, and novels.

Attendees will learn about:

• The Character’s Life You Will Turn Upside Down
• Your Protagonist’s World View
• Your Protagonist’s Past and Current Beliefs
• Your Protagonist’s Goals in both Scenes and Story
• Defining your Protagonist’s Overarching Plot Problem
•  

In addition to teaching writing, editing, and publishing the work of her fellow authors, Gini Grossenbacher loves writing historical novels. Madam in Lace, set in France, received a Reader’s Favorite Five-Star review and the 2022 Independent Publisher Silver Medal for Best European Fiction. Chinese American Madam in Silk was the Runner Up in the 2020 National Indie Excellence Awards for Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, a tale of Baltimore, New Orleans, and San Francisco, Madam of My Heart, won the 2018 Independent Publisher Silver Medal for Historical Fiction. She is currently celebrating the launch of her poetry collection, Glimpses. Founder of Elk Grove Writers & Artists, Gini leads weekly writers’ Zoom workshops on style and substance, the novel, poetry, and flash fiction. You may contact Gini at www.ginigrossenbacher.com

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.

Cheryl Stapp

Award winning nonfiction author, California history

The pros & cons of using a pen name
…plus, the advantages of creative specialization

Attendees will learn about:

• Why use a pen name instead of using your own
• Copyright rules & legal regulations re pen names
• Best-selling authors who do/do not have pen names /specialize
• Having a specialization (niche) is a good thing
• How to find your own niche

Cheryl Stapp is an award-winning writer-historian who has published six nonfiction books on California’s vibrant past; two published by the prestigious History Press. She served as 1st VP-Programs, CWC-Sacramento, for two presidents; and facilitated the Writer’s Network breakfast meetings for three years. Website & weekly blog devoted to California history at www.cherylannestapp.com/  “California’s Olden Golden Days.”