Joining a writing group can be daunting, especially for a beginning writer. At one point, we were all newbies in the writing world! Read what some of our most recent Mississippi Valley Writers Guild members have to say about joining a critique group.

Confessions of a Newbie: Joining Mississippi Valley Writers Guild from Cathy

The Tuesday afternoon group swooped me under their wings a few short months ago. Starting out I was a little nervous. My genre is non-fiction writing and I wasn’t sure

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Written by MVWG Member Jess Witkins

Fall is a wonderful time of year for writers as it includes November’s National Novel Writing Month. All around the world, writers write their hearts out trying to reach 50,000 words in a month!

Here in the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild, we know not all our writers are working on novels. We have playwrights, poets, picture book writers, memoirists and more! So, wanting to create something inclusive, educational, and community oriented, we partnered up with local libraries, writing groups and arts organizations to create our very own Great River Writes fall writing series.

You’re invited! Events start up in October and run through most of November. With thanks to our Great River Writes committee members: MVWG, Winona Public Library, La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse Area Writers Group, River Arts Alliance, and University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

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by MVWG Member Christy Wopat

If you’re anything like me, writing can be an emotional roller-coaster.

Some of us are happy to write simply for our critique groups while others, like me, are extremely motivated to become traditionally, NY-Big-Five published. No matter where you fall on that continuum, though, I think it’s fair to say that a lot of us write for the feeling of an audience reading our words, and for their approval.

I’m ambitious. I do a lot for the writing community without a single dollar as payment. I take classes and attend writerly events. I enter contests, and I submit articles and essays to different organizations quite often. For me, this means a LOT of rejection. A LOT of silence in my email inbox. I try to remain hopeful, but often it can feel like I write things and send them into the void, never to be seen again.

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Written by MVWG Member Scott Blanke

When I retired from my medical practice at Mayo Clinic, I was told by my wife, Heidi, that I had to do something to keep me out of her hair. Just watching TV, reading fiction novels and comic books and stalking her around the house was not allowed. Since I had been working on a murder mystery novel for ten years, I decided to become a writer.

After reading multiple writing aid books, finishing many flash fictions and short stories, I learned what it means to be rejected. But my novel was now finished. Both my beta editor and wife both said, “boring and too autobiographical,” so I sought outside help. I decided to go to my first writing course in Madison.

The courses were great and I pitched my novel to several agents. Each one said, ‘interesting, we’ll call you, don’t call us.’ No one ever called. So, I figured another course was needed. As a birthday gift, Heidi and I went to Mexico for another great course. Both the lectures and the food were amazing, but no agents thought my novel was Bueño. I put my novel on the virtual shelf.

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Written by MVWG Member Tracy Schuldt Helixon

I’ve always wanted to have my own lilac bush. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, in an act of defiant hope, I mail-ordered one. I pictured it. It would arrive in the mail in full bloom! I would inhale its sweet scent, plant it in the front yard, and enjoy it all season long!

Turns out, I had a lot to learn.

Weeks later, I crouched next to its withered leaves and dry branches, holding a watering hose at its base. It hadn’t exactly grown as I had expected. “If you can just get it to hang on until winter, it will bloom much better in the spring,” my friend Sue had told me. I studied the few remaining green buds, moved the hose even closer to the roots, and hoped she was right.

Seven months later, on a cloudy spring day, I’m sitting on my front porch as I write this. The lilac bush is thriving. The warm breeze carries its sweet, fragrant scent. I savor it.

My assigned topic for this blog post is the publication of my debut novel. I can’t help but see the parallels to that lilac bush.

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During my critique group (with the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild) last week we were talking about the passing of time. We were specifically discussing best practices for showing the passage of time in our stories.

It is easy to fall into the trap of telling each and every little part of our characters’ days. They woke up; they ate breakfast. They went to work and had a meaningful conversation, and then went out to happy hour with a few co-workers and blah, blah, blah. The career pivoting conversation was the important part of the scene, but if we didn’t say the character ate scrambeled eggs and was annoyed by their morning commute, did it really happen? What could you leave out? And when could you hit the fast forward button? What should you absolutely not skip? Most importantly, what kinds of signal words should you be using to tell your reader the chronology of events without boring or confusing them?

We talked for awhile, mentioning points of our own manuscripts we felt could be improved, and then I had an idea. As a middle school reading and English teacher I often employed a strategy called “using a mentor text,” and it worked GREAT! By looking at published stories we admired, we saw what the desired end result could look like, and my students were able to make better attempts at achieving the goal we’d set out to pursue. I suggested to my critque group we do the same thing. “Let’s look at how the pros do it,” I said.

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Written by MVWG Member Joanne Shird

Poetry, as an art form, predates written text, is probably the oldest form of expressive art, and held a prominent place in ancient societies. I would say it does not hold a prominent place in modern society, that few people revere poetry, own books of poetry or spend time reading poetry. Unlike poetry, I would say that music is a central part of people’s lives. However, music and poetry are not that different, perhaps music strikes elevated chords more pervasively and strums rhythm more persistently but poetry is music as well. Poetry can excite the senses, and as with music one can ride its vibes and break out on the other side.

Children toy with and are often dazzled by rhymes and the play of words. Children love rhyme and are schooled early on in nursery rhymes. Some tightly attuned kids learn the beauty of words at a very young age. One day as I was holding my then 2 ½ year old granddaughter, each of us ‘reading’ our own book, she took my book, which she often did, traced her fingers along the symbols mumbling pretend words. She looked up at me and said, ‘Nonnie, I love words.’ My heart soared. Somehow this young child had grasped the utter depth and beauty of not only the spoken word, which she had mastered, but also the written word which was still a mystery to her.

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Written by MVWG Member Niki Bergler

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." -Toni Morrison

The book slammed shut as my hands came together. Dewdrops clung to my lashes. I came back into the cabin where I was sitting cross-legged on the couch. The fire in the woodstove glowed but held no flame. How much time had passed? I had read the book cover to cover without a desire to get up and get a snack. I am not even sure I took a breath the entire time. I take one now.

Inhale, one-two-three-four, exhale one-two-three-four.

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by the MVWG Member He Said/She Said duo Scott and Heidi Blanke

Sometimes when you’re in a critique group and you ask a fellow writer about their next chapter or even the book’s ending, they reply with

“You’ll see.”

Well, Heidi & Scott will see about that.

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With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we thought it might be fun to have a couple of our romance-writing members share a bit of advice and inspiration.

First up? A few tips from author, Heidi Blanke.

1. Know the subgenre. While the overall list and trends within romance can change, the commonly accepted subgenres are: contemporary, historial, suspense, inspirational, paranormal, and young adult. However, when submitting to a publisher, they may break their books into sub-subgenres such as medical or western. Be sure to check each publisher’s guidelines and requirements and submit only to those that align with your manuscript.

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Written by MVWG Member Amanda Zieba

I love buying presents. I love the act of thinking about what an individual would enjoy and then following through with the purchasing, gifting and observing the recipient's reaction. Personally, my language of love is gifts. What can I say, in a world of minimalists and Marie Kondo lovers, I still enjoy THINGS. Below I’ve rounded up a few items that the book lovers and writers in your life might like. If you are looking to gift yourself a goodie this holiday season or need to send a few not-so-subtle hints to the gift buyers in your life, simply copy and paste this link (and then cross your fingers!).

Read on for great gift ideas!

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Written by MVWG Member Christy Wopat

For my 9th birthday party, I got two cherished gifts from my friends: a Super-Special edition of the Baby Sitter’s Club, and a leather diary. I wrote in it almost immediately, chronicling the ins and outs of my life daily.

Dear Diary, I’d write, you should have heard what Sarah said to me at school today. Or Dear Diary, I think I might be getting really close to having a boyfriend!

When my twins died a decade ago, I wrote my way through intense grief. I’d sit at the computer, tears streaming down my face, spinning my pain into a story. I used my words to feel, to connect, to reach out.

At my ultimate lows, I have written.

And yet, when Covid hit, my fingers refused to type. My notebooks sat untouched. So often, I write about things after they’ve happened. I put them out in the universe and away they go, leaving me to move on to another day, another dilemma, another problem to solve. But Covid is different. It’s not over. It’s long from over. And honestly, often, I don’t know what to say.

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By MVWG Member Jess Witkins

The Mississippi Valley Writers Guild is pleased to be a sponsor of the 4th annual Great River Writes series, which is now virtual. For the past several years, our guild has teamed up with fellow arts and literary organizations including La Crosse Public Library, Winona Public Library, La Crosse Area Writers Group, the River Arts Alliance, UW-La Crosse’s English Department, and NaNoWriMo to bring area writers free writing workshops and author-focused talks.

It’s been an important part of our organizations’ work that we bring in great speakers and craft-focused topics to our guild members, but also our community. In the past, we’ve welcomed such authors as Blair Braverman, Jen Rubin, Wang Ping, Marcie Rendon, Chris Norbury, R.R. Campbell, Nickolas Butler, Michael Perry and more! We’ve covered fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, journalism, and publication topics.

This year, like so many other organizations affected by the pandemic, we’ve chosen to scale back a little, but offer the series virtually, opening up for many more to take advantage of these stellar learning opportunities.

So save the dates! Sign up with us! We hope to “see” you attend our 2020 season.

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Written by MVWG Member Amy Jo Van Arsdall

Have you ever hung out with someone who’s such a fan of something that they might as well be from Mars? I mean they’ve got their own lingo, their own idioms, their own everything. That’s how it was for me back in 2012 when I first participated in this annual event called National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. But that feeling didn’t last long.

NaNoWriMo participants, or “WriMo’s” as they’re called, are some of the most welcoming and friendly people you could want to meet, with an abundance of that delightfully nerdy sort of friendly. I don’t know about you – but I just love them for that. Basically, the goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days of November. The definition of “novel” is pretty loose. You can work towards your goals on your own, or you can connect with other writers through events called write-ins, where writers come together (virtually nowadays) and offer so many kinds of help; encouragement, ideas, exercises, and so much humor. Whatever your genre you like to write, someone’s there with you. Whatever writing skill you want to build – someone else is working on it too. Challenging yourself to finish will show you how to really shut that inner editor down.

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Reading has often been quoted as one of the best ways for people to gain empathy. Reading about someone whose life differs from our own allows us to travel in their footsteps awhile and gain understanding of their perspective. Yet, as long as books have been around, you can bet someone had a view on who should or shouldn’t be reading them.

Banned Books Week is September 27th - October 3rd this year and it celebrates the freedom to read. Responding to an exponential increase in challenged books across schools, bookstores, and libraries, the coalition of Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 and it continues to stand by the value of free and open access to information today.

As a library worker, censorship is a hot topic amongst librarians. Libraries remain one of the more vital spaces in our communities in which patrons can enter (well, at least pre-covid) and check out a wealth of materials from nonfiction engineering guides, study aids, primary source reference books, cookbooks, how to books, as well as fiction needs for all ages from board books for babies to large print editions for those that may be visually impaired. They carry audio options, digital collections, local and national news sources; many are now offering full kit collections for all ages that interactively educate on science elements, photography, building, and health information. Did I mention they offer this FOR FREE?!

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Written by MVWG Member Teri Holford

Zoom. Groan. Interviews. Yawn. Beverage of choice. Big smile! I’ve brought these three things together this summer while following a weekly series of zoom interviews with published authors and literary agents. Called Inside Writing Gotham Writing Workshops, every week is a live conversation dedicated to a different genre of writing: memoir, horror, literary fiction, YA, middle grade, sci fi/fantasy, nonfiction, mysteries/thrillers, graphic novels/comics, commercial fiction, picture books, children’s fantasy, and query letters. Host Josh Sippie, an aspiring novelist himself, facilitates a conversation between the world of writing and publishing. For an hour each week, zoomers like me get a fascinating peek into the craft of writing in a particular genre and the craft of what agents are looking for and how they take writers to the next level.

To watch a live interview, you simply sign up for the “free class”, but they are ultimately posted online for anyone to watch (see here) and they have created a podcast with an audio version (see here). These conversations are razor sharp and the banter is sincere.

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Written by Scott and Heidi Blanke

Oh boy do we have something fun for you today… a first on our MVWG! Grab your favorite liquid fuel and settle in for a real treat today as we gleefully present: To Reread or Not to Reread: A Husband and Wife Debate.

His side:

Do I ever reread a novel or short story. Hell Yes!

Before Covid, my wife and I would go to a restaurant once or twice a week. If we went to our favorite Indian restaurant, I would carefully peruse the entire menu and then order the exact same item, scallop saag, time after time. My rereading a novel is similar to that phenomenon. Even though there are dozens of other options to choice from, I often go back to old favorites.

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Written by MVWG Member Heidi Blanke

Including someone from another race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. in your writing is a great way to open readers up to the greater world and to help them picture what it’s like to step outside their norm.

If you’re a white writer brought up in predominately white surroundings, you’re likely to picture most of your characters as white.

How do you expand from there and, more importantly, should you expand?

The answer is yes, but it’s also no.

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Summer is officially here. It is a time of extended daylight, and for many a time to kick back with a good book and get some solid reading done. Whether on vacation, up at the lake or soaking up the sunshine in your own backyard… we hope you bring a good book with you. Bonus, it’s also a SAFE activity during these uncertain times!

The members of the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild want to help you find your perfect summer read and to that end have graciously shared the next book on their reading list. We are hopeful that you’ll pop into Pearl Street Books or Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy (or seven) of the titles below!

Have a great summer, full of fun and lots of good books.

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During the past few months of quarantine, the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild did something special. They created a community wide writing experience. They asked for writers of the area to contribute a piece to a collection focused on HOPE.

The project was kicked off with this great piece by CVWG director, B.J. Hollars. Many of our Mississippi Valley Writers Guild members felt compelled to participate in this unique writing exercise. Below you will find the contributions of several of our members. We are grateful to the CVWG for sharing their platform with us and our words.

We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. We also hope that you are well, safe, and have ample reading material.

All our best,

Amanda Zieba, MVWG Vice President

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