Written by MVWG Member Tracy Helixon

A few years ago, on a family summer road trip, we passed a section of rolling hills along a country road. Sunlight cast a glow on the hillside, highlighting several soft and vivid shades of green. I told the kids to take note. It felt as if we were driving through a painting.

I glanced over at my husband in the driver’s seat. “Jonathan would love this,” I said.

Jonathan is not a real person. He is the protagonist in my debut novel, Fields of Promise, which had yet to be finished or published on the day of that road trip.

Realizing what I had just said, I shook my head and grinned. I had spent a lot of time on my manuscript that summer. Clearly, Jonathan had come to life for me during that process. Hopefully, he would someday come to life for readers too.

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Written by MVWG Member Amanda Zieba

** This piece previously appeared on Amanda’s blog back in 2017!

I spent last weekend in Denver, visiting my sister-in-law and her husband. It was a great, adult-only, getaway, full of all the typical Colorado tourist destinations. We watched a Rockies game, toured the Coors Brewery and wandered through the shop and restaurant filled Union Station. We had a lovely dinner at my in-laws’ house, enjoying good food and good company, without the presence of Midwestern mosquitos. One of my favorite moments of the trip, however, came on the last day of our trip when we visited the historic bookstore: Tattered Cover.

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Several years ago, after reading Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ poetry book, Red Clay Suite, for a poetry course and thinking about the annotation I would need to write, I realized just how like a music composition her book was. I even titled my annotation, “Southern Lament, A Sonata Cantata.” Jeffers borrowed a musical structure for her book of poetry and applied it beautifully. There was a rhythmic feel to her poems and throughout her composition she used words reminiscent of the musicality of her piece, such as “suite… tune…wails… hymn… song… singing… blues.”

Poetry is a work of art that comes in many forms, as do other types of art, such as painting, music, sculpture, etc. For most forms of poetry there is an infrastructure. For example

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Are you a strict plotter? Or do you approach your writing journey as a pantser? If you are an established writer, churning out books, then you are probably a plotter. Not sure what I’m talking about? Then read on!

Plotter

What Is a Plotter? Simply put, a plotter is someone who plans out their novel before they write it.

My first, unpublished novel took nine years to write and was done as a pantser. My second novel, (December 2021) was written as a plotter. I knew the ending, and broke the novel into three section, each one-third of the book outlined carefully beforehand.

The writing approach as a plotter helps you generate ideas.

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Written by MVWG Member Heidi Blanke

Are you longing to try your hand at writing romance? Perhaps you want to write 50,000 words of

happily-ever-after or maybe you just want to add a bit of spice to your murder mystery. It’s the month

of so here are some websites to help you pencil in affection, infatuation, or even raw passion.

1. Stephismith.com has everything you need for writing romance, from her own blog to lists of agents to links to dozens of writing websites.

2. Romancejunkies.com reviews the latest romance novels and sorts them by sub-genre. Want to know what’s being published in paranormal romance or contemporary romance? Read the books listed here to learn what today’s publishers might be after.

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Looking to spend those holiday gift cards on some new writing books? Well you are in luck! The members of the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild board are here to share some of their favorites! Grab a pencil to jot down the titles that sound appealing to you (spoiler alert, that was alllllll of them in my case!) and then bust out those gift cards and get shopping… so you can read… and then write.

Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses

Recommended by Guild President: Jess Witkins

This newer craft book has been getting tons of well deserved attention for its modern …

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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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