|
San Francisco Peninsula Writer
April 2016
Writers Helping Writers Since 1909
|
|
April 16 Program
Words Alive!
with Sam Kauffman
How do you make language come to life on the stage? What are writing basics and techniques for the dramatic medium? Learn how to bring your fiction or non-fiction stories to life in a way that connects with your audience.
Sam Kauffman has written, performed, and composed the music and lyrics for over 16 one-woman shows. Her children's book
"The Story of the Little Star"
is used nationally in Christmas pageants. Click Here for more Information
Saturday, April 16 at 10 a.m.
California Writers Club
Congregational Church of Belmont
751 Alameda de las Pulgas
$10 members; $13 non-members; $10 students with ID.
|
|
President's Message
Spring has sprung; the grass has riz! I wonder where the flowers is?
Okay, so I'm not a poet, like our Maurine Killough, or our celebrated Senior Poet Laureate, Jo Carpignano, but in my own way I celebrate this season by writing about it. How about you? And, what can you tell about me from just those few lines? Obviously, I was not raised in California, where flowers are blooming year around. That's one! Also, I'm not afraid of taking risks with the use of language. How about you?
Because it is April, I am hoping many of you have already submitted your polished composition to the San Mateo County Fair, (Deadline: March 31) so you've been busy writing! That's what we are here to do. What other kinds of writing are you doing? Are you entering other contests? Writing poetry along the beaches? Brushing up on your manuscript for the 33
rd time? Remember: All writing is good! I heard it relieves pressure from the brain by lifting tiny little brain feathers! No matter! Enter into the fray of writing with wild abandon! Kick up your feet, click your heels, take another Advil, and settle into writing about the world on your minds! Spring is here!
Speaking of your manuscripts, have you found yourself stuck in the middle lately, and don't know how to proceed? Have you been staring at too many blank pages lately? Are you totally in the dark when you hear the words 'beta readers' and are wondering if you first missed the lesson on 'alpha readers'? Are you needing a little help? This month of April, we are hoping to open the doors to an updated 'Mentoring Program'. Past-president Geri Spieler is busy staying up nights pulling the pieces together to bring an old program back to life. Do you have an interest in helping out? Would you like to be a mentor? Or, do you feel like you could use a dose of good mentoring and a league of 'beta readers'? We will be taking names.
We are also hoping to re-institute our Critique groups. (I know; we have been talking about this since last Fall, so what gives?) We will be taking names to begin to form the groups at this coming general meeting. If you have been in a critique group before and want to help out, please let me know. If you are new and wanting to join a group to get to know others, this is your moment.
Have you been itching to read a few pages of your latest work? Please get yourself over to Open Mic, which is the 3
rd Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m., which would mean this April 20th.
It's held at Reach and Teach, 144 West 25
th
Avenue, in San Mateo.
And, for a special treat for our April general meeting, our own Sam Kauffman, who has written, performed, and composed the music and lyrics for over 16 one-woman shows, will be with us for our monthly meeting, April 16th. A singer, songwriter, actress and recording artist, she is known for her storytelling ability and her memorable lyrics. We are definitely in for a treat!
To know what's happening in your own branch, be sure to connect with our website:
CWC SF Peninsula
|
|
March CWC SF Peninsula Program Recap
by Darlene Frank
In her March 19 talk on "The Pitfalls and Pleasures of Translating Real Life into Fiction," author and police psychologist Ellen Kirschman offered the following tips:
In fiction, use dialogue to make facts interesting. Ask your beta readers to point out where your manuscript is boring. Get permission when you use people's real names in your published work. For help negotiating book contracts, click here to check out the services of Laurie Harper. That's just a highlight -- the best way not to miss anything from our wonderful speakers is to come to the meeting! Thanks to Ellen for taking us on a brief tour of her world of writing fiction and nonfiction.
Click here for Ellen Kirschman's website
|
|
CWC SF Peninsula Calendar
|
Saturday, April 16
Sam Kauffman Words Alive!
Maureen Studer, Award-winning playwright
June 11-18
June 18
Stay tuned! We may have our June meeting at the San Mateo County Fair
|
SF-Peninsula Branch meets monthly
at
Congregational Church of Belmont
751 Alameda de las Pulgas
Belmont
$10 members; $13 non-members; $10 students with ID.
|
San Mateo Critique Group
2nd and 4th Friday each month, 10:30 to Noon
The Peninsula Regent
1 Baldwin Avenue, rear of the large meeting room opposite of elevator
San Mateo
Bring at least 5 copies of your no-greater-than 6-page manuscript to hand out. For more info contact Karen Hartley at [email protected] (408) 315-0271
|
|
Non SF/Peninsula Branch Events
Marin Branch will host: The Writer's Life Conference. The 3-hour program will cover fiction and nonfiction writing, with three literary agents available for five-minute pitches. Click Here
Redwood Writers Program:
A Lesson from the Grammar Diva
Click Here
April 11-May 9
Poetry Workshop, 5 Mondays in Menlo Park with Charlotte Muse
Click Here
April 11
South Bay Writers Program:
Memoir: Honoring your Story
Click Here
April 16
South Bay Writers Workshop:
Amplifyng your Voice as a Writer
April 23
Redwood Writers Conference:
|
Sacramento Branch:
Learn from Publishing Exports plus Pitch to an Agent
Click Here
May 15
Redwood Writers Program:
Facts in Fiction: Get your Facts Straight
May 22
Oakland Book Festival FREE!
June 4-5
Bay Area Book Festival*, Berkeley
June 16
San Mateo County Fair Fault Zone readings scheduled for Thursday night June 16th from 7 to 8:30.
Advertise in the
CWC Literary Review!
Deadline is May 1
|
|
|
Member News
CWC President, Carole Bumpus, was asked to speak to the Montalvo Arts Center League - for their Spring Luncheon, March 28
th
on "How I Left My Role as Family Therapist and Embraced a new Role as Novelist and Travel Writer in Four Easy Moves (across country)."
Rogue CWC member (now living in Florida),
James Hanna has good news on several counts! His
story
"The Body in the Bay," which depicts a true incident that happened to him as a San Francisco probation officer, just came out in the spring edition of Red Savina Review
. Jim also has an interview recently posted on the Facebook of Word Slinger Publicity. His other story about his probation officer days, "Jimmy Likes Mermaids," has just been published in The Artist Unleashed. This is a creepy little tale about a stalker he had to bust. And last but not least, Call Me Pomeroy just came out in its third edition. The book includes two new Pomeroy stories and is now the size of a full length book (190 pages).
Lucy Ann Murray has started writing a series of 21 articles on the 20 regions of Italy. The articles will be published in three Italian American publications in Chicago, Boston and Las Vegas.The first article appeared in the March issue of all three magazines. She will write six articles per year over the next 3 1/2 years.
|
CWC Member Awarded
Poet, Karen Hartley, was awarded
with the Critics Choice Award at the March CWC Program by the South Bay Writers Club for her work which
appeared in Fall 2015 WritersTalk, She received a certificate and a gift card for Barnes & Noble.
Congratulations, Karen!
|
|
Maria Barr put the final period to her novel, "Stolen Glory of the Californios" which she has been writing for two years. In the process of writing her story she have traveled to San Diego to reconnoiter the area where the Battle of San Pasqual happened. At the battlefield museum she was given information that introduced her to Los Ante Pasados, a group of the descendants of the early Californians--the very people she was writing about! In in the process of writing her book, and through her effort of putting pen to paper she has discovered a new world of people.
Member Request
Karen Hartley seeks an experienced screenwriter. Contact her at: [email protected] or
(408) 315-0271.
|
|
Submission Opportunities
Foster City Int'l Writers Contest - Deadline April 29, 2016
Writers Digest 85th Deadline May 6, 2016
Cash Prizes!
38th annual Nimrod Literary Awards: The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry and The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction - Accepting Jan 1-Nov 30th
Nimrod Submissions
The Great Break Short Story Contest deadline April 25
Writers Mag Contest
The California State Poetry Society
Two different quarterly poetry publications, plus monthly and annual contests. Heads-up: the Poetry Letter information is at the very bottom of the page - easy to miss on the first visit.
Sites that list competitions:
|
|
April is Poetry Month!
To celebrate Poetry Month below is a poem by Karen Hartley.
Daffodil Hill
By Karen Hartley
It's a long ride
to Volcano in
Amador County
But when you arrive
you forget about the drive
When you see a bounty
of daffodils
dancing in the sun
Golden yellow
Pure white
A beautiful ildyllic sight
Bending and nodding
to welcome you
You can't help but run to the
field and touch the petals
The dancing flowers call
you to admire them
the white ones
with yellow centers
the pure yellow ones
swaying in sunshine
Truly a feast for the eyes
And every now and then
a yellow daffodil with
a bright orange center
Who could resist the
temptation to grab one
and hold on
to that lovely, perfect
flower
Daffodil Hill
a banquet for the eyes
It's difficult to leave
knowing that luscious
view won't arise again
until next Spring
If you want to go
to Daffodil Hill
now is the time
The window is small
and will close soon
until the fields once more
stand regal in their finery
Daffodil Hill
Truly, a banquet of
lush, floral life
|
 |
|
