Involved with in-person critique groups for over a decade, Sheena Arora writes, “I outgrew their format. About a year ago, I formed Writers with Right Words. We meet virtually. We support each other. We encourage each other. Most importantly, amidst the voices of other writers, my writing grows stronger.” Sheena met two of them, Springer Teich and Miera Rao, at a California Writers Club—SF Peninsula meeting.

An excerpt from James Hanna’s forthcoming novella, Lights Out Lizzie, appears in Literally Stories. In Lights Out Lizzie, Gertie McDowell, the hapless heroine of James’s novel, The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown, joins the Christian Ladies of Wrestling. Their mission: to bring folks to Jesus by having women posing as Christians beat the daylights out of women posing as sinners. The troupe draws huge crowds of cheering spectators in America’s Southwest.

Join editors Eva Barrows and Lila LaBine on Wednesday, April 17, at 11 a.m. for a free one-hour Zoom session looking at strategies and tips for revising your manuscript as much as possible before hiring a professional editor or approaching agents and publishers. Register here.

How do you start your research process? What words do you use to find information? At our April 20 CWC meeting, Geri Spieler, author of Housewife Assassin: The Woman Who Tried to Kill President Ford, will introduce several online research methodologies to equip you with the necessary skills and tools that will help you find accurate information and discern whether it is reliable. Attendees will receive a list of the information from her PowerPoint.

Reena Kapoor has been invited by the Flash Fiction Forum to read her flash story, “Rent-a-Gent,” on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. She’ll be reading in person and invites you to attend. Register here to attend in person or here via Zoom. Several talented writers besides Reena will be sharing their work.

CWC member Alyssa Lauren Stone published an essay in HuffPost: "I Left My 6-Figure Career To Find Happiness. Here's How I Did It." The earliest drafts of her essay were reviewed by her CWC critique group with Harlan Suits, Mickie Winkler, Lucretia Leong, Maria Barr, Josephine Carpignano, and Bruce Neuburger.

Carole Bumpus presents “Descriptively Yours!” for Writers Helping Writers on March 14, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m., at the San Mateo Public Library. Come learn productive ways to paint words into your novel, poem, or memoir as you practice the art of description. The second part of a series, this event will focus on metaphors and our senses.

On March 13 at 11:00 a.m., attend the monthly Ask an Editor session, "Get the Feedback You Need to Hear: Beta Readers vs Critique Groups." Editors Eva Barrows and Lila LaBine will guide this free one-hour Zoom workshop exploring how to get editorial feedback from author peers and your book’s ideal audience before you publish. Register here.

On February 17, at our inaugural Author Day, created by VP Eva Barrows, 64 noisy, excited participants networked, celebrated, shared, sold books, told writers’ yarns in genre circles, and gabbed in twos and threes. Tim Flood reports that the room was abuzz with raffles, announcements, and news. Guests came, liked the energy, and joined up. A member from another branch said, “There’s so much more energy in your branch. I’ll come here whenever I can!”

Dave M. Strom applied his superpowers to present “A Comic Book Geek’s Open Mic Journey: Tips and Tricks” at the CWC–Fremont Zoom meeting on Saturday, February 24, 2:00–4:00 p.m. Dave writes super action-comedy stories about Super Holly Hansson and her super friends and fiends. He has self-published Super Holly Hansson in Super Bad Hair Day! and has been published in local anthologies, including three Fault Zones!

Want to jump-start your writing? Let Megan MacDonald help you “Lean into Your Writing.” Whether you already have an idea or are just starting out, Megan will discuss:

•        How to make time for your writing

•        Where to find your writing community

•        What to do when you’re ready to share your work

Come to Writers Helping Writers in Palo Alto n Thursday, March 21, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., at the Rinconada Library!

Check out our critique group matchmaker Miera Rao’s Featured Member interview by the Women’s National Book Association’s San Francisco Chapter. Miera shares her journey to writing and the inspiration for her poem “Désolée,” which won the Effie Lee Morris Award. Find out what else she keeps under her hat!

Don’t forget the Women's National Book Association—San Francisco Chapter’s Pitch-O-Rama on Saturday, April 20, 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. PST on Zoom. Read all about it on our website.

Colleen Olle’s picture book Sophia and Sinclair Get Lost! took center stage in two recent interviews, one conducted by Lauri Fortino for her Frog on a (B)Log website and another by Gina Soldano in her Why We Write series.

At the 20th annual San Francisco Writers Conference (February 15–18) at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Carole Bumpus will speak on two separate panels. On Friday, February 16, she invites writers to “Nonfiction: Package Your Content for the Market” and “Nonfiction: Finding Resources, Becoming a Resource.” She will also be available for consultations during the day and in the evening will present her books at the Wine and Book Tasting event.

On Thursday, February 15, at 6:30 p.m., at our Writers Helping Writers’ event at the Rinconada Library in Palo Alto, Kate Adams, editor-in-chief of Fault Zone: Detachment, will present “Playing with Poetry: Having Fun with Meter and Rhyme.” Join Kate and fellow writers to experiment with the building blocks of formal poetry by playing with lines, stanzas, and quatrains.

Novelist and member D.L. LaRoche has a new short story in the Winter 2023 Issue of October Hill Magazine. Hoagy, a young man assuming the adult mantel, prefers dancing the river to time in prison.

Member Audrey Kalman and her Birth Your Truest Story writers’ community co-creator offer a Writing & Hiking Retreat March 25–28 in Stinson Beach. Revitalize your body, mind, and spirit and recharge your writing practice with a joyous creative idyll at this sanctuary by the sea. 4 days/3 nights of craft sessions, prompted writing, free writing time, and sharing interspersed with nature hikes. Group size is limited; registration deadline is February 10. Additional info and registration here. Contact info@birthyourtrueststory.com for any questions.