Join us for our monthly programs.
Meeting Schedule
Regular Meetings are held on the second Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to noon MST (in person and Zoom) and the fourth Wednesday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm MST (Zoom only). There is no Wednesday meeting in December.
In-Person Location
Our location is at UNM Continuing Education (UNM-CE) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Go to SWW Meeting Location for more information about UNM-CE.
Visitor/Guest Policy
With the new year comes a return to SWW’s previous policy concerning meeting attendance. We encourage visitors and guests to experience what our award-winning writers’ association has to offer. Since membership dues pay for our outstanding speakers, we request non-members limit their attendance to three meetings, after which we hope they will join SouthWest Writers. Visitors are welcome beyond their first three visits at a cost of $10 per meeting.
See a schedule of all our events, and visit our YouTube Videos page for a listing of the recorded speakers from 2016 to the present.
ZOOM MEETING Procedure
Read about SWW’s new Zoom Meeting procedure on this page.
Saturday, February 11
10:00 am – noon
In Person & Zoom
Speaker: Joseph Badal
Two Important Writing Rules
Grab your readers by the throat: Joe will provide examples of opening sentences/paragraphs that grab the reader’s attention (and don’t), influencing the reader’s decision as to whether he/she will want to read on. Don’t use 10 words when 6 will do: Examples of both “punchy” and “wordy” writing will be provided. He encourages attendees to read the first paragraphs in provided works prior to attending the presentation. Attendees will be given the opportunity to recraft the openings in the works discussed.
Joseph Badal is the award-winning author of 18 suspense novels. He has twice won the Tony Hillerman Award, is the Military Writers Society of America’s 2021 Writer of the Year, and is an Amazon and Barnes & Noble #1 Best-Selling Author. He is also an Eric Hoffer Prize Winner and an International Book Awards Finalist.
In-Person Meeting:
Go to the SWW Meeting Location page for information about our meeting place.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – February 2023
Time: February 11, 2023 at 10:00 am Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Our Zoom log-in policy has changed due to disruptions to our meetings. Non-members are required to contact our office (505-830-6034 or info@swwriters.com) or sign up for Elerts to receive a link to our upcoming meetings. SWW Members sign into the Members Only portion of the website (request a username and password from webmaster@swwriters.com if you haven’t already done so). Once in the Members Portal, follow the Zoom log-in directions posted prior to the meeting.
Wednesday, February 22
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Via Zoom
Speaker: Ernie Witham
Finding Humor in Everyday Situations (Including Valentine’s Day)
Humor is everywhere! In this workshop, I will discuss finding humor in everyday situations; developing humorous ideas into columns and scenes; the importance of rewriting to make things funnier; and finding markets for humor. I’ll present some “rules of humor writing.” I’ll talk about developing holiday pieces, including my Valentine’s Day pieces and, if time permits, I have a fun class assignment we can do.
Ernie Witham has been writing humor for more than 25 years. He is the author of three humor books and is the humor workshop leader at the prestigious Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. He has also taught at other conferences, including the Cape Cod Writers Conference (thanks to SWW member Jackie Loring!)
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Wednesday Meeting – February 2023
Time: February 22, 2023 at 6:30 pm Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Our Zoom log-in policy has changed due to disruptions to our meetings. Non-members are required to contact our office (505-830-6034 or info@swwriters.com) or sign up for Elerts to receive a link to our upcoming meetings. SWW Members sign into the Members Only portion of the website (request a username and password from webmaster@swwriters.com if you haven’t already done so). Once in the Members Portal, follow the Zoom log-in directions posted prior to the meeting.
Upcoming 2023 Meetings
- Saturday, February 11 at 10:00 am – Joe Badal: Two of the Most Important Writing Rules
- Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30 pm – Ernie Witham: Finding Humor in Everyday Situations
- Saturday, March 11 at 10:00 am – Geoff Habiger: Newsletters
- Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 pm – Bobbi Bell: Radio and Writers
- Saturday, April 8 at 10:00 am – C. Daniel Miller: Copyrighting and Pitfalls of Using Copyrighted Material
- Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30 pm – Thelma Giomi: Putting Poetry Passion on Paper
Previous Speakers and Topics
2023:
♦ Jamii Corley, Introduction to Website Building
♦ Jim Jones, From Songs to Books and Back Again
2022:
♦ John Gilstrap, Whose Story Are You Telling?
♦ Stephanie Chandler, Build Your On-line Marketing Plan
♦ Jayne Ann Krentz, Reinventing Yourself: Tips for Finding Your Voice and Core Story
♦ Lauren Wolk, The Art and Business of Writing for Young Readers
♦ Jodi Thomas, Why Write a Series?
♦ Nancy Rubin Stuart, Using Fiction Techniques to Shape Non-fiction
♦ Jonathan Miller, How to Turn Your Life into a Novel
♦ Ellen Meeropol, Evil Characters We Love to Hate
♦ Kristin Owens, The Personal, Personal Essay
♦ Susan Katz, Why Every Writer Needs an Editor
♦ Melody Groves, Writing Westerns: The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful
♦ Jim Tritten, Short Stories are Fun
♦ BR Kingsolver, How and Why to Write a Series
♦ Margaret Shannon, You Can Write Your Family History
♦ Johnny Boggs, Making Dialogue Sing
♦ Ronn Perea, Public Speaking for Authors
♦ Anne Hillerman, What I Wish I’d known before I Wrote my First Novel
♦ B. Marika Flatt, PR by the Book
♦ Dan Klefstad, DIY Book Promo
♦ Robin Perini, Taking Your Writing to the Next Level
♦ Judith Avila, Writing Your Memoir, An Act of Courage
♦ Parris Afton Bonds, First, The Plot
2021:
♦ Jonathan Miller, A Novel for the New Year
♦ Marcia Rosen, Podcast Marketing for Authors
♦ David Morrell, Thoughts and lessons from 48 years as a published novelist
♦ Natalie Goldberg, The Way of Haiku
♦ Susan Elizabeth Phillips, The Writing Life: Craft, Characters, Creativity, and Career
♦ Darynda Jones, Humor & Heat: How to Write Funny Without Sacrificing Sexual Tension
♦ David L. Robbins, The Art and Craft of the Narrative
♦ Gerard Hanberry, Geraldine Mills, Luke Morgan, Pete Mullineaux, Moya Roddy, Readings by Irish Poets
♦ Raffi Andonian, Controversial Historical Sites
♦ Debra W. Englander, Why You Need a Book Coach
♦ Dean Wesley Smith, Writing into the Dark: Writing Clean, One-draft Stories Without an Outline
♦ Sheryl Brown, Screenplay from Stakeholder Perspectives
♦ Jeffrey Candelaria, Artists, Writers, and a Business Mentality
♦ Paige Wheeler, Agents and Authors
♦ Fauzia Burke, Author Platforms
♦ Robin Cutler, The Power of Self-publishing
♦ James McGrath Morris, Researching Your Book
♦ Loretta Hall, Elements of Nonfiction
♦ Benjamin Percy, The Ninth Metal, Reading and Craft Discussion
♦ Rob Spiegel, Using Scenes to Build Your Story
♦ David J. Corwell, On the Edge of Their Seats: Horror and Suspense
♦ Lynn Miller, Writing like a Reader: Your Audience and Story
♦ Robert Kidera, Taking the Mystery out of Mystery Writing
♦ Lynne Sturtevant, Writing for the Web
2020:
♦ Melody Groves, 10 Dialogue Tricks to Make Your Characters “Talk Good”
♦ Jacqueline Murray Loring, International Publication Opportunities (or My Magical Tour of Ireland)
♦ Sherri Burr, Synchronicity and Perseverance: Two Elements to Finishing a Project
♦ Chris Allen, Brenda Cole, Charlene Dietz, Mary Therese Ellingwood, Evelyn Neil, Jim Tritten, Readings from the 2019 SWW Winners Anthology
♦ David Morrell, Getting Through It: How To Create A Storyline
♦ Chris Eboch, Myths about Writing for Children
♦ Rose Marie Kern, Niche Markets: A Pathway to Multiple Streams of Income
♦ Bennett R. Coles, Inside the Mind of a Publisher
♦ Sarah Baker, Jacqueline Loring, Kathy Schuit, Writing Through Lock Down: Importance of Literature in the Face of Fear and Uncertainty
♦ Kathy Louise Schuit, Illustrative Ideas For Standout Memoir, Poetry, and Prose
♦ Dan Wetmore, The Skinny on the Short-line Stuff
♦ Hakim Bellamy, “Flash” Fiction: Pictures and Poems
♦ John Rember, Writing, Teaching Writing, and Worrying about Happy Endings at Three in the Morning
♦ Corrales Writing Group, Building and Sustaining an Effective Writing Group
♦ Steve Brewer, Using Humor to Hook Readers
♦ Kathy Kitts, NaNoWriMo: How and Why You Might Want to Participate
♦ Geoff Habiger, What Do Publishers Really Want?
♦ Elizabeth S. Layton & Jacqueline Murray Loring, Screenplay Writing as Creative Magic
♦ Panel: Loretta Hall, Carolyn Carlson, Robert Kidera, Writing Contests from the Judges’ Perspective
