Hermosa Beach writers group starts Tuesday night

This is just a quick reminder that the Hermosa Beach writers group starts on Tuesday, April 10th (7:00pm - 9:30pm).

 

Sign up or get more info here

Also the next Writer Monkeys! show is Sunday, April 22nd at 7:00pm at M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater.

Why it's important to support your local independent bookstores

It's more important than ever to support your local bookstores, because the possibility that they may go away is quite real.  Here is an article in today's LA Times about two more independent bookstores closing their doors.

Bloggers file Class Action Lawsuit against Huffington Post

Mediabistro reports that Jonathan Tasini has filed a class action lawsuit against The Huffington Post on behalf of their bloggers.  GOOD.  I was hoping this would happen.  We're rooting for you Jonathan and all you bloggers who were used and paid nothing while Huffpo sold the site and made what?  300 Million?  And Huffpo couldn't bother to pay the people who created the content for the site, without which a sale would have never existed?

Bloggers Against Blogger Lawsuit Against HuffPo  http://ow.ly/4zImS

Additional reading:  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/13/readers-bloggers-sound-off-on-huff-post-sale/

Image by Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Why Reading Books About Writing is Important

Reading books on the writing craft (and in your genre) is almost as important as writing. This is why LAwritersgroup.com has sponsored a free Book Club on Meetup.com specifically to read books about writing.

By way of evidence as to how beneficial this can be, here is a blog post by Author, Jody Hedlund: My Writing Success:The ONE Thing That Helped Me Most where she talks about how reading books on the writing craft helped her the most.

Join our Writing Craft Book Club! Our first meeting is Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00am at the 18th Street Coffee House in Santa Monica, CA. Our monthly meetings will alternate between West LA and the Los Angeles South Bay.

Why join a writer's group or a writing workshop?

Nicole forwarded me this email from LAwritersgroup.com workshop moderator Kat Smith, and it felt relevant to post a piece of her message for our blog readers. If you're still on the fence about joining or participating in a writing workshop of any kind, perhaps her words will sway you:

Young musicians practice daily. A singer doesn't begin with an aria. She starts by warming up her vocal cords. A pianist practices his scales every day from a young age. An athlete doesn't begin with a triathlon. He spends hours lifting weights, stretching, building the muscle mass and flexibility that will support the feats he intends to achieve.

Writing is no different. We become writers with daily practice. Getting in touch with our unique voices. Writing fast, writing free. Progress may be so incremental as to be unnoticeable, just as a pianist doesn't go from chopsticks to Chopin. Some days you'll hate what you write. But one day, something astonishing will come pouring out of you and you'll wonder where the hell it came from.

It came from the 1,183 writing exercises that preceded it. Exercises where you trained your mind to focus, where you learned to trust your voice, to step out of your way, to let it flow. Practice writing like practicing scales, may not seem very glamorous. Bring your passion to it anyway. That's the work of an artist.

Kat also included the following video in her message. It features Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Boys, giving his take on consistent writing:

It seems as though a constant flow of writing is the best way to find your best work. Even small exercises on a consistent basis can help keep you in good practice. I myself participate in LAwritersgroup.com's writer's groups, and I completely agree with what Kat and Ray have said. Writer's groups and writing workshops provide their members the opportunity to practice their skill in an open forum with other writers just as dedicated to their craft. So I ask you this: do you practice your writing on a consistent basis? Do you think that this "fine tuning" and practicing approach can be effective?

LAwritersgroup.com Favorite Places to Write (in no particular order)

One of our groups meets in Glassell Park so Silverlake is a hop, skip and single freeway exit away...

Silverlake Coffee Co. rocks! They boast a full coffee bar with super-friendly barristas and an impressive breakfast and lunch menu.  They also have a seemingly unending selection of teas.

Because it's on a slight hill, it's built on levels with both an indoor and outdoor seating area so it's dog friendly with plenty of ashtrays for those of you who can't quite give up the "cancer sticks". (Both Nicole and I are ex-smokers so totally get it.)  Even better than the plentiful ashtrays though are the electrical sockets for your computer and the free wifi available. 

Indoor is softly lit during the day - no harsh glare on your screen or writing pad.  

Here's a big plus in Los Angeles (and Silverlake in particular) it has a big parking lot with plenty of free parking!

I think one of our members put it best when he said: "busy, but chill and no weirdos"

You can read more reviews here and check it out yourself at: 2388 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Where exactly in Los Angeles do we hold our writers groups?

We currently hold our writers groups in three locations:

• Our Glassell Park 8-Week Writers Group is for writers who want to join a writers group who are coming from or work near Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Los Feliz, East Los Angeles, Atwater Village, Hollywood, Silverlake, the the Southwest and Northwest San Fernando Valley (Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood) and surrounding areas. Map

• Our Miracle Mile 8-Week Writers Group is good for writers coming from or who work near West Hollywood, Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Miracle Mile/Fairfax District, Century City, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Hancock Park, Fairfax District, SoFax, Santa Monica, and surrounding areas. Map

• Our South Bay 8-Week Writers Group is good for writers interested in creative writing who are coming from or work near Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Ray, Palos Verdes, Torrance, San Pedro, Lawndale, Long Beach and surrounding areas. Map

We currently have two groups scheduled:

• Our Miracle Mile 8-Week Writers Group, starting on May 5th, 2010, from 7:30pm - 10:00pm
• Our South Bay 8-Week Writers Group, starting on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 from 7:30pm - 10:00pm

Our Glassell Park group just started but we will have another one scheduled soon!

LAwritersgroup.com has been running writers groups throughout Los Angeles since 2003. We run several writers groups / writing workshops throughout the Los Angeles area that are open to writers of all levels and kinds, with an aim toward getting words on the page and providing a safe place for writers to create new work and exchange feedback on works in progress. View our current Writing Workshop / Writers Group Meeting Schedule and or read about our group Moderators.

Whether you write novels, screenplays, essays, songs poetry, journal entries, children's books or whatever, you are welcome in our groups regardless of experience. Our groups are about creating new work and soliciting critique from your peers if you so wish.

If you have any questions about our groups, please email us at lawritersgroup(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.

Writers Group Starts April 1st - No Joke

Hey all you wonderful writing peeps, this is just a reminder that Sanora has a new writers group starting on Thursday, April 1st.

So if you live in Glendale, Los Feliz, anywhere on the Eastside of Hollywood or LA, or out the Alta Dena/Pasadena/La Canada way, this group is for you!

In fact, Sanora's groups are fabulous and creatively inspirational so even if you don't live in those areas, her group is truly worth the drive. It's a Thursday, man, so you can do the drive, because driving home is no problem traffic-wise after group and then you just have to make it through Friday and voila! the weekend is there, ready for you to channel all that creative inspiration you got from Sanora's group and finish up those stories or poems or essays or scenes you wrote on Thursday....

Lung Poetry Journal Call for Submissions

Lung Poetry Journal, a Los Angeles based literary journal, seeks poetry and flash fiction under 250 words for their upcoming journals.

Lung Poetry Journal : Submit:

From their site:

Issue 03 Submission Deadline: Dec. 5th, 2009
Issue 03 Publication Date: Dec. 10th, 2009

Lung seeks previously unpublished poetry that invokes emotion but avoids the trappings of mediocrity. We cater to fresh, innovative voices that have something original to say. We avoid didactic, esoteric or highly abstract material.

Writers Group Starts Wed Sept 23, 2009!

Wondering what we do in our groups?


Upcoming Los Angeles Writers Groups:
Our groups meet once a week from 7:30 - 10:00pm for eight consecutive weeks.

Wednesday, September 23rd in West Hollywood
Thursday August 20th, 2009 in Glassell Park

What can I expect from the group?

Our groups focus on finding new ways to create new and unexpected material through creative writing prompts. Our tagline, Fill Your Notebook (TM) says it all. We are about filling your notebook with new writing so you can go back, pick the pieces you like best, and refine them. You can either bring works-in-progress into the group for feedback or you can wait until the end of group and go through everything you've written. Our peer feedback process is a constructive and guided process. We have rules we follow that keep the feedback process from degenerating into arguments or defensive posturing and everyone participates in the feedback process, whether you bring work in or not.

What kind of work can I bring in for feedback?

You can bring anything in for feedback. Poetry, essays, non-fiction, chapters from your novel, short fiction, memoir, whatever. We've even had people bring in query letters for feedback. We've had people bring in notes for a project. We've had people bring in segments from a one-man show. Anything you're working on that you think feedback from fellow writers would be valuable, bring it on it.

For even more information on how our groups work, visit these links:

How our writing groups work
LAwritersgroup.com

Two New 8-Week Writers Groups Scheduled

We've now scheduled our Fall 2009 writers groups. Both groups are our 8-Week General Writers Groups that are open to writers of all kinds and levels, including (but not limited to!) fiction writers, essayists, non-fiction writers, novelists, and even screenwriters.

• Nicole's Group 8-Week General Writers Group in West Hollywood on Wednesday, September 23rd (this group is good for writers coming from West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Miracle Mile/Fairfax District and the Southwest and Northwest San Fernando Valley (Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood) and surrounding areas).
  

• Sanora's Group 8-Week General Writers Group in Glassell Park on Thursday October 15th (this group is good for writers who want to join a writers group who are coming from Glendale, Burbank, Los Feliz, East Los Angeles, Atwater Village, the Northeast and Southeast San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas)
  

See http://www.lawritersgroup.com for further details, or read more about how our Los Angeles writers groups work in this previous blog post.

New Writers Group starting on Thursday

There's still time to join Sanora's group! Learn more about how our groups work:

How the LAwritersgroup.com 8-Week General Writers Group Works

Each Group is Unique
Each of our groups are unique, in that we have new creative writing exercises we use in every group (save for a few oldies but goodies)? So if you've already participated in a group and would like to participate again, you don't have to worry about repeated creative writing exercises.

How the Meetings are Structured
Our groups meet once a week in eight-week cycles.
Each meeting is broken up into two sections: Creative Writing Exercises, and Feedback.

Creative Writing Exercises
During the creative writing portion, we do three improvisational creative writing exercises via writing prompts. This is the major portion of our night: getting words on the page. We do not allow laptops. We write the old fashioned way.

Feedback
The feedback portion of our meeting is something everyone participates in. All writers can bring work in for critique, and all writers are encouraged to give feedback. We have guidelines that we follow for our critique session so that the feedback remains constructive, and we also have guidelines regarding how much work each writer can bring in each meeting.

Who can participate?
We are open to all kinds of writers. Whether you are new to writing, or a seasoned veteran, you will get a nearly full notebook of new material out of the 8-weeks. We've had all kinds of aspiring and published writers participate in our groups: poets, essayists, screenwriters, comedy writers, all kinds of fiction writers, songwriters, journalists, and even attorneys who want to do some creative writing.

Do we Teach Writing?
This is a writers group. A peer-to-peer group of writers who get together once a week to create new work and support each other by giving and receiving feedback on works-in-progress. Although we are not formally teaching writing, you'd be surprised the things you pick up in these groups just by listening to and interacting creatively with other writers. We provide a safe space to tap into your own creativity and generate new work and solicit opinions from your other group members on writing you bring in for critique. We may offer more instructive seminars in the future, though, so keep your eye out!

How We Started
LAwritersgroup.com began five years ago. We started a writers group because we wanted to get creative and write with other writers for an evening once a week, and as some of our members started moving out of town, we put up a website to keep in touch with them. Before we knew it, people found our website, and contacted us, wanting to participate, and we grew from there!

If you have any additional questions about our groups, send an email to nicole@lawritersgroup.com or visit LAwritersgroup.com.

New 8-Week Writers Groups Scheduled

We've added two upcoming 8-Week General Writers Groups to our schedule. These groups are open to writers of all levels and genres.

• Nicole's Group 8-Week General Writers Group in West Hollywood on Wednesday, April 15th

• Sanora's Group 8-Week General Writers Group in Glassell Park on Thursday June 11
  

See http://www.lawritersgroup.com for further details.