Category Archives: Guest Speakers

Guest Speakers, Uncategorized

The Joys of Title Research

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So… our Challenges anthology is nearing completion, but still needs a title. You’ve seen the suggestions. You’ve sent in your votes. You’ve help me prune the tree of possible keywords. So now…

  • Top votes went to the title, Journey Through Chaos.
  • Top keyword choices went to Apart and Together, with Quirky and Challenges a close second.
  • Any my personal favorites (’cause if I’m spending all this time, I might as well research my own choices too) were Waiting for Tomorrow and Waiting for Locusts.

Read on to learn what comes next…

Continue reading The Joys of Title Research →
graphic novels, Guest Speakers, Minutes

Graphic Novels, Inspiration, Creation, Publication and Marketing with Erik Nebel, August 2020

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Did you miss the talk? You missed a fantastic presentation from Erik Nebel, but now you can watch it again in the comfort of your living room. Just go to https://wccls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1251989147_cedarmill_markr/1707540549_local_cartoonist_erik_nebel and find a links to the video, and to all Erik’s books, including the beautiful Well Come.

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character, exercise, Guest Speakers, inspiration, mystery, plot, point of view, story structure, Writing

Mystery Workshop with Cindy Brown July 19th 2020

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Mystery Workshop with Cindy Brown

Writing Character-Based Mysteries
Cindy Brown
cindybrownwriter.com
info@cindybrownwriter.com

Books: Macdeath, The Sound of Murder, Oliver Twisted, Ivy Get Your Gun, The Phantom of Oz, Killalot, Murder Most Theatrical (Anthology – August 2020)

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exercise, flash, Guest Speakers, novel, poetry, story structure, Writing

Writing Methods (June 2020 Sheila Deeth)

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Sheila had promised to talk about writing methods, aphorisms, rules, etc. But she started by pointing out that, while some rules (like don’t touch live wires) are not meant to be broken, others (like show don’t tell) represent simply one way of looking at things. So we looked at proverbs and their opposites. Such as:

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Guest Speakers, inspiration

Changing the World through Fiction, with Mollie Hunt

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“Today’s society calls for more from a fiction writer than a fluff-piece,” says Mollie Hunt. “It’s our obligation to bring light to the causes and conflicts of our world.” In her presentation, Changing the World Through Fiction, Mollie offered methods that even the coziest of writers can implement to gently present their values within the story. So here, with thanks to Mollie, are her notes from her talk.

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agents, contracts, Guest Speakers, marketing, query letters, Research, resources, submission guidelines, websites, Writing

Research, a talk by Maryka Biaggio

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Historical research

Maryka writes historical fiction based on real characters, so her talk began with the world of historical research. First, how do you prepare to write your historical novel? You’ll need to delve into the past, perhaps using:

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Guest Speakers, Uncategorized

Emergency Preparedness from Ria’s talk, August 18th 2019

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Emergency Preparedness from Ria’s talk, August 18th

Ria has taken the 1st Aid/CPR/AED course eleven times, recently completed the 1st Aid/CPR course for pets (offered by Dove Lewis Pet Hospital), taken “Active Shooter” training, and served on the Building Security Board at work for 15 years.  Continue reading Emergency Preparedness from Ria’s talk, August 18th 2019 →

Editing, Guest Speakers

ProWritingAid from Jim’s talk, Aug 18th 2019

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Notes on ProWritingAid from James Elstad’s talk, August 18th

Jim is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction, and is using ProWritingAid to help with his fourth novel. You can find him at  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6491416.James_R_Elstad or look for his books at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=james+elstad&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss Pick up spare copies of notes from his talk at our next meeting if you missed it! Continue reading ProWritingAid from Jim’s talk, Aug 18th 2019 →