Category: Seminars
Seminar: The Last Writers Class
Everything You’ve Wanted to Know about Writing Fiction, But Were Afraid to Ask
Efrem Carrasco
Saturday, October 22, 2022
2:00 pm – 4:00pm
“There are no masters of writing, only students.”
Not sure about a particular aspect of the writing craft—technique, punctuation, paragraphing, story structure, word usage, the writing life, editing, and so on?
This class will provide you the opportunity to ask your questions, coupled with group discussions on various writing topics that may prove to be an edifying experience.
Who Should Take This Class?
- Anyone who wishes to be known as an author with Good Story Writing Skills.
The Class:
- A Short Presentation.
- Open Forum for Writer’s Questions, and Group Discussions.
- Concluding With: The Best Fiction and Memoir Writing Advice You’ll Ever Get, plus, The Secret to Becoming a Good Writer will be revealed (But you can’t tell anyone).
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bring your list of Questions concerning the Craft of Writing.
- Bring Paper and Pen, and Be Prepared to have fun in this class.
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—down the steps, first room to the right.
Join Las Cruces Writers today to participate.
Teaching the Write Way…
Seminar: Character Development
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!…
August Seminar – Life Legacy Memoir Workshop
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.…
Overview of Branding Workshop
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.
Seminar: Branding Your Writing Business
Please join George Pintar, President Emeritus of Las Cruces Writers, for his upcoming seminar on branding your writing business. The seminar is Saturday, July 23rd from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E (first floor West lounge), 3045 Buena Vida Circle.
Topics to be covered:
Takeaways:
- Selecting your brand and voice
- A planning calendar
- Matching brand to content
- Marketing tools
- Questions and information to share
What to Bring:
- A 2022 calendar with room to write
- Note paper and favorite pen or pencil
- An open mind
- Water if you get thirsty
This workshop has been designed for writers who want to go beyond just writing and also write as a business or to sell books. There is a difference.…
Seminar: Self-Publishing
Please join me for my upcoming seminar on self-publishing. The seminar is Saturday, June 25th from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E, 3045 Buena Vida Circle. I will also stream the seminar via Zoom (invitation will go out to members email list a day before).
This class is designed for writers of all skill levels who have an interest self-publishing their books. The goal will be to discuss why a writer self-publishes and the skills that are be needed to do so. Next, I will survey different levels of self-publishing, from assisted services to full do-it-yourself. The primary focus of the seminar, however, will be self-publishing a book from soup to nuts, including obtaining ISBN codes, formatting a manuscript, creating cover art, ordering a sample, and sitting back and enjoying the small pleasure of success.
Topics to be covered:
- Self-publishing versus publishing
- Getting ready to self-publish
- Skills and options
- Software needs
- Self-publishing assistance
- Hiring and coordinating
- Let’s self-publish
- First steps
- Bowker and ISBNs
- Kindle KDP setup
- Tax information
- Softcover, hardcover, and digital only
- Formatting the manuscript
- Covers, art, templates, and finishing touches
- Ordering a sample
- Discussion and Q/A
- Wrap-up
Seminar: Online Marketing and Digital Platforms
I (Mark Davis) will host a seminar on Saturday, May 28th from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E, 3045 Buena Vida Circle. I will also stream the seminar via Zoom (invitation will go out to members email list a day before).
Reaching audiences and selling books online is very 21st century, but don’t expect that if you build it they will come! In this seminar, I will give an overview of online marketing approaches and the idea of a “digital platform” that is designed to assemble an audience using a variety of tools.
This class is designed for writers of all skill levels who have an interest in marketing and promoting their books online. The goal will be to survey the available channels for reaching your audience and do a few deep dives on the technical aspects of those online systems. While some of the details may be technical, the presentation will provide both a primer for those hoping to do-it-yourself and options for those looking for assistance.
This seminar dovetails with George Pintar’s planned July seminar, Branding Your Business.
Topics to be covered:
- The idea of a “digital platform”
- Examples of platforms
- Hybrid models: marketing online and in person
- Goals of platforms
- A zoo of possibilities: Twitter, websites, Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, oh my!
- Models:
- No-cost
- Low-cost
- High-cost
- Measuring stuff: conversions
- Hiring a Service vs. Do-It-Yourself
- Trade-offs: Costs vs. Learning Curve
- Deep dives:
- WordPress website creation
- Registrars and URLs
- Services
- Creation and editing
- The Facebook/Instagram ecosystem
- WordPress website creation
2022 Writers’ Education Seminars
Here is the complete list of 2022 seminars. Seminars are open to all members of LCW and take place on the fourth Saturday of the month. We look forward to seeing you there!
| Date | Presenter | Topic |
| Jan | Bob Worthington | Writing as a business |
| Feb | Susan Bontly | Using computers for research |
| Mar | Bob Worthington | How to craft a story |
| Apr | Efrem Carrasco | Self-editing |
| May | Mark Davis | Online marketing and digital platforms |
| Jun | Mark Davis | How to self-publish |
| Jul | George Pintar | How to market your book |
| Aug | Karen Ray | How to write a memoir |
| Sep | Efrem Carrasco | How to develop characters |
| Oct | Efrem Carrasco | Tips for authors |
| Nov | No seminar (Thanksgiving) | |
| Dev | No seminar (Christmas and book signing) |
Self-Editing for Writers Seminar
LCW’s own Efrem Carrasco will host a seminar on Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 2:00 pm – 4:00pm.
The goal of all writers is to continuously improve their writing
Before you submit your manuscript to the publisher, you want to make sure your work is concise, tight, structurally and grammatically correct, and meets the three criteria—Flow, Clarity, and Understandability.
This class is designed for writers of all skill levels who wish to advance to the next level.
Who Should Take This Class?
- Unpublished novices who desire to become good fiction/nonfiction writers.
- Published writers who desire to improve their writing craftsmanship.
You Will Learn:
- The Concepts and Misconceptions of Editing and Writing
- Proper Manuscript Format
- Proper Formats of Writing
- How to Write Stronger Sentences
- Choosing the Right Words
- Dos and Don’ts of Writing
- Common Writer Mistakes—and how to avoid them.
- Editing Marks
Efrem Carrasco, Instructor
Only 15 seats available.
This is a stress-free class. It’s neither a Workshop nor an English Grammar class.
REQUIREMENTS: Bring Paper and Pen—for notes and practice writing.
LOCATION: Good Sam, Building E, 3045 Buena Vida Circle
…