California Writers Club—San Francisco
Peninsula Branch GROUP MENTORING
"Guest Mentors ARE wanted for future Group Mentoring
Sessions!!
Mentoring Session, April 17th
24
Rules for Good Writing
Why
story is more important than craft. Why Voice is more important than image. Why do writing rules
contradict each other? Don’t resort to hair-pulling! Hemingway’s first editor at the Kansas City
Star gave him this style sheet: “Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous
English. Be positive, not negative.” Hemingway claimed it was the best rules he ever learned for
the business of writing. Tory says there are 23 more nuggets of inspiration!
Gues
t Mentors wanted for Group Mentoring
Sessions
If you are
a current member of the SF/Peninsula branch of CWC and wish to be a guest
mentor, please submit your proposal to Joyce Robins, 2009-2010 co-chairs for
Group Mentoring Program. We are accepting proposals to fill November 2009 to
June 2010 sessions. Group-Mentoring (usually 12:15-1:15PM) follows the general
meeting of 10:00-noon.
Why would
you want to be a guest-mentor?
To practice
submitting proposals and competing for a spot;
To learn how to
publicize your session and prepare hand-outs;
To polish your
presentation skills;
To share knowledge
with fellow members;
To receive feedback
from participants.
What to put
in your proposal:
Your name and
contact info (include your email address);
Title of your
presentation (15 words or less);
Description of your
presentation (50 words or less). Presentation should be 20 to 30 minutes,
with the remaining time for questions and answers, discussions, and for
participants to fill out evaluation forms (supplied by Joyce and Teresa;
Guest-Mentor will get to review and keep these);
How would your
audience benefit from your session (20 words or less);
Your bio (50 words or less);
Where and when
you've delivered this presentation before, if applicable;
When are you
available?
Perhaps in
lieu of delivering a presentation which you've designed . . . You've attended a
conference and have an audio or video tape of a 30 to 45-minute session OR you
have notes from a workshop that you wish to share with fellow members. Submit
your proposal, following above guidelines, but also let us know what conference,
when, and who created and delivered the presentation and in what format you will
be sharing this material. You'll need to bring your own audio/video
equipment.
Email your
proposal as a WORD document attachment to Joyce atMentoring@sfpeninsulawriters.com. Put
"Proposal for CWC Group Mentoring" in the subject line.
If your
proposal is chosen, you will be asked to email your photo in jpg and an outline
of your talk; these items must be received at least 7 weeks before your event
date.
This format
in Group Mentoring is to further prepare CWC members in the fiercely competitive
industry. We thank past Co-Chairs Martha Clark Scala (creator of CWC Mentoring)
and Patty Block for having paved the road for us.
Following each month's meeting, we hold a Group Mentoring Session from
12:15 to 1:15 pm. The group is open to 10 individuals with a passionate interest in
writing. We meet to support each other, discuss mutual triumphs and challenges and learn about
the craft and business of writing.
Joyce
Robins, author of Aunt Lydia’s
Trousseau, has been writing since childhood. Her first piece of literary writing, An American Wife in Madrid, was published in ‘The
Reconstructionist’ in 1959. In the mid 1960’s she wrote a series of articles for 3 Peninsula
newspapers based on my experiences at W. & J. Sloanes’s on El Camino in Los Altos and Breuners
Design Studios on Sutter Street in San Francisco. I had a by-line and the editor dubbed the column
“Decorator’s Casebook.”
