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March Program: Critique Groups
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You don't want to miss our meeting on Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at 7 p.m. at Providence UMC. This will be our annual critique groups meeting and one of our most popular programs.
There is something for everyone. If you are not currently in a critique group, this is the chance to check them out. If you are already in a critique group but interested in expanding your group or branching out in new areas, this is the place to do it.
Everyone will have an opportunity to explore the various groups in existence, ask questions, and learn about the benefits of joining a critique group. Our groups meet at different times of day, throughout the Charlotte metro area, and cover a range of genres. Come decide where you fit and get connected! |
| Open Search for Board Members |
The Charlotte Writers' Club is actively looking for interested members to join the Board. This is a two-year volunteer commitment to support the goals and operations of the CWC.
Several opportunities are available. Descriptions of all the Board positions are here on our website. To contribute to the ongoing quality of our organization contact the current President, Gina Howard, or any Board member for more information. We would love to talk to you. |
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Meet-A-Member: Cathy Zalenski
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Quick Bio:
Cathy Zalenski calls Cheektowaga, NY her hometown (a suburb of Buffalo pronounced "cheek TOW ah gah") but has lived in North Carolina since 1984. Zalenski retired from a career as an immigration services officer in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services in 2009 where she interviewed candidates for U.S. citizenship and handled international adoptions. She went on to earn a BA in psychology and criminal justice from UNC Charlotte in December 2012.
Zalenski's first book, Fatal Choices, came out in January 2014 and is available from AuthorHouse, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and several independent bookstores in the area. Find more information about Cathy, Fatal Choices, and her other work on her website ( www.booksbycathyzalenski.com), f ollow her on her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/fatalchoices), contact her by email ([email protected]) or phone (1-888-501-7894).
1. What type of writing do you do? What challenges you the most and what comes naturally?
I write fiction with a grain of truth to it. Words have always come easily to me and most times when I write, words just flow. Occasionally I get writer's block and I step away from the piece until an idea hits me. Usually, I can't stop thinking about what I am trying to write.
2. How do you cultivate inspiration for your work?
Real life experiences of myself or others; news articles; television; internet browsing.
3. What do you enjoy most about the Charlotte Writers' Club?
Being in a community with fellow writers. Member of a fiction critique group. (We call ourselves Two Men and a Lady)
4. What writing advice would you pass on to other writers?
Keep at it. Try to write regularly, if not daily. Jot down possible story ideas in a notebook or in a Word document. I keep a file on newspaper articles that interest me as well.
5. In a sentence or two, what else would you like people to know about you?
I was a competitive ballroom dancer and still take private dance lessons. I'm working on my second book, Web of Lies, about an internet romance that went sour. (My main character used men to her advantage.) I also wrote one short story and am working on a second. I keep busy with volunteering, writing, and dancing.
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| Members Needed for Newsletter Feature |
The Charlotte Writers' Club newsletter is now accepting applicants for the Meet-A-Member section for next year.
It's as easy as 1...2...3...
1. The guidelines are simple: be a member in good standing with the CWC.
2. Signing-up is simple: send an email to [email protected] expressing your interest. The editor will fill the slots on a first-come, first-featured basis in the 2015-2016 programming year.
3. Being featured is simple: fill out a set of questions and send in your picture. We'll do the rest!
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Register Now:
"Enacting Your Character" Workshop
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CWC-North is hosting a workshop, Enacting Your Character, on Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m.-noon at the Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius, NC.
What is the best way to create a character who is compelling and convincing for readers and audiences? What aspects of characters define their personalities and drive their actions? How can these qualities be revealed in language? Join Charlotte playwright, essayist and poet David Radavich to talk about the nuts and bolts of building a strong, complex, believable character from the ground up. Following a discussion of theory, participants will be asked to develop their own characters in the dynamic context of their chosen genre, whether drama, fiction, or other forms. The goal will be to create characters in action.
The fee to participate is $25 for CWC members, $35 for non-members. To register, please click here.
Questions? Contact David Radavich at [email protected] or Caroline Kane Kenna, CWC-North liaison, at [email protected]. |
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Membership
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Each March the CWC highlights the work our critique groups are doing, and it is one of our most attended and exciting meetings.
Ready to take your writing to the next level? Want to get some constructive feedback on how and where to improve your manuscript? Need some inspiration and good discussion about a specific genre in which you're working? We have got a group for you.
Membership is not a requirement to attend the meeting, but it is necessary to join a group. Why not take care of that ahead of time?
Get your membership updated here, attend our March 17 meeting to meet some of the groups, and/or contact Lorraine Fico-White about how to get connected.
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March 17
General Meeting
Annual Critique Group Meeting
7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Providence UMC
April 21
General Meeting
Poet Diana Pinckney
7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Providence UMC
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Providence United Methodist Church
2810 Providence Rd.
Click here for a map of the new location.
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Deane Ritch Lomax Poetry Prize
Deadline:
March 17, 2015
For a complete listing of CWC contests, please click here.
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Due to a critical paper shortage, all books must be published as electronic documents. Printing books on paper is illegal. Write about a librarian whose books have now become collectors' items.
Writer's Digest, March/April 2015, p.13
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