Did you know that sparrow sang softer this year? Check out my article on the results of Contra Costa County’s Christmas Bird Count p. 3 Also, Izzy needs a home, check out her sad doggie story on page 16. #birds #ChristmasBirdCount
http://www.diablogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Diablo-Gazette-Jan2021D.pdf
Blog
Upcoming Event-2/13/21 Mount Diablo CWC
Jill: The End: Finding the Best Way to Wrap It All Up
Penny Warner: Writing Dialogue
10 am 2/13/20 $5 CWC members; $10 nonmembers
https://cwcmtdiablo.org/current-cwc-mt-diablo-meeting/:
Whether it’s a chapter ending or the conclusion of a novel or memoir, endings matter. Not every chapter needs to end with a cliffhanger, but there should be a sense of drawing the chapter’s purpose to a close. Every book should leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction. It doesn’t have to be a happy ending, but it does need to tidy up all the loose story ends. There’s nothing worse than leaving your reader with this thought: “Did their printer run out of ink?”
During this Writer’s Table, I will cover:
How beginnings and endings are linked
Examples of successful ways to end books
How genre can affect endings
Differences between chapter versus book endings
When to think about your ending
Writing Exercise
The Maligned Breeds: Bark Magazine
So excited to announce my article on maligned breeds with co-author Christopher Loche in Bark Magazine is out!
https://thebark.com/content/dobermans-and-pit-bulls-star-young-adult-books
December Diablo Gazette
Check out my stories in December’s Diablo Gazette:
Please see my story from my birthday weekend on our Tamber Bey Winery visit (page 8), my review of San Francisco Chronicles’ Kevin Fisher-Paulson’s How We Keep Spinning (page 10), and my Ruby_dooby_do column on senior pups, Coco and Fern as well as ideas of bonding activities to do over this Covid holiday season (page 16). And don’t forget to check out David George’s The Naked Gardner column on healthful produce (page 9).
http://www.diablogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Diablo-Gazette-Dec2020D-2.pdf
October Diablo Gazette – Carmel Destination Piece, Unsheltered Book Review and Sweet Bernard
Check out my travel piece on Carmel (page 6), a review of Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver and a poodle mixes’ brush with death and need for a home on page 16.
http://www.diablogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Diablo-Gazete-October-2020-D.pdf
September Diablo Gazette: Calaveras Big Trees, From Shadow’s Perspective Book Review and Ruby_dooby_Do
What a great edition of The Diablo Gazette – see page 6 for an article on visiting Calaveras Big Trees and the surrounding area, page 11 for a fabulous book review by Fran Cain on my brand new novel From Shadow’s Perspective.
Also on page 16 read the tragic story of a little mini aussie mix named Aria in need of a new home.
9/12/20 Speaker: Writing for a Cause – Zoom Writers Table – Mount Diablo California Writers Club
I will be speaking with the amazing Lucinda Jackson on 9/12 at the September Mount Diablo California Writers Club Zoom Meeting on the subject of Writing for a Cause. Join us and the featured speaker,
TEN REASONS TO CREATE A MUSE BOARD (AKA MOOD BOARD)
A muse (or mood) board is a visual aid designed to create mood, inform plot or inspire descriptive prose. Typically, the advertising industry, interior designers, wedding organizers, or more recently, web designers have used this technique. In writing, a muse board is less formal and structured than a storyboard, but can loosely serve the same function. I recently presented this concept to a group of writers at the Mount Diablo Branch of the California Writers Club and the concept received a great deal of interest.
If you decide to try this writing aid, the first two decisions you will have to make is what format you want and what media you’d like to use. The format can be collage, sequential images that outline plot, character-specific, or abstract and mood driven. There are many options, adding corkboard next to your computer, tri-fold cardboard (think child’s science project), or digital. One advantage of the trifold is that it can be displayed at author readings and book signings. The digital world offers many types of platforms, including Pinterest, Photoshop, Imagespark (shows other mood boards, but this site is possibly closing), Sampleboard and Evernote. Pinterest has an added bonus that your followers can monitor your progress and it can create buzz and it is free.
While digital media is convenient, content is limited to Internet images and digital photos (can photograph other media), while using traditional media gives more options for material and can include:
• Photos
• Post its
• Magazines
• Maps
• Fabrics/textures
• Scented cloth
• Photographs of your own text
• Your introductory story paragraph
• Internet images
• Inspirational quotes
• Isolated words
• Sound bites (like a movie trailer)
Here are ten of the many possible advantages:
1). Correct weaknesses in your writing style.
2). Identify key themes and help set tone or mood.
3). Focus plots and overcome writer’s block.
4). Craft detailed descriptive text.
5). Prevent time-consuming rewrites.
6). Keep text true to your time period or era and timelines straight.
7). Create a cohesive balance in the arc of the story.
8). Helps ensure consistency of descriptions of characters and setting.
9). Assist in foreshadowing.
10). Prevent meandering and assist in finding your beginning and/or ending.
While you might be concerned that creating a muse board will take away from precious writing time, but the truth is that the planning and energy can actually save time. Creating a muse board can exercise your creative brain and take your work to a whole new level. It can also be a fun visual to take to author signings after publication.
August Diablo Gazette – BookEnds The Sleepwalker, Dog Aromatherapy, Greyhounds and More Doggie Study
Check out my review of Chris Bohjalain’s The Sleepwalker on page 10.
On page 16, you’ll find my dog rescue column on Hondo, a pit bull mix that needs a home, information on dog aromatherapy, greyhound rescue, a study on purebred dog vs mixed bred health and more.
July Diablo Gazette Bigfoot Article, BookEnds, Tips for Traveling with Dogs and More
Check out Chasing Bigfoot on page 8, my BookEnds column on page 10 (Just Imagine There Were No Black People by Tamara Shiloh) and sweet deaf June in Rubydooby_doo to the Rescue on page 16. And don’t miss tips for traveling with your dog also in my Ruby dog rescue column.