August 2024 Newsletter
Hello Writers!
Welcome back to the newsletter!
This month we are highlighting board member Tracy Schuldt Helixon. Tracy began her writing career at age five, when her parents found her writing all over her little brother. When they asked why, she said, “Timmy thought he was a piece of paper.” To Timmy’s relief, she now uses a computer to write. Tracy is the author of a faith-based historical romance and two sequel novellas, a collection of contemporary romance short stories, an early chapter book, and a picture book—all traditionally published. When the small press for her children’s books went out of business during the pandemic, she purchased the art rights and began a self-publishing adventure. Tracy has been teaching writing, creative writing, and speech full-time at Western Technical College since 1999. Grateful for her Rewrites critique group, she writes because it makes her a happier and more creative teacher, spouse, parent, friend, and human.
Read on for more great writing stuff!
Motivation
From our very own Amanda Zieba and her blog WordNerdopolis on Writing Sprints.
What is a writing sprint?
Rest easy, it has nothing to do with running! A writing sprint is a timed work session in which you devote extreme attention to your writing task.
Here’s what you do…
Set up your work environment with the tools you need. For me, this was my computer, outline, research documents and YouTube playlist. If you need caffeine, make sure that is within arms reach as well!
Set your timer. I chose 30 minutes. A half an hour gave me enough time to get in a good writing flow, but was not so long that I tired out and wanted to quit. This time constraint was short enough that I didn’t want to waste even a minute checking my email or social media. I didn’t have time! Thirty minutes was also a short enough time that I could find pockets of my day in which to squeeze a sprint.
Set an intention for your writing time. What event do you want to chronicle? What emotion do you want to convey? What obstacle do you want your character to overcome? Think small. Think bite sized. What do you want to accomplish in one chapter of your work?
Go to the bathroom. (I’m not kidding.)
Ready? Set? SPRINT!
A few tips…
Close all tabs except your writing document. This way you won’t be tempted or distracted by the black hole of the internet, or the notifications on your social media platforms.
Turn off the volume on your phone. Or, at the very least, turn it over, again, so the flashing notifications don’t rob your attention. If your phone does ring, and it’s not an emergency, don’t answer it. Call back in 30 minutes, or 17 or however many are left on your timer.
Speaking of timer. USE ONE. This way you don’t have to remember what time you started and what time you should be done. A timer prevents you from losing track of time and writing for longer than you intended, making you late for the rest of your day. It also makes the writing sprint feel like a game or contest. Another writer I know created this website as a tool to fuel writers in just that way. Here you can race other writers and the clock… and consequently raise your word count in a hurry.
Continue reading at https://amandazieba.com/blog/2018/11/28/writing-sprints
Send your motivational memes, tips, tricks, and resources to mvwguild@gmail.com
Victory! News from the Guild
Dark La Crosse Stories has returned! The next episode was written by our very own Kristen Nyholm! It will be released August 6 on the La Crosse Public Library’s YouTube page and wherever you get your podcasts!
Jess Witkins and David Nash also wrote episodes for the 2024 season, so watch for those in October and November!
Have a victory you want to share? Let us know!
Writing Prompt
From “Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction” by Jeff Vandermeer
“Radical revisions sometimes require a wrenching of the text out of existing context. If successful, these revisions seem more like transformations, as delightfully demonstrated by this Ivica Stevanovic illustration based on work by J. J. Grandville. Take a story you’ve set aside as unworkable and select a portion of it that you still like. Set a transformational goal that is far removed from the current context. For example, perhaps you have a few paragraphs of a character or setting description that seem promising in an otherwise dead story. Imagine a totally new plot or structure or set of characters around these paragraphs, and then revise toward that new context. Don’t try to accomplish this all at once, but gradually, through at least three separate revision sessions - each of which should be attempting one part of the transformation. In addition to learning something about your revision process, you may revive some version of the story, even if it looks nothing like it did before.
Guild Events
Nothing on the calendar right now! Help us plan more events by completing the member survey!
Here’s a non-guild event you should definitely add to your calendar:
Wisconsin Writers Association Fall Conference
When: October 25-26
Where: Stoney Creek Hotel, La Crosse
Register Here!
