Author: Mark Davis

Seminar: Character Development

Posted on by Mark Davis

September Writers Class: Character Development

Efrem Carasco

Saturday, September 24, 2022

2:00 pm – 4:00pm

“Anyone can create a character, but the development of a strong, three-dimensional character . . . that’s an act of a true writer.”

Who Should Take This Class?

  • Writers of Fiction and/or Memoirs.
  • Those who wish to improve their Story Writing Skills.

You Will Learn:

  • Types of Characters
  • The Purpose of Character Types
  • How to Create Characters
  • How to Use Characters, When to Use Them, Where to Use Them, and most importantly, Why.
  • The Use of Tools for Creating Better, Interesting Characters.

REQUIREMENTS

Bring Paper and Pen—for your notes.

LOCATION

Good Sam, Building E 3045 Buena Vida Circle
The building in front of Bus and Handicap Parking, next to the building where we hold the LCW meetings—first room to the right.

How to Attend

Members should email Efrem directly to get on the list. Non-members can join and get instant access!…

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Fenton Kay at COAS Books

Posted on by Mark Davis

LCW’s own Fenton Kay will be signing books at COAS on October 1st from 10AM to noon. You can find his latest book from the Carol Montgomery series on Amazon. Here’s the lowdown:

Carol Montgomery, Ph.D. structural engineer and witch, has a contract to evaluate three 100-year or more old adobes. One of them has a dormer loft. The house contains a haunt, say the neighbors who claim to hear piano music and see a strange flickering light in the loft at night. The old woman that built the house is said to be the haunt, and she loved to play the piano at night for her roomers and family, according to local folk stories. Carol, Ami, and Carol’s telepathic cat familiar, Rogue, visit the place at night and hear the music but see no lights. Carol decides to place trail cameras in the building to find out what is happening. Carol’s cameras reveal an old man’s presence and a piano player. The videos from the cameras show the old man chanting and burning sage upstairs by the light of a flickering oil lamp and a hooded person playing the piano. The old man enters and exits through a tiny trench. Rogue decides to spend a night in the house to discover what is happening and takes Timmy, Ami’s cat, with her. The cats meet the old man, get charmed by the piano music and the sage smoke, and learn what is going on, but not without Timmy getting

…
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Bob Worthington Wins National Book Award

Posted on by Mark Davis

Las Cruces Writers is thrilled to announce that our very own Bob Worthington has won another book award for his new book, Fighting Viet Cong in the Rung Sat. Below is the official press release. Congrats to Bob!

LAS CRUCES VETERAN & AUTHOR WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR
SECOND VIETNAM BOOK

LAS CRUCES, NM — Las Cruces resident, writer, and Army veteran Dr. Bob Worthington’s book “Fighting Viet Cong in the Rung Sat” has been awarded a silver medal from the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). The second book of Dr. Worthington’s Vietnam military trilogy, the award was announced on August 27, 2022.

MWSA President Bob Doerr said that Dr. Worthington’s book earned the silver medal in the memoir/biography category after scoring “high enough in our rigorous evaluation process to win a medal recognizing (his) achievement.” Dr. Worthington’s “Fighting Viet Cong in the Rung Sat” was recognized for the writing, editing, and its publication. “(He) should be very proud of (his) accomplishment,” Doerr said. “We certainly are.”

Dr. Worthington describes his second tour in Vietnam as some of the fiercest fighting of the war and tells of his experiences training South Vietnamese commandos to conduct raids in the swamps south of Saigon.

“Fighting Viet Cong in the Rung Sat” is the follow up to Worthington’s previous book, “Under Fire with the ARVN Infantry,” which was awarded a national award for Excellence in Literature by the Military Writers Society of America. The author’s final book in the trilogy, “The Making …

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August Seminar – Life Legacy Memoir Workshop

Posted on by Mark Davis

Please join LCW’s Karen Ray for the next LCW writer’s seminar. Here’s the scoop:

Have you ever thought about sharing your story? Do family and friends tell you, “You should write a book!”? I believe each person’s unique history deserves to be remembered and shared with others. My goal as a personal historian, memoir coach, writer, and editor is to help preserve those life stories.  When faced with a whole lifetime of memories the task can seem daunting. However, capturing one’s life stories can be an enjoyable, easily accessible project when broken down into easy steps and given some inspiration for how to start.

Come join us in an interactive workshop on writing your story. My goal is to empower you with the tools to begin writing or recording your own unique memories and experiences. This can be an immensely rewarding writing project. Ask yourself, if not now, when?

Date: August 27
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Place: Good Sam’s, Building E (first floor West lounge), 3045 Buena Vida Circle.

I’ll  share some simple tools and ideas for recording your memories and drawing out your story. This will be an interactive one hour seminar, followed by a half hour question and answer session, during which I’ll provide handouts with take away information. Even if you’re an experienced writer you might learn something new, and gain a different perspective, while having a bit of fun on a Saturday afternoon.…

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LCW Meeting, August 11th, 2022

Posted on by Mark Davis

Where and When

Las Cruces Writers meeting agenda for August 11th, 2022

Good Samaritan Village Creative Arts Room, 3011 Buena Vida Circle, 1:30-3:30 PM

New Business

Review draft book signing policy and vote on it.

Review book signing event selection criteria and vote on it.

Critique session

Members will read and critique George Pintar’s ”Chile Charlie and the Duck Racing Experience” in a semi-structured fashion using forms that are available here. …

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Overview of Branding Workshop

Posted on by Mark Davis

Six hearty souls ventured out in the heat to participate in the branding workshop presented by George Pintar

The participants requested answers to three questions

  • What is the definition of branding?
  • How do you brand your book?
  • What are the benefits of branding?

Using the Socratic teaching methodology, mind mapping, and attendee participation the three questions were answered. Below is the summarization that culminated in the two-hour informative and fun-filled event.

…
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Chile Charlie Speaks Again

Posted on by Mark Davis

Check out President Emeritus George Pintar’s new audiobook of his recent novelette, Navajo Tainted Beliefs. You can get it at Audible and Amazon. Here’s a synopsis:

Navajo Tainted Beliefs is a fictional novelette exploring the similarities and differences between the Bible and the Navajo stories regarding the creation of the earth and humankind.

Chile Charlie and Dolly Sweet Thompson interview two Navajo shamans to obtain the facts and oral stories regarding these concepts. The setting is at the headquarters of the Navajo Nation—Tohatchi. These side-by-side comparisons are well-documented and have excellent narration that is easy to understand. You will laugh, cry, and wonder why as you listen and digest these similarities.…

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LCW Meeting, July 14th 2022

Posted on by Mark Davis

Las Cruces Writers membership meeting agenda
Thursday 14 July 2022 at Good Sam 1:30 to 3:30

Membership elections today!!!!!!!!!

Call to order by acting chair Bob Worthington
Treasurer report by Bob Worthington Appx $300 cash in the bank.
Education report by Bob Worthington
Membership/social media/next writing seminar report by Mark Davis

Elections: Bob Worthington
Nomination committee slate:

Pres. David Osterhout
VP no candidate
Sec. Rosemary Matos
Treas. Rosemary Matos
Bd member Mark Davis
Bd member Bob Worthington

Old business

New LCW brochure Mark Davis
Membership survey results Mark Davis
Membership directory Mark Davis
Book signing at Mall

New Business???

Breakout session

Mark Davis critique of writer’s work

A member will read a short (3 to 5 minutes max) segment of his/her writing and then the members will comment on how they perceive the writing. Mark will be the session leader and explain how this will work. We invite members to bring 2 to 3 pages of their work to read and have critiqued.

Several members have asked for this to be done. For this to work we need some members to bring to this session some of their written work.

Meeting adjourned…

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