Past Meetings

Round Robin Workshop with TVW Members, December 16, 2023

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Are you wondering if your novel or story beginning will draw in readers? Or unsure if you’ve chosen the correct theme for your memoir? Did you write too much, and your work is now unwieldy to the point you need to cut the bloat? Have you poured your heart and soul into the draft of your novel and don’t know what to do with all your effort? Or perhaps you have questions about options in publishing. Never fear, it’s Round Robin Workshop time.

Tri-Valley Writers members will lead four distinct topic presentations, which are designed to impart tips of the writing trade. Each attendee will receive a handout packet with valuable information to take home with them. Workshop topics include: “Engaging Openings: Hook Readers from the Beginning” (B. Lynn Goodwin-Brown), “Choosing a Theme or Period of Time for Memoir Writing” (Connie Hanstedt), “Cutting the Excess: Honing Your Writing for Impact” (Linda Todd), and “Options in Publishing” (Jordan Bernal).

Nina Schuyler, Author, November 18, 2023

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Nina Schuyler, award-winning novelist and short story writer, will present “Making Metaphors and Other Stylish Moves” at the Tri-Valley Writers November 18, 2023, meeting. Metaphors are like magical pleasure pills that help the reader see the world anew. The critic James Wood said metaphors float a rival reality; it’s the entire imaginative process in one move. The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset called them tools for creation which God forgot inside one of His creations.

To create metaphors, we need a different way to view the world, moving away from either/or, the binary, and finding connections and similarities between seemingly disparate things. In this meeting, you’ll do in-class writing, creating metaphors that are original, powerful, vivid, and even funny.

To augment this exploration, we’ll also consider three ways to grow sentences so they can contain metaphors and much more style.  By the end, you’ll have a much firmer grasp on how to make compelling, fresh metaphors and sentences that contain them.

Chris Hennessy, Independent Filmmaker & Motivational Speaker, October 21, 2023

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Chris Hennessy will present “How to Build Your Writer’s Platform Using Storytelling Crossover Tips” at the Tri-Valley Writers October 21 meeting . Chris has been a full-time independent filmmaker, author, and speaker in Northern California since 1990. He serves on the board of directors at California Writers Club Sacramento Branch. In the presentation, attendees will learn

How to promote your book before, during, or after writing to create buzz.
Unique, simple, stand-out social media marketing tips to get known.
How and why to incorporate film/video into your writing projects.
How to make your book into a feature film (big screen, Netflix, etc.).
How to motivate yourself and others to create, write, and perform happily at your highest ability.

A. L. Kucherenko, Author, September 16, 2023

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A. L. Kucherenko will present “Crotches, Crucks, and Crutches” at the Tri-Valley Writers September 16, 2023, meeting. Learn how to entice readers to linger in your fictional world with your imaginary characters. Most authors face the convergence of characters and readers. Characters inhabit their own skins and are shaped by their environment. They make choices, express attitudes, and bear certain responsibilities consistent with their cosmos. So do readers, who bring their experiences and expectations into our stories.

A. L. Kucherenko uses examples from her work to illustrate the delicate balance between authenticity and accuracy and how character and reader worldviews mesh to create an environment for her characters that her readers can embrace.

July & August 2023

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Tri-Valley Writers takes a brief summer hiatus during the months of July and August. The Board of Directors will be busy planning for a terrific 2023-2024 term. Monthly meetings will resume in September. Critique groups, Social Space, Author Support Group, Pull Up a Chair and Write, and the Zoom Sit Down and Write will continue during the summer, so please forge on with your writing.
We look forward to seeing you in September. Write On!

Kate Farrell, Author and Storyteller, June 17, 2023

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Kate Farrell will present “Storytelling: An Interactive Workshop for Authors” at the Tri-Valley Writers June 17, 2023 meeting. Take your storytelling from the page to the spoken word and enliven your talks, enhance your events, and create a shared experience with your listeners. The power of story immediately engages audiences through simple, traditional techniques.

12th Annual High School Writing Contest Awards Ceremony—May 21, 2023

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Tri-Valley Writers will hold its 12th annual high school writing contest awards ceremony on Sunday, May 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Livermore Library. Tho Nguyen, Teen Poet Laureate of Pleasanton, will deliver the keynote address.

Students from Tri-Valley high schools in Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon submitted up to two pieces of work in the categories of either Literary Nonfiction, Poetry, or Short Story. The winners will be honored and have a chance to read their work at the ceremony. See the HSWC 2023 page for a list of the winners.

“It takes great courage for students to submit writing to strangers to evaluate and comment on it,” Tri-Valley Writers member Patricia Boyle said. “I’m proud of the students who entered the contest and took the risk of sharing their work.”

AM Larks, Author and Editor, May 20, 2023

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AM Larks will present “Published! Tips and Tricks from an Indie Editor” at the Tri-Valley Writers May 20, 2023 meeting. Larks will cover tips and tricks on submitting to and publishing in blogs, journals, agents, and publishers. This lecture will include an overview of the publication processes as well as behind the scene looks at publishers and how and why that affects the submission process. Whether you are just starting or figuring out where to go next, this lecture will have something for you.

Connie Post, Poet Laureate, April 15, 2023

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Connie Post will present “Finding your creativity, in the ‘Between Places’” at the Tri-Valley Writers April 15, 2023 meeting. Connie will be exploring the places to find creativity and the exploration of meaningful work in unexpected places. Specifically, these can often be found in the spaces betwixt and between. Some of this approach is explored in her new book Between Twilight, published by New York Quarterly Books. 

Jim Azevedo, Corporate Communications Manager at Draft2Digital (D2D), March 18, 2023

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Jim Azevedo will present “Indie Publishing: What’s the Big Deal?” at the Tri-Valley Writers March 18, 2023 meeting. With “Read an Ebook Week” starting March 5th, now’s your chance to learn what’s so special about indie publishing. Jim will explain how the union of D2D and Smashwords created a self-publishing juggernaut overnight, legitimized the indie author movement, and ensured that even more writers will achieve their dreams of becoming published, globally distributed authors.
In the last 15 years, the book publishing industry witnessed not one, but two sea change events. The first was the democratization of the industry, circa 2008. The second was the merger of the two largest self-publishing platforms, Draft2Digital (D2D) and Smashwords, in March 2022.