Happy New Year

Hello everyone!

It was a crystallizing kind of day at the WB!

Tad let us know about the Gallery 224 poetry readings and workshops going on this year. She also brought in TWO great poems to be critiqued by the group. The critique turned into quiet an inspiring discussion of many topics (location, layout, reflection within the work, weight of concepts and their location in the work, etc.)

Writing bio's came up. We poked the idea with a pointy stick and then let that sleeping dog lay.

Erica is setting the groundwork for the marketing side of things: facebook, blogging, etc. Just click the links to see how she's doing!

Jennifer moved, got employed, created a writing space, and resparked the writing bug!

The idea of creating a 2019 anthology has been officially accepted by the crew. Here's what we're working on so far, as well as a timeline of where we would like to see this go...


Anthology Title Ideas:

The Best Recipies for Snickerdoodles
Cat Sitting and Other Pointless Endeavors
Around the Block
Exit
From the Basement of the Library
The Subterranean Literary Society Presents
Literary Dungeon
How Dogs Think
Footsteps Overhead

Submissions: Poems, Short Stories (3000 - 6000 word count), Essays

Publishers: Kindle Direct, Lulu, Heritage Publishing Co, Foremost Press

November open mic reading: Gallery224, Smith Bros,

Open source photography Unsplash

Facebook page E.collins

*Anyone who stops by the WB can contribute
*Find an editor
*Taking contributions from TODAY until April 8th. (Soft date) May 13 is the Hard Date.

Write on!

Is This Thing On?

Hi all!

Yah, it's been a while. Sorry about that. New job, life happens, and all of that.

Okay! On to the subject o' the day:

Contests!

I've been rattling around some plans for 2019, 'cause it's the end of the year and my mind is in that zone. After a little research, here's what I've found for 2019 (so far)...

Short Story:
Reedsy Writing Prompts Inspired Short Story Contest (weekly)

Dialogue Only Writing Contest (July 5th deadline)

Horror Writing (June 30 DEADline...)

Poetry:
Walt Whitman Award (Deadline Nov 2019)

Tom Howard / Margaret Ried Poetry Contest (April 15-Sept 30 submission period)

Faith Poetry Contest (June 25 deadline, faith-based)


Other...
Creative Writing Award (Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story; $12 fee)

Drue Heinz Literature Prize (PUBLISHED AUTHORS contest, June 30 deadline)

North Street Book Prize (June 30 deadline)

William Van Wert Award for Fiction (June 30, novel excerpts)

McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize (June 28)

More to come later!

Write on.

-Dave

Getting Ready to Write!

Hello everyone and welcome Erica!

We discussed Kathy's SciFi work, plot points, time travel mechanics, story arcs, character bibles, etc. It got kind of 'timey-wimey', but I hoped it helped.

Eric has completed her first work and is shopping it around. Now she looking into that second book, zeroing in on some character details!

We talked about elevator speeches and shopping out books. We discussed some publishing groups such as:

https://www.one-story.com/

I've also attached a few more publishing links over there to the right...

We discussed royalties for anthologies: covering for publishing costs, editors, and using the profits to facilitate further works. We briefly discussed the anthology plans as well, folks still seem interested and I'll do my best to cobble together what I've got so far in a (near) future blog.

We discussed Diane's work about a bike hike up a mountain, and the trials that occur. We also got a peek at her poetry books (2 so far and a third coming together)!

Jennifer discussed her opening chapters of her book, some rewrites, and adjustments!

This was followed up with a transition question Megan had with her work, unfortunately I had to step out early before I had a chance to be a part of the follow up. Bring Book II in next W.B. Megan! It sounds like you have (at least) a few sales!

Write on, everyone.

-Dave

A Foggy October

Good day all!

I just wanted to shoot out a quick HELLO to Mike and Mary, who are new to our group.

Also, we did some writing stuff:
We had some freeform discussion concerning NaNoWriMo (see the link over there on the right side of the page), discussed some of our current efforts, talked about dealing with publishers and agents, the philosophy of writing (crafting verses commerce), what makes a story compelling, and various forms of self-promotion (blogging, public speaking, anthologies, etc.).

Two critiques today: Tad brought in a short work and Jennifer read a handful of pages from her Civil War novel. Hopefully we were able to give each of these fantastic works a proper critique.

We're planning on meeting on Monday, October 22 at 9 am. See you then!

-Dave

Anthology, Day 1...

Good day, all!

It was a great morning at the WB! Diane discussed some character concepts, Jen W is looking at editing her novel, Tad took us to the Carnival, and I talked about Ashland, Wisconsin.

Working with Tad's poem, we practiced a feedback style called: Latter of Feedback. With this process, the author reads the work, then the floor opens to four stages of discussion:

First, Clarify. This is where people ask questions about the work for understanding.
Second,Values.  This is where we discuss the positives of the work.
Third, Concerns. This is where we discuss the issues we have with the work.
Fourth, Suggestions. Opinions and ideas that didn't make it into the above three categories.

It opened the door for a LOT of discussion and positive feedback! Thanks for showing it to us Tad!


We ended on the subject of creating an Anthology to be made ready by late 2019. Our ultimate goal is to have 15-25 authors create works (any genre, poetry, memoir, etc) that would fill in a soft cap of 3000 words.
Yes. I understand that some poems are a little lighter than that, and we'll work though it.
Questions raised were:

1. Editor? Publisher? Press?
2. 10-Month Process (1st draft date, rewrite date, final edit date)
3. Final Proof and Print
4. Publication Date?
5. Launch Party (and public reading)!

Just something to think about!

-Dave

Rainy Monday

Back at the WB!

Streamline and organizing the writing space...
   Spring cleaning is in the air and the WB group has been tweaking their writing space for inspiration and better space use. Lots of new things, from the creation of new / updated blogs to a complete re-org of individual creative zones. Write on!

Decafnovelist.com is MK Wisemans site...
   The above link is the NEW MK Wiseman blog site for the Bookminder series, and beyond. Go check it out and see what is happening in the Croatian fantasy realm!

On family and those beta readers within...
   On a side note, we veered into the pros and cons of having family read our work. Memberable quotes such as "Will your readers know what a 'magi' is?", to (after hours of hmmmm, ahhh, mmmm) "It's nice.", and other such anticlimactic responses. Granted, the folks we trust in our families love us and want to help without risking harm. Still, it was a very therapeutic session!

Calling up the Kites Mountain short story...
   Just a quick thanks to the WB crew this week! We did some tear-down / feedback to the intro of the story. LOTS of great suggestions and edits!!! Although the story has already been submitted to GenCon for the contest, it was a eye-opening experience for me. One of my shortcomings is reading my own words out loud. As I read, I try to fix the story for the audience at hand. So apparently self-assured tenacity is something for me to keep tweaking. Still, at the end of it all, it was kind of fun answering the 'what motivated you to write this part' and 'how would you put this part and that part together for more clarity'. Insight and puzzle solving for the reader and author. Good stuff!

Diane brought in her poems...
   Fresh off the printer comes book 2 and book 3 is in the works! Hand-stitched bindings and some wonderful wordsmithing on the inside. Unfortunately, I had to cut out early for work, and was not around for the feedback and discussion. If anyone from the group reads this blog, feel free to leave whatever I missed in the comments!

-Dave

The Not-So-Quiet-Room

Hope everyone had a great WB last week!

Kathy D gave me an update on the going's on:

The Children’s Library is getting new carpet in May, and they’re moving the library into our meeting room. So they’ve asked us to move our meetings into the Quiet Room for May.

Lots of good interaction! 

Jennifer 1 spoke of her religious essays. 
Jennifer 2 brought 7 pages of her Civil War memoir and we critiqued. 
Diane brought in a finished copy of her chapbook along with the trials along the way. 
Kathy brought good cheer and her ever-sharp editorial eye to the table.

Write on everyone! See you on May 14th in the 'Quiet Room'.

-Dave

Things Done and To-Do

The group covered a TON of items at the last W.B., and I just wanted to both recap and note the plans for the upcoming get-together.

1. Diane is putting together a poetry booklet (good luck on the format issues!)

2. Camp NaNoWriMo is happening this month, I have an account and can see if I can set up a cabin, if anyone is interested.

3. Kathy is sorting out her 500 Word Confusions...

4. Megan has book 3 under construction and has finalized the cover artwork for book 2 of the Bookminder series!

5. I'm playing around with an 8000 word contest for Gen Con's Writer's symposium.

6. Tom (the library director) introduced us to the new Adult Services manager and also informed us that he would like any ideas that we might have for the creation of a 5-minute YouTube vid service that the Niederkorn library is interested in creating.

7. Jen gave us an obituary to read. It kicked off some interesting analysis and response!

One thing that was discussed is the reading / editing / responses to a short story for an upcoming contest. I was under the impression that the due date was April 1, but it turns out it is April 30. Here's the link (if you are interested):

http://www.genconwriters.com/node/193

Looking forward to seeing everyone on April 9th!

-Dave

New Year, Lots of Projects

Greetings to all!

Last W.B. we had Lynn, Megan, Rose, Diane, Kathy, and Dave along with tea, coffee, and banana bread!

Lynn provided a GREAT opening for a sci fi book. Discussion followed. I think it is safe to say that this is one of those story arcs that both engages in a timely manner while also transporting the reader into a neat, cautionary tale.

We talked about Megan's projects. A certain trilogy's final book is coming together even as I type this. Also discussed were the the joys of moving. Boxing things thought lost. Fitting in an established life into the frame of another home (and making it yours). If I wrote in the romance genre, I can see that being the framework of a cool flashback / flash-forward styled book...

Setting up a blog. Go Blogspot! Also, the expectations of writing on a daily / weekly / monthly basis...

Rose talked about holiday letters. This is an interesting time capsule of many nifty nuggets: issues of the day / year, the changes in an author's voice, reflections of the individuals to / from / about...

Another free-form Monday to inspire!

See you on Monday 2/12 for our next installment. I'll bring a goody and more coffee & tea.

Write on.

-Dave

Happy New Year Everybody!

Howdy all!

Soooo, I'm looking at the unpublished posts from 2017 and found that I've become a MASTER at writing posts during our Writers Blocks, then saving and never posting them. Still, there are quite a few with some gems jotted down, so if I suddenly seem to have a number of disjointed subjects...

Yesterday, we had our first WB of 2018!

The year is starting off with some new folks as well as the regular lineup. Megan is kicking off a new novel project, Kathy is back from a VERY extended leave and still plugging away at that editors guide. I've come on board with Illusionist Magazine (www.illusioni.st) this week. Yes, the ink is still drying on the contract.

Unfortunately, I was unable to catch up with the whole gang. However, the next WB will include a little free writing practice and I'm planning on discussing plotting for various sized projects.

The next Writer's Block will take place on Monday, Jan 15 at our usual time of 9 am - Noonish.

Write on!

-Dave

Rainy Day (Last Monday)!

It was a little light at the WB today. We hand one author in England, another out sick, some no-shows, and a couple of folks who had to roll in late. I had to leave 90 minutes early, due to a new job kicking off later in the morning, so we jumped right in as folks showed up.

We managed to retrieve a fairly recent copy of a Kathy's The 500 thought to be lost and I managed to do some author blog site reporting.

MK Wiseman made it, head cold and all. She's finishing the edit work for her publisher! WOOT

We talked E E Cummings.

We talked about NaNo plans.

November 14th will be the release of MK Wiseman Bookminder audiobook!

We talked about old projects and possible NaNo goodies attached to the efforts coming up in November.

Kathy D came up with a quad group of time travelers for her NaNo!

All in all it was a pretty good way to kick off the day!

-Dave

Stuff To Do

Greetings!

Today at the Writer's Block, we discussed writing aides, chat groups, and our projects!

We've got the first couple of chapters with more in the works for a mystery from Jen, Rose has her laptop newly updated and is working out some editing details with Kathy, Kathy has hit the letter P in her 500 book, M.K. Wiseman is in heavy editing mode for a couple of stacked projects, and I am prepping my NaNoWriMo effort for November.

There has been talk of an 'Inklings' group branching off from the Writers Block that might take off on the off weeks (on Thursdays, probably around 3 pm-ish) that will move around through the various coffee and spirits shops in Grafton and Cedarburg. More to come as details develop!

Speaking of authors groups, on Wednesday nights, Twitter has a chat #WritersLifeChat at 7:00. Think authors cocktail party with a general theme and then discussions branch off from that.
Go to Tweetchat.com create room, then you enter your hashtag.

Last time, there was a discussion about organizing our work / plots / characters using various techniques. One such technique is the site Obsidian Portal, which may be found at:

www.obsidianportal.com

This is a 'gamers site', meaning that it is designed by (and for) Role Play Gamers who wish to keep information organized and the lines of communications open between players and organizers. It also has everything a developing story needs to keep track of characters, maps, equipment, story arcs, and even fellow beta-readers (through invite-only forums). There are two levels of membership, free (which allows for a couple of 'games' or stories to have their own filing, along with a wiki to use for each); and paid (which unlocks multiple 'games' / stories, along with the full list of applications for each). This is a great option for larger tales, massive character rosters, and series that require a lot of housekeeping and plotting.

Write on!

-Dave

Contests-palooza

Good day all!

Writer's Block will be at 9 a.m. this coming Monday (8/28) at the W.J. Niederkorn Library. I'm fresh from Gencon and had the good fortune to sit in on a few panels about / for writers.

Also, we have had some great reads at the W.B. meets! If you have anything you are working on or if you want to talk about something that is keeping your keyboard busy, bring it in.

Also, as part of the short story trend that we've been having a lot of success with, I've got the list of contests that we have talked about at the W.B. along with any links that I can find!

Book Bay - A Milwaukee bookstore and a contest

Sixfold - Submit an essay by mid October, judge six writings and then your writings will be judged in turn.
https://www.sixfold.org/

Where Writers Win - You might have to join this site to see what it has to offer, but it's worth a look!
https://writerswin.com/

Glimmer Train - Vermont Journal through Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA division.
http://www.glimmertrain.com/

Hay House - A publishing house.
http://www.hayhouse.com/

That's about it for today. Hope you all have a great weekend and write on!

-Dave

More Contests!

Hello everyone!

I found another list of writing contests that we might make the deadline for...

Indiana Review’s Half-K Prize
 offers a first prize of US$1000 and publication. Writers can submit up to three pieces of writing up to 500 words each and there are no genre or form restrictions. Entries open on in July and are expected to close on 15 August.
CLOSED EARLY... It is on this list for a reminder in 2018.

The Sunday Times Short Story Prize
 is the world’s richest short story competition, with the winner receiving £30,000 (approx US$37,500). The 2016 prize was won by Jonathan Tel for his story ‘The Human Phonograph’. Entries for the next prize are expected to open at the end of June and close at the end of September. The six stories shortlisted for the 2016 prize are available here.
WEBSITE: http://shortstoryaward.co.uk/enter

Manchester Fiction Prize
 is a major international literary competition open to anyone aged 16 or over. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000 (US$15,000). Stories can be up to 2500 words in length. The organisers also offer a Manchester Poetry Prize. Entries will open in February and close in September.
WEBSITE: http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/writingcompetition/fiction-prize/

Zoetrope All-Story’s Annual Fiction Contest
 has the aim of seeking out and encouraging talented writers, with the winning and runners-up’s work being forwarded to leading literary agents. A first prize of US$1000 is also offered. Stories can be up to 5000 words. Entries open on 1 July and are expected to close on 1 October.
WEBSITE: http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi

Commonwealth Short Story Prize
 aims to bring stories from new and emerging voices, often from countries with little or no publishing infrastructure, to the attention of an international audience. Open to citizens of the 53 Commonwealth countries, the prize covers the five Commonwealth regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean and Pacific. One winner will be selected from each region, with one regional winner to be selected as the overall winner. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5000 (US$6250) and the remaining four regional winners receive £2500. Entries for the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize are expected to close on 1 November.
WEBSITE: http://www.commonwealthwriters.org/our-projects/the-short-story/ 

John Steinbeck Short Story Award
 is one of three prizes offered by Reed Magazine. This award is for a work of fiction up to 5000 words. The winner of the John Steinbeck Short Story  Award receives a cash prize of US$1000 and all entries are considered for publication. Entries open on 1 June and close 1 November.
WEBSITE: https://www.reedmag.org/

Boulevard’s Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
 is open writers who have not yet published a book of fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Stories may be up to 8000 words and must be previously unpublished. The winner will receive US$1500 and have his or her story published in the magazine. Entries close 31 December.
WEBSITE: http://www.boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest

-Dave

Music & Contests

Good day all!

We had a couple of things go on with today's W.B.

First off, we discussed Book Track (website / soundtrack for online books). MK Wiseman uses that one to add a little sonic flavor to her books Millicent and Rue and Hack give 'me a look and see what I mean!

Next, we talked about contests. Below are three contests that have early submission dates in October:

• Genre short stories writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/popular-fiction-award
• FanStory.com (writing contests with cash prizes)
• Short short (1500 words or less) bit.lymshort-short

Also, we read some stuff! Diane gave us a sample of her poetic efforts much to the appreciation of all. Megan gave us a read from her online Millicent and Rue book (note that the link may be found at the MK Wiseman site). Kathy linked us up to her 500 Word Confusions. I handed out some reading homework to a couple of our authors (more on that one later...)

For next W.B., we are going to try something a little different. Diane and I are bringing in some 'fun and games' writing & poetry primers designed to inspire and prompt discussion. Come on down and give it a try!

See everyone July 24th!

-Dave

Whoop whoop whoop (flashing red lights, much scrambling...)

Good day to all!

We have an issue that has popped up for the W.B.

Apparently, there has been a cross-scheduling snafu between our Monday meets and the library's summer reading / Lego project programming.

Long story short, we have to find a new place to hang out OR shut down the W.B. for the next couple of months.

I would much rather keep the W.B. going.

Here are the options that I've come up with so far:

1. Go to the public area of the Niederkorn. Up on the second floor, there is an area next to the quiet room where there are public PC's, study cubicles, and couches. Anne let me know that we could take over the spot up there.

2. Find a coffee shop. It should be someplace that has the space to hold 6+ of us AND be accessible to folks with limited mobility. Smith Bro's coffee might work, if I get in there early and block off a spot by the window. Collectivo or Starbucks might work, but that's in Grafton.

3. I can check out the Saukville library for a public meeting space, but I don't recall seeing one the last time I was in there.

4. Any other suggestions?

-Dave

Dusting off the Block

Soooooo...

I've been absent as of late. Between doctor appointments and insane snowstorms, I have not been able to give the Block it's due!

However; Writer's Block is still up and running.

We have our next meet at the Niederkorn at 9 a.m. until noon-ish on Monday, March 27th.

There will be tea and snacks.

I'll drag along a copy of Greenshore: The Hollow.

We'll talk about editing, continuity, book goals, and might even do some live reading! I look forward to catching up with everyone.

-Dave

Let the writing begin!

Greetings to all!

We were once again treated to a full table, including the author of the Bookminder series Megan Wiseman! I'm trying out some new stuff this year, starting off with a focus on "Looking at what makes a published book work". With that being said, today's book was Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella.

Next W.B., we will talk about Holes by Sachar. In this book, look for character development! We will discuss how characters are introduced, what changes they undertake, and how this relates to the plot. If there is time, we will also discuss certain character's try/fail cycles and what came out of these story events.

Write on, everyone!
-Dave

P.S. I've put a link to Megan's website up at the right side of this page.

2017 and the Writer's Block Returns!

Happy New Year everyone!

We had a relaxing start to the W.B. this year, did a little catching up and some recap of December's W.B.
Then we got down to business!

I.   BREAKING DOWN A BOOK: Storm Warning (The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher.

     1. The 'prep work': Look at the chapter-by-chapter structure (location / characters / events).

     2. Discuss how the story arc is portrayed and structured.

     3. Redeeming qualities verses issues of the story.

II.  We talked about Enneagram of Personality and the 9 personality 'archtypes' along with how they interact on the enneagram chart.
III.    Our book that we will break down for the 1/23 W.B.: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
         We will start with chapter 1 (setting, characters, events) and move on through to the end of the book. Ask yourself "What resonated?" Note the important, emotional elements. Try to find story arc links and what is skipped over. I'll try to get the chapter breakdown put together electronically and posted out here before the next meeting.
    If the magic is REALLY working in my favor I'll try to get the Storm Warning break down up on the blog as well!

-Dave

Hitting the NaNo Mid-Point

Greetings Authors!

Our half-way point for NaNoWriMo approaches as does our first Writer's Block of this month. I've been busy hammering away at my book, as I'm sure all of you are!
Sadly, I'm also behind on my word count. I should be hitting the 21,000 mark today, but have just past the 13,000 mark. The optimist in me is whispering:

Just find a quiet place to drink coffee and hammer on the keyboard for 4 or 5 hours and you'll be OK...

The realist in me is stating:

Hey, you're typing every day. Be glad for it.

Glad I am. That's what it is all about folks! Find time, even if it isn't enough time; to WRITE. You can do it. That story is in you.

See everyone on Monday. I'll have tea and chocolate chip cookies!

-Dave