Next Meeting: February 9!

The Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council (MECAC) Writers' Workshop meets the second Tuesday of each month in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library at 7:00 PM.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 9, 2016. Anyone and everyone interested in learning more about writing and publishing are welcome to attend. 

If you would like to receive feedback on your writing, bring 8-10 copies of a single poem (or two if they're really short) or 1-2 pages of prose. Writers read their work aloud while listeners jot comments onto the copies they are reading along with, and then encouragement and suggestions are offered. 

Keep in mind that the 21st annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University is coming up on February 16-19. Featured speakers include African-American female poet Nikki Giovanni and sports writer/broadcaster Dick Enberg, among others. Prices are quite reasonable at around $15 for the sessions featuring the "big names" and much less for other sessions. Check out the details at Writer's Symposium by the Sea. 

We also have big news regarding an upcoming writing workshop featuring Dr. Dean Nelson, the man behind the 21 years of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea, the founder of the journalism department at Point Loma Nazarene University, and the author of at least thirteen books and innumerable articles in just about every publication imaginable. Save the date: Saturday, March 19, and we'll get you more details as they become available!  

So we hope to see you at our meeting this Tuesday! 

QUOTE FOR THE MONTH:

Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way." 
~Ray Bradbury

Writing with you,

Next Meeting: January 12!

The Greek Theater on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University, home to the Writer's Symposium by the Sea. 

The Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council (MECAC) Writers' Workshop meets the second Tuesday of each month in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library at 7:00 PM.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Anyone and everyone interested in learning more about writing and publishing are welcome to attend. 

If you would like to receive feedback on your writing, bring 8-10 copies of a single poem (or two if they're really short) or 1-2 pages of prose. Writers read their work aloud while listeners jot comments onto the copies they are reading along with, and then encouragement and suggestions are offered. 

We also have big news about the acceptance of one of our regular members' manuscripts for publication, so don't miss out! 

Keep in mind that the 21st annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University is coming up on February 16-19. Featured speakers include African-American female poet Nikki Giovanni and sports writer/broadcaster Dick Enberg, among others. Prices are quite reasonable at no more than $15 for the sessions featuring the "big names" and much less for other sessions. Check out the details at Writer's Symposium by the Sea. 

So we hope to see you at our meeting this Tuesday! 

"Fiction is like a spider's web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners." ~Virginia Woolf

Writing with you,

Next Meeting on Tuesday, November 10!!

The Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's Writing Workshop will meet on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. 

Anyone interested in the art and craft of writing is encouraged to attend. Recently we've had quite an influx of new writers attending, so don't be shy! Please invite your writing friends. 

Bring 8-10 copies of a poem or a couple of pages of prose to be workshopped by the group, or just come along to offer support and advice to other writers. 

We will also be holding a Write-In for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) on Saturday, November 21 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Bring your laptops, tablets, notebooks, and writing implements and be prepared to write!! We'll also have coffee, tea, and some eatables while we write and chat together. These gatherings are always enjoyable and productive, so please join us!

UPDATE: Immediately following the Write-In on Saturday, November 21, at 2:00 PM we'll be hosting local writer David J. Schmidt, author of Holy Ghosts: True Tales from a Haunted Christian College. David will share a story or two of the paranormal events at Point Loma Nazarene University, discuss the compiling and the publishing of his book, and will take our questions and sign books for us. Don't miss out on this wonderful treat!  

We hope to see you on November 10 for our regular monthly meeting and on November 21 for our Write-In and author event!

Writing with you,

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” 
― Ernest Hemingway

Next Meeting: October 13!!

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."

~E.L. Doctorow (1931-2015)


So let's lessen the "nothing" of writing and "learn as [we] go"...by meeting with other writers as we explore the world of writing and finding a publishing home for our work...

...together.

The second Tuesday of each month marks the meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council (MECAC) Writer's Workshop. And it's nearly here!

Come join us for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. 

Anyone and everyone interested in the art and craft of writing is encouraged to attend. 

Just bring about 8 copies of 1-2 pages of your poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, plays, essays, and/or any other genre of writing, and we'll offer oral and written feedback. We're here to build each other up as writers in a warm, supportive environment. 

Plus we have National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) coming up in November! Let's write together!!
We hope to see you on Tuesday, October 13!

Writing with you,

Next Meeting: September 8!

"Writing fiction...can be a difficult, lonely job; it's like crossing the Atlantic in a bathtub."   ~Stephen King

So let's lessen the difficulty and loneliness of writing...by meeting with other writers as we journey together across the "Atlantic," bathtubs rafted together so that we can weather the storms and celebrate the "arrival" of publishing the results of our hard work   

The second Tuesday of each month marks the meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council (MECAC) Writer's Workshop. And it's nearly here!

Come join us for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. 

Anyone and everyone interested in the art and craft of writing is encouraged to attend. 

Just bring about 8 copies of 1-2 pages of your poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, plays, essays, and/or any other genre of writing, and we'll offer oral and written feedback. And we don't bite--I promise! We're here to build each other up as writers in a warm, supportive environment. 

We hope to see you on Tuesday, September 8!

Writing with you,

Next Meeting: August 11!

The next meeting of the Mountain Empire Creative Art Council (MECAC) Writer's Workshop will be Tuesday, August 11 in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library, starting at 7:00 PM. 

Bring about eight copies of either a poem or a couple of pages of prose to share, if you like. We offer verbal and written feedback when we have copies to write on. We're a kind and encouraging bunch, so no fear!! :)

If you'd like to just come and observe, we'd love to meet you! We encourage everyone with an interest in learning more about writing to attend. No pressure--we promise! 

We look forward to seeing you this Tuesday! 

Writing with you,

"Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity." 
                 

~Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary

Next Meeting: July 14!

Greetings, Mountain Empire Writers!

We'll be meeting this Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. Anyone interested in learning more about the art and craft of writing is welcome to attend. 

If you wish, bring 8-10 copies of a poem or a couple of pages of prose to read aloud and discuss with the group who will offer written feedback as well. 

We'll also discuss publishing our work, including the highlights of last month's talk with Sarka-Jonae Miller of East County Magazine.  

Also, July is Camp NaNoWriMo in which writers all over the world set their own writing goals and work toward meeting them in a less formal setting than November's National Novel Writing Month's 50,000 words-or-bust format. 

So please come along and join the fun! We're a kind, encouraging, and accepting group, so there's no need to be shy!

Hoping to see you Tuesday!