I'm fired up!

 Last Saturday I taught one of my workshops to the California Writers Club - Orange County Branch. I've taught this workshop a fair number of times. It's called "Rhythm, Pace, and Amusement" and I'll tell you a bit of a secret: I didn't originate this workshop. 

I mean, I did, but sort of the backdoor way. I was pitching workshops to Michael Steven Gregory, director of the Southern California Writers Conference and he said, "If I gave you a workshop called 'Rhythm, Pace, and Amusement' could you do something with that?"

Of course I can, Michael.

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So I put the thing together and the first few teachings felt shaky (to me) although the workshop participants said they enjoyed it. I got into the rhythm of it, eventually.

So when Mary Vensel White of CWB/OCB asked me to teach that workshop, I got my charts out and updated them (I always do this for every workshop), and...

OMG, this is the BEST workshop I've ever taught!

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It is chock full o' practical information, and the kind of info that leads to discussion and that's a great workshop. The best part is that I get to update these charts again and teach it at the Southern California Writers Conference in Irvine in less than two weeks!

I'm also teaching my newest workshop, "What's the Point? Story, Subtext, and Plot." This workshop is my passionate plea to writers everywhere to ask themselves WHY they want to tell THIS story. Oh, and how to let the reader know why they want to read it. I pitched this idea hard to Michael and he said yes.

So the conference is September 17-19 and I'm completely fired up to teach and I SO HOPE you'll join me!

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Here's the link: https://writersconference.com/la/

You are cordially invited

Dear Writers,

There are a couple of events I simply must invite you to in September. And by "Writers" I mean if you are a writer who is currently plugging away at this or that, or if you are someone who would like to be a writer but hasn't a clue how to start the process (hint: by writing).

First, I will be teaching a workshop on September 4th at the California Writers Club Orange County Branch. It will be a Zoom session so you can show up in your jammies. 

I will be teaching "Rhythm, Pace, and Amusement," a workshop that delves into the nuts and bolts of how to tell whether your writing is engaging, your story well structured, and if you're injecting humor, some helpful hints about that.

Here's the link to their Meetup, where they will give you the Secret Handshake for the meeting, which starts at 11:00 am:

https://www.meetup.com/Orange-Creative-Writing-Meetup/events/smcjmryccgbfb

If you want to learn more about organization, here is the link to their website:

http://www.calwritersorangecounty.org/

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After that meeting, you're going to be all fired up and wanting more, yes? And if you can't make it to the September 4th meeting, you're going to be kicking yourself and having a severe case of FOMO.

Have I got good news for you!

September 17-19 is the Southern California Writers Conference in Irvine, California. It's two-and-a-half days of writing immersion. Learn about it, talk about it, feel for a moment that writing is EVERYTHING.

And then meet us in the bar for a lot of laughter.

Here's the link:

https://writersconference.com/la/

I could wax poetic about this conference, but I'll just point to one of my many blog posts on the subject to try to convince you to attend.

https://gaylecarline.blogspot.com/2017/08/if-you-dont-invest-in-yourself-who-will.html

I'm teaching workshops there, too. One of them sounds familiar--"Rhythm, Pace, and Amusement." Do not be concerned about hearing a replay. Each time I teach a workshop I rework it so it's never quite the same.

The power of editing, peeps.

I'll also be teaching a semi-new workshop, "What's the Point? Story, Subtext, and Plot." I taught this last February in (virtual) San Diego and got a lot of good feedback on it. It was fun and exciting to teach, so I'm excited again!

Please invest some time, if not some money, in yourself as a writer. I'd love to see you!

Cheers,

Gayle