April 2025 Newsletter

Hello Writers!

Welcome back to the newsletter!

This month we are featuring Tuesday Edition member, Alice Benson. Alice re-discovered writing as a passion in the third act of her life, and now she spends much of her time in pursuit of metaphors. Alice has been a member of MVWG for about ten years. She loves her Tuesday Edition critique group for their helpful feedback and, especially, their clever ideas for titles. She served on the MVWG board for several years, which was a great opportunity to forge closer connections with more people in the writing community. Alice retired from a job in a human services field; previously she spent over thirteen years working with a domestic violence program. Both Alice’s novels, Her Life is Showing and A Year in Her Life were published by Black Rose Writing; unfortunately, the books have now gone out of print. She is currently working on a mystery novel. Alice worked with her granddaughter to write Trapped in a Tablet, a middle-grade novel. They are both very excited that the novel will be published in May 2025 by Watchful Wizard Press.

Keep reading for more information on Alice’s work as well as your monthly motivation and writing prompt. And don’t forget to sign up for a shift at the Ridges and Rivers Book Festival!

Motivation

From Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers, by Susan Shaughnessy

“The writing you don’t do today is lost forever. Tomorrow’s may be better - but it may depend on the less exciting groundwork you can lay today.”

Send your motivational memes, tips, tricks, and resources to mvwguild@gmail.com 

Victory! News from the Guild

Alice Benson’s short story, “Leprechaun Larceny” was published in the March 17th issue of Woman’s World. Check it out at your library or through the Libby app!

If you are interested in submitting to Woman’s World, check out WW Writers on Facebook. 

Have a victory you want to share? Let us know! 

Writing Prompt

From ReedsyPrompts

Reedsy posts weekly challenges on their website. This week’s theme is Tick-Tock: 

“Many of you have probably noticed the clocks changing, marking the start of daylight savings — an annual practice that brings both disorientation and renewal. While we lose an hour of sleep, we also gain longer days filled with more and more light.

This week, let’s write some stories inspired by time and its unpredictable nature. What do we do when time stands still, or when we’re suddenly faced with how quickly it passes?”

This week’s prompts:

  • Write a story with a number or time in the title.

  • Set your story just before midnight or dawn.

  • Write a story where someone must make a split-second decision.

  • Set your story over the course of a few minutes.

  • Write a story that includes the line, “What time is it?”

Submit your story at https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/297/

Guild Events

What: Ridges & Rivers Book Festival

When: April 26, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Where: McIntosh Memorial Library and Western Technical College in Viroqua

MVWG is sponsoring a table at the Book Fair! Sign up for a time slot to help us spread the word about our amazing guild! Authors are welcome to sell their books during their shift!


Not a Member? Join Here

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