Board of Directors
Shawn Langwell, President
Judy Baker, Vice President
Marilyn Lanier, Vice President
Jeane Slone, Vice President
Malena Eljumaily, Treasurer
Crissi Langwell, Secretary
Roger Lubeck, Immediate Past President
Joelle Burnette, Website Editor
Tina Deason, Contests
Pamela Heck, Conference Volunteers
Tommie Whitener, Policies and Procedures
Adele Layton, Member at Large
Chairs and Editors
Les Bernstein, Poetry Anthology Editor
Skye Blaine, Newsletter Poetry Editor
Fran Claggett-Holland, Poetry Anthology Editor
Robin Gabbert, Writers Salon
Marie Judson, Critique Groups
Jeanne Jusaitis, Author Support
Marilyn Lanier, Speaker Chair
Crissi Langwell, Newsletter Editor, Social Media & 2020 Prose Anthology Editor
Roger Lubeck, Membership Chair
Linda L. Reid, Historian & Writers Circle
Danna Ruffner, PR Manager
Jeane Slone, Author Launch
Deborah Taylor-French, Author Support
|
IN PERSON MEETINGS
CANCELLED
|
Monthly in-person meetings will resume when we are given the all-clear by the CDC and our local health department.
At that time, we will move to:
Finley Center
2060 W. College Ave
Santa Rosa.
|
|
A NOTE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT |
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” - Wayne Gretzky
Dear Redwood Members,
Writing is a lot like learning to ride a bike – wobbly at first until you learn to balance, then pure bliss. What was it like for you? How did the wind feel in your hair as you pedaled faster and faster, full of youthful exuberance as you raced your best friend over jumps and bumps and perhaps stop signs?
For me, learning to ride a bike was exhilarating and gave me a sense of freedom, control, and the ability to go from Point A to Point B, until I watched my best friend get hit by a car. He broke his arm but didn’t die. And once his broken arm healed, we were “off to the races” once again.
Just like riding a bike, writing is full of twists and turns and blows to our ego, like a being hit by a car. But like anything, the best way to become a better writer is to write a little every day. That is why we offer contests and anthologies and a host of other support services for authors, like the Poetry Contest going on now.
The reward of practice for writers is being published. On February 20th, we celebrated twelve talented RWC authors who published books in the past year. A huge thank you to all who participated and special thanks to Jeane Slone and Judy Baker for coordinating, facilitating, and making our first virtual Author launch a soaring success. We maxed out our registration!
Register early for our meeting on the 20th. See you then,
Shawn Langwell
President, Redwood Writers Club
|
Throwback photo from a Writers Circle event in 2018. Our next gathering is on March 27th. Keep reading the newsletter for details! |
|
Our next board meeting is on Tuesday, March 9, 6-7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Board meetings are held 6-7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month unless otherwise noted, and are open to any member in good standing. If you would like to attend a board meeting, contact: president@redwoodwriters.org to receive an invitation.
|
|
An easy way to support Redwood Writers... |
|
Mark your calendars for this month's upcoming events! Keep reading the newsletter for more details about each event. |
|
March 9: RW Board Meeting
March 10: Screenwriting Workshop with Indigo Moor
March 20: RW General Meeting with Sarah Rabkin
March 27: RW Circle
|
|
NEW COMMUNICATION PLATFORM! |
|
REDWOOD WRITERS
E-Mail Service
rwgroup@groups.io
|
|
The Redwood Branch is adopting a new online platform for e-mailing members called groups.io. Groups.io replaces the function of Yahoo listserve. All protocols from listserve are relevant on this platform as well. Members are expected to be polite and courteous and follow the club’s Social Media Policy redwoodwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/RW-Social-Media-Policy.pdf
The program will begin in March. Each member will receive an e-mail invitation to join the group. When you accept, you will be taken to the site. Using the site, you can e-mail to the group or to individuals.
It is a great place to connect with the group or individual members.
You can use the platform to promote any author-related events or relevant workshops, presentation, or articles that may be of help to other writers.
Your invitation to join will come in an e-mail by March 15. Once you accept and are a member, you can create your own profile and password (optional) and select the method by which you will receive group e-mails (e.g., Single, Digest, No e-mail).
|
|
Saturday, March 20
1 - 2:30 p.m.
via ZOOM*
Cost is $5 for members and $10 for guests.
|
Writing the Image, Drawing the Text
Sarah Rabkin
|
Sarah Rabkin will use materials from workshops she has led at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology to show us the ways visual and verbal expression can stimulate and enrich each other. She will show examples from the illustrated journals she has been keeping for decades, sharing her experiences and musings as a writer who also makes pictures.
Sarah notes, "Many writers also draw and paint, delighting in the ways these activities complement and enrich each other. Whatever your level of skill and experience in either discipline, jumping the divide between verbal and visual expression can stimulate your creative life in both realms. There's no end to the discoveries you can make by engaging alternately in image and language, or by allowing pictures and text to interact on the page."
Sarah Rabkin is the author and illustrator of What I Learned at Bug Camp: Essays on Finding a Home in the World. A former high school biology teacher, science journalist, and UC Santa Cruz faculty member in writing and environmental studies, she now works as a freelance editor and independent teacher. Her writing retreats and workshops foster creativity and craft, gentle activism, and awareness of the larger-than-human world.
Sarah’s work has appeared in a variety of regional and national periodicals and in numerous anthologies, including How to Teach Nature Journaling; The Way of Natural History; Nature, Love, Medicine: Essays on Wildness and Wellness; A Forest of Voices: Conversations in Ecology; and Storming Heaven’s Gate: An Anthology of Spiritual Writings by Women. She co-edited Cultivating a Movement: An Oral History of Organic Farming & Sustainable Agriculture on California’s Central Coast and Seeds of Something Different: An Oral History of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Her current book-in-progress is titled The Quiet Activist: How Artists, Dreamers, and Hermits Help Heal the World. She lives near Santa Cruz, CA, with her husband, poet Charles Atkinson. Find her at SarahRabkin.com.
|
|
March's General Meeting Agenda |
|
- Zoom meeting room opens at 12:45 p.m. for open conversation
- Meeting starts at 1 p.m.
- Featured speaker, Sarah Rabkin
- Chair announcements
- Member announcements
- Adjourn at 2:30 p.m.
- Mingle on Zoom until 3 pm.
|
|
*WHAT IS ZOOM? It's the most popular online platform for virtual presentations, meetings, get-togethers, etc. Just go to Zoom.com and download the app on your phone, iPad, or computer (camera required to participate). If you can't join us live, you will be able to download the presentation for viewing/sharing at your leisure (and don't we have plenty of that!).
|
|
The first contest of 2021 is here! Whether a Sonnet, a Sestina, Free Verse, or Ballad, whichever style of poetry sings from your heart, jot it down and send it in!
In our latest contest, Redwood Writers invites you to submit up to 3 poems. As a special bonus, our very own poet maven Fran Claggett is inviting poets to send her their poems to look over so she can assist you in getting your poem(s) to that perfect winning pitch.
This contest is for all writers, from novice to polished. The judges look forward to reading your entries. Deadline is April 15th.
Your Poetry Contest Co-Chairs,
Tina Riddle Deason
Linda Loveland Reid
|
|
HOMEGROWN POETRY IS NOW ACCEPTING YOUR POEM SUBMISSIONS!
Please submit poems to: poetrynewseditor@redwoodwriters.org. Submission guidelines: single-spaced, Times or Times New Roman, 12 point font, no all caps, please. Poems are reviewed by a team of poets. We will acknowledge receipt of your work, and let you know if your poem is going to be included, or if we are requesting minor edits prior to inclusion.
|
|
Shawn Langwell graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing and Advertising. He is President of Redwood Writers and the immediate Past President of Toastmasters of Petaluma. Shawn is the author of the memoir Beyond Recovery: A Journey of Grace, Love, and Forgiveness. Several of his stories and poems have been published in anthologies.
|
|
|
A Brand-New World
There,
look closer
A glimmer of hope
hidden beneath a sea of red.
Patches of blue
Sky bringing forth
A most glorious day
A Brand-New World it seems
how can that be?
Tornado sirens stand silent
For now, the storm has passed
No need for alarm.
A new day is upon us
It’s time to move on
From the vitriolic acerbic banter
Hyperbole and lies
Today I give praise for vast
Blue skies.
—Shawn Langwell
|
|
Photo of pond in Lucchesi Park, Petaluma by Crissi Langwell |
|
REDWOOD WRITERS CIRCLE
Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 27
10 a.m. to noon via Zoom
|
|
The Circle's mission is to offer members a constructive and enjoyable environment in which to read their works, among the warmth and support of fellow writers, and to include brief evaluations and short talks on craft and other writing-related subjects.
Upcoming 2021 Circle dates
Saturday – 10:00 to Noon
- March 27
- May 22
- July 24
- September 25
- November 27
|
|
UPCOMING WRITING WORKSHOPS |
|
Poets & Authors Transitioning to Screen
with Indigo Moor
|
|
WHEN: Wednesday, March 10
TIME: 6-7:30 p.m.
COST: $25 for CWC members, $35 for nonmembers
This is an online event.
Whether in poetry or prose, the desire to see our work on screen is irresistible. Breaking onto this platform takes more than desire. Similar to your primary genre, scripts have their own tools and elements that must be observed to make your work palatable to directors, actors, and producers. With Indigo Moor, an award-winning poet & author.
This workshop is open to all members of Redwood Writers, California Writers Club, and to the public.
|
|
Indigo Moor is a former faculty member at the Stonecoast MFA Program, where he graduated in 2012 with an MFA in poetry, fiction, and scriptwriting. Three of his short plays, Harvest, Shuffling, and The Red and Yellow Quartet, debuted at the 60 Million Plus Theatre’s Spring Playwright’s festival. His full-length stageplay, Live! at the Excelsior, was a finalist for the Images Theatre Playwright Award. The subsequent screenplay was optioned as a full-length film. Indigo continues to consult for independent filmmakers as scriptwriter and advisor.
Poet Laureate Emeritus of Sacramento, Indigo Moor’s fourth book of poetry Everybody’s Jonesin’ for Something, took second place in the University of Nebraska Press’ Backwater Prize. Jonesin’—a multi-genre work consisting of poetry, short fiction, memoir pieces, stage plays—will be published in spring 2021. His second book, Through the Stonecutter’s Window, won Northwestern University Press’s Cave Canem prize. His first and third books, Tap-Root and In the Room of Thirsts & Hungers, were both parts of Main Street Rag’s Editor’s Select Poetry Series. Indigo is an adjunct professor at Dominican University and visiting faculty for Dominican’s MFA program, teaching poetry, short fiction, and introduction to stage and screenwriting. Find him at www.indigmoor.org. |
|
Each month, the Redwood Writer will feature an exercise to help inspire your writing. This month, the focus of our exercise is on poetry, specifically Haiku. Note: this can be an exercise you do on your own, or you can send them to editor@redwoodwriters.org for possible publication in the newsletter. |
|
The K Rule:
In humor writing (in English), readers find words the have the K sound funny. For example, Cupcake, Cookie, Kumquat. We also laugh at words with the hard G sound, e.g., goat, egg, guacamole.
The Rule of Three:
In comedy writing there often is a pattern to a funny story or joke.
- The set-up
- Misdirection
- The punch line.
Two ducks were sitting in a pond. One of the ducks said: “Quack”. The other duck said: “I was going to say that!”
The Rule of Three can be two similar ideas and a third that is incongruent.
Losing weight is easy: “Eat less, Exercise more, Pay Nasa to live on the International Space Station.
EXERCISE:
Write a funny opening sentence for a future short story that combines the K Rule and the Rule of Three. For example, Karl Gillfingle adored the carnival with its gooey cotton candy, the cacophony of calliopes, and a multitude of murderous crazy grinning clowns.
|
|
SUBMIT TO THE 2021 LITERARY REVIEW |
|
The CWC Literary Review is accepting submissions for their 2021 issue. Due to a low number of submissions, the deadline to submit has been extended to April 15, 2021. But don't wait to get your submission in!
This year's submission categories are:
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Memoir
- Essay
- Poetry
- Humor
To quote a luminary of the Literary Review:
“We have no particular theme, most content is acceptable. We do look at the technical stuff. When assessing fiction and memoir, we chew over story and character development, realism, pacing, grammar, and reader engagement. With essay we add information, persuasion, and factual interrelationships. For poetry we want to be moved with an emotional experience. Writing, they say, is easy. Good writing is a challenge to imagination, memory, and skill. Minor errors can be fixed.”
The Literary Review is looking for excellent writing. Light themes and humor are always welcome. Unacceptable are pieces that proselytize, are libelous, or contain gratuitous vulgarity. They will accept excerpts from previously published work provided that you hold the copyright.
For all the guidelines and submission information, click the link below.
|
|
If you have news to share about your writing, an award, an appearance, or other writing-related news, send a 100-word or less announcement to editor@redwoodwriters.org. Photos encouraged. Deadline for consideration in next month’s newsletter is the 15th of this month.
|
|
Just released by Bedazzled Ink, The Darkness — a psychological suspense by Robbi Sommers Bryant.
“Bryant has scribbled a ‘black belt’ thriller, showcasing her immense talent, ambition with technique, and wonderfully wild imagination. But more importantly, it’s readable as hell.”
— Joshua Mohr, Oprah’s Magazine’s Top 10 reads of 2009 and a San Francisco Chronicle best-
seller.
Purchase The Darkness at Amazon or at your favorite bookseller. |
|
Just Released on Amazon, Where to Next? by Joan Goodreau
Joan Goodreau’s poems takes us on a journey through the challenges of the California wildfires, the Corona pandemic and life on the Autism Spectrum. These realities are balanced by poems about the bonds of love and grace that strengthens us to ask Where to Next?
From the very first word to the very last in Where to Next?, Joan Goodreau expresses how to transit directly to the heart of all things human. These are poems of dynamic honesty and profound tenderness. This is a book to cherish.
— Les Bernstein, author of Borderland, Naked Little Creatures, and Amid the Din.
|
|
Writers Forum
March 20 & 27, 10 a.m.
Free Zoom Online Event
Click on “Writers Forum”
Presenter: Christine Walker
Masterful Ways to Transform Our Stories: The ones we’re writing, the ones we’re living.
Where do you stand at the beginning of 2021? Bouncing back from a broken year? Grieving and healing from tragedy and loss? Determined to reclaim your joy? Is writing now, more than ever, the wise and trusted counselor helping us to discover the best in ourselves?
Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m.
Uncovering truths and shaping intentions for writing vivid, meaningful memoir and narrative nonfiction.
Saturday, March 27, 10 a.m.
Elevating fiction with truths and shaping intentions for writing believable, memorable novels and stories.
|
|
CWC Marin
Maximizing the Potential of Your Content Across Platforms
with Michael Andres Palmieri
Sunday, March 28, 2-4 pm.
|
|
What is it that creative entrepreneurs who are writers should know about the dynamic nature of the industry? How can they position themselves to maximize their opportunities in the marketplace? Join Michael Andres Palmieri to discuss.
MICHAEL ANDRES PALMIERI is a multi-hyphenate creative and educator who has produced content in motion pictures, television, streaming, web, games, publishing, theme parks, aquariums, science centers, museums, and live events. He has developed his own curriculum to train and develop entrepreneurs in media, music, fashion, games, VR/AR and other platforms. Currently working on his doctorate at Teachers College at Columbia University, he leads the State of Hawai’i’s Creative Lab Hawai’i incubator and accelerator program.
|
|
|
CWC NorCal Calendar
Because of social distancing, most events are now held virtually. This presents a unique opportunity to attend events, workshops, and meetings held by other CWC branches that would have been difficult to attend in person. To keep up to date with upcoming events, be sure to check the CWC NorCal calendar at the button below.
|
|
CRITIQUE GROUP COORDINATION
Find your perfect critique group! Marie Judson is pairing members with other writers of the same or similar genres, and will also help established groups expand their membership. If you would like to find a critique group, or would like to find more members for your group, please contact Marie at mariejudson@gmail.com. |
|
We're not just writers, we're readers, too! Have you read a book you think others should read? Send your 100-word book review and a photo of the book to the editor at editor@redwoodwriters.org for possible publication in the newsletter.
Note: We welcome reviews about your fellow Redwood Writers' books!
|
|
Upstream, by Mary Oliver
I just started reading Upstream, a collection of personal essays by Mary Oliver. For the past several years, I've started most mornings with reading a few Mary Oliver poems as a form of meditation. Her poetry has always amazed me. This is the first time I have read anything by Mary Oliver that isn't a poem, and it's an absolute delight. I feel like I'm learning some of her secrets on how she writes with so much meaning in such simple ways, and what she saw every day when she was alive. Reading Upstream has felt like sharing a friendship with Mary Oliver.
Crissi Langwell
|
|
|
Leanne Chapman: The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka
Charlotte Tressler: The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Jane Glendinning: Interior Chinatown, by Charles Yu
Jo Lauer: Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate
|
|
Redwood Writers extends a warm welcome to our newest members! Since we can't meet in person, we're sharing a little about each new member here in our newsletter. Be sure to say hello at our next general meeting! |
|
Deanna Lutzeier is a lifelong learner who followed many paths that led to writing mystical fiction set in the SF Bay Area.
Deanna Lutzeier graduated from Emerson College's MFA program with high marks and earned a merit-based scholarship for her short story Evergreen. Utopia 40, another short story created in a Gothic Literature class, was featured in the CWC Literary Review for 2020. She is currently finishing a Young Adult Magical Realism novel under a pen name. In addition to writing, Deanna enjoys reading as well as dancing ballet and Hula.
|
|
|
John Petraglia is enjoying the writing good life in wine country and its many wonders.
John Petraglia is a Napa writer, editor and poet. He is currently searching for an agent/publisher for his children’s picture book manuscript. Originally from NY, he retired from a career in environmental and engineering communications. He has published poems in the 2020 CWC Literary Review and 2019 NVW Meritage Anthology. A former literary docent at Poet Robinson Jeffers’ Tor House, his interests include wine, food, travel, art, reading, baseball, hiking, running, the environment.
|
|
|
Wanting to inform and educate others, I share my experiences about subjects still behind closed doors (transsexuality and BDSM), and answer questions few dare to ask.
Author/Public Speaker, Diana Kelly, found she had personal stories to tell. In “The Sky Turned Green & The Grass Turned Blue: Diane’s Story”, she shared her personal journey to understanding when faced with her lover’s transition as an M2F transsexual. She has published in the Poetry Farmer’s Almanac, and is a moderator for TGGuide Forums, an on-line transgender message board. Diana writes about what goes on behind closed doors, and answers questions few dare to ask.
|
|
|
Phyllis Meshulam
Craft of Writing Poetry
Online via zoom on April 17
|
|
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY... |
|
If you're interested in advertising in the Redwood Writer newsletter, contact the editor at editor@redwoodwriters.org for submission requirements and guidelines.
|
|
It's a little surreal to enter March of 2021. For the past year, I've felt like March was on hold, since March of 2020 was when all of us went on pause due to COVID. Now here we are, a year later. We know a lot more than we did a year ago, and yet it's a bit frustrating to still be here, socially distant from the rest of the world while we wait for things to go back to normal, whatever that means.
And yet, I am grateful for this pause. For some of us, this became a time to let go of the busyness that had invaded every day life. Suddenly, our gardens became important, daily walks were the highlight of the day, and we spent more time at home instead of always on the go. It also became a time to reflect, maybe write more, or maybe stop to think about what we wanted out of our writing. For me, it became a time of breaking open as a writer, experiencing a bit of a block, and then coming back at it full force. Today, I'm editing the novel I wrote during the pandemic, and hope to have a final draft in the next month.
I know this hasn't been easy. For some of you, the stay-at-home orders may have felt lonely or uncomfortable. But maybe this also introduced something new to your life - a new way to see things, to learn a new skill (hello, Zoom!), or to even attend a virtual event you may not have been able to attend in normal times. Or maybe it gave you time to write, or at least think about what you'd like to write.
This month, as we enter Month 13 of staying at home, I challenge you to make something good out of this pandemic. If anything, write about what you're feeling and experiencing.
Happy writing to all of you!
|
|
In case you missed it, here are some of the events and information we shared in this newsletter:
- Announcement about Groups.io
- Our latest writing contest
- Deadline for CWC 2021 Literary Review has been extended
- Writing Workshop with Indigo Moor
- General meeting featured speaker Sarah Rabkin
- This month's Writing Circle
I hope you have a wonderful month. Much love to you all!
Crissi Langwell
Redwood Writer Editor
|
|
CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEWSLETTER! |
|
Want to be a part of the newsletter? Here's the cheat sheet to the different sections of this newsletter and the word count requirements:
- Writers Helping Writers - 300 words or less
- Other Articles or In Memoriam - 300 words or less
- Members News - 100 words or less
- What We're Reading - 100 words or less
- Homegrown Poetry - short poems work best
Please do your best to adhere to word count limits! Send your articles and news by the 15th of the month to the newsletter editor at editor@redwoodwriters.org. Send your poems by the 10th of the month to the poetry editor at poetrynewseditor@redwoodwriters.org. Submission guidelines may apply, read section for requirements. |
|
|
|
Our mailing address is:
The Redwood Writer
P.O. Box 4687
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
