Milwaukee Writers Workshop

Hello everyone,

We'll be meeting on February 1st, which is next Sunday. For that meeting we'll be at Anodyne (not the library). If you have questions, please let me know.

Also, we'll be reading Kory's flash fiction piece "Solid Soup" and Greg's piece "Smaze's Science Project".

I'd like to also go over some of the material I worked on at the end of the session last time regarding the submission process. For those of you who'd like to participate (and didn't give me the applicable information at the group), please email me the following details: story title (make one up if you don't actually have one), word count, and a market you're intending the story to be geared toward. We'll be going over how to choose a market, how to send it out, and some of the more basic details. If you have a large envelope, please write your mailing address in the top left; also, bring a white envelope with your name in the "To:" space for the SASE. If you have questions, email me.

Lastly, we won't be having a committee meeting on Saturday. I didn't really get that much interest from anyone. However, if you'd like to show up a little early on Sunday (say noon), I'll be there discussing WriteCamp with Niki and Lyndzi. We can talk a bit about a committee meeting/committee there. Email me, please, if you're looking to come early, so I know for certain to reserve the room for that period of
time.

Thanks everyone.
Boone

Things are already rolling for Milwaukee's first WriteCamp. Niki, Lyndzi, and I had a productive meeting the other night discussing what it will be, what we'll need to do for it, and how we'll need to go about it. Our first order of business is to begin putting together a committee.

If you're interested in being a part of the planning committee for WriteCamp, please let me know. Being a part of this will require some significant amounts of time, especially as it comes closer to the date of the event. Those of you who are interested, please email me with the amount of time you're willing to put forth (in hours per week or even hours per month). I just need to know time commitments, so I can look into what positions can be filled right away.

Niki, Lyndzi, and I will be meeting weekly to discuss things, and I'll be setting up a mailing list for those interested in being a part of things. We hope to make this a great, new Milwaukee asset.

The meeting on the 18th (this upcoming Sunday) will be at the Shorewood Village Center. We will NOT be at Anodyne this meeting. If you have questions or need directions, look under the "Locations" link at the top of the page or call me (414-520-9404).

We will be reading Pat Lafferty's story, "Nocturnal Submission", and Jason Waltz's piece, "Fallen". Please come with critiques and comments.

Also, we'll begin our series on the submission process (mostly for short stories but also for other types of fiction). Please bring a hard copy of one of your stories that you're satisfied with sending out.

We'll be having a special guest attending our meeting this week, and I hope that he stays with us for a while. I want everyone to treat him like he's just another member and not fuss over things. Brad Hicks (yes, the TV anchor) will be there. He's not affiliated with Fox 6 on Sunday, though; he's just a writer looking to get feedback and learn from other writers. I think it's a great step for us that we're getting recognized, so please make him feel welcome, as you do with any other member.

As always, email me with any questions you may have.

Cheers,
Boone

I announced at the meeting on Sunday (the 4th) that the Milwaukee Writers Workshop will be mentioned on 88.9, Radio Milwaukee. I had thought that it would start airing this week, but I received an email stating that it would most likely start at the beginning of next week. So please be sure to listen in if you can. The fellow who interviewed me said that he would send me the full interview, which I will post on the site as soon as I get it.

I'm really excited for this, as I think that it'll bring a lot more attention to our group, and part of the reason I've been looking to get more aid from within the group is that I see it growing rapidly over the next year, and I really would like to be able to control it. I can't do that on my own, and I really appreciate all of those who have stepped forward to offer their assistance.

At the end of the month, Trevor and I will be holding a meeting. We will be discussing some of the ways to divide the priorities amongst the group. Anyone is welcome; however, I feel that we will need to come away from that meeting with a fairly solid group of people (eight at the most) who are going to work on specific tasks within the group. Some folks have already taken on those tasks (the newsletter, site updates, etc.), but there are others that will need to be filled. That session will also be open to comments and suggestions for the group, so please bring them if you have them.

I will post a date on the calendar when we decide on it.

As always, email me with questions.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year. I hope your holiday was nice. So we're starting a new year, and we're starting everyone off on their goals that they've set (right?). At the beginning of December I had everyone come up with their top five writing or writing-related goals for 2009. If you haven't posted to the Google group discussion board, please feel free to. Otherwise, please feel free to take advantage of the new forums here on the site. I've added this as a new feature, so people don't have to worry as much about creating a new Google account and remembering one more password. I'll start everyone off by re-posting my own five goals. This upcoming meeting will be on the 4th of January: that's this upcoming Sunday. We will be meeting at the regular Anodyne location and at the regular time (1pm - 4pm). I will continue to update everyone regarding the potential move to Shorewood. We will be reviewing two stories. One is "Blue Ribbon Bi-Centennial" by Steve Hugener; the other is "Darkness Passed" by Lyndzi Miller. They are in the "Files" section of the Google group; if you need them to be sent to you, please let me know. Read over them, take some notes, and make comments. If you need a bit of direction, there is a critique form in the "Files" section of the Google group. If you'd like me to send the critique form to you, please let me know, as soon as possible, and I'll attach it an email (it's a .pdf that you can fill out right on your screen and then print out). As well, I'd like everyone who has a polished story (or at least one your pleased with) to bring ONE PRINTED COPY to the group. We'll be doing something interesting and educational (or at least informational) with them. As always, email me if you have any questions.