California Writers Club, Mt Diablo Branch

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CWC Mt. Diablo Presents Jordan Rosenfeld – Scene Stealer: Master Scene Writing for Powerful Plots

Includes a Holiday Buffet and Buck-A-Book, our favorite fundraiser for the Young Writers Contest

ANNOUNCING: BUCK-A-BOOK!
Bring books from home and sell them for a buck.
Proceeds go to the Young Writers Contest


Our Feature Presentation
Jordan Rosenfeld

Scene Stealer: Master Scene Writing for Powerful Plots

Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Women in Red and Forged in Grace and six books on the craft of writing, most recently How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free.
Her freelance articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Washington Post and many more. She is
also a freelance manuscript editor, writing coach and teaches online classes. Jordanrosenfeld.net and
jordanwritelife@gmail.com

You’ve felt the pulse-pounding drama of a good story, caught up in a book that feels so real you might have been inside it. What makes a story come to life? Strong, powerful scenes. Scenes are the building blocks of
great fiction and memoir.
They bring flat narrative into full-color action, allow you to breathe life into compelling characters through dynamic action, and when added up, they create powerful plots. When you feel connected to the characters and in the midst of action, when you can’t put the book down because you’re gripped by the action, you’re in scenes.

Writers will learn the essential ingredients for scene construction:

  • How to design scenes from beginning to end
  • How to bring characters to life through “words and deeds”
  • How to evoke effective setting without overkill
  • The role of senses and using imagery
  • How to use scene types to create energy and tension
  • And how to make every scene count toward the plot

Writers Table

How to Choose a Great Title for Your Book

featuring Isidra Mencos

Your book title, along with the cover, is a key marketing tool: it must prompt potential readers to pick up the book in a bookstore or click on it online because they want to know more. General nonfiction often makes its purpose explicit in the title or subtitle, but memoirs and novels titles can go in a thousand directions. This richness of choice can sometimes stump a writer. This Writers Table will offer tips to choose a great title for your next book.

Originally from Spain, Isidra Mencos has lived in the US since 1992. She holds a PhD in Spanish and Latin American Contemporary Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for twelve years. Since she started writing personal essays and memoir in 2016, her pieces have appeared in Chicago Quarterly Review, Front Porch Journal, The Penmen Review, and Newfound among many other publications. Her essay “My Books and I” was listed as Notable in The Best American Essays anthology. Her debut memoir Promenade of Desire—A Barcelona Memoir came out October 2022 (She Writes Press). For more about Isidra: https://isidramencos.com.


Schedule

  • 11:00 – Sign-in and Buck-a-Book Fundraiser
  • 11:15 – Writers Table with Isidra Mencos
  • 12:00 – Holiday Buffet
  • 12:35 – Business Meeting
  • 1:00 – Feature Presentation
  • 2:00 – Meeting Ends
Click here to register

Member Spotlight

Free book for all CWC members (statewide): Fool’s Gold – AI’s Assault on Indie Authors by Bruce Lewis
Free book for all CWC members (statewide): Fool’s Gold – AI’s Assault on Indie Authors by Bruce Lewis

Click here to view more Spotlights or if you have a writing Spotlight to share with us.

Upcoming Programs

  • December 7, 2025: Holiday Potluck
  • January 10, 2026: Our New Venue Launch with Writers Tables, Interviews, and a special price! Optional post-meeting events.

Our Meeting Schedule and Location

General Meetings are held the second Saturday of each month, except July and August.
Location:
The Pleasant Hill Senior Center
233 Gregory Lane
Pleasant Hill, CA
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Optional post-meeting events until 1:30. Bring your lunch!
Our meetings are open to the public. See the Meetings and Workshops page to register. 

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Newsletter and Social Media

The Write News, December 2025


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CWC Statewide

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Critique Group


CLICK HERE for information about our Critique Groups and how to join.

 

Our Community Partners

Reasonable Books for partner
Reasonable Books for partner
Art Embraces Words
Art Embraces Words
Our Community Partners
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CWC Mt. Diablo Branch, P.O. Box 606, Alamo, CA 94507

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