Where's June?

During the summer months when the kids are out of school, money's too tight to ship 'em off to camp, and vacations/all star games/sports clinics are occupying our time, the Chico Writers Group newsletter will go into hiatus until September. However, don't go into full-on freak mode yet! We do have a special edition due out shortly that will feature various tasks and responsibilities of a variety of jobs to help round out your characters. And then we'll see you in mid-September.

Have a fantastic summer!

May 2010

Volume 1, Number 5
Chico Writers Group If you write it, they will read it

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Dear Writer,

May. May Day. I can't help it, but when I hear someone say May Day, I think of the distress signal used on ships - both seafaring and aeronautical. It seems like such an old term with May Poles (I always thought that was just the Canadian way of pronouncing maples and then hungered for pancakes laden in rich Vermont maple syrup) and girls dressed up in frilly dresses singing the song Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses. Did you know that the song is said to have come about during the Black Plague? It appears my word associations are a bit dark and dank. Yet sometimes, playing this game allows you to free your mind and excise some really great material. If you aren't already keeping a writing journal, reconsider that especially if you've hit a roadblock with your writing. Learn more with our article on The Writer's Journal [here]. 

Some find that along with or aside from critique partners and groups, hiring a professional editor helps promote their writing by providing clarity, exploring new ideas and thoughts. We have for you this month an article with just that type of person, too! A professional editor, Erin Brown, of www.erinedits.com shares with us a bit about herself, what she does as an editor, and also offers up some sage advice for anyone involved in a writing group. Read our interview with Erin [here].

Recently one of our own Chico Writers Group members, MaryRose Lovgren, presented a Craft Chat topic on Writer's Block after doing a lot of research on the topic when she experienced a bit of problems moving ahead with her novel. She wrote a nice article with pointers and suggestions and shares it [here] with us.

Perhaps it's the fear of success that's holding you back - or even the fear of failure. Another member of the Chico Writers Group, Donna Hole, guest author's a moving piece she's titled Aspiring Author which you can read [here].

Last year I attended my first writing conference in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest Writing Conference hosted by the Pacific Northwest Writing Association (PNWA). I had the opportunity to meet up with Christina Arbini, who lives in the area, and helped me prepare some pitches for the following day. Being a newb, I was completely unaware of the importance of pitching and how to properly fashion one and present it to the agents I had appointments with the following morning. As you may be preparing to go to a conference, learning how to pitch and the importance of pitching your book is very important. Christina shares with us some key points in making that perfect pitch [here].

But before you pitch, you better know if it's to who or whom you'll be presenting your work to and who's or whose going to benefit from it. Check out this month's regular feature in Get it Write Right! [here].

Enjoy those May flowers that are bursting all over the place after our torrential April showers but keep on writing, too! Oh, and for you fellow allergy sufferers, don't forget the Zyrtec, either.

Happy May!

Kathie Leung, FOAM
(Founder, Organizer and Moderator)
Chico Writers Group

May Newsletter Home - Editor Interview: Erin Brown - Article: Pitching Your Novel
Article: Writer's Journal - Guest Author: MaryRose Lovgren - Guest Author: Donna Hole
Regular Feature: Get It /Write/ Right - Regular Feature: Writing Prompts
Calendar of Events - Call for Submissions - Feedback - Previous Issues - Resources

Editor Interview: Erin Brown

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

Erin Brown: Book Doctor and Professional Editor

CWG: Last year you offered your services as a Book Doctor at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Seattle. Your site indicates you also offer various editing services, from copyediting to

Article: Pitching Your Novel

May 2010

Vol. 1, No. 5

Spring Training: The Fine Art of Pitching

by Christina Arbini

Copyright © 2010 Christina Arbini


It’s spring, and you know what that means, Spring Training! Time to start practicing your pitch and hitting those homeruns. Okay, so I’m not talking about baseball, but rather a very important part of self-promotion for the author. With a lot of writers’ conferences gearing up for the summer, now is the time to get prepared for the dreaded pitch appointments. Whether you’re facing group or individual appointments, pitching at conferences is a very valuable way to get yourself and your book in front of an acquiring agent or editor. Of course, with as many writers that these agents and editors are scheduled to see in a day, the reality is they won’t remember every single person they meet with. But then again, sometimes they do. And in those cases, you want to be sure you’re remembered in a positive way, and aren’t one of the ones used as an example of “what not to do” on a blog or in a workshop they may do later.

Article: Writer's Journal

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

The Writer’s Journal

Sitting on the rock just inside the playground, Anna pulled the worn leather journal out of her knapsack, swept the pen away from the paper it had been clipped to, and fervently wrote.

She couldn’t help it.

Guest Author: MaryRose Lovgren

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

Overcoming Writer’s Block
“Writing is easy.  All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”  - Gene Fowler

What is “writer’s block?”  The definition depends on what is preventing you, the writer, from writing.  Are you a blocked writer, or a procrastinator?  A blocked writer “has the discipline to stay at the desk, but cannot write.”  A procrastinator “cannot bring himself to sit at the desk, but if something forces him to sit down they will write quite fluently” (Alice W. Flaherty, The Midnight Disease). Once you’ve identified which one fits your current situation, you can start to tackle the problem with greater success.

Guest Author: Donna Hole

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

ASPIRING WRITER

AjFrye, a blog friend and follower, had a post entitled IS IT TIME where she explored her decision to stop revising her WIP and send it out into the scary world of potential publication.  Her assertion that “Writers are instilled with