Monday, March 21, 2011

Writers Group Schedule Update - March and April 2011


Here is a update of our creative writing workshops / writers group schedule:
  • Miracle Mile / Koreatown writers group starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (Mid-City)
  • Rancho Palos Verdes writers group also starts March 23, 2011, this Thursday! (South Bay)
  • El Segundo April 2011 writers group is SOLD OUT (South Bay)
  • Glassell Park / Glendale April 2011 group is now open to new members (San Fernando Valley, East Hollywood)
  • Valencia / Saugus April 2011 writers group is now open to new members (Santa Clarita)


Photo by Keith Evans [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you write or aspire to write romance fiction?

The Los Angeles Chapter of Romance Writers of America sent us this announcement so I thought I'd post it in case any of you are romance writers:
Sunday - 27 March, 2011

Writer's Voice workshop by three multi-published authors Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane.

http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html
"Voice Lessons – Writer’s Voice, that is!

Los Angeles Romance Author’s invites you to a rare opportunity to hear Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane - three dynamic speakers – talk on the subject of Voice. Join me, the thrilled programmer of this event, at the Sportsman’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City on Sunday, March 27th to learn more about how to improve your novel or script with Voice and style, Voice and theme, Voice and (best of all) the writer’s market.

Date: Sunday, 27th March, 2011
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
(two breaks, lunch and book signings after presentation)
Cost: $25 through PayPal at http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html
(includes continental breakfast; does not include lunch)
Place: Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel
12825 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
Toll Free: 800.821.8511
Local: 818.769.4700
Map: http://www.lararwa.com/wherewemeet.html

Speaker Bios:
Jane Porter - http://www.janeporter.com/index.php
Megan Crane - http://www.megancrane.com/index.html
Liza Palmer - http://www.lizapalmer.com/aboutliza.html

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Why Los Angeles is the Best Place in the World for Writers

Where else can you find something this unique?
On Saturday, March 26, 2011, Heritage Square Museum’s annual Vintage Fashion Show and Tea will take a bold step forward, presenting “Fashions from Literature”.
Beginning at 11:00 a.m., see what Elizabeth Bennett, Dorian Gray, Scarlet O’Hara, Jane Eyre, Daisy Buchanan and other favorite literary heroes and heroines would have worn in their respective eras. Learn why only in the imagination of the printed word could there be such a thing as a bodice ripper! Excerpts from some of the most famous works ever written will come to life as historically accurate recreations of the costumes of the period are displayed before you.

With the museum’s historic Longfellow-Hastings Octagon House as the backdrop for the show, models will promenade in men’s and women’s vintage or period accurate reproduction clothing based on historical patterns from the 15th Century through the 1940s – all with a literary twist. After the show, visitors may also sample items commonly enjoyed at an afternoon tea, view a vintage clothing display inside the Hale House, shop in our Museum Store or Vendor Market, and much more. The annual fashion show is sponsored by Costumer’s Guild West, Folkwear, the Perfume Station (Alhambra) and Councilman Ed Reyes, District 1.

As the Vintage Fashion Show and Tea often sells out, reservations are required. Call (323) 225-2700 ext. 223 to secure your seats, as no tickets will be sold at the door. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children 6 to 12. Heritage Square Museum members receive a 25% discount on the ticket price. As this is a special event, no regular tours of the museum’s historic structures will be given on the day of the fashion show.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Difference Between Idioms and Cliches

While sitting around pondering the difference between idioms and cliches and unable to come up with the distinction on my own, I reached for my trusty MacBook and took a trip to the grammar-and-language-geek section of the internet. I finally found an article that seemed to explain the difference in the clearest possible way. Since I'm sure you also spend your early Saturday evenings pondering idioms, I thought I'd share this article with you. It's a couple years old, but timeless:

Friday, March 18, 2011

Blogs About Writing and Our Favorite Posts

It's tough to write, read, raise kids, work day jobs, keep up with the cleaning and laundry, meditate, get in some cardio, and then read about writing. With all the information out there on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, paper books, e-books, it's an overwhelming task just to keep up with all that reading.

We're going to make it a little bit easier for you. We're going to scour the web for the most helpful articles about writing and present them here, to help streamline at least a small part of your day.

Here's what we found over the last few days:

Point of View in Fiction by Writerly Life.com


The Quick and Easy Cheaters Guide to Writing Plotlines by Flash Fiction Chronicles (If we gave out gold starts for great blog posts, this one would get tripple gold stars)

What Editors are Looking For by Pub Rant's Agent Kristin

That's our list for now - more to come!

If you have a blog you follow and want us to follow it for you and post the best stuff here, let us know!



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Call for Submissions: Some Ways to Disappear

Always fans of art inspiring more art, we just got a call for submissions from Some Ways to Disappear (what a fantastic name for a literary journal) and for this upcoming issue, they are asking writers to look at their Flickr Pool of photos for inspiration, and inspire they do. A fantastic collection of photos such this one should not go unbrowsed, even if you're not planning to submit. Delicious.

Here is one such photo:

Westside Road, Death Valley, New Year's Day

Their Call for Submissions:

Some Ways to Disappear is a biannual publication of new Photography and Literature, with no advertising or extraneous fluff. Currently, Some Ways to Disappear is inviting literary submissions, considering all styles, genres, and formats for Issue III.

For this issue, we are encouraging applicants to take a look at our Flickr pool before submitting. If you wish to submit any work please e-mail it directly to:

somewaystodisappear[*at*]hotmail.co.uk

Please e-mail us with either a PDF or word document. Submissions should be no longer than 3000 words. All styles, genres and formats considered.

The deadline for all submissions for the third issue is 1st May 2011.

For further information please visit www.somewaystodisappear.co.uk or contact us at somewaystodisappear(at)hotmail.co.uk

Advanced Writers Workshop & Retreat in the British Isles

Ron Carlson and Marisa Silver teach WordTheatre®'s Advanced Writers Workshop in Edale July 2-8, 2011 in England's Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.

$2100USD

Please contact:

Genna Walsh
genna[*at*]wordtheatre.com