Scribbles 

California Writers Club — Central Coast Writers Branch centralcoastwriters.org

March 2020

 

Tuesday, March 17 Anne Janzer The Inner Game of Writing Most of us want to do more writing, but struggle to make the time, come up with fresh ideas, or finish the work we start. We may even be sidelined by the Imposter Syndrome—the nagging thought that sounds like this: "I am not really a writer."

Writing is definitely an inner game. Your brain is the most important writing tool. Anne will share strategies for thinking about and managing your writing process to increase output without sacrificing creativity, including ways to accelerate the writing process with creative incubation, writing the first draft more fluidly, and structuring the revision process.

Anne Janzer is an author, business writing coach, and nonfiction author coach. After working as a professional writer and marketing consultant for more than 100 businesses in the tech industry, she now spends her time helping people communicate more effectively through writing.

She has authored four books, including the award-winning The Writer's Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear and Writing to be Understood: What Works and Why. In her writing and coaching, she combines her love of writing with a deep interest in cognitive science.

Tuesday, April 21 Yu Shun Lai Demystifying Platform “Platform” dogs writers all our lives. Agents, editors, and book publishers all say a writer needs one in order to be able to succeed. But what does it mean, and more importantly, what does it look like for each individual writer? Yi Shun Lai will demystify one of the biggest book marketing mysteries out there—and you'll come away with the tools to build your own platform and begin thinking about what that means to you. Yi Shun Lai is the fiction editor and a co-owner of the Tahoma Literary Review, a thrice-annual literary magazine. Her debut novel, Not a Self-Help Book: The Misadventures of Marty Wu, was a semi-finalist for the 2017 Thurber Prize in American Humor. Her memoir on women and the outdoors, Pin Ups, will be published by Homebound Publications in September 2020. She teaches in the MFA programs at Bay Path University and Southern New Hampshire University.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Announcements 4-6

CCW President’s Letter 2

Contests and Conferences 9

If the Shoe Fits 10

Member Profile 7

Speaker Report 3

The Last Word 11

The Poetry Corner 8

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CCW President’s Letter By Laurie Sheehan

 

A Sense of Wonder

 

“Guess what? I’m waiting for my bus.” Do those words, written without emphasis, mean anything to you? If so, it’s likely that they mean that the car is in the shop, and it’s unlikely that they spark any sort of excitement about the experience of riding the bus. But, what if you think of those words spoken in the voice of an excited 5-year old boy named Cole. It’s Cole’s first day of Kindergarten, and he’s about to take his first step onto the school bus and into the land of the Big Kids. Cole could not be more enthusiastic about his impending trip on the bus. I heard this cute little story on NPR on the way to work a few weeks ago, and it’s been with me ever since. A little niggling notion in the back of my brain that I’m missing something, and I’ve been trying to figure out why this charming, yet silly, story keeps coming back to me. I’ve finally come up with this—it’s not about the story at all, it’s about the fact that I no longer look at situations the way Cole could so clearly see his first bus ride. His sense of wonder and amusement at the thought of doing something new was evident in his voice. I realize that as we grow older, and hopefully wiser, there are fewer things in life that are new; experiences are less impressive. But, I also realize that I’m not necessarily missing the experiences themselves. Cole reminded me of what it felt like to be elated and stunned and to unabashedly respond to an overwhelming sense of amazement and delight. Instead, in a similar circumstance, I find myself reluctant to exhibit any grand outward show of emotion that might make me seem simple or uncultured. In the face of the remarkable, I act cool and play down my reaction. Maybe this is one of the reasons I write fiction? I’m able to create worlds where my characters are free to unabashedly show enthusiasm, because that’s the emotion that the situation calls for. Maybe my fictitious characters and a kindergartner can teach me something about enjoying life? I think I could use a little more unbridled mirth, wonder, and awe. And, if someone thinks me a Pollyanna, I’ll just stick out my tongue out at them. I think Cole would approve.

Until we meet again, 

Happy Writing!   

Laurie 

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Speaker Report

Nancy Middleton

 Writing as a Numbers Game 

Bestselling thriller writer and former cop David Putnam writes “by the numbers.” For example, a story contains four “Cs”: conflict, complication, crisis, and collusion. A scene has five components and voice has three. If something isn’t working in his story structure, Putnam goes back and checks these numbers. This approach helps him achieve what he sees as the primary goal of writing: to relate to the reader and give them emotion.

“People are reading for emotion and crisis is emotion,” he said. When starting a new story, Putnam starts with a theme and creates three possible plot lines. He then writes three scenes based on each plot line and defaults to the plot with the most conflict and emotion. It’s important to have complications happen quickly, Putnam said, almost as soon as you establish the conflict. In fact, he sold his first book after he “shortened” the story’s conflict.

According to Putnam, a scene has five goals: 1) advance the story, 2) display character, 3) foreshadow an event, 4) set up a transition for the next scene, and 5) drop “anchors,” or elements to carry the tension forward. He also identified four ways to start a scene—description, exposition, dialogue, and action—and cited the last two as best for capturing readers’ attention.

Character is paramount, according to Putnam. “A story is not a story; a character is a story,” he said. “Story is a maze and as soon as you introduce a mouse to that maze it gets interesting.” It’s important to balance your characters by giving your hero flaws and humanizing your antagonist, he added. Without flaws, they’re caricatures. Putnam also believes it’s best not to confuse readers with a lot of characters. Before creating a new one, he said, see if an existing character can do double duty.

Putnam writes every day from 4:00-7:00 a.m. and believes it’s important to establish a writing routine. When he sits down to write, he doesn’t pick up right where he left off as many writers do. Instead, he goes back 20 pages to recapture the cadence and rhythm he’s established and works from there.

When asked about how best to market your work, Putnam said it’s important to network. For example, in 2019 he attended 60 publishing-related events and did 26 book signings. Research editors and agents and who they represent, he said, then stake them out at conferences. Putnam admitted that he doesn’t enjoy marketing and has developed a “numbers game” for this aspect of writing as well: 1) know that you can’t do everything, 2) choose what aspects of marketing you do well and focus on those, and 3) remember to have fun.

Mary and Speaker David Putnam New Member Dale Presson Hospitality Sarah Pruitt and

Susann Thon A fond farewell to Brian Paone and his family, who are moving

to the east coast.

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Announcements 

Welcome to our new CCW members: Dale Presson, Bryon Schreckengost

Member Congratulations

CCW member and author Alka Joshi ’s book, The Henna Artist , which Harper Collins/Mira Books will release on March 3 in the U.S. and Canada, is already gathering accolades. The Monterey Herald published this announcement and review: montereyherald.com/2020/02/17/pacific-grove-writer-draws-accolades-for-debut-novel. Publisher’s Weekly has this to say about her book: “Joshi’s eloquent debut follows a sought-after henna practitioner in post independence Jaipur, India. Lakshmi Shastri survives a harsh childhood in rural Ajar by running away from an abusive, arranged teenage marriage. Determined to make something of herself, Lakshmi parlays her talent for original henna designs and herbal remedies into a successful business, offering henna to high-caste women and discreetly selling contraceptive tea to men with mistresses… Joshi masterfully balances a yearning for self-discovery with the need for familial love.”

Alka invites us all to her book launch of The Henna Artist . The FREE Event is on Tuesday, March 24, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. Online RSVP: eventbrite.com/e/the-henna-artist-book-launch-tickets-90425760885

We Ain’t Okies is a work of historical fiction by new CCW member Dale Presson. This coming of age novel is based on the last westward migration in America during the 1930’s. A history buff, Presson thoroughly researched the backstory for his first novel. The author says during this time in U.S. history, there was a “mass of humankind on Highway 66, all involved in the last great westward migration in America.” No matter where these migrants originated, all were commonly referred to as “Okies” and the term was a pejorative. Presson’s story draws many parallels to what is happening with migration in America today. Presson was raised in an Okie community in central California.

The 2020 Literary Review submissions are now EXTENDED to March 31, 2020 The submission deadline for the Literary Review is extended to March 31, 2020. We must receive any and all submissions no later than that date, and any payments in the form of a check must be postmarked no later than that date. Submission is open only to members of the California Writer Club. All details: https://calwriters.org/publications/

From Laurie Sheehan, CCW President If you’ve been part of our club for a while you know we usually participate in the annual April festivities of Good Old Days in Pacific Grove. This year it’s on the first weekend of April, the 4th and 5th.

The event itself boasts a parade and a 2-day street fair. Our members can walk in the parade that kicks off the event on Saturday morning (costumes encouraged and fun signs provided). And, CCW pays the fees so that our club has a booth in the street fair. Members volunteer for 2-hour shifts to man the booth and promote the club. Also, members that man the booth are invited to display (and sell) their own books.

There is just one catch—we need volunteers to help make this happen. If you would like to help sign up participants for the parade and/or take charge of the volunteer schedule for the booth, please contact me at president.ccw@gmail.com.

This is an easy job and a great way to help out the club!

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Announcements (con’t.)

San Francisco Writers Conference Summit Two CCW members, Barbara Dill-Varga and Maria Skyttä, were selected to receive a one-day pass to attend the San Francisco Writers Conference Summit by Norcal, the group of writers clubs in Northern California. They wrote these notes of thanks.

I want to thank Central Coast Writers and CWC for making it possible for me to attend the Saturday session of the 2020 San Francisco Writers Conference —Writing for Hollywood Summit. During this day, I attended five different workshops led by experienced industry panelists who talked about how to turn books into movies, TV, and streaming success. They provided us with insights about the business side of screenwriting, as well as shared their tips on how to break into Hollywood. I particularly enjoyed listening to Jonathan Maberry, Christine Conradt, EJ DeBrun, Paul Zeidman, Phil Cohen, Sarah Granger, and Rocky Lang. While I am currently working on revising a draft of a crime thriller novel, I now have some insight on what it would take to reimagine it for a more visual audience, whether it be TV or some episodes that might be streamed. I am inspired to keep writing! Thanks again, CCW, for this amazing opportunity! — Barbara Dill-Varga

As a recipient of one of the free day passes to the San Francisco Writers Conference Poetry Summit, generously donated by the conference to a few California writers, I’d like to thank the conference for its support of local writers.

And when they say day pass, they mean day pass. The Poetry Summit ran from8 am to 11 pm, with expert panels from the craft of writing—including a five-minute poem-writing exercise on a paper plate—to publishing and marketing of poetry, followed by a networking gala, with specially crafted cocktails (such as the Writer’s Block Remedy) and hors d’œuvres, poetry reading, and finally an open mic. Thanks to the encouraging and supporting environment, I decided to step up to the mic, and for the first time ever, read one of my own poems to an audience—an equally frightening and rewarding experience. It was a long, but surprisingly not an exhausting, day which left me with new lessons learned, new experiences, and a wealth of new material.

When I finally drove back towards Monterey Peninsula that night, new stories were already taking shape in my mind, waiting to be set down on pen and paper (or in my case, iPad). —Maria Skyttä [Image collage by Maria]

WE WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF HISTORY Participate in 250th Anniversary of Monterey

Monterey 250 Mosaic Community Celebration - June 3, 2020 Submitted by Harriet Lynn, Director/Playwright of Monterey 250 Celebration

This year is Monterey’s 250th anniversary and we have a lot to celebrate—literally! Central Coast Writers has played an important role in the history of the Monterey Peninsula. Many talented writers began migrating from San Francisco to the area in the early 1900’s.

On the CCW website (centralcoastwriters.org) you can read more about this influx of writers, poets, and journalists who gathered originally at the legendary Coppa Club in San Francisco. But it took the 1906 earthquake for many of these individuals to travel here, including Jack London, George Sterling, and Herman Whitaker. By 1909 the California Writers Club was established.

Here’s how you, as a CCW member, can participate and have fun doing it:

On June 3, 2020 in the San Carlos Park/Beach (near the Coast Guard Building) from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., is the Monterey 250 Mosaic Community Celebration—a free Monterey public celebration. I have invited many organizations in the community to be involved. CCW’s board has shown interest in having a table at the program and encouraging CCW members to also get into the spirit of the occasion by participating in the “parade” within the program itself (from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm).

Being in a parade is not new to CCW members and those who might want to participate as living history individuals can do so also in the Pacific Grove Good Old Days and/or Monterey’s July 4th in helping to share the rich history of writers in this area. Such early Bohemian literary artists can come to life, such as Mary Austin, Nora Mae French, Charles Warren Stoddard, Joacquin Miller, Henry Lafler, and Muckrakers including Perry Newberry, John Turner, and Ethel Duffy Turner. And of course, Robinson Jeffers, John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and others who left their imprint here would be welcome to be portrayed as living history characters and an opportunity to interface with audience members post-program. Contact Harriet Lynn at 443-630-5312 or hlynn@umbc.edu for details. For more about Monterey 250, visit monterey.org/250years. Let’s make literary Monterey legends come alive in 2020!

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Announcements (con’t.)

High School Writing Contest Submitted by Dennis Hamilton

It is March and that means the High School Writing Contest. We wait all through February as junior and senior high school students from all over Monterey County send their entries to our website. On March 2, the seven judges (and Ken Jones, our webmaster) will begin reading and rating the stories. We thank Susann Thon, Jennifer Schmidt, Joyce Kreig, Lana Bryan, Ken Holden, Pat Gardener, and chair Dennis Hamilton for their dedication and judgement in serving CCW in this way. Entries are read twice (by different judges) for the first round. They are rated from 1 to 6 the first round and the best go on to the second round on March 14. We meet on March 21 to select the final winners and runners up. We then invite the winners to our April meeting where we honor them with cash awards and hear the winning story read. It is an exciting time for young writers, a wonderful experience for our judges, and a great program sponsored by Central Coast Writers. Your raffle money funds this program. So, thank you! At the right is the writing prompt that the students are writing from.

Photographer/artist unknown

** ** **

Marina Romani, a wonderful poet and quiet friend of many. left us in February. We will miss her. Taken from her profile on CCW website:

Marina Romani enjoyed walking along coastal trails or in the hillside forest of Monterey, where she lived. Walking solitary, as she often did, her mind easily meandered toward new poems, some of which she eventually wrote down. In the last ten years, her poems have been published in growing numbers in print and on-line literary magazines, among them the CWC Literary Review, Homestead Review, Porter Gulch Review, Monterey Poetry Review, Tor House Newsletter, and the Canadian Poetry Pacific . Marina's first book, Child Interwoven: Memories in Poem and Prose of a Russian Girlhood in 1940s Shanghai, was published by Park Place Publications in 2016. A second book, a collection of poems titled Chiaroscuro Eye, was published by FreeReadPress in 2018.

Of her former occupations, Marina felt that raising her two children was the most significant and fulfilling. She was also a teacher—of English, Russian, and translation—abroad (in Thailand) and in the U.S., including at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and at the University of Southern California. The last twenty years of her working life were spent as an editor and graphic designer, eventually as managing editor of publications at a multi-disciplinary research center at UCLA. After retiring, Marina volunteered in various capacities at Monterey Library's California History Room and at Robinson Jeffers's Tor House in Carmel, where she served as a tour docent. A night owl by nature, Marina did most of her writing late in the night, when the surrounding world was still and the silence listened.

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Member Profile By Michelle Smith

“What the World Needs Now” T.C. Zmak 

T.C. Zmak practically came out of her mother’s womb with her first draft in hand. “My mom tells me that I didn’t have a first word,” she recalls. “I had a first sentence.” By elementary school, T.C. was writing short stories and poems “for fun.” In high school, she wrote for the school newspaper and yearbook.

T.C. attended UC San Diego and graduated with a B.A. in communication with a minor in psychology. She’s worked in public relations since her senior year of college and, later, for a non-profit organization. A few years after her non-profit stint, she started her own business, Zmak Creative, an award-winning agency that provides writing, graphic design, and photography services.

Though her business demands much of her time, T.C., a CCW member since 2014, carves out periods of “retreat” time for writing. Those havens have varied from solo getaways to a relaxing excursion to Hawaii to a visit with her in-laws in Indiana where she locked herself in a quiet room and wrote for six hours each day, emerging in the evening to dine with her hosts.

“If I can’t go away for a week, I’ll try to get away for a few hours with my computer to a favorite pub that has a good West Coast red ale or coffee stout on tap.”

T.C.'s commitment to writing led to the publication of two fantasy novels, Dark Surf (released in 2014) and its sequel, Rising (2016). Dark Surf was optioned for a movie which, unfortunately, fell through. “But it was a great learning experience,” she says. “Lesson #1: Write your own screenplay.”

T.C. is currently drafting her next book, a humorous workplace thriller. Whatever the genre, the project must be worthy of devoting a year or more of her time. “If I’m going to spend what little free time I have writing, it must be fun!” In the meantime, she’d be thrilled to sell millions of novels and see her books adapted into movies or TV series.

Of the friendships T.C. has developed in CCW, she says, “It’s wonderful to have people you can talk with about your craft who truly understand the joys and pains of being a writer. It’s important that writers encourage and support each other. Buy each other’s books. Review them on sites like Amazon and goodreads. Attend readings and release parties.” Don’t forget to “celebrate your productivity!”

Most of all, “Don’t be afraid to put your work out there. Your writing might be just what the world needs. You’ll never know unless you try.” T.C.’s website is DarkSurf.com.

Michelle Smith’s articles have been published in a variety of magazines. Her website is theebonyquill.com .

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The Poetry Corner

By Nancy Jacobs

Coleman Barks The Interpreter 

Born April 23, 1937 (age 82) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Coleman Barks attended the University of North Carolina and the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a PhD. at UNC later. Barks is an interesting poet because he translated into English Jalaluddin Rumi's poems, which were written in Persian. Rumi was a 13th century Persian and mystic, whose influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions. (When Rumi died, both Jewish rabbis and Christian priests attended his funeral, in addition to Muslims.) Barks’ connection to Rumi is through dreams. Once Barks was sleeping beside a riverbank in Georgia and Rumi came to him. Barks woke up inside the dream. Rumi told Barks he loved him and Barks replied with I love you, too. A year later in a dream Rumi asked him to translate Rumi's work. Barks was employed as a professor at the University of Georgia at the time and spoke no Persian. Barks says that in nine years of visiting with Rumi in dreams, he got to know Rumi and that Rumi was all about love, laughter, and being playful. Poet Robert Bly first introduced Barks to Rumi. Persian scholar John Moyne helped Barks to translate the works. Among Barks's translations are Illuminate Room (1997) and The Essential Rumi (1995). Bill Moyers’ PBS series examined Barks’ translation work in an episode called “The Language of Life.” Barks collaboratively produced his Rumi translations with music and dance ensembles including the Paul Winter Consort and Zuleikha. Barks’ awards include the New England Review’s prize for narrative poetry, the Juliet Hollister Award for supporting interfaith understanding, and a Guy Owen prize from the Southern Literary Review . He received an Honorary Doctorate from Tehran University in 2006, and in 2009, was inducted into the Georgia Writers’ Hall of Fame.

 

Barks' own work is known for being lyrical, meditative, and steeped in the flavor of his native southeast. Barks was heavily influenced by Wordsworth, Whitman, and Rilke. Several of his works are in Winter Sky: New and Selected Poems (2008). Barks says: “It's like being in an apprenticeship to a maestro with the Rumi work. I try to get out of the way and disappear, and with my own work, I try to get in the way. I let my shame and ecstasy and disappointment come in all my emotional states, whereas with Rumi they’re more spirited states." He also says that the translation becomes distorted but that the essence of Rumi still comes through. Rumi was very playful. Rumi poetry is based on friendship in tandem with psalms. People that you have loved become one. Barks describes Rumi's works as being spiritual and his own work as being emotional.  A Smile and a Gentleness by Coleman Barks There is a smile and a gentleness inside. When I learned the name and address of that, I went to where you sell perfume. I begged you not to trouble me so with longing. Come out and play! Flirt more naturally. Teach me how to kiss. On the ground a spread blanket, flame that's caught and burning well, cumin seeds browning, I am inside all of this with my soul.

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Contests and Conferences By Patricia Watson

CONTESTS The 2020 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Contest Deadline: March 20, 2020 late deadline; last minute deadline: April 20, 2020. Entry Fee: $65.00 submission for March, $75.00 submission for April per genre entry. Short film genre, less than 30 pages will automatically be discounted $5.00, multiple entries on the same entry form will automatically be discounted $10.00 per entry. $95.00 for Judge's feedback must be requested and purchased on the day of entry. Website: pageawards.com/the-contest/how-to-enter Prizes: Grand Prize: $25,000.00 Guidelines: See website for complete guidelines. All entries online only. Any theme or genre. Be careful of correct formatting. (If you don't know how to format a screenplay, get a program like Final Draft that formats to industry standard.) All entries must be in final form, no updates allowed. PAGE screenplay competition is one of the most respected competitions in the film industry. The Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest Deadline: 11:59 EST April 1, 2020, crime novel, minimum 30,000 word count. Entry Fee: Free Website: loveseymysterycontest.com Prizes: Grand Prize: Winning manuscript will receive a Soho Press standard author’s contract, $10,000 advance, publication, and acknowledgement at Bucheron 2020 in Sacramento, CA. Guidelines: The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any published novel (in any genre), as defined by the guidelines. Authors of self-published works may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication. See guidelines for rules.

WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES The Leopardi Writing Conference Location: Recanati, in the Le Marche Region of Italy Date: July 19-25, 2020, See website for full details. Non-scholarship applications until late spring. Contact: (650) 877-2576 for information or Website: leopardiwc.org, or the Leopardi Writing Conference: Writing Workshop In Italy Facebook page. About the Group: Immersive writing conference in Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction. Application to conference is free. Deadline for full tuition and board scholarships is March 31, 2020. Costs: $975.00 excluding travel and lodging. Host Hotel: The Gallery Hotel, Recanati, Italy Writers Marketing Conference Location: Megaplex Theaters at Jordan Commons, Sandy, Utah Date: Saturday, March 21, 2020, 1-day event, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., see website for details. Website: writersmarketingconference.com Costs for Attendance in Utah: Early bird through March 13, 2020, $395.00. After March 13, $450.00. Livestream Info: This event will be available live streamed for $149.00. On demand, one-year post conference access $99.00, and individual module recordings available for $39.00. See the live streaming page for ordering information. About the Event: PR executive Maria Murnane will present a full-day hands-on, personal instruction in fiction and non-fiction book marketing. At the conference, you will develop a personal marketing plan.

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If the Shoes Fits… By Jonathan Shoemaker

 

“Beware the Ides of March”    

So, did you make a new year resolution on January first and already failed to fulfill it? Not a problem! You have another chance.

When Caesar was warned by the soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March," it was her warning for him to settle his debts by the beginning of the new year. The Ides (15th) of March in 44 BC was the first full moon of the year, honored by the Romans as a deadline for settling debts. Caesar really should have settled his affairs with his contemporaries before that day. Yes, their year really started with March.

On the Lunar Calendar, following the example of nature, March is the first month, and spring begins with the March Full Moon rather than in the dead of winter.

(Did you ever wonder why the last four months of the year are named 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th?)

This year, our first full moon of spring comes on the Nona (9th) of March, the first month of the Lunar Year (according to Caesar). So it’s another chance for us to settle our personal obligations and commitments to ourselves.

Of course, if we have lived true to our new year resolutions, the 9th of March will be an opportunity to celebrate; whether it was making the final payment, quitting that habit, or showing respectful consideration to our friends and co-workers, which Caesar should have done. On the other hand, if we fell short, we have another chance to fulfill those commitments to ourselves on March 9th and feel the rush of joy in our renewed pursuit.

Whether “carpe diem” means “smell the flowers” or “get to work” is our choice, determined by our priorities and preferences; what’s more important or maybe what’s pressing. But, while tending to our affairs, a related, or random, idea pops up. It might be something we neglected, or possibly a fun urge. Hah! It suddenly takes priority.

This is a good time to decide either to do it as soon as possible, when we get a chance, or drop everything and do it right now. Of course, if we seize the fun opportunity, we should probably write a reminder to ourselves to get back to what was interrupted.

The next thing to do is ask—what do I want to do, what should I do, and what do I have to do? Decide! Then do it! Carpe diem! Pay the bills. Take a hike in the hills. Whatever!

Then get back to the other stuff. Let’s not be diligently overburdened with neglected responsibility. Nor do we want to be frustrated by neglecting to enjoy life. But remember to settle your obligations before the new year—or the Ides of March—or the deadline. If the column needs to be submitted or the novel needs closure, we get it done! Then it’s party time!

Be well,  

and seize the day! 

Jonathan 

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The Last Word Lana Bryan 

Pronouncing Kjelgaard 

CCW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President Laurie Sheehan Vice President Sharon Law Tucker Secretary Joyce Krieg Treasurer Clarissa Conn Programs Chair Nancy Middleton CCW Workshops Sharon Law Tucker Membership Maria Skyttä Publicity Jason Warburg Hospitality Sarah Pruitt Newsletter Lana Bryan Webmaster Ken Jones Assistant Webmaster Kemberlee Shortland Writing Contests Dennis Hamilton Central Board Representative Laura Curry

Scribbles is the official monthly publication for members of Central Coast Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club, a registered non-profit corporation. All material is copyrighted ©2019-2020 by California Writers Club and may not be reproduced without permission. Opinions expressed under individual bylines do not necessarily represent an official position of, or endorsement by, Central Coast Writers or California Writers Club. Scribbles is published by: Central Coast Writers, Post Office Box 997, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 Editorial Staff Lana Bryan Editor Nancy Middleton Speaker Report Nancy Jacobs Poetry Corner Michelle Smith Member Profiles C. Jonathan Shoemaker If the Shoe Fits Patricia Watson Contests and Workshops Leslie Patiño Proofreader

CCW Website centralcoastwriters.org

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For anything Scribbles related: Contact Scribbles editor Lana Bryan

lana.bryan@writeteam.com

Not yet a member of CCW? You can join at a monthly meeting or online at:

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I loved libraries from a young age, a trait I probably share with many of you. I worked in libraries while in junior and senior high, doing the glorious job of shelving books. What better way to find what you want to read next? During those early days, I returned the books of Jim Kjelgaard to their rightful places many times. I saw him as a “boys’ novelist.” That was my loss, as I never read any of his books. Actually, what led me to write about him at all is his last name, which I could not pronounce. I was an adult before I knew it was pronounced “Shell-guard.” My husband, CCW member Bob Whitsitt, grew up in Rockford, IL, which sports a large Swedish population. He knew how to pronounce the Kj combination, because he had a friend named “Kjellstrom.” The name is most certainly Scandinavian. I found interesting sources that discuss the man Jim Kjelgaard and the writer as well. His daughter wrote a memoir about him online (source below). Author Brian Doyle found him an inspiration because of his use of wildlife in his books.

According to Doyle:

“His books were very nearly all about hunting, dogs, or animals, very often a combination of the three, as in the Big Red trilogy, and a slew of his books starred a single wild animal: a beaver, a fox, a bobcat, a deer, a moose, a polar bear, a coyote. “Kjelgaard was a writer whose books nearly always featured ‘an engaging animal, a colorful person, and a distinctive habitat,’ as Karen Hoyle noted in Twentieth-Century Children’s Writers . And it would be a sniffy critic who cannot admire the facts that Kjelgaard knew the woods and its denizens intimately, wrote about them without sentimentality and portentous symbolism, and had the rare ability to rivet adolescents with his prose. Those virtues, especially that elusive last one which can spark an entire lifetime’s itch to read, are nothing to sneer at.” That pleased me, as one of my favorite books is Doyle’s Martin Marten . I plan to read Kjelgaard’s Big Red now. It’s never too late for a good book.

Sources: home.sprintmail.com/~charterbus/memoir.html home.sprintmail.com/~charterbus/BrianDoyle.html (Look out! The background is red, making this one difficult to read.) Spirited Men: Story, Soul and Substance by Brian Doyle

Until next time, Lana

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California Writers Club Central Coast Writers Branch Post Office Box 997 Pacific Grove, CA 93950  

Tuesday, March 17

5:30 p.m. - DINNER 6:30 p.m. - MEETING

Point Pinos Grill 79 Asilomar Boulevard, Pacific Grove

Scribbles March 2020 12