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January 17, 2015

Schedule’s Up; Story, Substance, Savvy Matters

Schedule’s Up; Story, Substance, Savvy Matters

Schedule’s Up; Story, Substance, Savvy Matters

Schedule’s Up; Story, Substance, Savvy Matters

Ahh, winter in SoCal and we’re less than a month away from our San Diego conference. That means the weather is fine and, as evidenced by the quality of material received thus far, the writing is hot. From rip-snortin’ adventure to deeply moving memoirs and fantastical coming-of-age jo[Click For The Rest...]
January 02, 2015

Prepare to Submit: How Good is Good Enough?

Prepare to Submit: How Good is Good Enough?

Prepare to Submit: How Good is Good Enough?

Prepare to Submit: How Good is Good Enough?

Perhaps the most vexing question any writer must answer (other than, “Have I read anything you’ve written?”) is: How good is good enough? So often working in isolation, bereft of empirically qualified feedback on what they’ve written, writers must summon the gumption to conclude—unequ[Click For The Rest...]
December 21, 2014

To Reclaim the Joy of Writing

To Reclaim the Joy of Writing

To Reclaim the Joy of Writing

To Reclaim the Joy of Writing

“The end,” I intoned at length, laying bare the pages of story before me. Having devoted the previous six years to almost exclusively writing screenplays and TV scripts only a rarefied few ever actually read, I’d begun fretting over whether I still had the chops to write prose for pub[Click For The Rest...]
December 19, 2014

Advance Readers Now Open; Start The New Year–Write!

Advance Readers Now Open; Start The New Year–Write!

Advance Readers Now Open; Start The New Year–Write!

Advance Readers Now Open; Start The New Year–Write!

Very little is more gratifying than celebrating the launch of another SCWCer’s book. This month, as seems appropriate in the immediate afterglow of NaNoWriMo fever–with so many writers now finding themselves both buoyed by a new work in progress and the promise of publication th[Click For The Rest...]
December 02, 2014

Post-NaNoWriMo Offensive: Writing Beyond “Litgets”

Post-NaNoWriMo Offensive: Writing Beyond “Litgets”

Post-NaNoWriMo Offensive: Writing Beyond “Litgets”

Post-NaNoWriMo Offensive: Writing Beyond “Litgets”

Our fourth SD29 Special Guest Speaker to be announced is Kathy Aarons, yet another former conferee who got her game and gone on to great acclaim (it rhymes–spare me the grammar). Her debut novel, Death is Like a Box of Chocolates, released by Berkely Prime Crime this past Septem[Click For The Rest...]
November 01, 2014

Special Guest Speaker No. 3; Aspire To Excellence

Special Guest Speaker No. 3; Aspire To Excellence

Special Guest Speaker No. 3; Aspire To Excellence

Special Guest Speaker No. 3; Aspire To Excellence

Passion, perseverance, and an unyielding belief that a great story well told will one day find a home is what sustained our third Special Guest Speaker to be announced for SD29. Winner of the SCWC Outstanding Fiction Award at SD14, for the manuscript that he would ultimately non-novel[Click For The Rest...]
September 29, 2014

Special Guest Speaker No. 2; Massive Amount Of “Good Muse”

Special Guest Speaker No. 2; Massive Amount Of “Good Muse”

Special Guest Speaker No. 2; Massive Amount Of “Good Muse”

Special Guest Speaker No. 2; Massive Amount Of “Good Muse”

Fresh off the LA12 weekend, we begin the countdown to our winter conference. Our second Special Guest Speaker to be announced is wildly prolific and popular indie novelist Bethany Lopez. A former conferee, Bethany’s gone on to become a multiple award-winning, best-selling author with [Click For The Rest...]
September 23, 2014

LA12 Awards, Conference Wrap, And Building Better Writers

LA12 Awards, Conference Wrap, And Building Better Writers

LA12 Awards, Conference Wrap, And Building Better Writers

LA12 Awards, Conference Wrap, And Building Better Writers

What a wonderful weekend for writers. And what wonderful writers they were. Typically, as the SCWC is renowned for instead of being a scattershot “Writing 101” event but one that addresses several specific levels above the basics, we get a lot of quality storytellers attending. This t[Click For The Rest...]
August 12, 2014

“Whoosh!” Deadlines Approaching; Schedule Up

“Whoosh!” Deadlines Approaching; Schedule Up

“Whoosh!” Deadlines Approaching; Schedule Up

“Whoosh!” Deadlines Approaching; Schedule Up

Author, workshop leader, singular songstress and overall embodiment of a true SCWCer Janis Thomas will be joining us in Newport Beach, as usual. What promises to be yet another uniquely laugh-out-loud romp, Say Never is her latest release, out October, marking the departure from her l[Click For The Rest...]
August 04, 2014

Reward Your Readers; Early “Bard” Registration Open

Reward Your Readers; Early “Bard” Registration Open

Reward Your Readers; Early “Bard” Registration Open

Reward Your Readers; Early “Bard” Registration Open

The SCWC community has fostered author excellence since 1986. Fact is, little excites us more than welcoming back past conferees who’ve gone on to publication success because of achieving it. David Putnam is one such writer. Our first Special Guest Speaker to be announced for SD12, hi[Click For The Rest...]