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• AI for Authors (Brian Schwartz)

  • When
    Tuesday, April 08, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  Brian Schwartz
  

  The AI Advantage: Accelerate your Writing, Publishing & Book Marketing

  Understanding and utilizing Artificial Intelligence can significantly enhance your writing process. By mastering the latest technology (many of which are still free-of-charge), you can streamline your workflow and improve the quality of your work. Join us for an enlightening session on how authors are leveraging AI to enhance their writing craft, amplify reach, and discovering new & groundbreaking applications of this rapidly evolving technology.  Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or AI-curious, you’ll leave with practical strategies to strengthen your author platform and streamline your publishing journey.

  Key Takeaways:

  1. A hands-on demo of the mightest tools you should be using: Familiarize yourself with AI tools designed for authors.
  2. Data Management: Learn best practices for effectively managing and utilizing a new depth of input (while avoiding the pitfalls of data overload).
  3. Implementation Checklist: Create a checklist to integrate these tools and techniques into your writing routine.

  An innovative leader in the independent publishing world, Brian Schwartz has guided over 700 authors from manuscript to market as CEO of SelfPublish.org. His deep roots in the writing community include serving as director of the Central Coast Writers Conference and president of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.  As an early adopter of AI technology in publishing, Brian now dedicates as much as 40% of his workday to leveraging artificial intelligence tools.

  
  

  5:15 pm (PDT) Critique Group Round Table
  

  6:30 pm (PDT) General Meeting Presentation

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Half-Day Writing Workshop

  • When
    Saturday, May 03, 2025
  •  
    8:00 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  half-day writing workshop

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Dialogue Presentation: Dialogue Writing (Harvey Ardman)

  • When
    Tuesday, May 13, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  harvey ardman
  

  Dialogue Presentation: Dialogue Writing
  

  Dialogue Presentation: Dialogue writing gets a bad rap among writers, even very good writers. They think they have trouble making it realistic. They feel awkward when required to write it. They don’t know when to use it and when to resist using it. As a result, many writers think of dialogue as a problem. They overlook a simple fact: dialogue is a tool, an extremely useful tool that can greatly enrich writing and storytelling in fiction and other forms of creative writing, adding a dimension of reality that no other technique can equal. In this presentation, Harvey Ardman will share some of what he’s learned about dialogue.

  In this presentation, Harvey Ardman will share some of what he’s learned about dialogue writing in his nearly 70-year writing career, with examples from his work and others. He’ll talk about how to turn dialogue writing into a tool that’s both powerful and easy to use.
  

  Harvey Ardman has been a writer all his life. He has written and published 23 books, fiction and non-fiction, as well as dozens of PBS documentaries on a wide variety of subjects. He lives in SLO, having moved here from the Maine coast three years ago. His most recent book "Hello, Earth" is available on Amazon.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  5:15 pm (PDT) Critique Group Round Table
  

  6:30 pm (PDT) General Meeting Presentation

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Summer Social

  • When
    Tuesday, June 10, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Summer Social!

  
  

  6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m

  Free to SLO NightWriters members / $5 for non-members.

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo

  11245 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  Show details
• A Nightmare of Our Own Making: Crafting Ecological Themes In Our Writing (Nicholas Belardes)

  • When
    Tuesday, July 08, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  Nicholas Belardes
  

   A Nightmare of Our Own Making: Crafting Ecological Themes In Our Writing
  

  Does writing about nature sell? How about when writing about the destruction of our natural world? Join Nicholas Belardes, author of THE DEADING and TEN SLEEP, as he defines and discusses climate fiction and eco-horror, and then takes us on a journey into the deep, wild unknowns in our own writing. Followed by a Q&A.
  

  
  

  Nicholas Belardes’s debut eco-horror The Deading combines elements of literary, horror, and science fiction. The New York Times Book Review says The Deading “perfectly balances social critique, lyricism and ghastliness. It’s a claustrophobic mosaic of a novel, and an outstanding debut.” Belardes’s follow up, Ten Sleep (2025), blends elements of gothic and eco-horror with Western fiction. While attending UCR Palm Desert’s MFA Program, Belardes received its Founder’s Award. When not writing, he’s either birdwatching or teaching essay writing at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Ethnic Studies Program.Does writing about nature sell? How about when writing about the destruction of our natural world? Join Nicholas Belardes, author of THE DEADING and TEN SLEEP, as he defines and discusses climate fiction and eco-horror, and then takes us on a journey into the deep, wild unknowns in our own writing. Followed by a Q&A.

  
  

  5:15 pm (PDT) Critique Group Round Table
  

  6:30 pm (PDT) General Meeting Presentation

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Half-Day Writing Workshop

  • When
    Saturday, August 23, 2025
  •  
    8:30 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  half-day writing workshop

  
  

  Details coming soon!

  
  

  
  

  
  

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Golden Quill Writing Contest – Reading and Celebration of Winners

  • When
    Tuesday, September 09, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  Golden Quill Writing Contest – Reading and Celebration of Winners

  
  

  
  

  
  

  5:15 pm (PDT) Critique Group Round Table
  

  6:30 pm (PDT) General Meeting Presentation

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details
• Ceating the Podcast (Jamie Parker Stickle)

  • When
    Tuesday, November 11, 2025
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  Jamie Parker Stickle
  

  Creating the Podcast

  Writing, producing, and releasing a podcast--let's talk about it. How do you get from concept to execution, and how do you get the world to listen? With five million podcasts streaming in the world it's important to know how to effectively transform your idea into a must listen to audio experience. We'll talk about narrative building, sound design and editing, interviewing, ethical reporting, and the production timeline from beginning to end. 
  

  
  

  Jaime Parker Stickle is a writer, actor, podcaster, and professor of film and television at Montclair

  State University. She is the creator and host of the true crime investigative podcast, The Girl with the Same Name as well as the hilarious podcast about side-hustles, Make That Paper. Jaime lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and fur babies.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  5:15 pm (PDT) Critique Group Round Table
  

  6:30 pm (PDT) General Meeting Presentation

  ATTEND In person
  

  Chandler Hall, UCC San Luis Obispo
  11245 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

  
  

  Show details