At the December CWC meeting, several of us got to talking about characters. In particular, character voice and how to keep each character separate, different, unique. Several days later as wrapping paper flew; a common theme emerged in my residence. With a baby girl celebrating her first birthday and Christmas, the play area was awash …
Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, will provide an information–packed primer on ebook publishing. Attendees will learn best practices to easily produce, publish, distribute and market an ebook. The presentation draws upon Mark’s experience helping over 11,000 Smashwords authors publish and distribute over 25,000 ebooks. Smashwords is based in Los Gatos. The company operates the world’s …
Mark Coker, Smashwords – The Seven Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success Read More »
A new year is a good time to give thanks, and I give thanks to literature. After all, I owe my existence to a novel. My mother’s people are Russian pacifists. Late in the 19th century their commitment to peace clashed with the Tsar’s commitment to a large army, with predictable results. Leo Tolstoy was …
The Count, the Quakers, the Queen, and me by Lani Longshore Read More »
Spirit of the Wind by Marylee Burns, pen name for CWC Tri-Valley member Marylee Nurrenbern, has been published in Moments of the Soul, an anthology released by Spirit First Publishing, November 27, 2010. This paperback is available online from the publisher and Amazon.com.
Becky Levine is the author of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide (Writer’s Digest, 2010) and a freelance writer and editor, living in the Santa Cruz mountains. She has almost 20 years of experience with critique groups and knows both the challenges and benefits of making the critique process work. Becky is also working …
Jack Russ announces the publication of his debut novel, In Dangerous Waters (Alamo Hills Press, November 2010), a thriller set during the Korean War and drawing on many of his own experiences as a Naval officer.
I stole someone’s grocery cart this week; didn’t notice until I got to the checkout line and my reusable grocery bags weren’t there. A pleasant and efficient clerk found my bags in an empty, unattended cart. I thanked him, paid for my groceries, and left. Once home, I discovered I had bought someone else’s breakfast …
Character development through humiliation by Lani Longshore Read More »
December brings childhood memories of stockings hung behind an open-face heater in absence of a fireplace. Chocolate drops and ribbon candy. The aroma of baking pies. A diary filled with handsome boys, elite schools, sports cars, and fabulous careers. None materialized as I imagined. I discarded the diary and continued to dream. At retirement, I …
December 2010 President’s Message from Violet Carr Moore Read More »
Patrick Coyle, Bobbie Kinkead and Violet Carr Moore were winners in the National Novel in a Month (NaNoWriMo) contest to draft a new 50,000-word novel in thirty days.
Great news, technology is booming. Writers have more options than ever before to get their writing out there. The first step, getting the written words into a format that can be submitted, shouldn’t be the hardest step. Voice recognition software is one tool that can increase a writer’s productivity. If you are partially fluent in …
