Writers of Kern

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Workshops & Classes

September Featured Speakers – Carla Stanley and Jennette Green

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Workshop Title: Git’er Done – Brainstorming
the Writing Process

Carla Stanley
Jennette Green

Procrastination a problem? Lacking motivation? Afraid to face the blank page?

The Writers of Kern have some tips for you. Our board listened to multiple writers, both new and seasoned, and heard the same recurring situations. After much research and discussion, we have created an interactive workshop to discuss and facilitate different approaches to writing that might help you to the next step in your writing process. Panel leaders Jennette Green and Carla Stanley have years of experience and unique life experiences that meld together to create this morning event: Jennette has published 18 books–fiction, historical nonfiction and non-fiction; Carla is a retired high school English and theater teacher and has written and shared hundreds of memoirs and some short plays.        

Come join us for our breakfast meeting at Hodel’s (5917 Knudsen Dr., Bakersfield) on September 21. The meeting is 9:15-10:45 a.m., but come early for breakfast and conversation. Members are $20, non-members $25.

Meeting on Saturday, September 21, 2024
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am
The general meeting begins at 9:15 am
Hodel’s at 5917 Knudsen Dr, Bakersfield

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

August Featured Speakers – Larry Hanson and Gay Chambers

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Workshop Title: My Writing Journey

Writers of Kern asked a couple of our members to share their writer’s journey with you. We all have a story to tell about how and why we write. Being in a community of writers helps us understand we are not alone. Just coming to a meeting and talking is often a confidence booster.

If you would like to participate too, we are offering you a chance. If you have one, bring your book or your story. If not, share your writing journey as it exists. There will be a 5-10 minute limit, and up to six people can speak. It will be suggested that participants include something we can learn from their process, such as what they have struggled with and what they have overcome. They could include a handout, if they’d like. Email interest to President@writersofkern.com by 8/15 to reserve a spot. Otherwise, we will take volunteers at the August meeting.

Gay Chambers: What made me think I could become a writer?  As a librarian first in a junior high then later in an elementary school, I delighted in helping children enjoy reading. But I soon realized that many struggled to comprehend what they were reading. The Lord encouraged me to find a solution, which was learning to visualize what they were reading. In my series “It Takes a Pond” I dove into setting scenes through descriptive words. I wanted the children to feel like they are right there in the story. But that was only the beginning of my journey. I now have 6 books and they are Tadpoles on the Loose, Beyond the Pond and Back, Life at the Pond, Trouble at the Pond, and New Friends at the Pond. Book 6 Winter at the Pond , which will be out in a few weeks. My books are available on Amazon. How did I get to this point? Come and find out.

Larry Hanson: Artificial Intelligence, does it keep you up at night? It should!!! My first book is ARE YOU READY FOR IT? Artificial Intelligence in Politics. This political fiction satire pokes fun at the current political system while raising some concerning questions. I followed that up with my CREAGER Adventure Sagas. CREAGER The War Paint Killer Saga and the recently released CREAGER The Van Joe Parker Saga. Both are action-adventure books with crime, suspense, human relations, and plenty of humor. I have used Book Baby and Amazon KDP to produce soft copies as well as Kindle versions. ACX produced the audio version of CREAGER, the War Paint Killer Saga.

      L. Hanson, a relativity new writer, believes that to be a good writer, you must first be a good reader, have an appreciation of life situations, and be able to convey those situations to paper. “I’ve never been accused of being shy, and I believe that everyone has an interesting situation or story in their life, either current or past. My friends wonder, when they speak with me, if I am evaluating them for the next character in my book. Don’t worry, friends, the villains are always named after humans I don’t know.”

Website – https://www.lhansonbooks.com   

Meeting on Saturday, August 17, 2024
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am
The general meeting begins at 9:15 am
Hodel’s at 5917 Knudsen Dr, Bakersfield

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

July Featured Speaker – Andrew Roth

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Workshop Title: Audiobooks and the Western Genre

Award winning author Andrew Roth will cover the process of moving a completed manuscript to a pitch before agents and publishers at various writer’s conferences as well as the steps required to move a published novel into audio.

After serving in the US Army, attending California State University at Bakersfield, and teaching American History for 22 years Andrew Roth began his writing career. After writing a number of novels he began attending numerous writer’s conferences up and down the state. He also sent over 200 submissions and queries during that time, seeking a traditional publishing house. Finally, he landed a contract in Nov. of 2018 with Elk Lake Publishing Inc. with his first novel being released in June of 2019.

Married for 35 years, with 2 children and 3 grandchildren Andrew has published 8 Christian Historical novels with Elk Lake Publishing and is currently moving two of them into audio. Last year, two of his books were finalists for the coveted “Selah Award” in Christian Westerns and one of those two also won the “Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award” for Inspirational Western.

https://www.andrewrothbooks.com/books

https://www.facebook.com/andrewrothbooks

Meeting on Saturday, July 20, 2024
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am
The general meeting begins at 9:15 am
Hodel’s at 5917 Knudsen Dr, Bakersfield

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

February Featured Speaker – Phyllis Wachob

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Workshop Title: Developing a Unique Writing Voice and Exploring Points of View

This workshop will present ideas, tips and a chance to practice developing your own voice and exploring points of view. Tips will be given and exercises will be demonstrated on how to find and develop your unique way of description, dialog, imagery and syntax. A point to remember is that editor’s comments are only suggestions, not corrections. Your own authentic voice is the one that your readers want. The close third person point of view is a newer way of crawling into a character’s head to experience thoughts, feelings, and intuitions without quotes or italics. This workshop aims to give writers more devices in their writer’s toolbox to express themselves.

Phyllis Wachob, born in Bakersfield and currently residing there, began her traveling adventures after college. She became a travel writer and then an English teacher, living and working in various places across the globe. These experiences are reflected in her mystery novels in the Teachers Abroad Mystery series. Later, she used her hometown and its inhabitants as inspirations for her Kern Kapers Mystery Series. So far, she has completed eight cozy mysteries, honing her writing skills along the way. Fellow members of the Writers of Kern as well as critique group members have shown her different ways of looking at characters, storylines and points of view.

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.