Greetings!

Our next board meeting is on Tuesday, July 13, 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.

NOTE: If you are reading this newsletter through your email, it may be clipped at the end. If you don't reach the editor's note, be sure to click "view entire message" at the bottom of this newsletter.

RENEWAL. Membership renewal in Redwood Writers (CWC) begins July 1 and continues through September 30, 2021.  The fee to renew for the year is $45.  

EXPRESS PASS. At the time you renew you can also purchase an Express pass for all club meetings (July 2021-June 2022). Purchasing an Express pass is a one-time fee of $45 which pays for all 12 meetings (get three free!) and the meeting recordings. Express members do not pay the $5 door fee each month to attend a meeting.

NEW MEMBERS. Applications for new membership also begins July 1. The fee for a new member joining the club is $65.

DONATIONS. When you renew your membership, consider an additional donation to the club. Hosting a monthly meeting with professional speakers, publishing two anthologies (prose and poetry), offering three cash prize contests, going to the fair and offering three workshops or a conference each year isn’t cheap. Your renewal provides the branch with $25 income per member to cover these expenses. Your donations help the club plan for new opportunities, speakers, and events. If you love the club, consider a small donation and join the donors list published in the newsletter.

Congratulations to our 2021-22 slate of board officers, voted in at the June general meeting. Thank you for all you do for our club!

Judy Baker

Marilyn Lanier

Jeane Slone

Crissi Langwell

Malena Eljumaily

*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!).

Maybe you fall for your man’s/woman’s sibling. Or you booked a wedding photographer, and it turns out they are the one. You found out your fiancé’s and your family are mortal enemies—a little Romeo and Juliet? Or you kissed him/her and he/she changed back into a toad.

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.

Beyond Distance, our 2021 Poetry Anthology, is now available for purchase at Amazon! Be sure to pick up a copy today.

If you've already read it, don't forget to leave a review!

Each month, the Redwood Writer will feature an exercise to help inspire your writing. This can be an exercise you do on your own, or you can send your 300-word (or less) piece to editor@redwoodwriters.org for possible publication in the newsletter.

Step 1. Summary.  Write a sentence / paragraph that summarizes the story/memory you want to write. What happened. Like a reporter, write the Who, What, When, and Where. 

Step 2. Theme. Is there a theme to the story? For example, “love triumphs.” Knowing the overarching theme will help you plan the three acts.

Step 3. Opening. Write a sentence / paragraph that describes the actual beginning of the story/memory. Who are the characters, where does it take place, what are the events/actions that takes us into act two.

Step 4. Middle. Write a paragraph describing each scene or event that unfolds in the middle of the story. Each scene must contain an action, event, or dialogue that leads the reader to the conclusion.

Step 5. End. Write a paragraph describing the conclusion to the story. What happens?  How does the ending close the circle and reveal or support the theme?

Step 6. Structure. Plot out the story. Where/how does the story begin? At the beginning?  At the end and then it is retold. In an event that leads to the conflict. A linear story is the easiest to write and tell, however it may not be the most interesting. For example, Doctor Zhivago begins at the end.

When I was in second grade, I fell out of my dad's moving truck. In the moments in between flying through the air and tumbling over loose rocks and pavement, it was almost like time stood still. I could have counted the milliseconds as I twisted like an airborne lemur, wearing nothing but my swimsuit since we'd just left the swimming hole. I hit the ground, crumpling over the gravel that would later need to be picked out of my skin one at a time, and I saw my dad continuing to drive down the road. It was mere seconds, and he stopped as soon as he realized I'd left the cab. But in those few seconds, I thought I'd been forgotten, and they'd never notice I was gone.

Submissions are now open for the 2021 prose anthology, Remember When. Share your stories, fiction or memoir, of a memory from the past.

If you have any questions, please contact co-editor Shawn or Crissi Langwell at 2021anthology@redwoodwriters.org.

Our mission is to offer members an opportunity to read their work, in the warmth and supportive environment of fellow writers. Readers each have five minutes of writing time.

Questions? Email LindaLReid100@gmail.com.

A signup genius will be announced on Groups.io, or you can email fair coordinator Jeane Slone at info@jeaneslone.com.

For further information please email info@jeaneslone.com.

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.

Is there finally light at the end of this long, hard year? Joan Goodreau organized a panel of artists and authors to share their work and celebrate our hope. Joan read from her recent book on Amazon, Where to Next? 

Forum Details:  www.TheWriteSpot.us. Click on “Writers Forum.” Free! On the Zoom platform.

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.

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 are saddened to share that Roger DeBeers, Sr. passed away in early June. Roger was a constant at almost every meeting and Redwood Writers event. He had a really wonderful sense of humor that often came out in his writing. Just before he passed, he published his novel, The Boy With the Broken Smile, which is based on a true story.

I met Roger at the Redwood Writers meetings. He was always present, always very cheerful and happy to talk to anyone. I got to know him more closely when he contacted me because he had a number of books and stories he wanted published, a lot of material, and very little budget. So we decided to do it slowly and publish one piece at a time with the last objective to be his book, The Boy With The Broken Smile. On one of the meetings, he showed me a beautiful picture of this handsome young boy. It was Roger, a curious boy in the body of a man that had lived many, many decades, suffered a great deal, and still was as cheerful as ever every time you met him. 

We got to republish Murder Under White: A Mystery Novel  (5-star review on Readers Favorites) and the short stories Wounded: Mount Suribachi Iwo Jima 1956, Los Baños del Patre Arroyo, Shanghaied, and Year Of The Ox: Month of the Lion, August 1949, but what Roger really wanted to see published was his novel-memoir.

It's hard to know what to write when a friend passes away. Much has been said about Roger in this issue, but I think it's safe to say that he was a hard person to miss. I enjoyed Roger's dry sense of humor and the passion he had for our club. He loved writing, and loved being a part of a club where writing was celebrated. When we come back together in person, I know I'll feel his absence.

This month has been a busy one for me. I'm working on the final edits for one novel, writing another, and receiving all of your submissions for the next anthology. The deadline is this month, so if you haven't submitted yet, don't procrastinate! Shawn and I have really enjoyed hearing from so many of you as you submit your stories, and I can't wait to start pulling them all together for this year's anthology!

Also exciting is our club's current contest, happening right now! I'm sure so many of you can spin a tale or recall a memory when you made a terrible mistake. This is definitely a fun one, and I hope you all submit a story. You never know, your mistake could end up a winner!

Finally, I'm super excited about our July speaker, Chuck Sambuchino, who you won't want to miss. Have you submitted your first page for possible critique? You have until July 16th to do so. This could be the help you need to land that agent and/or publisher! Scroll up for details on how to submit.

I hope you all are getting some great writing in, and I look forward to seeing you online at the July general meeting!

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:

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.

If you're interested in advertising in the Redwood Writer newsletter, contact the editor at editor@redwoodwriters.org for submission requirements and guidelines.