Guest Speakers

Carla Stanley has been writing for years, but it wasn’t until 2017, when she retired from teaching high school English and Theater, that she got serious. Since taking a memoir writing class in 2018, Carla has written over 150 memoirs to share with family and friends. She plans to share what she had learned in her numerous memoir-writing classes, hoping to tweak your writing in small ways that takes an okay piece of writing and makes it come alive.

Besides memoir-writing, Carla has continued the playwriting she polished working with students for 14 years at Shafter High School. In 2022, one of her short plays was performed at Bakersfield Community Theater’s One-Act Festival.

Carla joined WOK during the pandemic and participated in many Zoom Open Mic events. Her poem “Veterans” and her short story “A Bunch of Bull” were published in the 2021 Writers of Kern Anthology Pathway to the Heart.

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!

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.