Upcoming Events

If you are a member of SJVW, you will automatically receive Zoom information for any event via email.

January 2025

Saturday, January 11, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Submit, submit, submit." Bill VanPatten will present ideas on submitting your work to anthologies, contests, and will also do a walk-through of Submittable. Be prepared to share your ideas and work as well. Via Zoom. For more information about Bill, www.billvanpatten.net.

Saturday, January 25, 12:00-2:00 p.m. Craft chat. “How to Avoid Information Dumps.” Join us to quickly review what an information dump is and then participate in activities to fix them. If you think you have an information dump, bring your sample to share and get suggestions! (Papapavlo's, 501 Lincoln Center, Stockton)Papapavlo's (501 Lincoln Center, Stockton)

February 2025

Saturday, February 8, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Writing Memoir: Short and Long,” presented by Becky Ellis, award-winning author Little Avalanches. https://beckyellis.net Via Zoom.

Saturday, February 22, 12:00-2:00 p.m. Craft Chat. “Lines that Make Your Heart Swell.” What do you think the secret is to writing a line that sings and makes readers’ hearts flutter? Bring a line or lines and tell us why you like the line – the wording, the language, the idea. (Papapavlo's, 501 Lincoln Center, Stockton)

March 2025

Saturday, March 8, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Writing Conferences,” presented by Deborah Grochau. Deborah will offer tips on what to look for when choosing whether to attend a writing conference and strategies on how to get the most out of any conference. https://www.deborahjoangrochau.com. Via Zoom.

Saturday, March 22. No Craft Chat. Instead, members are invited to support the new partnership with Lodi Library for an event from 2-4 p.m. For details, see below.

April 2025

Saturday, April 12, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “It’s Poetry Month!” Cassi Nesmith. Come write and enjoy forms of poetry from all over the world. Learn how to enhance your prose using poetic elements. Cassi is a published writer, poet, and educator. She studied Yeats and poetry in Sligo, Ireland, with a grant through Tuleburg Press. https://writewithcassi.com. Via Zoom.

Saturday, April 26, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Desires --> Motivation --> Story.” Writers create wildly imaginative internal/external motivations for their characters. Some are blatantly obvious, as in “Dodge the bullet” (survival). Others less so. We will focus on the unmet needs from childhood to add depth and complexity to your protagonists—and antagonists. Bring the names and short descriptions/motivations of any characters you would like to share. (Papapavlo's, 501 Lincoln Center, Stockton)

May 2025

This full-day workshop will cover a variety of topics from self-publishing vs.

traditional publishing to how to use KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) on Amazon.

Lodi Public Library (201 W. Locust Street, Lodi). For additional information,

we’ll talk about weak verbs and strong verbs. Weak verbs fail to conjure a clear

image in the mind of the reader, often requiring adverbs to shore them up.

Strong verbs are vivid and create action, meaning, and imagery. Bring an

example of your writing (maximum 300 words) for feedback and discussion.

(Lodi Public Library, 201 W. Locust Street)

June 2025

Saturday, June 14, 12:00-2:00 p.m. "Writing a Realistic Crime Novel." Adam Plantinga, an SFPD sergeant and author, will give you the rundown on everything from bullets to fingerprints to help writers give their crime novels an authentic feel. Bring your criminal questions to the discussion! Lodi Public Library (201 W. Locust Street, Lodi)

Saturday, June 28, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “How Well do You Know Your Characters?” Image interviewing your characters. How would they answer ten basic questions about themselves? Bring a sample of your own writing (max 300 words) that reveal a character’s nature. We may put your character in a situation and ask “What would she/he do? How would he/she react?”(Lodi Library, 201 W. Locust)

July 2025

Saturday, July 12, 12:00-2:00 p.m. Via Zoom. Dena Kouremetis presents “Giving Voice to Your Words: Making audiobooks a part of your writing future.” A professional voice actor and copywriter, Dena offers a peek into the world of audiobooks, from their ancient origins to today. Learn all the ins and outs of making your book audio. www.DenaKouremetis.com

Saturday, July 26, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Notes and Niches for Travel Writing-Have Readers, Will Travel.” Travel plans? Ever thought about writing about your excursions and becoming a travel writer? Join the conversation and get some tips to keep in mind for writing about your travels. (Lodi Library, 201 W. Locust)

August 2025

Saturday, August 9, 12:00-2:00 p.m. Via Zoom. Lisa Montanaro presents "Writing About Family Secrets: Drama, Discovery, and Mystery.” Every family harbors untold stories—discover how to transform these hidden mysteries into compelling narratives, mine family secrets and weave them into narratives that resonate with readers. Perfect for writers of any stage and genre. www.lisamontanarowrites.com

Saturday, Saturday, August 23, 12:00-2:00 p.m. “Painting a Picture.” What does a sunset look like? How about a dejected lover? A creepy boss? In this novel craft chat, participants will be given prompts and asked to "paint a picture" in words (Lodi Library, 201 W. Locust)

September 2025

Saturday, September 13, 12:00-2:00 p.m. Via Zoom. Judith Starkston presents “Less is More: Editing with your best critical eye.” Knowing when to trim and when to layer in more is key to effective self-editing for fiction writers. It’s easy to be wooed by our words so we hear more than we’ve actually said. Conversely, it’s hard to “kill those darlings.” This presentation will offer pragmatic approaches to identifying and repairing problems in four areas: deep point of view; setting; dialogue; and action sequences. Each concept will be demonstrated with models, showing how to pare down or spice up as needed.

Saturday, September 27, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Special three-hour workshop. “Beyond Time and Place: Making Setting Work in Fiction and Memoir.” Watch for eblasts with suggested “assignment.” (Lodi Library, 201 W. Locust)

San Joaquin Valley Writers