UntitledTown 2019 Has Something for YOU!
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April 16, 2019

Spring is arriving, and that means Green Bay’s annual UntitledTown Book and Author Festival, now in its third year, is just around the corner. Sporting 100+ free literary events in downtown Green Bay, including readings, discussions, panels, workshops, and other events of interest to writers and readers, UntitledTown celebrates “all aspects of book culture.” With events for people of all ages, interests, and walks of… [Read More]

NaNoWriMo and Your Local Community
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November 13, 2018

While it is true that finishing the first draft of a novel is just one small step on the staircase towards publication, it also a tremendous accomplishment. It takes dedication, and even more so when the goal is to finish a 50,000-word novel draft in just one month, as many do by participating in National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo happens every November and has participants… [Read More]

2017 Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp May 7-13, 2017
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March 14, 2017

What’s bookcamp? Think boot-camp for your book. Spend six days in an intensive program to help you finish a manuscript worthy of publication and figure out how to pitch it to win a successful publishing deal. Dave Rank, past president of the Wisconsin Writers Association, is the host and director of Bookcamp which he established four years ago to attract and encourage emerging novelists. Last… [Read More]

The Lakefly Writers Conference
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May 17, 2016

This past Saturday, May 14, Jill Swenson and I attended the Lakefly Writers Conference in Oshkosh, WI. This was my first time attending a literary conference and I experienced the joy of participating in a community of Wisconsin writers. Sponsored by the Friends of the Oshkosh Public Library, the Lakefly Writers Conference is named after the insects which annually appear briefly in early May along… [Read More]

How the Iowa Summer Writing Festival can boost your creativity
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March 29, 2016

Each summer, the University of Iowa offers dozens of writing workshops open to writers at any level through its Iowa Summer Writing Festival — this year in its 30th year. The university, of course, is known for housing the nation’s premier MFA program in creative writing. The summer festival brings some of the same top-notch literary talent to the table, offering a taste of that… [Read More]

A Tuscany writing retreat: The magic of manifestation
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February 16, 2016

Sometimes you just know when something is right. A combination of factors led me to sign up for my first writing retreat and it started with an email from a classmate of mine. Launched by Dulcie Witman and Regina Tingle, both MFA graduates of Goddard College, the retreat Wide Open Writing brings together creative people at a farmhouse in Tuscany. It was easy to say… [Read More]

Going Public
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January 19, 2016

I drive my 87-year old father to his memoir writing group every other week, where he meets with 8-10 peers to discuss short vignettes they have written. Each of them takes a turn having their piece of writing “critiqued” by the others. He’s been in this group for seven or eight years, and has written more than 117 stories about his life. I usually wait… [Read More]

Three types of writing retreats to boost your creative spirit
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October 25, 2015

Interested in a writing residency or retreat but worried your application to MacDowell will end up in the slush pile? If what you’re after is quality writing time and connections with other writers, go for function rather than prestige. Plenty of writing retreats and residencies offer quiet space in idyllic settings, sometimes with reduced or subsidized costs based on need. Some require engagement with the… [Read More]

Is an Online Writing Class Right for You?
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September 22, 2015

Joyce Maynard found ads for James Patterson Master Class in her Facebook newsfeed and signed up to discover the secrets to writing a bestselling book. She wrote an article for The Observer about what Patterson had to teach her about writing – and selling – books. That she herself was a published author of a couple memoirs and a dozen novels did not prevent her… [Read More]

Writing Advice from Will Schwalbe
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April 28, 2015

On Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at the Atlas Coffee Mill, three dozen Fox Cities writers filled a meeting room for a workshop with Will Schwalbe, author of End-of-Your-Life Book Club (Knopf, 2012) and editor at Macmillan. Friday afternoon there were two readings to packed houses as part of the Fox Cities Book Festival. I listened to him at UW Fox Valley where the audience spilled… [Read More]