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Monday, December 12, 2011

Our Next Meeting is December 13th!


Our next Writers' Workshop Meeting will be Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.

Bring 6-8 copies of a page or two of your writing, and we'll read and discuss, give encouragement and feedback, applaud successes and overcome disappointments. 'Cause that's what we do as writers.

We'd love to see our familiar faces and some new ones, too, so please come, even if you aren't sure that writing's your "thing."

And bring a friend, too!! New writers are always very welcome!!!

We'll also have details of a wonderful Saturday workshop coming up on January 14 right here in Pine Valley! More information will be posted here on the blog soon!!

See you on Tuesday evening!! Stay warm and dry!!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Next Meeting November 8!!


The next meeting of the MECAC Writers' Workshop will be this Tuesday evening, November 8 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.


As we're in the middle of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), this meeting provides an excellent opportunity to check in and perhaps set up a few "write-ins" during the month which are usually held at the Pine Valley Library. It's all the more fun to settle in with a few friends for a good writing session or two.


Also, mark your calendars for a real treat: Dr. Dean Nelson, founder of the Journalism Department at Point Loma Nazarene University, will trek up the mountain to provide an all-day writing seminar on Saturday, January 14 at the Pine Valley Christian Conference Center (known to locals as the Bible Camp) right here in Pine Valley. Dean has published a dozen books on many topics and has written for just about every major newspaper and magazine out there. And he's just plain FUN. You won't want to miss out on this wonderful writing day! More details coming up soon!!


So, keep those pens moving and those keyboards a-tappin' as we writers spin our yarns, compose our poems, tell our tales, and encourage one another as we journey on in the magical craft of writing.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Next Meeting: October 11!


The next meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's Writers' Workshop will be Tuesday, October 11, 2011, at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.

Bring a couple of pages of your writing to share (make 6-8 copies!) or just come along to offer feedback.

From beginning to published writers, all are welcome to join us to discuss the art and business of writing!

Hoping to see you there!!!!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Next Meeting on Tuesday, September 13


The Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's Writers' Workshop will be meeting this Tuesday evening, September 13, in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library at 7:00 PM.

Please bring a 1-2 page piece of writing, probably 8 copies to receive feedback from the other writers in the group.

We offer encouragement, written and oral feedback, and we joyfully welcome new writers to our little workshop!

Also Announcing...

Sacred Rocks Writer's Guild Launches Saturday, September 17th. 7am

Be the writer you have always dreamed of being. Now.

Writers of every genre such as poems, short stories, novels and essays are invited to join in a group of like-minded writers intent on honing their craft of writing.

The weekly meeting will begin promptly at 7am [yep, crack of dawn for some], reviewing specific writing pieces, evaluating the work of those who want to share, and closing at 8am. The reason for the early time is to allow those who work to meet the demands of their day, and because creative writing energy is strongest before our daily life demands interfere.

If you want to learn to write, if you want to write better, if you want to meet others who write, come join in the fun. Special guests will be invited to speak on topics such as How to Publish, Marketing your Work, and the Business of Writing. Mostly we will be jumping into writing a piece and helping each other become better writers. For information call 619-766-4480.


We hope to see you at the Workshop on Tuesday evening! And bring a friend!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Next Meeting and Writing Opportunities


The next meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council Writers' Workshop is this Tuesday, August 9 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.

Writers of all ages, genres, and abilities are invited to attend. We love meeting and getting to know new and/or beginning writers!!

Please bring 6-8 copies of 1-2 pages of your work, and we'll give both oral and written feedback. Don't worry--we're kind and helpful. After all, the reason we meet is to grow as writers, honing our craft and encouraging one another to more effective writing.

Plus, Teresa alerted us to an author talk coming up at the Campo Library. On August 27th at 11 a.m., Bryon Harrington, author of Campo: The Forgotten Gunfight will speak on the nuts and bolts of writing a book – the research necessary and the ways one goes about self-publishing and self-marketing.

Also at the Campo Library on September 24th, author and researcher Richard Carrico will be talking about his book Strangers in a Stolen Land about the Kumeyaay Indians, among other programs for California Native American Day.

We're also looking forward to a report from Betty on the first meeting of the brand new writers' group meeting on Mount Laguna last month.

In addition, for us ladies, a community I've belonged to for a year or so, She Writes, provides some excellent resources for getting into the writing business covering The Craft, The Biz, and The Community. Check out this link: She Writes Author Services.

We'd love to see you all there on August 9th! Happy Writing, all!! 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Advice to Writers


I've just run across a wonderful website: Advice to Writers.

On this site I found some wonderful advice for those of us who journal:

"Keep a diary, but don't just list all the things you did during the day. Pick one incident and write it up as a brief vignette. Give it color, include quotes and dialogue, shape it like a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end--as if it were a short story or an episode in a novel. It's great practice. Do this while figuring out what you want to write a book about. The book may even emerge from within this running diary."

--John Berendt

So let's try this before our next meeting on August 9th and share our results with one another. Sound good?

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 12

The next meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's Writers' Workshop will be this coming Tuesday, July 12, at 7:00 PM-8:30-ish in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.

All writers in the Mountain Empire area are encouraged to attend, especially beginning writers!! All genres of writing are acceptable: fiction, memoirs, historical fiction, poetry, plays, essays, children's stories, songs, etc.

Just bring 6-8 copies of 1-2 pages of your writing to share, and we'll offer comments, improvements, and encouragement to one another as we strive to hone our craft and become better wordsmiths. 

And if you would rather not share, that's fine, too. We all help critique one another with kindness, and everyone is welcome to help each other improve in the art of writing.

We hope to see you on the 12th!!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Stephen King's Advice to Writers


Many great books on writing exist, and we writers have read a lot of them. Some are intensely practical, like Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer. Some are more esoteric and amusing, such as Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. And some (or most) are part biography, part bragging-rights, and part actual help, like Stephen King's On Writing.

Stephen King may not be everyone's cup o' tea. He's not necessarily mine. I've read two of his books, both long ago. Salem's Lot scared the bejeebers out of me so badly during my freshman year of college that I refused to walk the campus at night...at all. Even accompanied. Period. For about three months. I liked Skeleton Key much better. A collection of short stories, not all of which were horror, it interested and intrigued me, even if I'm not a great fan of science fiction which was the secondary genre represented.

But King has also written several articles about writing that can be immensely helpful to writers, especially for beginning writers who are seeking to be published for the first time. I ran across such an article and thought you might like to peruse it: "Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully: In Ten Minutes."

I have recently made a promise to an old friend from elementary school with whom I just re-connected on Facebook: he would read the Harry Potter series if I read King's Under the Dome. So I'm adding it to my list of books to read this summer...yes, even though it's King.

And I may pull out my copy of On Writing and give it another read. It's definitely one of the best books out there on writing. King has a gift for telling humorous stories that we rarely see within his usual horror genre, and On Writing is chock-full of such stories.

In writerly friendship,

Monday, June 6, 2011

Next Writers' Workshop Meeting June 14!

Come meet with the writers of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's monthly Writers' Workshop on Tuesday, June 14 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.

Bring a short excerpt of a short story, poem, biographical sketch, drama/play, etc. Please provide 6-8 copies of your writing for discussion and feedback.

Please plan to join us on the second Tuesday of each month as we share our works-in-progress and provide advice, feedback, encouragement, and constructive criticism. Beginning writers are welcome to attend and participate.

Hope to see you on the 14th!!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Next Meeting: May 10!

We'll be meeting on Tuesday, May 10th at 7:00 PM at the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. Please bring a short piece of writing to share as we offer constructive feedback to one another.

Beginning writers are more than welcome to attend!!!

Hope to see you all there!!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Next Meeting March 8!


Our next meeting of the MECAC Writers' Workshop

will be Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 PM

in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.


Bring a short selection to share.

Friends and  neighbors interested in writing are always welcome!!!

See you then!!!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Our Next Meeting: Tuesday 1/11!


The next meeting of the MECAC Writers' Workshop is Tuesday, January 11 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library.


Bring a short piece of your writing to share and be ready to offer feedback to one another. We welcome beginning writers especially! Please do come and just listen if you like.


We look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday evening!