Ria Russell attended a dramedy class given by two Hollywood writers at a writing conference, and brought the experience to us all through a news article (ironically an NBC (peacock) article about a “therapy peacock” and it’s owner being refused permission to fly). We all had access to the article before the meeting and everyone had read it, so we were able to go straight into the “writers’ room” to plan our script.
Continue reading Dramedy with Ria Russell, March 2025Category Archives: Guest Speakers
Protected: Minnette Meador on Point of View, Character Creation, Plotters vs Pantsers, Writing Tools, Images, AI and more! Feb 2025
Erika Giles on Memoir, Research, Publishing and more – Jan 2025
Nora introduced our speaker, Erika Giles, who is a Writers’ Mill member and author of Becoming Hungarian, a Memoir. Amazon described this book as “a fascinating story of resilience and discovery that will inspire anyone who has struggled with their identity and tried to come to terms with the past.”
Continue reading Erika Giles on Memoir, Research, Publishing and more – Jan 2025Rudy Shur on Publishing
Get Published and Don’t Get Scammed, from Rudy Shur’s talk on October 20th 20204
Rudy Shur has talked with many authors and writing groups in his long career. He’s learned that lots of authors get ripped off by people they thought were going to help. And he points out, the book world is a rather large marketplace—it can be hard to know who will really help.
Continue reading Rudy Shur on PublishingProtected: Nancy Linnon on Writing
Book Template
Last year, someone recommended that Sheila create a template file that could be used for subsequent anthologies, so she did. It’s a Word Doc rather than a template, and she included (chapters of) instructions on how to use it, in hopes that perhaps someone will take over from her and “use” it next year! The template should also be helpful for anyone who hopes to self-publish their work in a 6×9 inch book.
Continue reading Book TemplateHelp your reader get lost in your book, with Walt Socha
We’d all love our readers to fall into our writing and not know how to get out. Walt showed a great graphic to entice us. But how do we get there?
Continue reading Help your reader get lost in your book, with Walt SochaAgents, Editors and Publishers with Hilary and Alan Deeth
Hilary Deeth on Querying
Hilary trained in book publishing at PSU, which is the only such program on the West coast. Others in the US are in NYC. Hilary focused on agents and acquisitions but was open to any questions on publishing.
Continue reading Agents, Editors and Publishers with Hilary and Alan DeethCharacter Emotion and Word Choice with Eric Witchey
Eric Witchey is a well published author all around the world, and a well respected writing teacher – definitely a writer helping writers! Find him at https://ericwitchey.com/index.html
Continue reading Character Emotion and Word Choice with Eric WitcheySubmissions and Settings with Carolyn Martin
Carolyn Martin (https://carolynmartinpoet.com/) presented a wonderful hybrid workshop at our hybrid meeting on April 21 2024. The meeting was recorded and can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Iq4hT0DJA (submissions) followed by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGL4rVOHbR0 (settings)
Continue reading Submissions and Settings with Carolyn Martin