The Mind of a Writer: Nancy Cole Silverman

Welcome to the California Crime Writers Conference Blogtail Party! Hope you'll join us in June in Culver City, CA.

The Mind of a Writer by Nancy Cole Silverman

While presenting the Best Screenplay nominees for the 86th Academy Awards Show, Robert De Niro described the mind of a writer.  He said, “The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, and consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that’s on a good day.”

If half of what Robert De Niro described about a writer is true I can think of no better reason for a writer to attend the California Crime Writers’ Conference than to unite with other writers in a sense of community and know you’re not alone.

Words don’t generate themselves on a page. No matter how many times a writer sits down and faces a blank page, jots lines and returns the words just don’t magically appear.  It takes time, thought and craft which is what writers at CCRW will share with each other.

It’s a community of the damned, it’s a community of the gifted, and most of all it’s a chance to get together with others who suffer the same afflictions, self-doubts and obsessions. Come for the companionship. Come for the challenge. Come for the Double Tree Hilton’s famous chocolate chip cookies. But come and learn you’re not alone. 

Nancy Cole Silverman is a board member of Sisters in Crime LA and a published author.  Shadow of Doubt, with Henery Press, is the first of the Carol Childs’ mystery series.  For more about Nancy visit her website; www.nancycolesilverman.com

Carole Sojka: Author Idol

Welcome to the California Crime Writers Conference Blogtail Party! Hope you'll join us in June in Culver City, CA.

Carole Sojka: Author Idol

I found the program called Author Idol a truly exciting panel at the 2013 California Crime Writers Conference. The panel consisted of all the agents at the conference, and the moderator was Harley Jane Kozak, actress and writer.

The program was supposed to be a test of agent interest. Any of the conference attendees could submit a page from a work in progress. The rules didn’t specify the first page, so it could be from further along in the work. Harley Jane’s job was to pull a page out at random, and without looking it over, simply read it out to the audience. She was fabulous: introduced the page by giving the title, indicated whether it appeared to be a first page or part of the rest of the story, and then read the page with feeling and wit.

The job of the agents was to listen closely and indicate by raising a hand when each of them would have stopped reading a submission they had received. Some pages made it all the way to the end, some barely made it past the first paragraph. Agents run a cut-throat business.

I had submitted a page and waited hopefully while Harley Jane picked page after page. Most of the submitted pages were very good, and I was impressed by the quality of the writing and the imagination shown.

Was my submission picked and did Harley Jane read it? Did she make it all the way to the end of the page, and did the agents all wait until she was finished before raising their hands? Did I get an agent who was crazy about my work from this exercise?

Well, no. My page wasn’t selected, and I didn’t have agents fighting to represent me. Still I found it a really fun exercise, and I’ll submit a page again this year. You never know!

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Carole Sojka graduated from Queens College before earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California. She spent two years in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer and later worked as a law office administrator. Now a mystery writer, she is the author of A REASON TO KILL and the forthcoming SO MANY REASONS TO DIE.

Reflecting on the CCWC by Holly West

Welcome to the California Crime Writers Conference Blogtail Party! Hope you'll join us in June in Culver City, CA.

Holly West: 
Reflecting on the California Crime Writers Conference

I have fond feelings about the California Crime Writers Conference. Back in 2009, I’d just finished the first draft of my first novel. At that point I’d only recently joined MWA, and I was ready to start meeting other members, learning more about the craft of writing, and putting myself “out there.” The CCWC was the perfect place, especially since Laurie R. King and Robert Crais were the keynote speakers at that first conference. I remember listening to their speeches, mesmerized and inspired. I learned craft in sessions led by writers like Gary Phillips, Bill Fitzhugh, Naomi Hirahara and Gayle Lynds. Though I wasn’t ready to query agents, I attended a session with agent Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and later introduced myself to a few people at the agents cocktail reception. I even learned some basics about firearms from an NRA gun demonstration.

Subsequently, I’ve become more involved in the organization of CCWC. In 2011, I coordinated the manuscript critiques for the conference. One of the attendees who paid for a consultation not only signed with the agent who critiqued his manuscript, but eventually got a book deal and recently won a 2014 Anthony Award for his efforts. Not all critiques are this successful, of course, but meeting agents and editors and getting individual feedback from professional writers is a valuable experience.

For the 2013 conference, I took on the additional duties of coordinating registrations. It was a lot of work, but so worth it. I got to know so many people at that conference, and it led to my position as Vice President of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles.

As we plan the 2015 conference, I’m looking forward to having it at our new venue in Culver City, the recently renovated Double Tree Hilton. Anne Perry and Charlaine Harris will be our keynotes, and having heard both of them speak before, I know that attendees are in for a treat. And, as our programming chairs build what promises to be a fantastic and informative program, I’m confident that novice and experienced writers alike will gain insights and inspiration to carry them forward.

Holly West is the author of the Mistress of Fortune series, set in 17^th century London and featuring Isabel Wilde, a mistress to King Charles II who secretly makes her living as a fortuneteller. When Holly’s not wandering the captivating streets of 17^th century London, her hobbies include cooking, knitting, reading, and petting dogs. She lives in Northern California with her husband, Mick, and a dog, Stella.

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Register now for CCWC, June 6-7, 2015