Write Angles 4-09

8/9/2019 Write Angles 4-09

1/10

W r i t e A n g l e s

Newsletterofthe

B e r k e l e y B r a N c h ,

c a l i f o r N i a

w r i t e r s

c l u B

a p r

i l

2 0 0 9


2/10April 2009 W rite A ngles 1

Tab le o f C o nt e nts

Yes, Grammar CanEven Be Fun 1

The View From the Helm AL Levenson 2

Guidelines for theJuly and AugustWrite Angles 2

Member News Anne Fox 3

Prevailing Winds 4

Tidbits 5

Free Workshop for CWC Members Only 5

Co-Publishing AL Levenson 6

Internet Social Networks asPlatform 7

Resource for PublicationsResearch

Alex Campbell 7

Why I Write... 8

A pril M eeting :

Saturday, April 18, 2009.Social Hour: 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Meeting and Program: 10:30 a.m. - Noon Event Loft, Barnes & Noble Book Store

Jack London Square, Oakland.

YeS, grAMMAr CAn eVen Be FUn

An old, and probably apocryphal, story hasan editor attempting to rearrange one of WinstonChurchills sentences to avoid ending it with a

preposition. The Prime Minister is alleged to have

scribbled in reply: This is the sort of bloodynonsense up with which I will not put. Whether or not the response was really Winnies, we cansympathize with the sentiment behind it. The rules

of grammar sometimes seem like strictures to be tolerated, not instruments to be agreeably employed.

Making grammar less intimidating is the mission of Janis Bell, our featured speaker for the April 18 meeting. Author of the best-selling book

Clean, Well-lighted Sentences , Bell has been teaching writing since 1973.She began her career as a composition and business writing instructor at SanFrancisco State University. She then worked for the San FranciscoCommunity College District, teaching on several campuses and in ftygovernment agencies. Since the early 1980s, she has delivered on-sitewriting seminars to a wide range of professionals and taught business writingat Golden Gate University.

Bell has become familiar over the years with the grammar and punctuation problems people are most likely to nd troubling. She has also

learned how to explain solutions in language that is concise, easy tounderstand, and often humorous, as re ected in her writing seminars and inher book.

At the April 18 meeting, well have an opportunity to bene t fromBells experience. Who or whom? Affect or effect? Wishing I was or wishingI were? Only to the right or left of require? Comma or no comma? Colonor semicolon? We can bring up questions such as these, take notes on thesolutions to our sentence problems, or ask about grammatical conventions

along with which we might feel disinclined to go.- David Baker Cover Photo Series :

Distinguished Writersof California

William Saroyan



The View From the HelmThe Berkeley Branch must have been on steroids this

month.Check our Member News for six new members this

month, bringing the total branch membership to 80.We welcome three people to head up important

committees and to a seat on the board of directors: Carlene

Cole, membership committee; Laura Shumaker, speaker programs; and Anejuelle Floyd, exploring the co-publishing pilot project withUnlimited Publishing, LLC.

For more than twenty years the Fifth-Grade Writing Contest has been aagship event for the Berkeley Branch. Willie Rose was administrator for over a

decade. Then ten years ago command passed to Lucille Bellucci.Lucille reports 281 submissions this yearup from recent years. The branch

will award over $500 in prizes to the fteen winning entries, including a cash prize tothe teacher of the winner of rst prize. To select the nalists and winners, Lucillerequires the dedicated help of several more heroes. Thanks to judges BetsyHess-Behrens, Janice Armigo Brown, Ken Frazer, Willie and Manuel Rose, SashaFutran, Stan Sciortino, and Barbara Ruffner.

Lucille, you make us proud. We all stand in the glow of esteem you bring to theBerkeley Branch.

Our most enduring critique group chugs along on 3rd Saturday afternoons atOaklands Rockridge Branch library. Average attendance is 15 peopleup by 50 percenfrom a year or so ago. Within the last year two other groups were born. Part of the logic

of forming the 10-page group and the article-writing group was to take the pressure off the 3rd Saturday Groups increase in submitters. The popularity of the 3rd Saturdaygroup has continued to grow, perhaps because the additional groups have raisedawareness of the value of such groups.

The two new groups have attracted a half-dozen people to their meetings. Butthese groups have suffered from a lack of a regular meeting place and time. I am happyto report these groups now have a home. Once again, Dave Sawles generosity is themeans of an enhancement of the club. Dave is making available the conference roomat his of ce building at 2945 Webster in Oakland. The room easily accommodates ten

people and offers gated parking for ten cars.This site creates an opportunity to try still another club innovation, an evening

critique group. Beginning Monday evening, April 13, the article-writing group will meetmonthly on 2nd Mondays, from 7:00-9:30 p.m. And beginning Saturday morning, Apri11, the 10-page group will meet monthly on 2nd Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.For the time being, both groups will be drop-in groups open to nonmembers as well asmembers. Questions? [email protected]

- AL Levenson, Presiden

Guidelines for the

July and August

Write Angles

Open to members of theBerkeley Branch only.

Short pieces of ction andnon ction, 350-1000 words.

Poetry to 175 words.Photographs and cartoons.

All topics. No porn or gratuitous

violence.Prior publication OK, with

citation.

Electronic submissions onlyo [email protected] Story Enclosed in the

ubject line. Deadline for Julyssue is June 10; for Augustissue, July 10. Receipt of

ories will be acknowledged.


4/10

September 2008

April 2009 W rite A ngles 3

Member News

JoAnn Ainsworth (March Write Angles interview) will have a book signing for Out of the Dark onSaturday, April 4, 2 to 4 p.m., at A World of Books, 137 Pelton Center Way, San Leandro, CA 94577 (510)

483-5587. This latest novel of JoAnns is a medieval romance with a touch of paranormal and a lot of suspense. Refreshments will be served at the book signing.

Congratulations to Gary McIntyre , whose documentary lm, Two Up Two Down Reunion , wasaccepted into the New York and Los Angeles Film Festivals and may even go on to Cannes. This lm has todo with the Vietnam years, a period marked by political and emotional turmoil. More information to follow.

The Berkeley Branch welcomed six new members in March:

Janelle Moon , member of the Marin branch, transferred her membership to Berkeley. Dorothy Benson , an Emeritus member of the Berkeley Branch inadvertently dropped from the rolls,was reinstated. Anejuelle Floyd rejoined the Berkeley Branch. Anejuelle wrote Keeper of Secrets , published in 2007. Leslie Martin , an associate member, is working on a series of personal vignettes. Michael Vernetti has published a non ction book. Francine Howard has excited much interest in her current work of ction. More information tofollow. Alan Kite joined at the March 21 club meeting.

Berkeley Branch membership now stands at 80.

Applause is in order for Lucille Bellucci , who stars as rst-prize winner of the 2008 WestSide StoryContest, of which member Tatjana Greiner is founder and editor. Money also stars as the prize for Lucillesstory, Signora Petronio.

Risa Nye and her co-editors will be reading from and discussing their book, Writin on Empty , at theRockridge Library on Tuesday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. Risas piece, The Long Road to Lulu: One WritersStory of Self-Publishing, appeared in the December issue of Write Angles .

Attention, Members : Dont let that manuscript, article, wisdom on paper, mope in the murky depths of a desk

drawer. Who will publish you or give you a prize for your writing if you dont get your work out into the light

of day? Keep us posted on any morsel of writing youre doing or have done or contemplate doing. Whether

youve written a letter to the editor, a ller, a puzzle, ction, non ction, jokes ,a book review, greeting cards,

screen play, or been in a contest, in an interviewall is worthwhile and a source of inspiration for CWC

members. Please send the exciting news to Anne Fox, [email protected].



preVAiling WinDS

CWC Berkeley Branch: Publicity Report March 2009

Barnes & Noble now provides an in-store sign for our monthly meetings, as well as speaker-speci c signsThe Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, now prints yers about the support/critique writers group that

ets there on the third Saturday of every month.

The CWC Berkeley Branch Information Brochure/application has been revised.Caroline Abasta has designed a print/electronic yer for our speaker meetings. Flyers will be e-mailed to the board

d other CWC volunteers for downloading and posting in nearby libraries, coffee houses, independent bookstores, ander places writers congregate, and for handouts to interested groups such as Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Clubs.

Berkeley Branch authors can display their work and sell sheets at meetings.

ntennial Plans

The State Central Board (CB) is considering several matters and will likely vote on these choices when it meets inkland on 4/19:

1) Plant a tree at Joaquin Miller Park, a CWC tradition that got lost2) Print and distribute the Literary Landmarks Map displayed at BB March meeting3) Provide updated information on CWC and the Memorial Grove for a display at the JMP Ranger Station4) Signage on Highway 13 from Caltrans and/or signage from the city on the Joaquin Miller Road and at the JMP

k entrance.5) Bench at the CWC Writers Grove6) Renovation and repositioning of the 1941 sign in JMP dedicating the CWC Writers Grove

The CWC Centennial logo is available on vests, jackets, and maybe other clothing items ordered through Lands

d. Ordering details will be communicated.

Berkeley Branch Centennial Plan:1) A revival of the Picnic in the Park at JMP and poem reading at Woodminster 2) Displays at the Oakland Public Library and other libraries, historical societies,

y halls, and recreational/environmental groups, using the CBs Literary Landmarks Map asbasis

3) Speaking engagements throughout the year, but realistically beginning in September.

BB October meeting occurs during the state-designated California Writers Week, October 18-24, 2009.

All these activities above require some help from members. Choose an activity youd like to help to make happen.Several organizations are interested in partnering with the CWC (e.g., have us speak to their members, print articles

their newsletter or Web site, offer historical knowledge, and perhaps grant money).Several branch librarians are interested in workshops, especially for children. Anyone willing to take on this project?Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce newsletter will carry information about our meetings and speaker

grams to its 15,000 readers.Centennial logo items, book bags, pens, cloisonn lapel pins will be available for sale BB club meetings.

- Linda Brown, Publicity



Tidbits n eW i n F o r M A t i o n :FREE WORKSHOP FOR CWC MEMBERS ONLY**Charlotte Cook, Acquisition Editor, Polishes Your First Pages

Do you wonder how an acquisition editor might react to the rstmanuscript pages of your novel or short story? When and why does the editor

either stop reading or ask for more pages? Do you think its all yes and no?Get rst-hand responses to these questions and others at a supportive

interactive three-hour workshop conducted by Charlotte Cook, publisher andacquisition editor of KOMENAR Publishing, on April 25, 2009, 10:30 a.m.,Barnes & Noble Event Loft, Jack London Square, Oakland. Location istentative and will be con rmed by email to participants.

This workshop, limited to 25 people, is available exclusively to theBerkeley Branch of the California Writers Club. Charlotte invites participantsto bring the rst three pages of their novel or short story. Approximately twelve

will be discussed.For a seat at the workshop, register by e-mail,

[email protected], with Acquisition Workshop inthe subject line. If you intend to submit material for thecritique, state that in your e-mail. If more than tenmanuscripts are submitted, twelve will be chosen by lotter

The location of the workshop will be con rmed by email four days before the workshop. At that time you will be advised if youve been chosen to

submit and how many copies you must bring. Format for submissions:double-spaced, 1.25 margins, indented paragraphs, plain font (Courier New

preferred), 12 point.Charlotte Cook is a publisher, editor, writing teacher, and longtime

Berkeley Branch member. Her workshop and one-on-one work have been presented and applauded at the Willamette Writers Conference, East of Eden,and South Carolina Writers Workshop. In response to many requests, shewill offer the workshop as a professional service nationwide in the spring of 2009.

** If you are not a member, why not take this opportunity to join nowwhen the value of this workshop is greater than the cost of becoming amember? Become a member between January 1 and June 30 by paying ahalf-years dues plus the initiation fee, a total of $42.50and gain freeadmission to a workshop that could ordinarily cost up to $100. For membership information and application, e-mail [email protected].

- AL Levenson

Web sites for WritersEditorialAnonymous.blogspot.com

Infoplease.comralan.com

nixl.com/blog/2008/100-fun-useful-search-engines-for-writers

SF Theater FestivalBerkeley Branch Member, TatjanaGreiner, is in charge of the youth

ograms of the San Francisco Theater Festival, which takes place at YerbaBuena Gardens at the end of July.

ey are currently putting their programtogether and are looking for theater groups and/or single performers toticipate. The goal is to re ect the Bayrea theater scene's diversity, which ishy they are also seeking shows on or by Asian, Middle Eastern, South

American, Native American, Russian,

etc., theater groups or performers.

ferings can be excerpts of plays, shortplays (most slots are 30 minutes),one-person shows, monologues,

oken-word piecesyou get the idea.e performances need to be ready-castnd rehearsed. Everyone is invited torticipate. Submission deadline is May

1, on a rst-come, rst-serve basis.Participation is free.

Tatjana is particularly interested inshows by or for youth.

Check out the Web site:theaterfestival.org, or contact Tatjana

directly at [email protected].



C o -p UBliShing

When I received an e-mail from Kate Farrell, California Writers Club state coordinator for theco-publishing pilot project approved by the Central Board of the CWC, I thought the deadlines were too tightfor anyone in the Berkeley Branch to meet. Yet I was concernedthat the Berkeley Branch might be left behind if co-publishing

proved to be a business model that could work for some of our members. With that thought in mind, I invited Kate (RedwoodBranch, Santa Rosa) to visit us to inform those interested. Myhope was a few members would want to form a keep-in-touchcommittee that would explore co-publishing by going to school onthe experience of others.

Kate told us about the publishing accomplishments of the Redwood Branch: annual anthologies of members work for the last three years published by Lulu and iUniverse, and three books co-published last year in conjunction with Unlimited Publishing, LLC.

At the branch level, a selection committee chooses books for submission to UP, along with each authorsdetailed marketing plan. If accepted by UP, the book moves to the galley stage at no cost to the author. Thegalley is the rst stage of a three-stage process. In the galley stage the book may be submitted for advancereviewers and used to solicit commentary and endorsement. Although the book is required to have beenthoroughly edited prior to submission, a few minor corrections are permitted at this stage.

Next is an Advance Release used to develop market niche and prove appeal. Finally, a Trade Releaseedition will be produced for books of proven public appeal. Books move from stage to stage, based on criticalreview, literary awards, current popularity, and sales volume.

Kate made it clear that all of the editing process and all of the marketing rests on the shoulders of theauthor. The branch is counted on to help out to some degree, but the author ought not forget where the buck stops.

By the end Kates presentation, returning member Anjuelle Floyd announced her book was at a stagethat could meet the deadlines, and she had serious interest in UPs model. Anjuelle, who published Keeper of Secrets in 2007 and has been up the road of dealing with a publisher, offered her current project as a trial horsefor this new territory. Because she has a clear vested interest in proceeding with the co-publishing route only if it is viable in the real world, and because she is willing to commit personal funds to legal advice at contract timeas well as time, energy and dollars to the marketing stage, I believed she was the ideal person to be the branchliaison to UP. She and Kate agreed to stay in close touch.

The co-publishing model has its skeptics within the branch. Reservations are a reason to study new business models carefully. My assessment of the mood of those who took the step of hearing out Kates storywas that of open-minded cautious optimism.

Anjuelle promised to inform the branch of what she learns and how she proceeds.

-AL Levenson



Resource for Publications Research

To write for periodicals, be sure to read the publishers guidelines on the publications Web site, and read themagazines to understand what the editors want to see.

Where can you nd a great variety of periodicals? The University of California main library in the center of the Berkeley campus, where the huge periodical reading room, a community resource, is open to everyone. Theclean, well-lighted room is located on the second oor, at the top of the staircase immediately inside the mainentrance. Past UC students will remember the beautiful carved wood ceiling of the former card catalogue room.

Here you will nd periodicals from around the world, literary and professional, from The American Scholar to Zyzzyva. You may not check out publications, but you are free to select andread them at a nearby table or comfortable easy chair.

Publications are shelved by Dewey Decimal number, not alphabetically. The quickest way tolocate what you want is by call number. In the room are many computer terminals with acess tothe universitys Path nder system for Cals entire library. You can also access the same systemfrom the convenience of your home, through //www.lib.berkeley.edu/ At the Home page (or

Desktop of library computers), click on the UCB-Path nder link. On the subsequent page, change the defaultndicator to Journal Title Key Word, and type the key word of the name of the periodical you want into the search

box. Activate Search, and voil , theres the call number. The word Main indicates the magazine is in the

periodical room of the main library.Only current issues are shelved in the periodical reading room. If you want to read back issues, explain your

purpose to the librarian at the desk in the hall just inside the doors adjacent to the main staircase. The librarian willgive you a day pass to the main stacks in the basement. If you are an active Cal alumnus, your UC library card willget you in.

All the libraries have elevators and are wheelchair-accessible.

- Alex Campbell, Berkeley Branch member since 2008.

Internet Social Networks as Platform

On a March Sunday an informal workshop of seven club members convened at the home of Anjuelle Floydo nd out about Internet Social Networks. They learned how one

member is using social networks to broaden her base of friends andontacts.

Anjuelle discussed blogs, blog radio, and how her blog is her

Web site. She discussed the readers sites Goodreads and Shelfari,where book reviews are written by and for readers. Anejuelle gave us

tour of her Ning site and helped two people set up their own.Thanks, Anejuelle, for hosting an informative event and creating the opportunity for us to get acquainted with

ur fellow members.

- AL Levenson



Why I Write . . .

I write because, in simple terms, I enjoy it and it ful lls me. Writing seems to be my path. I hate to use termsike path because Im loathe to sound like one of those people who describe their compulsion to write in Gar-

boesque tones but rarely write much of anything beyond occasional journal musings. My path is rocky at times. Imblessed with more perseverance than talent. Still, writing keeps life fresh because my next challenge is never farther han the next blank screen.

- W.E.Reinka, past president of the Berkeley Branch

* * *

I write because it is an important part of who I am. It is a way to communicate more fully with the worldaround me. I write to touch people about our environment, to help them learn more about themselves through their own histories, to bridge the commonalities we share with one another. For example, myefforts to trace the early history of the California Writers Club and the Berkeley Fire of 1923 led to some published articles. As an Oral Historian, I have helped develop severalbodies of work and individual works for nonpro t organizations.

More recently, I have been writing for friends and family to share compassion aboutour losses of loved ones, in an effort to inspire courage, hope, and faith. Struggling moreoften with my own losses has given me added insight into this life-and-death experience,with new philosophical wisdom to share.

Finally, I write to bring the joy of life to my own experience and to those aroundme. Sometimes I combine this writing with my photography.

- Therese Pipe joined the Berkeley Branch of the California Writers' Club in the 1980s and is a non ction

writer, editor, and occasional poet.

* * *

I began to write because I liked telling stories that others wrote, and then I liked telling stories that I made up.I never got over it. And I never looked back.

- Lucille Bellucci, Berkeley Branch member for over 12 years

* * *

I write because of the pleasure-pain principle. If you have a talent, some activities are rewarding. You producebetter work with less effort and receive social approval. If you lack a talent, some activities are frustrating. You try

harder and produce work that everyone considers inferior. I am good at handling words and numbers but have poor physical coordination. (The medical term for people like me is klutz.") That is why I write poems but never becamean artist, a ballet dancer, a circus clown or a dentist (and that is just the rst four letters of the alphabet).

- David Mathew Gray, Berkeley Branch member since 2008, usually reserves his middle name for his byline.

Born in New Jersey. he grew up there and in Florida. According to his resume, he earned a BA at the U of Miami (in

English), an MA at the U of Minnesota, and a PhD at the Union Institute (both in social psychology), worked mostly

n public health administration, and is a widowed grandfather who lives in San Francisco. Most of the facts in his

resume are true.


10/10

President:ALLevenson

VicePresident:OPEN

Secretary:Evelyn Washington

Treasurer:Ken Frazer

Program:LauraShumaker

Membership:CarleneCole

ChildrensContest:LucilleBellucci

NewsletterEditor:ALLevenson

Copyeditor:AnneFox

Publicity:LindaBrown

Webmaster:Stan Sciortino

Delegateto CentralBoard:LindaBrown

Co-Publishing Committee:AnjuelleFloyd

PastPresident:DaveSawle

B rk l Br n h f r

T h e C AL I F OR

NI A

WRI T E R

S C L

UBi s

d e d i c a t e d t o e d u c a t i n gm

e m b e r s a n d t h e p u b l i c - a t -l a r g e

i n t h e c r a f t of wr i t i n g

a n d i n

t h e m

a r k e t i n g of t h e i r w or k .F or m

or e i nf or m

a t i on , vi s i t o ur W

e b s i t e

a t w w w . b e r k e l e y wr i t e r s c l u b . or g .

C o p yr i gh t 2 0 0 9

b y t h e C a l i f or ni a Wr i t e r s

C l u b ,B

e r k e l e yBr a n c h .Al l r i gh

t s r e s e r v e d . Wr i t e

An gl e s i s

p u b l i s h e d 1 0

t i m e s a y e a r ( S e p t e m

b e r - J un e ) b y t h e C a l i f or ni a Wr i t e r s

C l u b ,B

e r k e l e y

Br a n c h

on b e h a l f of i t s m

e m b e r s . C W C a s s um e s n ol e g a l l i a b i l i t y

or r e s p on s i b i l i t yf or t h e

a c c ur a c y , c om pl e t e n e s s , or u s e f ul n e s s

of a n yi nf or m

a t i on , pr o c e s s , pr o d u c t ,m e t h o d

or p ol i c y

P.O . Bo x 1 501 4Oak lan d, C A 946 14

Write Angles 4-09

Documents

Transcript of Write Angles 4-09