Newsletter & Upcoming Meetings

The May edition of the newsletter is online with articles by Christina Arbini with tips on how to pitch your latest novel, an interview with professional editor, Erin Brown, and guest authors (and CWG members) Donna Hole and MaryRose Lovgren. Hurry on over to our newsletter and [check it out!]

Our upcoming meetings are:

• Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 2:30 - 4:30 pm [RSVP here]
  • Chat Topic: Genres
• Saturday, May 29, 2010 from 2:30 - 4:30 pm [RSVP here]
  • Chat Topic: To Be Determined

Adverb Abuse and How To Avoid It: Craft Chat & Critique Workshop

Craft Chat and Critique Workshop

Topic: Adverb Abuse and How To Avoid It
Host: Chico Writer's Group
Date:  Saturday, August 22, 2009
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Butte County Library, Chico Branch - Meeting Room
Street: 1108 Sherman Ave.
City/Town: Chico, CA
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*****AGENDA*****

1:00 - 1:20 pm Free write exercise
During this time, members will be given the opportunity to write from prompts provided and then share (voluntarily) with others at the end. Be sure to bring writing tools (paper and pen or laptop, stone tablets work well but can be a bit noisy)!
1:20 - 1:40 pm Craft Chat: Adverb Abuse and How To Avoid It
This is a step beyond and ten times better than Schoolhouse Rock! As writers, we sometimes slip into a habit of using and then abusing adverbs. How many times can your character be found looking, glancing, frowning, smiling, catapulting or picking the hairs out of his ears? Learn some of the tools of the craft and how to avoid adverb abuse during this insightful chat session. Handouts will be distributed at the close.
1:40 - 3:00 pm Critique Workshop
(open to members in good standing, guests and visitors are invited to listen,
but we are unable to provide copies of the scheduled author's work)
Members: Remember to have your manuscript in to Ruth by Thursday, August 13th. This is a strict deadline.

Worldbuilding and Rule Creation Resources

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions by Patricia C. Wrede, http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm - These are specifically geared toward fantasy worlds, but they're esily adapted to any other kind of worldbuilding. This is a much more expansive look at the aspects of the world mentioned briefly above.

The Rules of Quick and Dirty Worldbuilding by Annalee Newitz http://io9.com/5039477/the-rules-of-quick-and-dirty-worldbuilding - This takes on more of a science fiction bent, but again has some advice that can be generalized to other worldbuilding.

The Mythopoets Manual by Loren J. Miller http://www.rpgmud.com/WorldBuilding/Mythopoets/tmm.html - Specifically looks at the issue of religion.

Worldbuilding Links http://www.bmarch.atfreeweb.com/Worldbuilding.htm - A collection of links to other worldbuilding resources.

World Builder Projects http://hiddenway.tripod.com/world/ - Another collection of links to other worldbuilding resources.

Our next meeting we'll discuss red herrings which is scheduled for Sunday, June 14, 2009 from noon (possibly 12:15pm) to 3:00 pm at the library. More information to come.

Resources for Writers

The following are links and information that was shared during our recently meeting.

The Exploding Cat - how to foreshadow and some other helpful tips for writers by the novelist, Holly Lisle.

http://howtothinksideways.com/crashtests/writing-videos/holly-lisle-and-the-case-of-the-exploding-cat=/

Holly has a lot of other resources for writers. Check out:

• www.writercrashtest.com
• www.howtothinksideways.com
• and of course, www.hollylisle.com which is crammed full of useful information (you might want to tie yourself down before going in there, you could get lost in there!)

LJ Sellers, author of The Sex Club, is a mystery writer. She offers some tips and advice on plotting your story and keeping things organized. Here's a great post to read and while you're there, check out her other sage advice she gives:

http://ljraves.blogspot.com/2008/08/10-ways-to-keep-your-writing-organized.html

Another blot/site to visit is JA Konrath's (Jack Kilborn series) site, specifically the "Newbie's Guide to Publishing" which is a free book and well worth the read even before you start (or finish) your novel.

http://www.jakonrath.com/writers.htm

What resources do you have that you can share? Add a comment so we all can enjoy!

Look for news on our upcoming meeting and craft chat topic coming soon!

Resource Links

From our March workshop on Culture, Race and Ethnicity, here are some resourceful links:

Required reading: Transracial Writing for the Sincere by Nisi Shawl. Other links from the handout:

• A primer on privilege: what it is and what it isn't by Betty
• "Check my what?" On privilege and what you can do about it by Andrea Rubenstein
• Stephen King's Super-Duper Magical Negroes by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
• Appropriate Cultural Appropriation by Nisi Shawl
• I Didn't Dream of Dragons by Deepa D.
• Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part II by Mary Anne Mohanraj
• White people, its not all about you, but for this post it is by Deepa D.

Yes, there really are great things that are free!

do you duotrope?

what is duotrope? Duotrope’s Digest is a free, online resource for writers of fiction and poetry.
why duotrope? Search for the perfect market for your fiction and poetry, based on a number of criteria. We list well over a thousand current markets and keep them as up to date as humanly possible. You can also get nifty reports on response times and acceptance/rejection ratios. Sign up for a free account and track your submissions. We’ll even remind you when it’s time to query. Explore and see what else we have on tap.
how can duotrope? Pull up your web browser and head over to duotrope.com. Remember, it’s free!

Craft Chat: Race and Ethnicity

How do you make characters of a race (describing biological descent) or ethnicity (describing cultural heritage) other than your own realistic? How can you avoid reducing them to a stereotype? Where do you go for information? What obvious traps should you avoid?

We'll be answering these questions and enjoying some free write time during our regular writers group meeting.  Visitors are welcome! This is a free event.

Critique Workshop and Craft Chat

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Times: 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: Meeting Room (directly across from circulation desk)
Chico Branch, Butte County Library
Address: 1108 Sherman Avenue, Chico

Agenda

• 4-4:30 p.m. Free Write followed by Craft Chat
• 4:30-6:30 p.m. Critique Workshop
• m.s.s in this order:
• D. H.
• R. A.
• L. H.*

Resources - Dialect

The following is a list of resources for writing dialect. This goes in conjunction with today's craft chat on dialect.

• Writing Dialect: It's in the Rhythm by Cameron Michaels
• How to Avoid Writing Dialect in Plays
• Dialect Survey Maps - A collection of maps showing the regional variations in terms and pronunciations in the US.
• Writing Dialect in Fiction by Tony Burton - Contains several examples from classic literature.
• Using Dialect in Fiction by Jennifer Jensen - Another discussion of use of dialect.
• Writing Accents and Dialects by Charles Carson - Includes some caution that how you write accents and dialects may say more about you than about the characters.
• Write stuff: Avoid using dialect, phonetic spelling by Rusty Lang - Advice on using dialect and phonetic spelling in journalistic writing.
• The International Dialects of English Archive - "IDEA was created in 1997 as a free, online library of primary source recordings for the performing arts." Includes transcripts of the audio samples. Note: Each audio sample begins with the person reading a passage. You may want to skip past this to the unscripted speech.
• Internet Archive - Contains many freely available movies and audio recordings. May require some digging to find the dialect you’re looking for.
• radio-locator and Web-Radio - Search for radio stations; results will show you which ones you can listen to over the Internet. Both include search by state.