Who woulda thunk? The years “post” COVID have been tough. Trepidation regarding in-person events remains high. Wildfires are prevalent. The moon is waning. Sun setting. Cocktail prices spiking. Personal lives, aspirations, even dreams, thwarted for many.
This past weekend, however, for the first time since February of 2020, the conference felt full-on back to its most robustly intimate form. Such a fantastic coup of wordsmiths. So many important stories being told. Thank you all those who are our SCWC community.
Beyond our extraordinary workshop & volunteer staff, special shout out to guest speakers Elle Jauffret, Henry Lien and Kristi Fox. Good job across the board. Next up…
SCWC*San Diego 39 Award Recipients
OUTSTANDING FICTION (Horror)
TBA
By
Chris Garrett
Of Phoenix, AZ
OUTSTANDING FICTION (Historical)
TBA
By
John Mullen
Of Poway, CA
OUTSTANDING FICTION (Commercial)
TBA
By
Daniel Axelrod
Of San Diego, CA
OUTSTANDING NONFICTION
TBA
By
Jennifer Becker
Of San Diego, CA
Each SCWC holds a contest in which all writers are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the one-word topic announced Friday night. The topic for SD39 was “Rain/Reign/Rein.” Here’s the winning entry . . .
OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
Rain of Terror
By
Diana Fulton
Of Irvine, CA
FORECAST: CLOUDY
First workshop begins. Inciting incident? What the hell is that? Do I have one? Beats? As in vegetable or music? Perhaps, I don’t know as much as I thought. Oh Lord, I have a prologue. Only 80k words for debut authors? My baby is a plump 220k. The room cools. I huddle into my sweater.
FORECAST: SHOWERS
The writer to my right has written six novels. To my left, ten novels. The speaker, over 40 novels. One novel is nothing. Speaker recommends networking. Hello? Reigning Queen of Introverts here. I don’t even like to talk to myself. Social media presence? Are you fucking kidding me?
BREAKING NEWS: SEVER WEATHER. TAKE SHELTER
Meeting with agent not what I imagined. No A+, no happy face. Excess exposition. Avoid flashbacks. I dab at my coffee stained shirt and hold back tears. At the cage match, the gong brutally silences my words. The evening speaker performs a theme song he wrote for his book.
A writer has to sing too? I’m in trouble. Should I release the reins of this writing fantasy?
FORECAST: PARTLY SUNNY. RAINBOWS
Too many drinks. Head pounding. Writing virginity gone. Maybe my characters are flat, my settings nonexistent and tell overwhelms the showing. My baby will never be the same. She will be better. I bid farewell to my new friends. I can’t wait for next to do this again.
# # #
Congratulations, Diana! Don’t fret. You’re gonna do just fine.
Everything Old is New Again
For the first decade we held the SCWC on Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend. Now we’re going back to where we once belonged. The 40th annual SCWC*San Diego will take place January 16-18, 2026. Adjust your clocks accordingly.
A conference devoted to the writers in the room and not just those behind a podium (or computer monitor), our winter event is limited to 175 participants. Discounted pre-registration opens June 1. Till then, write well, write more, suck less, and be the writer you aspire to be. Your words are worth it.
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
