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The Ready-Set-Go of Open Mic Mondays

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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 events@writersofkern.com.

Open Mic Mondays for WOK Members

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Tired of reading your writing aloud to your tabby, your parakeet, or your goldfish? Writers of Kern has a solution for that! WOK Members, bring your poems, fiction, essay, short story, or creative nonfiction (including memoir) to Open Mic Mondays over Zoom!

When: 7:00-8:15 pm, Monday, October 5, November 2, and December 7, 2020.

How it works:

  1. Open Mic Mondays, for readers and the audience, is a Members-Only event.
  2. All attendees must register beforehand on a private Eventbrite listing, to receive the link.
  3. Participants/readers may read 3 poems or for 5 minutes for any genre. Time limits will be strictly observed.
  4. Those who wish to read will sign up once admitted to the meeting. Those who wish to listen will sit back and enjoy.

An Open Mic is a fun event, where writers can showcase their work. There’s no pressure to read, but those who do become encouraged, build confidence, and hone their presentation skills—good practice for those future book tours and readings! 

Take this opportunity to support and connect with fellow WOK members while performing your work before a live audience on Zoom.

Watch your email for more information and details about how you can experience Open Mic Mondays!

~ Annis Cassells

Important Message Regarding the MARCH WOK 2020 Spring Conference and the APRIL 18 General Meeting

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I hope you and your families are staying safe during this time of uncertainty. We, at WOK, are doing what we can to follow the recommended guidelines and cancel all gatherings and maintain social distancing. In order to do that, the WOK Spring Conference has been postponed until July 18, 2020.

WE will continue to monitor the situation and IF we cannot have an in-person conference, we are considering a live virtual conference. If you’ve purchased tickets for the March event, you’re good to go with the July event. (If it is held online, you’ll also receive a video recording included with your ticket!)

If you’ve paid for the conference and prefer to request a refund, all requests will be honored at this time.

Please send refund requests and any WOK event related questions to president@writersofkern.com

PLEASE NOTE: Our APRIL 18 meeting will be held online (9:15am, April 18). Members and guests will be able to attend FREE and receive a video recording of the event. Information on the April meeting will be sent out in April.

Thank you for understanding.

Joan

Member Spotlight | Dennis Vander Werff

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Written by Joan Raymond

If you’ve ever attended our Winter Dinner or WOK Honors, you’ll recognize the name and face of Dennis VanderWerff. A member since 2011, Dennis has been invaluable to our club serving as Webmaster, Treasurer, Vice-President, Young Writers of Kern (YWOK) Coordinator, Fall Writing Contest Chair, Peggy Connelly Scholarship Committee Chair, and Master of Ceremonies of WOK Honors.

In 2015, Dennis was recognized for his service to our club when he was unanimously nominated by the WOK Board as the Jack London award recipient. The Jack London award is given to one member each branch of the California Writer Club (CWC) every other year. The award honors a member whose service to the CWC and/or a branch is exemplary. The merit of the award is in the service, independent of writing accomplishments.

I’ve known Dennis since 2011, when we met at a WOK meeting. He joined our club because he was interested in writing and wanted to be around other writers. After he joined, he became a member of the Classics Critique Group (one of the original critique groups formed). I got to know him better when we served on the Board together, and since then we’ve become good friends.

A bit of background on Dennis. He earned a BA in French, and an MLS and PhD in Library Science. Among a long list of professional accomplishments, he taught at the college level, was a corporate librarian, a library director at Cerro Coso College in Ridgecrest, catalogued special collections at the Pasadena Public Library, and worked at the Getty Research Library as Head of Monograph including rare book cataloging.

Though proud of his work with books, Dennis said his most notable accomplishment has come from his genealogy research. For years of researching he struggled to find his maternal grandfather. After studying genetic genealogy and taking DNA tests, a half-first cousin showed up and Dennis was able to identify his paternal grandfather. Dennis is currently assembling a portfolio of genealogical research products for submission to the Board of Certification of Genealogists to become a Certified Genealogist. He regularly attends genealogical research institutes in Salt Lake City, Pittsburg, and Athens, Georgia. He’s been able to apply what he’s learned to help others by facilitating workshops for the Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning through Bakersfield College, helping students discover their own family trees.

Along with his interests in research, Dennis writes personal essays and memoirs. He is an avid journal keeper, writing daily. Dennis suggests everyone, especially writers, should keep a journal because “there’s no holds barred. It’s authentic…and tells the truth.” He says, “Journaling gives clarity. Maybe not at that moment, but one gains incredible insight.” After reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, he took the information to heart and began writing Morning Pages (journaling three pages first thing each morning). After years of filling journals, Dennis is now using Day One, a software application to transfer his written words into digital form which allows him to save and catalog them. When changed into digital form, he is able to edit into full thoughts, though Dennis noted that he still prefers writing with pen and notebook, because he feels what comes out is more “gut wrenching” due to his stream-of-conscious writing process.

Another of Dennis’ passions is reading. He calls himself a “Biography Freak,” reading everything from work by David McCullough to work from Revolutionary and Constitution period, political biographies, and books addressing social problems. One of his favorite authors is poet, Walt Whitman. When asked about a favorite Whitman quote, Dennis shared, “To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually flow, All are written to me, and I must get what the writing means” (Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass: 1855) “Journaling,” says Dennis, “provides a ‘perpetual’ flow of ideas. As a writer, it is my job to ‘get’ what the writing means.”

When chatting with Dennis, you immediately know his interests are diverse. From journaling, to reading, to family research he enjoys sharing his vast knowledge in a way that is peer-to-peer, not professor to student. He’s engaging, yet humble. I am honored to be one of his friends.

Dennis Vander Werff