Snow, snow, and more snow means time indoors curled up with your next story. This month’s roundup features links to a local event where you can hear great authors read theirs, information on an upcoming online writing course so you can write yours, and details on in-person writing critique groups in order to revise.
#LISTEN. The Stories Behind the Stories
The Stories Behind the Stories is a panel of authors moderated by Kim Suhr (Nothing To Lose) at NO Studios, a new creative hub near downtown Milwaukee. The panel includes authors Jennifer Trethewey (Tying the Scot) and Jessie Garcia (My Life with the Green and Gold), and more.
From the Event Page: “Share an afternoon with some of Milwaukee’s literary illuminati…. Laugh, ask questions, listen to excerpts, and find out more about their different paths to publication.”
When: Sunday, April 14th, 3-6pm. Where: NO Studios, 1037 W. McKinley Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NO Studios members attend for free; nonmembers pay $10. Proceeds from the event will help provide financial aid for youth of the Creative Writing Camps and for writers of Red Oak Writing. RSVP online.
#WRITE. Flash Nonfiction II: Write, critique. Rinse, repeat.
The next session of Flash Nonfiction II: Write, critique. Rinse, repeat is open for registration!
This 6-week writing-intensive course dives deeper into elements of flash nonfiction, such as voice and details, and specific elements of critique. We move through lessons and prompts quickly, so there’s no time to listen to that pesky inner editor.
If you love writing short and are looking for inspiration, community, and critique, join us! Information on the course and registration can be found HERE.
When: April 7-May 18th. Where: online. Registration closes on April 4th. Seats are filling up. Sign up soon!
#REVISE. Writers’ Roundtables at Red Oak Writing
You’ve listened to stories, you’ve signed up to write your own stories, you’re looking for a place to polish those stories for submissions. Red Oak Writing has a new batch of Roundtables perfect for gathering feedback from peers.
From Red Oak’s website: “Our experienced leaders are published writers who are also actively pursuing their own writing goals. They are committed to helping you reach your writing dreams — big project or small — fiction, nonfiction, plays or poetry.”
You can participate in-person or online. In person sessions run from March to April and May to June, Online schedule varies. Seats are limited here as well, so sign up soon!
When: Begins March 3rd. Where: In person at 11709 W. Cleveland Avenue, West Allis, Wisconsin or ONLINE. Sign up for two in-person sessions at once for a discounted fee!
Now, no excuses….
Time was limited. People like Ralph, the men, and women who had lived during WWII, would soon be gone. I didn’t want their stories to die with them. Sites of remembrance, including concentration camps, are part of their stories, part of history not to be ignored or forgotten. Such places act as persuasive and effective teachers. Are people still willing to learn?
I’m constantly asked for resources on how people can move forward learning about Indigenous culture, and I’m often repeating the same thing: read books. . . . Indigenous peoples cannot do the work for you. You must dig in and learn yourself, and the best way to do that is lean into our cultures. Learn about us. Do your research, and then we can have a conversation that isn’t a one-sided history or cultural lesson.
Writers work successfully in so many different ways, I never assume that what works for me is best for someone else. But if a common denominator exists among us, it might be attitude: the enterprise of writing a book has to feel like walking into a cathedral. It demands humility. The body of all written words already in print is vaulted and vast. You think you have something new to add to that? If so, it can only come from a position of respect: for the form, the process, and eventually for a reader’s valuable attention.
Details play a significant role in our writing, whether we write poems, essays or novels. Details build story, deepen story, and provide more ways for readers to connect with story.
…with space, an invitation, and a gentle push from another writer facing similar challenges, we are more likely to show up at the table and set pen to paper. We are more likely to encourage the writer across from us and–together–create more art.
It’s my favorite time of year, when every store–drug store, grocery store, and (cue the angels singing) the office supply store–is stocked with back to school supplies. 
Sunday Study Hall exceeded my expectations. Christi facilitates and provides the structure. The visual and audio elements enhance the experience. Readings, prompts, and the company of kindred spirits spiral out across time zones. I always leave the session enriched by the conversation. ~ Kathy Collins
“Christi Craig’s on-line class, Principles & Prompts, is an ideal environment to open your mind up to not only learn, but also do and the six-week course provides a perfect escape during an otherwise busy time of year. Christi has the uncanny ability of incorporating works, both written and film, that nudge the muse to tackle the writing prompt that follows. Although there is no pressure for perfection or finished pages, I have to say, the synergy of the group compelled me to do more than slap my thoughts together.” ~ Elin Stebbins Waldal