TWO-TRACK MIND: How a Second Career Shapes Your Writing Career (and vice versa), A conversation with screenwriter/teacher Wendall Thomas and author/licensed psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo

Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Most writers, even highly successful ones, balance two careers. In this workshop, authors Dennis Palumbo and Wendall Thomas will discuss the benefits and challenges of being a novelist with a full-time job.

Wendall will focus on how teaching screenwriting strengthens her novel writing, and vice versa, but also how her screenwriting career helps with pitching to agents and editors, hitting deadlines, participating on panels, and writing short selling documents. She’ll also discuss how she manages her own writing while keeping boundaries with her clients and creates vital time off in both arenas.

Dennis will discuss how his career as a psychotherapist contributes to the accuracy and relevance of his psychological thrillers, and how being a fiction writer informs his understanding of his patients’ personal narratives. He’ll suggest ways to glean expertise from your “day job” and weave it into a unique and realistic backdrop for your fiction, illuminating a world readers may not be familiar with. He’ll also provide some tips on how to address “burnout” in both careers.

Bios:

Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA, lectures internationally on screenwriting, and has worked as an entertainment reporter, development executive, script consultant, and film and television writer for companies including Showtime, NBC, Warner Brothers, A&E, Disney, and PBS. Her first Cyd Redondo novel, Lost Luggage, was nominated for the Lefty and Macavity Awards for Best Debut Mystery of 2017. Her second, Drowned Under, was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and a Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery of 2019. Fogged Off was a finalist for Best Humorous Mystery of 2021. Her short fiction appears in the crime anthologies Ladies Night (2015), Last Resort (2017), the Anthony-nominated Murder-A-G-Go’s (2019), and Crime Under the Sun (2023). Her fourth Cyd Redondo mystery, CHEAP TRILLS, will be published on October 30th. https://www.wendallthomas.com/

Dennis Palumbo, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter; etc.), is a licensed psychotherapist whose work with creative people has been featured on CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. He’s also the author of the popular nonfiction book, Writing from the Inside Out. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime. His series of Dennis Palumbo, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter; etc.), is a licensed psychotherapist whose work with creative people has been featured on CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. He’s also the author of the popular nonfiction book, Writing from the Inside Out. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime. His series of award-winning mystery thrillers (the latest of which is Panic Attack) feature Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police. Recently, Dennis served as Consulting Producer on the Hulu TV series The Patient. https://dennispalumbo.com/

Members, please come to the chapter member meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Preregistration required. Presenters are virtual unless they are already in the area. Select in-person or virtual. In-person attendance is at the Tempe Public Library. The Virtual Presentation is on Zoom. You will receive a confirmation message with the information for attending or to register on Zoom.

Please register for Twin-Track Mind before the event! 

It’s all over except the replay!

WriteNow! 2023, September 22-23, 2023

Named Best Writers Conference in Arizona (2020, The Writer magazine)

Arizona’s premiere mystery/crime writers conference for authors, readers, and enthusiasts welcomes writers from all genres. WriteNow! 2023 will again be virtual, with an in-person anthology release and author signing.

With a focus on Craft ♦ Publish ♦ Market, there’s something for writers at all stages. Friday’s Pre-conference program includes one-on-ones with agents, manuscript assessments by an editor, and a marketing workshop. Saturday’s Main Conference has interviews, presentations, and a craft workshop.

Details are on our conference page.

2023 Events 

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All 2022 Events

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Covid-19 Guidelines from SinC National and AZ DHS

SinC National has published their meeting guidelines for this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic:

2021 In-Person Meetings Guidelines

The AZ DHS has as well:

Arizona Department of Health Services recommendations

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