Both events will be held at the Portfolio Center (623 S Wabash, Suite 307) / Students: first — meet me in class at 9:00 a.m.

We’ve got someone from the alumni association coming over to talk briefly with you. We’ll go over some things, then go over to the PC together.

March 29th @ 11am

Blogging and the Writer’s Portfolio

for: Writers (of all kinds)

Local writer / bloggers of all kinds will visit for a discussion about the advantages of using a blog as part of a writer’s portfolio, including tips and best practices for getting a blog rolling.

Guests include Draft|FCB Copywriter (and alum) David Littlejohn, author of Advertising for Peanuts, Journalism Faculty member and author of CurrentBuzz Barbara Iverson, and novelist and freelance writer Ben Tanzer, author of This Blog Will Change Your Life.

This discussion is open to all students and alumni of Columbia College Chicago.
April 5th @ 11am

Pitch & Query: Writing for Hire

for: Writers (looking to get published)

Set your own hours. Get paid to work from home. Write to your hearts content. Sounds good, right? But to be a successful paid freelance writer or novelist, you need to know how to sell your ideas through clear writing – not gimmicks. Join agent Joanna MacKenzie and acquisitions editor Jacque Day discuss the do’s and dont’s of pitch and query letters.

This discussion is open to all students and alumni of Columbia College Chicago.

From this week’s Reservoir - a short piece that quotes Jotham Burello on various tools needed to succeed as a writer.

Please fill one of these out by the end of the month:

Students: Have you been to the portfolio center recently for a portfolio advising appointment? A Show Off portfolio review, class presentation, or to meet with someone to discuss your portfolio? Please help us continue to best serve you by filling out the following Student Survey and enter in an end-of-semester drawing for a free iPod!

Hey folks — in preparation for the class after spring break, read this article that Matt Green passed along to me.

I’m not sure exactly where Mr. Marceau wanted me to move his post to, so I thought I’d start a new blog of general class musings beginning with his, below . . . Kristin 

—————————

This was a really great week. Today was awesome…Rushdie and Lethem at the Chicago Public Library. I left amazed.

The Grad Student Reading was incredible. Something definitely worth aspiring to. For those that didn’t or couldn’t stay until the end, well, you missed out. What a closer.

Business Card printing was a fiasco at the local FedEx/Kinkos…never again. I left feeling like the world was a shit-hole and everything was an obstacle to my goals. I wasn’t about to fork out the $125+ they wanted for a minimum of 500 cards. Eat my ass, Corporate America.

The weather was a gorgeous tease this week. Glad I wore my stinky leather…it got to be the cold, unfriendly Chicago weather we all know and love this afternoon.

Networking. I DID get a few phone numbers, numbers I’ve wanted for a while but haven’t seen the people in a long time: Grads and Alumni. Connections are connections, I’ll take what I can get (for now).

I had my Info Interview and Portfolio Advising appt. w/ Joanna. Cute, smart and energetic. A pleasant meeting to say the least. Learned some of what I already knew, a few new things and details about industry information I was a little fuzzy on. I brought my Improved Frosted Turd (resume) with me and she thought it was passable. I need to put the stuff in Bullets, but other than that, I’m on the right track.

The events this week have been a real treat. I’m gonna miss this shit when I graduate…so, I guess I’ll put it off another year.

It’s late. Zzzzz-time.

Ok, folks — try to go to as many events at Story Week as you can (the link has the full schedule plus). This only happens once a year! Great chance to network — especially you, Ric . . . ’cause we all know just how little of that you do!

Also, be sure to read the bios of the folks we’ll be seeing on Thursday. Cheers, Ks.

Steve May, Director of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University in England and four of their students will be visiting the Fiction Writing Department from March 5 through March 16, observing some of our classes and participating in Story Week events.   

We know that our faculty and students will welcome these visitors. The Fiction Writing Department extends an invitation to all faculty and students to join us for a reception welcoming our Bath Spa guests on Friday, March 9, starting at 2:30 P.M. on the third floor of the Columbia College library. Substantial refreshments will be served. 

Please blog about the event with Wendy Lalli – what you learned, etc. Continue to add to the resources blog.

Send me the final copy of your resume (microsoft word attachment). Make sure you are up to date on all work to this point.

Hi folks, here’s something Matt Green sent me (who you met this morning):

In class I talked about the organization that seeks screenplays for actors to read in front of an audience.  It’s actually called Chicago Scriptworks

- http://www.chicagoscriptworks.org/

…but your student also mentioned the Chicago Dramatists which is cool too – http://www.chicagodramatists.org/classes/

Also, Wendy Lalli’s website (www.wendylalli.com). Please send her a thank you for taking the time to talk to us this morning!

I’m also going to be copying and pasting all the links you send into the blog into the “Resource Websites” page (above as a button), so it’ll all go into one easy-to-find place, so check there, also (regularly).

see ya’ll later . . . Kristin