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January Featured Speaker – Kathleen Kline

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Workshop Title: Promoting Fiction in Today’s Tech-Savy World

Get invigorated, inspired, and geared up to write more fiction. Kathleen Kline, a 32-year professional writer, editor, and writing coach will be here to share the changes in the Fiction Market and explain the path for new authors, aspiring authors, and those authors desiring to change up and the potential expansion of their craft.

Kathleen Kline is a wordsmith who’s been playing with words for 32 years and has helped clients all over the world. She started out in the Magazine and Newspaper arenas, but couldn’t help expanding into the fiction and non-fiction genres. She also enjoys helping writers reach their goals, whether it is with a short story or a series of books, detailing a family’s past or a how-to-do. Effective communication is key while helping others create entertaining stories for others to enjoy, that is what Kathleen loves to do!

Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting and Workshop Fee. Breakfast is included.

2023 Winter Holiday Dinner

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The Writers of Kern 2023 Winter Holiday Dinner & Year-End Celebration will take place at Hodel’s Country Dining on Saturday, December 16th from 5:30PM – 8:30PM with dinner at 6PM.  The Winter Dinner is a fun and festive event perfect for sharing time with your fellow writers. Traditionally, everyone brings a gift-wrapped gently used book to exchange or the books may be donated to benefit the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter. There will be gift baskets up for grabs with our popular opportunity drawing.

Besides the great food, holiday music, games, activities, and good friends, the winners of the Fall Writing Contest will be announced. Featured stories will be read.

You do have to be a member to attend, but members are encouraged to bring guests.  Dress is casual, but if you prefer a more formal or holiday attire, you’re a writer, go ahead and express yourself.  

Reservations need to be made in advance.  Please click below to reserve your spot.  Space is limited and we recommend you make your reservations today!

See you there!

Click Here To Reserve Your Spot!

November Featured Speaker – Nancy Ellen Dodd

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Workshop Title: Spark: Learning the Process

Spark is that aha moment when an idea ignites. Understanding your process and the rhythm for igniting spark may influence what and how you write, how to develop good ideas, and when you are allowing spark killers to stop you. Dodd will present her recent research from interviews with those who have succeeded, as well as historical documentation of successful people in the arts, on the importance of spark. This will be an interactive program and will be her knowledge and experience as an editor and writer.

Nancy Ellen Dodd earned an MPW (master’s in professional writing) and an MFA (in playwriting) from USC. Her book, The Writer’s Compass: From Story Map to Finished Draft in 7 Stages (Writers Digest), covers the creative storytelling process. She formerly taught advanced screenwriting at Pepperdine’s Seaver College and has published more than 130 articles in local and national publications. Dodd was also formerly the academic editor of the peer-reviewed Graziadio Business Review at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, where she taught electives “Presentations & Stories” and “Business Storytelling.” Currently, she works as an editor and a consultant internationally and is earning her Ph.D. in Global Leadership and Change, focusing on spark—the moment that ignites creativity.

Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting and Workshop Fee. Breakfast is included.

October Featured Speaker – Jenny Margotta

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Workshop Title: Effective Self-Editing

You’ve done your research. You’ve worked, slaved, and agonized, and the final page has been written. You’re done, right? Probably not. Unless you’re an as-yet-undiscovered creative writing prodigy, your work is going to need to be edited. No matter how good a writer you are, your work can always be better. Even if it’s just tweaking that one adjective or adverb that really nails an emotion. You need a good editor, but there’s a lot you can do on your own before spending money. As a professional editor, my job is to take your great story and make it that much better. But I can give you lots of tips do to on your own that will greatly improve your writing before you pay an editor. And you won’t even need to buy your own copy of the 1,200-plus page The Chicago Manual of Style to master those tips.

Jenny Margotta is a professional copy editor, book formatter, and a book-cover designer. She has edited nearly 200 books in all genres for authors across the country.

J Margotta-Ferrara is the author of four books, most notably the braided memoir, The Woman in Room 23. Retribution, Resolution, and Some Like it Hot: The Culinary Adventures of One Hot Momma and One Cool Dude.

Ms. Margotta can be contacted at jennymargotta@mail.com. 

Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting and Workshop Fee. Breakfast is included.

September Featured Speaker – Tracy Kelly

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Workshop Title: Writing Your Legacy

Tracy Kelly has fourteen years teaching Special Education in California. He has taught all grades K-12, as well as being a Lecturer, both Adjunct and Full Time, at the University level. He taught those that inspired to be General Education and Special Education Teachers. He has earned a BA in Economics, MA in Special Education, two teaching credentials, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, with a focus on teacher self-efficacy. He has edited six books. Tracy and his wife have three sons, three grandsons, and two granddaughters. Four dogs, four cats, and two rats also live with him.

Tracy will discuss the importance of writing your story, and your legacy. Perhaps, even the things that you learned from your grandparents or even parents that your children and grandchildren are not aware of. Write it like an autobiography. If you have been carrying something that you may regret or was a valuable lesson that you will never forget, write it down. He will discuss the value of your life to the next generation. All of us have a story, and there is value in it being shared.

The attendees will gain insight into themselves and their growth as writers and human beings.

Tracy will reinforce the insight that failure leads to success and learning.

They will better understand the worth of their life, story, and legacy.

They will have a better understanding of what their strengths, weaknesses, failures, and successes mean to them and their legacy.

The attendees will gain insight into the meaning of saying Yes leads to Success!

They will learn that their story or legacy has value.

They will learn how to draw those memories/lessons out of themselves.

They may learn how to share hard life lessons with family members. They will learn how to delicately share some regrets or uncomfortable truths about themselves if they have any.

They will learn how they can share their story/legacy before it is over or after.

Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting and Workshop Fee. Breakfast is included.