Guest Speakers

Share Your Work with Annis Cassells

November 27, 2015 By Annis Cassells

Time to Share Your Work

Showing, rather than telling, is the key to hooking readers and keeping them turning the pages. In last Saturday’s presentation at the WOK monthly meeting, Nancy Ellen Dodd encouraged us to “show.” She advised us to allow readers to see our character interacting with the world around them. Show characters’ actions and them being 27aware of their environment.

Nancy brought in the idea of storyboarding, using photos to better visualize the characters and setting. Photos can range from extreme up close to extreme wide shot, with each wider-view picture giving a more complete idea of the character’s world. She recommended we use a weather shot for more environmental information and a cutaway shot to depict another aspect of the setting, one that is away from the main character.

Setting. What is the character’s point of view? Show what she sees. This reveals details about the character to the reader. Write something that shows the scene and the character and his interactions.

Nancy made a distinction between three elements/devices writers can use:

Description: specific details
Inference: implying setting, tone, and feeling by the character’s actions or words
Metaphor: using a symbol or something familiar for comparison

For this workshop, Nancy provided four different scenarios and asked us to choose one to use as the basis for our quickly written pieces. We were to incorporate some of her “show me” principles, writing at intervals in her presentation. At the end, several attendees, members and guests, shared their short piece with the entire group. Here’s mine:

[Scenario 2: A couple, now divorced, drive together to their best friend’s funeral. Unknown to one of them, the friend is the reason for their divorce.]

Joe and Madeline ride in his flashy Corvette, crammed into the bucket seats and stuck in freeway traffic. Wet pavement and red tail lights reflect in their faces. He follows too closely. She presses her foot to the floor, putting on the brakes.” Joe! Careful! You’re following too damn close.” Then, under her breath, “As usual.” He clamps his teeth together like a bulldozer gobbling earth.

Come on, WOKians who attended the meeting. Add your paragraph in the comments section. Let’s show other members what we learned last Saturday about showing vs. telling.

Don’t Tell Me Show Me

November 23, 2015 By Natalia Corres

Don’t Tell Me Show Me

With Nancy Ellen Dodd

Nearly fifty people showed up at the Clarion Hotel to hear Nancy Ellen Dodd’s presentation “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me”. It was a homecoming of sorts as Ms. Dodd was once a member of Writers of Kern. Her book, A Writer’s Compass, teaches writers to use their intuition to as an internal compass to create their story map.

The crowd learned a number of techniques to improve their writing. For example, Ms. Dodd talked about layering to build a scene. Much like you would in photography, try describing the scene from many different focal lengths. What does it look like from a distance? What details are revealed as you get closer? Of course, she also said it was important to keep in mind what we want the reader to see and what information or details the writer may want to save for the “reveal”.

Ms. Dodd pointed out that it was important to add details as your story can use them. She talked about the use of description, inference, and metaphor in writing and how their use can bring a story more depth and complexity.

She offered the group a writing exercise as her talk progressed and many writers were up to the challenge. I have enough trouble writing in a quiet room with no distractions. As many as ten people got up and read their creations at the end of Nancy’s presentation and they were all quite impressive. It was a fast-paced hour packed with a lot of information. Along with other door prizes, Ms. Dodd contributed a signed copy of The Writer’s Compass to one lucky winner.

Our next meeting is the Annual Winter Dinner Party. Check out these photos from the November meeting then register.

Nancy Ellen Dodd at November Meeting

November 16, 2015 By Natalia Corres

Nancy Ellen Dodd: “Don’t Tell Me. Show Me!”

Nancy Ellen Dodd, author, playwright, and instructor at Pepperdine University, is the featured speaker at the Writers of Kern November meeting. Ms. Dodd is author of A Writer’s Compass, a guide to help writers in all genres. She will offer writers insights into descriptive writing using inference and metaphor. She will also cover aspects that will help writers give their stories more depth and color.

Writers of Kern meets Saturday, November 21, 9:30 am-Noon, at the Clarion Hotel, 3540 Rosedale Hwy. Admission is $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

A branch of the California Writers Club, Writers of Ken offers monthly meetings, writers’ conferences, and critique groups to help published and non-published writers improve their skills.

To listen to a preview, please click the image below.

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A Novel Way to Write a History Book

July 7, 2015 By Annis Cassells

Writers of Kern is proud to present Judy Salamacha and Sandra Mittelsteadt, authors of Colonel Baker’s Field: An American Pioneer Story.

Salamacha and Mittelsteadt’s presentation, “A Novel Way to Write a History Book,” will give writers, history buffs, and genealogists insights into adapting history to creative non-fiction by weaving family lore into documented fiction. Attendees will also glean tips on where to research facts and how to manage writing as a team.

“History is often more exciting than fiction, but fails to engage the reader when it is written like a textbook,” says Salamacha. “The facts are recorded, but with no dialogue and little description.” Colonel Thomas Baker’s great-great grandson invited Salamacha and Mittelsteadt to use his lifetime of research to write the official biography of his ancestor. After talking with them, he agreed to allow them to fictionalize portions of the story where there were gaps in the research and joined the collaboration.

Salamacha, a native of Bakersfield, and Mittelsteadt, a transplant from the mid-west and Saudi Arabia, are former teachers of English as well as writers. For the past five years, Salamacha directed the Central Coast Writers Conference at Cuesta College. She currently writes for several newspapers on the Central Coast. Mittelsteadt is president of her company, Zayn Consulting, specializing in connecting businesses to education through career academy development and project-based integrated learning. Colonel Baker’s Field is their first book as a team.

Guests are invited and welcome at Writers of Kern monthly meetings. For meeting location, time, and cost, please click here.

Dana Martin, Featured Speaker, Saturday, March 16

March 11, 2013 By Natalia Corres

Writers of Kern, a non-profit local chapter of the California Writers Club, will host local writer Dana Martin as its guest speaker this Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. Guests are welcome.

Dana Martin is a professional writer, editor, and social media consultant, who is frequently published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Woman’s World Magazine, and Bakersfield Life. Martin is the president of Writers of Kern, where she conducts monthly meetings, organizes and maintains the club’s critique groups, and has received their prestigious Jack London Award for her efforts motivating and encouraging local writers. Martin also writes stories for the haunted attraction industry and edits novels for aspiring and professional writers.

Martin will present her workshop, “Interviewing Like a Champ: Questions to Ask and How to Turn Your Notes into a Compelling Story.”

Have you ever wanted to write someone else’s story but don’t know where to begin? In this workshop, you will learn the types of questions to ask and how to turn your notes into a finished product. This is NOT a lesson in journalism, but a workshop to help those interested in learning how to ask the right questions and then transcribe their notes into an enjoyable read. We all know someone with an interesting background or experience, whose story needs to be written. Interviewing skills are good for writing features sorties, but can also help when writing your parent’s memoirs, telling a coworker’s family history, or being a ghost writer.

Writers of Kern monthly meeting

Location: Clarion Hotel, 3540 Rosedale Hwy., Bakersfield

Check-in: 9:45 – 10:00 a.m.

Meeting: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon.

Fee: $10.00