Upcoming events

    • February 14, 2025
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • ZOOM Virtual Meeting
    Register
                               

    Please Use the Link Below to Connect with Tiffany Grantham for her Social Write-Ins. on the 2nd Friday of the month from 6:30 - 8:00 pm.

    Mark Your Calendar for this free-writing and share session via Zoom.

    Take 75-minutes to write and share from the comfort of your own space. Bring your muse, your imagination and your favorite writing instrument.

    Because writing presented in the Virtual Writing Salon deals with adult themes from time to time, we have set the age limit for participation at eighteen years of age.

    Tiffany may spin instrumental music for your mind to riff on, offer pictures that take you down memory lane or set a scene for new character to play in. Following each prompt, there will be time for volunteers to read aloud.

    Be inspired by the works your fellow travelers share. No pressure, no angst - just you, your writing, and your untamed creativity. Bring your own characters, write with a story in mind or let your thoughts dance across the page. Shake off the dust of the day and perhaps when you're done, Tiffany's prompts will help you create something that really jazzes you! 

    Tiffany Grantham is a Children’s Service Specialist for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, a short story-fiction writer, and former secretary for CWC’s executive board. A native of Goldsboro, NC who has called Charlotte home for the past eight years, she has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from North Carolina A&T State University, and an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University. In her spare time, Tiffany collects books to add to her in-home library.

    Join the Meeting!

    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84480026552?pwd=yZY0DMte95EOj19wW4H4xbbhK8waIz.1

    Meeting ID: 844 8002 6552
    Passcode: 943657


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    We hope you'll make this virtual session a habit.









       

     

     

       

     


    • February 18, 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Youth Room, 2nd Floor, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte
    Register

    Jenifer Ruff

    The Basics of Self-Publishing


     Jenifer Ruff has published more than     fifteen  mystery, thriller, and crime fiction   novels. She is a hybrid author—one with self-   published and traditionally published books     and she has mastered the art of self-   publishing.  She’ll give you the knowledge to   know if self-publishing will work for you. Bring  your questions!

    USA Today bestselling author Jenifer Ruff writes dark and twisty mystery thrillers—fifteen books in all—including the award-winning Agent Victoria Heslin Series. Her writing has garnered numerous honors and awards: Pretty Little Girls won the 2020 Reader's International Favorite Thriller Award; Vanished on Vacation, the 2022 Global Book Award Winner (Thriller Category); and When They Find Us was an Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release.

    Jenifer grew up in Massachusetts, has a biology degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s in Public Health and Epidemiology from Yale University. She adores peace and quiet, animals, and exercise, especially hiking. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and the mountains of VA with her family and a pack of greyhounds. If she’s not writing, she’s probably devouring books or out exploring trails with her dogs.

    To learn more visit jenruff.com


    If you have questions or thoughts,

    please contact membershipcwc@yahoo.com

    We look forward to seeing you!

    • February 22, 2025
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Room 106, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
    • 12
    Register

    Hosted by Darnell Arnoult

    In this workshop we will explore habits and hacks to help developa fict ion writing practice that serves your creative energy and aspirations, while keeping ego in the closet where it belongs. As Joyce Carol Oates has said, and I paraphrase, all you have is your process until you are done. Then you have a product. Too often writers put their idea of product before the work of their practice (as in practice of law), much like putting the cart before the horse. In this workshop, through discussion, prompts, and in-class writing, we'll focus on loading the cart! Bring your paper and pencil or laptop.  

    Darnell Arnoult is the prize-winning author of Galaxie Wagon: Poems and What Travels With Us: Poems (LSU Press) and the novel Sufficient Grace (Simon & Schuster, Inc.), which received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. Her recent poetry collection, Incantations is forthcoming from Madville Publishing. Her shorter works have appeared in a variety of journals, including Cutleaf, Appalachian Places, Appalachian Heritage, Asheville Poetry Review, Nantahala Review, Now and Then, Sandhills Review, Southern Cultures, Southern Exposure,  Southwest Review, and various anthologies.

    Arnoult holds an MFA from The University of Memphis, an MA in English and Creative Writing from North Carolina State University, and a BA in American Studies with a concentration in Southern Folklore from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Go Heels!

    Workshop Refund Policy:

    If circumstances force the CWC to cancel a workshop or move it to an alternative date, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if asked to do so within 2 weeks. If a workshop is held according to schedule and an enrollee cannot attend, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if notified 48 hours before the workshop begins. Any credit issued must be used within 12 months.


    • February 28, 2025
    • 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
    • Mugs Coffee - 5126 Park Road - Charlotte, NC 28209
    • 0
    Join waitlist
                                 

    Description

    In Partnership with MUGS Coffee - LIVE Event for CWC Members and non-members to read their work on the fourth Friday of the month from 6:45pm - 9pm. Registration is limited to 12 readers. Each reader will have 7 minutes to read their work.

    (You do not need to register to come to listen and support your fellow writers.)

    If you register to read you must agree to the following:

    You will purchase something - this is how we support Mugs.

    You will respect this is a business and public place and part of the skill building experience is to block out distractions. You are not allowed to ask the staff or other customers to be quiet.  

    You agree to the considerations listed. If you are unsure if what you want to read is allowed, you will review it with your host before you read.  

    Reading at Open Mic Night affords club members and non-members an opportunity to share what they have written and gain experience reading in public. Please understand that this is NOT a publicity event for our authors. The goal is to support our members as they practice reading in public.

    Before registering please read the following policy adopted by unanimous vote of the CWC executive board on February 5, 2024, A completed registration serves as your agreement to abide by these rules.

    All work must be original and must be read by the author. All readers must be mindful that this event is open to a general audience, which may include minors, and we do not want anyone to feel excluded, offended, or attacked. Although some material may deal with mature or provocative subjects, it must be suitable for a general audience and appropriate for all agesOpen Mic Night is not a forum for religious or political debate, nor is it a place for stand-up comedy, pornography, obscenity, racism, sexism, or personal rants of any kind. We expect readers to provide a receptive, supportive audience for one another. While a writer’s material and point of view are open to different interpretations, please show respect to the writer and the work. Any violation of these guidelines whether as a reader or as a member of the audience will result in the offender being cleared from the stage or audience. Repeated offenses will result in the member being  banned from future sessions and/or being dismissed as a member of CWC.

                           

       

     

     

       

     


    • March 08, 2025
    • March 22, 2025
    • 2 sessions
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Room 106, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
    • 17
    Register


    Hosted by Sarah Archer

    In this two-session workshop, we'll dive into the world of screenwriting, with particular attention to the art of the scene. We'll cover the basics of what makes screenwriting unique from other forms of creative writing and how successful screenwriters think. Then we'll discuss the principles of scenecraft, exploring what makes a scene compelling on its own and as part of a larger story. This class is appropriate for novice or experienced screenwriters, and will include techniques that are relevant for fiction as well.


    Sarah Archer's debut novel, The Plus One, was published by Putnam in the US and received a starred review from Booklist. It has also been published in the UK, Germany, and Japan, and is currently in development for the screen. As a screenwriter, she has developed material for MTV Entertainment, Snapchat, and Comedy Central. She is a Black List Screenwriting Lab fellow who has placed in competitions including the Motion Picture Academy's Nicholl Fellowship, the Tracking Board’s Launch Pad, and the Austin Film Festival. Her short stories and poetry have been published in numerous literary magazines, nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and reached the finals of the Doris Betts Fiction Prize. She has spoken and taught on writing to groups in several states and countries, and interviewed authors around the world as a co-host of the award-winning Charlotte Readers Podcast.


    You can find her online at saraharcherwrites.com.



    PLEASE NOTE, THIS WORKSHOP HAS A MINIMUM ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT OF 8 PARTICIPANTS. IF WE DO NOT REACH THE MINIMUM, WE WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY.

    Workshop Refund Policy:

    If circumstances force the CWC to cancel a workshop or move it to an alternative date, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if asked to do so within 2 weeks. If a workshop is held according to schedule and an enrollee cannot attend, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if notified 48 hours before the workshop begins. Any credit issued must be used within 12 months.

    • March 18, 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Youth Room, 2nd Floor, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte

    Joy Calloway

    Crafting Beliveable

    Historical Characters




    One of the major challenges in writing historical fiction is creating characters that are both compelling to us today and true to the time period they're from. This craft talk will focus on research tactics and strategies that will help novelists build fully-formed historical characters--both fictional and biographical. It is often said that historical fiction done right will allow the reader to step back in time and feel what it would have been like to live in a time and space gone by. We'll explore how our characters can take us out of place if they're built incorrectly and also how they can truly immerse us in another era if done right.

    Joy Callaway is the international bestselling author of All The Pretty Places, The Grand Design, Secret Sisters, and The Fifth Avenue Artists Society. Joy lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and two children. To learn more, please visit: https://www.joycallaway.com/


    If you have questions or thoughts,
    please contact membershipcwc@yahoo.com

    We look forward to seeing you!

    • April 15, 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Youth Room, 2nd Floor, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte


    Jay Ward

    How to Write Poems that Beckon-Grab-Intoxicate the Reader


    One of the most important (poetic) questions I’ve ever considered came to me back in 2016 when a workshop facilitator asked “why should the reader care about your poem?” The surface level answers were usually something like, "because I put my heart and soul into it," or "because the events in this poem really happened." The facilitator was asking something deeper, though. The reader has no connection to you and is not physically present with you; the reader has their own anxieties and happenings about which to be somber, furious, or otherwise preoccupied. What does it take to compel the reader to invest intellectually and emotionally in your poem? We’ll walk through some tips, strategies, and examples that have helped me in my quest to answer this question. A closely related question might be, how do you make the reader feel your presence on the page? We’ll discuss this too!

    Junious 'Jay' Ward is a poet and teaching artist from Charlotte, NC. He is a National Slam champion (2018), an Individual World Poetry Slam champion (2019), author of Sing Me A Lesser Wound (Bull City Press 2020) and Composition (Button Poetry 2023). Jay currently serves as Charlotte's inaugural Poet Laureate and is a 2023 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Ward has attended Breadloaf Writers Conference, Callaloo, The Watering Hole and Tin House Winter Workshop. His work can be found in Columbia Journal, Four Way Review, DIAGRAM, Diode Poetry Journal and elsewhere.

    If you have questions or thoughts,
    please contact membershipcwc@yahoo.com

    We look forward to seeing you!

    • April 26, 2025
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Room 106, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
    • 20
    Register

    Hosted by Chris Arvidson

    Ever just feel like you want to write, but getting those first words on the page eludes you? Or, you feel like you’ve got a jumble of words in your head, but they just aren’t organizing themselves. How about that nagging “I’ve got something to say…” but can’t quite get it out of your head? Or, maybe just sick of working on the stuff you’re working on and want to begin anew? This workshop is designed to get words out of your brain and onto the page. We’ll work with imaginative, and maybe even whacky-seeming prompts, to get you jumpstarted on your writing. The aim will be to fill your writing notebook with a handful of starts worthy of further work. We’ll sprint our way to new poems or prose. Participants should bring paper, writing utensils, and an adventurous open mind. I promise it will be fun, and that you’ll sprint your way into new writing.

    Chris Arvidson was born and grew up in Michigan. She has worked in national politics in Washington, D.C., and as a nonprofit communications and development professional at Habitat for Humanity, in higher education, and with two land conservancies. She holds a B.A. from Olivet College, an M.A. from UNC Charlotte, and an M.F.A. from Goucher College. Chris has been an adjunct instructor at Robert Morris University and at UNC Charlotte. She has co-edited three anthologies in which her own work also appears: Mountain Memoirs: An Ashe County Anthology (Main Street Rag), Reflections on the New River: New Essays, Poems and Personal Stories (McFarland), and The Love of Baseball: Essays by Lifelong Fans(McFarland).

    Her poetry chapbook The House Inside My Head was published in May, 2022. In January 2025, Finishing Line Press will publish her poetry collection, Nobody Cares What You Think, which is currently in pre-sale at finishinglinepress.com. Chris maintains an art studio at the Charlotte Art League, where she mounted a show composed of her composed of her poetry and paintings. 


    Workshop Refund Policy:

    If circumstances force the CWC to cancel a workshop or move it to an alternative date, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if asked to do so within 2 weeks. If a workshop is held according to schedule and an enrollee cannot attend, the CWC will issue a full refund or credit for a future workshop if notified 48 hours before the workshop begins. Any credit issued must be used within 12 months.


    • May 21, 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Providence United Methodist Church, Youth Room, 2nd Floor, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte


    Alyssa Pressler





    Alyssa Pressler started That's Novel Books as a used bookstore in February 2020. That's Novel started with used books in all genres before expanding into new books in January 2024. Since opening, That's Novel has always had a Charlotte author section and frequently hosts local authors for signings and other bookish events. The store also hosts writing events where local writers can gather together for focused writing time, meet others and get feedback. Supporting the local writing community is particularly important to That's Novel Books' mission and has created an engaged community around the bookstore.


    If you have questions or thoughts,
    please contact membershipcwc@yahoo.com

    We look forward to seeing you!

    • June 06, 2025
    • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
    • TBD

    Summer Social

    Check back for more information in 2025!


    We look forward to seeing you!


Charlotte Writers Club  is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, P.O. Box 220954, Charlotte, NC 28222-0954

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