Milwaukee Writers Workshop

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.

I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland coming across this Milwaukee Writers Workshop site. Within 24 hours of registering, you are letting me post my own blogs, upload files and who knows what else? Right now I don't have a firm idea of who else is in this group or what y'all are working on, but so far I'm impressed. At this very minute you are meeting at the Anodyne Cafe in Bay View going over manuscripts. Since I'm still recuperating from some awful respiratory bug that came back with me from Atlanta, I didn't consider joining you. And I don't even know if anyone will bother to read this. But it's a good warm-up for another blog I really should post today. My last posting was before Christmas, and even if no one else noticed, I get that nagging voice inside that says, "Get going, lazy." So. . .hope to get acquainted with the rest of you soon and learn if I'm okay enough for your group. January is a positive month for writers -- new goals, slate washed clean, possibilities. . .

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.

The Milwaukee Writers' Workshop was founded in 2006 as a response to what I saw as a growing need in the writing community of Milwaukee. At the time, there was one other free group in the city, and the only other groups were groups that charged dues or fees for classes. I didn't want that, because I didn't feel then - and I don't feel now - that such groups ought to make their members pay. The Milwaukee Writers' Workshop - along with the Milwaukee Writers Group - is a community meant for the sharing of knowledge. All of us in the group are writers; we're also readers. There is no better audience than others who understand your plight as well as your triumphs. It is our hope that the group can provide in many different ways to the host of writers in Milwaukee who also believe that knowledge - especially in the field of writing - ought to be disseminated for free. Everyone brings something to the group for others to learn, thus everyone is both a teacher and a student. As writers, we constantly learn new things, and we consistently grow and improve upon our craft. That is the nature of an artist. It is my belief that a community is only as strong as its weakest member. Ours is a truly strong community, because I feel that there is a desire to learn and grow and expand both the group and its knowledge. There is a movement in the world for a greater sense of "free". I have quipped that the Milwaukee Writers' Workshop is becoming the open source writing group in Milwaukee, and I hope that it continues to be that way and be a model for other groups who happen to learn about us. As the community in Milwaukee grows, so, too, will the needs of that community, and we hope that the Milwaukee Writers' Workshop will be able to continually provide. New events will be forthcoming, while old events will remain in place. The calendar will be updated regularly, and the site will undergo some changes to accommodate the growth within the group. I welcome all of you who have come upon this site in search of a community like ours.