May 17th SPEAKER—Paul Shirley—”Writing Like an Athlete to Build Creative Focus”
Building an Athlete’s Discipline and Focus into Your Writing Practice
In the midst of a global pandemic, when there’s so much time on our hands staying at home, writers are having trouble getting things done. Paul Shirley, a former professional basketball player, will speak about how he applied an athlete’s focus to his writing career, and has since helped hundreds of writers achieve their goals through building habits, routines and systems that work for them. The founder of Writers Blok, a co-working space for writers in Los Angeles with an online “writing gym,” Paul has words of wisdom for writers of all genres.
About Paul Shirley
Paul Shirley is a nationally-known sports writer who blogs for ESPN and has written for Slate, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, and Esquire. His first humorous memoir, Can I Keep My Jersey? (Random House) had a foreword by Chuck Klosterman, and Stories I Tell On Dates (Fourth Bar Books), evolved into a popular podcast. Paul founded Writers Blok because he hated writing alone and thought there might be others like him. Now he is dreaming of starting an L.A. branch of the CWC!
Get to know Paul Shirley’s writing on his website paul-shirley.com, and let him get you motivated through Writers Blok. (Check out Facebook and Instagram). CWC members and friends can sign up for an affordable Writers Blok membership at this link, and help our club as well.
Reserve Your Space
Full Schedule of Events
12:00 pm Zoom Hosts log in
12:30 “Doors open” & breakout rooms
1:00 Meeting & announcements – including our ELECTION, which will have instant results.
1:30 Featured reader: Nicole Berg
1:45 Keynote: Paul Shirley
2:30 Break & Networking
3:00 Marketing Support Group
4:00 Craft Group
$5 for members, $10 for non-members*
We will be processing our meeting fees on TicketSource prior to the online meeting. After you get your ticket, we’ll email you the link to the Zoom meeting, which you can access day-of via phone or computer. The “room will open” at the usual 12:30 for socializing and practice using Zoom.
* Support groups are members-only but guests may audit
* As usual, tickets for CWC members are $5 and guests are $10. At this time, we are also offering a sliding scale option for any amount from $0 to $10. Additionally, those who have already purchased a full-year of events, funding our Jack and Jenny fund, can choose the (free) pre-paid option.
Get your ticket now.
and please
Say you’re coming on Facebook!
Member Book Launch June 20th!
Save the date!
Check for support groups and more member events on our Calendar.
Karma is president and web mistress for the Berkeley California Writers Club. She runs Future Is Fiction Communications, where she helps authors and other creatives spread the word about their projects. She writes poetry, and essays. She loves writing about music and politics.
Welcome to the Club! | California Writers Club — Berkeley Branch April 29, 2020 (5:17 pm)
[…] “Writing Like an Athlete to Build Creative Focus” with Paul Shirley […]
SUNDAY: Learn About Kubrik’s Mysterious Symbols with Featured Member Nicole Berg | California Writers Club — Berkeley Branch May 16, 2020 (10:03 am)
[…] At this Sunday’s final meeting before our summer break, the Berkeley California Writers Club celebrates author and film critic Nicole Berg. Berg’s fist book Discovering Kubrick’s Symbolism is now available for pre-sale from McFarland Books. This is her second year in the CWC. She says, “I really enjoy getting to know the other members here.” […]