California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

Dedicated to Educating Writers of all Levels

First Friday — Scott Evans — On Dialogue

“Dialogue That Advances Character & Plot”

 

Friday, August 4, 2017,  9:00 a.m. – 11 a.m.

with

Scott Evans

University Writing Teacher, Conference Director

Author of Short Stories and Mysteries

Good, crisp, clean dialogue allows a story or novel to flow smoothly and keep readers engaged. This workshop provides advice on ways to make your dialogue relevant to your plot and interesting to readers, while also fleshing out characterization. Tips on techniques to hide the mechanics of clear attributions and the conventions of dialogue will also be discussed, as well as some practice editing and revising dialogue.

Scott Evans has taught writing for over 25 years. The author of three “literary” murder mysteries titled Tragic Flaws, First Folio, and Sylvia’s Secret, as well as a collection of Hemingwayesque short stories, Green Seasons, and a coming-of-age novel, The Complex, Evans is also the Editor and Publisher of the Blue Moon Literary & Art Review. His newest novel, The Caribbean Prisoner, published by Clayborne Press, is available via Amazon. Please visit www.scottevansauthor.com to learn more.

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.

Luncheon — Perfect Pitch

Saturday, June 17

Perfect Pitch

  First-of-a-Kind Event at the California Writers Club, Sacramento

Your Live Pitch in Front of Literary Agents

 Practice Your Pitch and Deliver it in Real Time

 Get open feedback

Learn from watching live pitches and hearing input from agents

Practice regardless of where you are in the development of your book

Participate no matter what your genre

Even short story ideas benefit from pitch practice

Pitch in Front of Distinguished Agents

 Jennifer Chen Tran, Fuse Literary Agency

Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary Agencies 

 Details

Meeting Time: 11 AM–1:00 PM (Early-Bird Tip: 10:15; guests welcome)

Cost: $15 members/$20 guests (includes lunch)

Meeting Location: Cattlemens Restaurant

12409 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova

 

About Our Distinguished Agents

JENNIFER MARCH SOLOWAY is an associate agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She represents authors and illustrators of picture book, middle grade, and young adult stories, as well as some adult fiction.

For picture books, she is drawn to a wide range of stories from silly to sweet, but she always appreciates a strong dose of humor and some kind of surprise at the end. When it comes to middle grade, she likes all kinds of genres, including adventures, mysteries, spooky-but-not-too-scary ghost stories, humor, realistic contemporary and fantasy.

Young adult is Jennifer’s sweet spot. She is a suspense junkie. She adores action-packed thrillers, full of unexpected twists. Throw in a dash of romance, and she’s hooked! She’s a sucker for conspiracy plots where anyone might be a double agent, even the kid next door. She is a huge fan of psychological horror that blurs the lines between the real and the imagined. But as much as she loves a good thriller, she finds her favorite novels are literary stories about ordinary teens, especially those focused on family, relationships, sexuality, mental illness, or addiction. In such stories, she is particularly drawn to a close, confiding first-person narrative. But regardless of genre, she is actively seeking fresh new voices and perspectives underrepresented in literature.

Although she specializes in children’s literature, Jennifer also represents adult fiction, both literary and commercial, particularly crime, suspense and horror projects. Prior to joining ABLA, Jennifer worked in marketing and public relations in a variety of industries, including financial services, health care, and toys. She has an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College, and was a fellow at the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto in 2012. Jennifer is actively building her client list.

JENNIFER CHEN TRAN is an Associate Agent at Fuse Literary acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. She is a lifelong reader, New York native, and experienced member of the publishing industry. Prior to joining Fuse Literary, Jennifer was principal and owner of Penumbra Literary LLC, and served as Of Counsel at The New Press. She has also interned at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth literary agency, was an editorial and publicity intern at Hunter House Publishers and an editorial intern at Terrain Magazine.

Jennifer obtained her Juris Doctor from Northeastern School of Law in Boston, MA, and a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, with a minor in Legal Studies. Originally a visual arts major turned English major, Jennifer appreciates creativity in all its incarnations. She was also Managing Editor of Student Life, Washington University’s Independent Student Paper.

With a legal background, Jennifer understands the importance of negotiation when securing and retaining author rights.  She counsels each client on building or expanding her platform, improving on craft, and works collaboratively with her clients to obtain the best deal for each writer’s creative investment.  She believes in building fulfilling and life-long writing careers and is honored to work with her client-writers.

 

Luncheon Information

  • Monthly Luncheons are open to the public
  • Cost is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers
  • The meeting fee includes speaker,  lunch and beverage
  • Cattlemens Restaurant, 12409 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA

The restaurant is located just east of Hazel Ave. at the northeast end of the Nimbus Winery complex along Highway 50. Cattlemens offers CWC a spacious meeting room with free WiFi, quality AV equipment, free off street parking and excellent food.


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First Friday — Bill Pieper

Doing it Backwards: How a Former Novelist’s Improved ‘Short Game’ Changed His Luck

Friday, June 2, 2017,  9:00 a.m. – 11 a.m.

with

Bill Pieper

Novelist, Turned Short-Story Writer

Bill Pieper has written four novels, two essentially self-published and two (Belonging and What You Wish For) published by small presses.

A prolific writer who started relatively late in life, Bill has written novellas and a collection of 12 short stories titled, Forgive Me, Father.

He will be our First-Friday speaker, at 9 a.m., June 2, when the branch moves its meetings to a new location, Coco’s Restaurant on the northwest corner of Sunrise and Madison, 7887 Madison Ave, Citrus Heights, in the Sunrise Village Shopping Center. Our former meeting location has closed its business.

More than 20 of Bill’s stories have been accepted by literary magazines in the US, Canada and the UK. Four pieces of work have been performed at local reading events such as Stories on Stage in Sacramento and Davis.

Bill was named by local media as “Best New Novelist in Sacramento,” but Bill now calls himself a “former novelist.”

Finding that many authors begin with shorter work and add page-length as their skills grow, he has taken an opposite route.

The big turn-around was attending the Squaw Valley Community of Writers which he attended in 2010, followed by enough success to make it all worthwhile.

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at the Coco’s Restaurant, 7887 Madison Ave, Citrus Heights, CA 95610, starting at 9 AM. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.

Luncheon — David Kudler

The Enduring Hero’s Journey:

How to Make your Writing Compelling and Memorable

Saturday May 20, 2017, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

featuring

David Kudler

Publisher, Editor, Author Stillpoint Digital Press

 

 

 

 

Luncheon Information

  • Monthly Luncheons are open to the public
  • Cost is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers
  • The meeting fee includes lunch and beverage
  • Cattlemens Restaurant, 12409 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA

The restaurant is located just east of Hazel Ave. at the northeast end of the Nimbus Winery complex along Highway 50. Cattlemens offers CWC a spacious meeting room with free WiFi, quality AV equipment, free off street parking and excellent food.


View Larger Map

First Friday — Andrew Benzie — Book Designer

Cover Design and Other Secrets of a Great Self-Published Book

 

Friday, May 5, 2017,  9:00 a.m. – 11 a.m.

with

Andrew Benzie

Publisher, Designer, Marketer, Andrew Benzie Books

A popular go-to publisher for writers with questions on publishing their own books, Bay Area native Andrew Benzie is returning is Sacramento to answer more questions about publishing!

A presenter full of ideas and solutions, Andrew promises to tell us the important elements of a good published book. His resume includes more than 25 years of experience in the design industry. He has worked for both corporate art departments and for himself as a freelance designer for Andrew Benzie Creative Design (ABCD). In 2010 he established his own publishing company, Andrew Benzie Books to help authors design, publish, and market their books in both softcover and eBook formats.

 

The California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch Networking Meeting is held the first Friday of every month at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), 2216 Sunrise Blvd., Rancho Cordova (just north of Highway 50) starting at 9 AM. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast. Get map.

Questions? Ask via our Contact page.