So here's a new series I'll be working on. I call it the Writer's FAQ. I think there are a lot of small questions that never really get touched on in writers books, because they focus a lot on larger topics like Theme and Character and Setting. So I'm going to work on some very specific questions sent to me by readers at my blog or given to me by members of this here workshop.

My answer to many questions like this is two-fold: read and write in equal parts.

In all seriousness, though, to keep your writing 'fresh' is to understand what is going on in the contemporary world of the style you're writing. If you're writing science fiction, for example, know what other science fiction writers are writing. That doesn't mean go and buy every new book as soon as it comes out; it just means keep tabs on what's popular, what's pushing the envelope, and who is doing things that impress you. 'Fresh,' to me, means unique, and that means creating your own voice and finding your place in the world as a writer, within the context of your peers.

'Inventive' is a slightly different matter. They're kind of one-in-the-same, but my interpretation of this word is that it means "outside the box." I don't know that this is always necessary, but it's certainly a good way to go. Genres -- of all varieties -- begin to have tropes; it's inevitable. Understanding those standards (tropes) and utilizing them to your best advantage, or in some cases doing away with them entirely, is the best way to make your writing inventive. Understanding takes knowledge, though, so I'll go back to my original statement: read and write in equal parts.

I think some of the most Fresh and Inventive writing comes out of short fiction. So in the next week, go to the bookstore and look for some of the literary journals in the magazine section and pick up one in your favorite genre. See what those writers are doing. See what they're not doing, too, because honestly not every writer is going to speak to you -- even though they got published. That's ok.

If you have a question for the Writer's FAQ, send it to boone@milwaukeewritersworkshop or visit us on Facebook.

As the Milwaukee Writers Workshop expands and offers new services to the community, we hope to be able to provide a good environment for the writers of Milwaukee to hone their craft and their business acumen. In order to do so, we've partnered with UW-Milwaukee to offer semester internships in writing, editing, and other English-related fields. Our first intern is Grace Lanham.

Grace says, "As a young writer I have begun to understand what it is that works for me and what does not. With my opportunity to work at the Milwaukee Writer’s Workshop I aspire to construct my ideas in an organized and consecutive fashion instead of a collection of ideas to be designed as I write. I have found that when I don’t take the time to formulate structure and context to my writing, the story loses it’s individuality and purpose. Along with my diligence to plan and organize my stories, I would like to step out of my comfort zone; speak from new perspectives and approach different situations in my writing to broaden my range and creativity. My main personal effort is to continually renew my freshness as a writer. I look forward to hearing new stories and sharing my passion, encouragement and appreciation of all the aspiring writers and artists. As a supporter, I will indulge myself in the creativity of the writers with a sense critical inquiry. To enrich the community, I intend to engage in whatever will benefit the creation of a story."

We welcome her to the organization and hope she learns as much as she hopes to.

Kaitlyn Mekertichian is a graduate of Marquette, and we've brought her on to help with some of our Social Media, Advertising, and other portions to help bring the Milwaukee Writers Workshop to more people throughout the Milwaukee area. Here is what Kaitlyn has to say about her position here:

"Ever since I was a little girl, I have been enthralled by the idea of writing my own book. I never knew what I wanted to write about necessarily, but I knew that before I died, I wanted to publish a book under my name. While I majored in Advertising and minored in Philosophy, I have never lost my spirit for writing. The fact that I can find simple punctuation beautiful is a clear sign to me that words on a piece of paper are so much more than words on a piece of paper. I hope that over the course of my lifetime, my words can motivate people to live healthier and more vegan-friendly lives, laugh, think and live more beautifully. I hope to learn more about writing and hone my craft at the Milwaukee Writer’s Workshop. I also hope to make MWW stand out to the young writer’s in Milwaukee so that they can strengthen their portfolio and learn the do’s and don’ts of the publication business before they venture off into a professional writing career."

So please welcome here to the Milwaukee Writers Workshop.

With the growth of the Milwaukee Writers Workshop over the last 5 years, we have continually provided more and more to the Milwaukee writing community. What began as three guys sitting at the bookstore exchanging stories has become one of Milwaukee's largest writing groups with bi-weekly critique groups, classes on a variety or subjects, and WriteCamp -- Milwaukee's only FREE writers conference!

With that in mind, the Milwaukee Writers Workshop will be doing a little upgrading in the coming new year.

New Structure

Beginning the first of the year, January 1, 2012, the Milwaukee Writers Workshop will be registered as a business with the State of Wisconsin. What does that mean?

1. We get to do business as a full-fledged organization
2. We can expand and hope to find permanent space for ourselves in the future
3. We can provide more and better services to our community

It is our hope that we will be able to offer more classes, more workshops, and more critique sessions throughout the year to provide for our own growing community, as well as the larger community in Milwaukee. We also hope to expand our services to include mentorship programs and literacy courses.

What does it mean for you?

First and foremost it means that the Milwaukee Writers Workshop will become a dues-paying organization. However -- and this is very important to me as the Director -- we will make it affordable! Check out the new Memberships page for more details. And please email the Director with any -- ANY -- questions about this.

But wait! There's more!

Until March 31 of 2012, membership will be waived for all new members. This will allow all new members to get a feel for what we do. As well any new member will also get their first 3 months free -- like a trial offer.

If you like the Milwaukee Writers Workshop, and would like to support our new mission, please feel free to sign up for a membership or donate to our cause. Email the Director for more details.

We will also be having a discount on the lifetime membership for anyone who signs up before WriteCamp 4 in May of 2012 (exact date to be determined). Between now and then, the normal $500 membership will only be $350!

This will be a big step in the right direction for the Milwaukee Writers Workshop, and we will continue to keep you abreast of any changes in the near future. As always check out the calendar for the full list of events and keep tabs on the Courses section as we add new programming for the upcoming year.

Here is what's coming up:

Short Works Group:
Our bi-weekly short works group will be meeting Oct. 2, at 1pm at the Gravity Connect Center. This week's stories are "Horse Deal" by Peg Cadigan and "The Village with the Hole in the Sky" by J Boone Dryden. Visit our Submissions Page to see the reading list.

Novel Group:
This week is packed with novel changes. (Get it? :D). We will have our last weekday meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7pm at the Wauwatosa Public Library. We'll be finishing up Tom Murphy's piece "The Memoir of Mortimer Bibblemaker." If you don't have the story, please email me.

After that we'll be meeting regularly on Sunday's directly after the short works group, with our first meeting on Oct. 2 at 3pm. For our first meeting, we'll be getting an idea of who has material, working on a reading list, and building our schedule for the next few months. Please attend if you've got something you'd like to have worked on.

Ozaukee Extention:
Our first meeting of the Fall will be this upcoming Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6:30pm at the USS Lincoln Memorial Library (in Grafton). Please join us for a workshop on plotting, as well as some ideas for the future direction of the group in terms of reading material, workshops, and a possible new location for alternate Thursdays. Feel free to bring a sample of writing or maybe an excerpt from a favorite author.

UWM Extention:
The new UWM group is off to a good start. With support from Furrow, UWM's undergraduate literary publication, this new group is focused on writers on the UWM campus and others in the area of the East Side. If you've got a Friday evening free, come join us Oct. 7 at 7pm in the UWM Student Union. We'll be reading a poem by one our newest member and a short story by Furrow's own, Kori Klinzig.

Co-Working:
Need motivation? Come join J Boone Dryden at the Shorewood Alterra Coffee at 7pm on Tuesday's. This week's will be cancelled in light of the Novel Group, but we'll be meeting regularly after that each Tuesday. Just look for the wonderful hand-drawn sign.

Upcoming Classes:
Keep an eye on our Schedule of Classes, as we'll be announcing a Grammar & Usage course, as well as some afternoon workshops on things like Self-editing, Queries, and Genre.

Here's what's happening this month:

Short Works Group:
This session we'll be reading "Burn" by C.S. Lee and "Living Standards" by Bill Kowaleski. We'll be starting at 1pm so please get there appropriately early.

Check out the "Critique Forms" link under "Submissions" at the top for our new critique forms for short works.

Novel Group:
Our next novel group will be at the Wauwatosa Library on 9/27/2011 at 7pm in the adult library conference room. Check the submissions section for the upload within the week.

Informational Session:
Want to help guide the future of the Milwaukee Writers Workshop? Come to this meeting at 3pm on 9/18 (right after the short works group). We'll be discussing some of MWW's plans for the future and getting your input.

UWM Extension:
In order to better serve our community, MWW is teaming up with Furrow (UWM's undergrad literary publication) to start a new chapter at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee campus. Join us for our first meeting at 7pm on 9/23 in the UWM Student Union.

Ozaukee Extension:
We're looking for a few new ideas for times and locations for the Ozaukee Extension. If you've got some ideas, email me.

Random Notes:

• We're still looking for writing-related blogs from our members. If you have one, email me.
• Please remember to keep file formats in as usable format as possible: .rtf, .doc, and .odt are all good (no .docx please).

Hello all.

Since I missed last week's meeting, we'll be moving it to this upcoming Sunday. Which means we'll be reading and critiquing Keith Rosson's piece, "Homesteaders," and Ann Schuck's personal essay, "Strange Indeed." Please do come with thoughts prepared.

For those in the short story class, please read as much as you can of the material sent, and we'll try to combine both setting and narrative time in one lesson (what we don't get to, we'll save for another day or just personal questions).

Cheers.

The Milwaukee Writers Workshop -- in its goal to promote writing of all kinds -- is proud to bring you a new Erotic Writing Group. Here is the information.

Day: May 5 (first meeting)

Time: 6:30pm

Location:
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
252 E Highland Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Phone: (414) 271-2656

It is free -- like all of our groups -- and open to anyone 18 and older. We welcome new authors, too, to help hone your craft. A discussion about what the group will entail will be had at the first meeting, and we would welcome any thoughts on definitions, desires, and such for the group.

In solidarity with the teachers of the state who work hard to educate all of us, I will be waiving the fee for the class that I had been offering on short story mechanics. If you are interested, the class will be held from 12pm-1pm each Sunday starting on April 3rd. We will begin with the first class and proceed for 12 weeks.

If you are interested in this class, please email me at boone@milwaukeewritersworkshop.com, so I can "register" you for the class. I need to estimate how much in the way of materials I'll need to print each week in order to prepare for the class.

Also, because of the nature of the course offered, it is highly suggested to follow along as closely as possibly, even if you aren't going to make every session. Most of the material is derived from previous sessions. So please do keep that in mind and let me know if you would like to attend most but cannot attend all.

The syllabus can be found on the course page. You can email me with any questions or comments.

Our favorite events are back. This time we're doing them closer together, because I know everyone is keen to come out and bask in the warmth of creative energy. So here's information for this year's events.

WriteCamp3

June 4, 2011, 9am-7pm
Mercy Hill Church at the Hide House
2625 S. Greeley Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207

This year's WriteCamp will feature a bunch of new features, as well as some old favorites. Post your thoughts in the forums, propose some sessions, and speak up if you'd like to volunteer.

But that's not all . . .

WriteHouse2

April 20, 2011, 6pm-10pm
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Student Union, 2nd Floor
2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53211

This time we got three rooms for WriteHouse, which means lots more to do and lots more space. We'll be featuring some activities, critiques, and lots of networking with Milwaukee's writing community, as well as professors and students of UWM.