Local author Amanda McTigue reads from her book ‘Going to Solace’ during a reading sponsored by the Redwood Writers Group at Copperfield’s Books in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, July 10, 2013. (Conner Jay / The Press Democrat)
For years, Robbi Sommers Bryant was a prolific writer, working several days a week as a dental hygienist and devoting the rest of the week to writing, both fiction and nonfiction.
But when her 21-year-old son died in a senseless drinking incident while at college, Bryant’s creative juices dried up.
“I would go by my office where my computer was sitting and think, ‘If I could just go sit down.’ So I would sit down to write, and I would write, and I had nothing to write,” she said.
The Santa Rosa woman was stuck in what appeared to be a permanent state of writer’s block. It went on for 13 years.
It was a nurturing community of fellow writers who helped her get her sputtering creative engine purring again.
She discovered The Redwood Writers Group, a club for those who write. Founded in 1975 as a critique circle with 45 charter members, it has since swelled to 262 members who come together for networking, support, workshops and practical information about the writing craft and marketing work, as well as author events, open mics, salons, support circles, author events and essential camaraderie for people who engage in an endeavor that is, by its very nature, solitary.
“I was around so many people that were motivated and had ideas and were actually engaging in the practice of writing,” said Bryant, who in the last two years has published two suspense and psychological thrillers, one self-published and one put out by a small North Bay Press.
Many niches
The group welcomes writers from all genres, from fiction and nonfiction to poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. And within those are wordsmiths with many niches, running the gamut from mystery, fantasy, essay and memoir, to short stories, young adult and children’s fiction, the occult and romance.
“Our organization is really, really active. We are the largest writers’ group in the state of California by far that is part of the California Writer’s Club started by Jack London 100 years ago,” said former club president Linda Loveland Reid.
Reid, who runs a family insurance agency when she’s not at work on a novel, poem or short story, earlier this month chaired the third annual Redwood Writers Playwriting Contest.
Seven local writers were selected to have their 10-minute plays staged at the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa.
The contest is one of many ways the club works to provide ways for writers to get their work out into the world.
Sunday, the club devotes its monthly second Sunday afternoon meeting at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa to throwing an Author Launch Celebration.
Seventeen local authors, including Reid and her husband, Harry B. Reid, will share their newest works and sell and sign copies at today’s gathering.
Key missions
Helping aspiring writers learn how to both publish and promote their work in a crowded market that has always been tough to crack is one of the key missions of the group.
“Everybody wants to hear about what you’ve done, and everybody is supporting you. They’ve created this really safe environment to learn how to promote yourself and how to have a voice as a writer,” said Bryant, who will read today from her newest novel, “Dream,” which was a first runner-up in its genre at the L.A. Book Festival.
Members say it’s an exciting time for writers, with the digital world providing greater outlets for self-publishing, in print or electronically.
Some members have achieved some measure of success in the new digital publishing world, including Sharon Hamilton, whose erotic romances featuring hunky vampires and Navy SEALs sell briskly on Amazon.com.
Frances Caballo came to the group four years ago to learn more about the publishing process and how to hone her craft.
Social media editor
After working for nonprofits and as a journalist, she’s now a social media editor and consultant who gives workshops on how to promote your work and generate readers and followers through blogging as well as Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and other sites.
Redwood Writers, she said, gave her the courage to self-publish “Social Media Just for Writers” and polish her own novel.
“I’ve been working on my novel for years and years,” she said.
“I write and revise and revise. At Redwood Writers, I met people who had written books, went to editors, had them finished and then got them out in the world.
“It really gave me inspiration to do the same.”
(You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204.)
