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Fiction

The Ready-Set-Go of Open Mic Mondays

September 18, 2020 By Annis Cassells

Do you want to become more involved with Writers of Kern and your fellow writers? Want to find a welcoming place to read and share your work?  Beginning Monday, October 5th WOK members are invited to participate in Open Mic Mondays over Zoom.

Open Mics offer a friendly environment of like-minded people for you to share your work with, but you are also welcome to just come and listen to others read.

You may be nervous about reading your work. You may even be thinking, Hey, I’m a writer, not a performer! Daunting or not, public speaking is an important skill for a successful writer. You want to be ready when your award-winning poems and short stories are published or your break-through novel or screenplay is optioned for a film.

So plan ahead for Open Mic Mondays with these steps:

  1. Choose your material. Search your files and find something that:
    • Represents you and your writing well
    • Lends itself to being read aloud
    • Can be read in the allotted time
  2. Take time to prepare your material.
    • Print out your selection. Double space. Use a 14pt. (or larger) font so you can see it easily. Number the pages, but do not staple them together.
    • Read through aloud two or three times. Notice where you stumble, and notice where you want to emphasize or change your inflection. Highlight or use a BOLD font  for those areas before you reprint the page.
    • Check to see if you need to polish anything in your piece.  Do you need to: add or delete a word or two? Rewrite a sentence for clarity?
  3. Rehearse.
    • Read aloud to yourself. Read aloud to your mirror. Read aloud to your pet. Read aloud to another person.
    • Record yourself reading aloud.
    • Check your timing and cut where necessary.
  4. Show up on the first Monday of the month for Open Mic.
    • Be sure to Register for the event each month.
    • The flip side of nervousness is excitement. Feel the nervousness, but transform it into the energy you put into your reading.
    • Be proud of yourself for taking this step in moving your writing career forward.

Writers of Kern is dedicated to assisting writers of all levels in meeting their writing goals, and we’re proud offer Open Mic Mondays for our members.   You can go directly to the Eventbrite site to register by clicking HERE. You must register to attend.

We hope to see you there—as a reader or as part of the welcoming audience.

If you have further questions, contact us by email at [email protected]

2020 Writers of Kern Annual Dan McGuire Blog Challenge!

January 31, 2020 By Natalia Corres

What: Our annual Blog Challenge for our writing community honoring our dear friend, and prolific blogger, Dan McGuire.

Who: Anyone can participate (membership in Writers of Kern not required)

When: Start posting Monday, Feb. 10. Final posts by Sunday, May 10.

Why: To develop a habit of regular writing and sharing it with a like-minded community of writers.

Where: Your personal blog online

The Fine Print: (Requirements to finish and be recognized at WOK Honors, our annual awards and recognition dinner. To be held this year on May 16th):

  • To participate, please email: [email protected] with your name and blog web address by Feb 9, 2020.
  • Write 26 posts in 13 weeks
    • Subject/theme is up to you
    • We suggest two posts per week, but there is no minimum or maximum, just so all 26 posts are completed by the end date.
  • Leave 2 comments/week on other participants’ blogs
    • Each participant will be given a list of the other participants’ blogs for easy access
  • Though not required, we prefer you share a link to your blog posts on the Writers of Kern Facebook Group page (link below). It makes it easier to everyone to read and leave comments.
    • https://www.facebook.com/groups/95572300558/
  • After publishing all 26 posts, please email [email protected] to confirm you’ve completed the challenge.
    • Note: Pace yourself. While it seems simple, many will start, while not everyone will finish and that’s okay. We celebrate everyone who starts!

If you do not have a blog, now is the time to start one! This video will help: https://youtu.be/5n-ZpBo7cHI

  • If. after watching the video, you are still struggling, please contact [email protected] We have two very patient volunteers who are willing to answer your blog set-up related questions.

Questions? Email [email protected]

2020 Writers of Kern Annual Dan McGuire Blog Challenge!

Calling all Horror Writers Opportunity Knocking!

August 5, 2019 By Natalia Corres

War Monkey Publications, LLC
is pleased to announce open submissions for our upcoming anthology:

FROM THE YONDER

A horror, short-story collection of regional legends and tall-tales from around the World.

We are seeking short story submissions (1000-7500 words) for this anthology. The stories must be based upon a regional/cultural legend or tall tale from any location or culture in the World. “Regional” can be a specific place (Loch Ness) or a larger region (Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest).
We are seeking stories in the horror genre. Inclusion of elements of other genres is welcome, so long as, overall, the story is an horror story. The subject of the story can be based on any legend, so long as it has a horrific flavor. Ghosts, hauntings, alien abductions, monsters, demons, spirits, witches, etc, all are acceptable, as long as the subject is based on an actual legend or tall tale.

Submissions are open between 1 August and 19 September 2019. 
Submission info will be posted on our website: https://warmonkeypublications.com/submissions

The Submission Deadline is:
Talk Like a Pirate Day, 19 September 2019, at 11:59PM MST
Submit via Email to: 
[email protected]

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