Every January offers a chance to reinvent yourself, including your writing self. If you aren’t satisfied with where you are and what you are doing as a writer, now is the time to try something new. 1. Create your own writing prompts. As you go through your day, jot down the odd questions that pop …
Three Steps to Become A Better Writer by Lani Longshore Read More »
Alan Rinzler, a consulting editor, will speak to local writers Saturday, Feb. 17, about “how valiant agents and publishers are still taking chances on debut writers despite the dwindling unit sales and net profits of the book business today.” Rinzler will also discuss his 56 years of experience as Assistant Managing Editor at Simon and …
Alan Rinzler presents “Once More Unto the Breach,” February 17, 2018 Read More »
Shameless self-promotion alert, I’ll have a new book coming out in the next couple of months. I’m evaluating ways to promote it, and Julaina Kleist-Corwin gave me a suggestion: try video. Julaina leads the Tri-Valley Writers Social Media Group. Each month she presents great tips about building your platform. Her research indicates that more and …
Jordan Rosenfeld, who presented a workshop for Tri-Valley Writers on character and point of view, gave a brief writing exercise on creating new metaphors and similes. She presented a list of phrases that had become cliches and challenged us to create something fresh. I thought a different way of saying right as rain could be …
Similes, Metaphors and Phrases by Lani Longshore Read More »
Author Sofia Grant will speak to writers about how to create emotional depth in a novel at our final meeting of the year. This presentation offers an overview of emotion’s relationship to plot and character and introduces a variety of ways to add emotional depth. Learn to avoid common pitfalls and create your character’s “emotion palette.” …
Sofia Grant presents How to Create Emotional Depth in a Novel Read More »
I have a pad of paper on a magnet on the refrigerator for the grocery list. There are stacks of scrap paper by the telephone, and a legal pad on my nightstand for ideas that wake me from a sound sleep. One could believe I am a die-hard devotee of paper as the perfect writing …
The last of the Baby Boomers and the first of the Gen Xers will be the last generation to remember the world before the internet, or so I heard at a lecture by Scott Thomas Anderson at CWC Tri-Valley Writers September meeting. That’s a bit of a shock, but there’s a bigger demarcation line in …
The Last Generation to Remember the World Before Photocopiers by Lani Longshore Read More »
The most recent natural disaster, Hurricane Harvey, reminded me to review my earthquake preparedness file. It contains lists of what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. Most important, there are lists of things to keep packed and ready. I suggest that a writer needs to add a notebook and supply of pens to …
Every time one of my writing buddies gets a nibble from an agent, I wonder if I shouldn’t trust the universe to provide and send out another round of queries myself. I’m happy enough self-publishing. No, my sales aren’t good, but the chances of them being better with a traditional publisher aren’t guaranteed, and at …
There are days when I can write stories, and there are days when I can write titles. Alas, the titles don’t always match the stories. Still, writing is writing, so I keep a file of all the titles that manage to stick to a memory cell long enough for me to record them. Whether I’ll …
