Remington Roundup: #Listen, #Write, #Revise

1960's photo of woman at Remington typewriter

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

image: kim suhr

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!

image: typewriter with blank page in it and words below: flash nonfiction II: write, critique. rinse, repeat.

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

Two people pouring over story with highlights and notes.

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….

Remington Roundup for #Readers & #Writers

1960's photo of woman at Remington typewriter

It’s been a while since the last Remington Roundup, but that doesn’t mean there’s been little to share. Here are links gathered over the last few months for readers and writers.


Roundup For #Readers

Fiction in Solstice Magazine: Middle-Aged Woman Rethinks Her Sexual Orientation While Breakfasting at a Cafe by Mia Caruso

You don’t have a sexual orientation, you realize. You were just swept along, without ever having a chance to know. Awkward is your sexual orientation.

Nonfiction in Carbon Culture: Unanswered Questions by Julia Poole

Roundup pic of old window with barsTime 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?

Must-Read Books by Indigenous Authors (post by Kaitlin Curtice)

Roundup pic of young girl reading with light coming out from the pages of the bookI’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.


Roundup For #Writers

On Publisher’s Weekly, Writing Tips from Barbara Kingsolver

Roundup pic of typewriter surrounded by cup of coffee, open book with blank pages, and penWriters 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.

An In-Person Workshop: Diving Into the Details

Roundup pic of statue of swimmer about to dive with sky and puffy clouds in backgroundDetails 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.

Meets Saturday, November 10th, 9:30am-noon. Come read examples of authors who master details and practice technique with several writing prompts. Register through Red Oak Writing.

Or an Online Meet-Up at Study Hall: #AmWriting

drawing of paper and pencil surrounded by symbols of three people and the internet symbol…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.

Our next Study Hall meets Sunday, November 11th, 3:30-5pm CST. Register by Friday, November 9th!

An Updated List for Flash Nonfiction Submissions curated by Erika Dreifus

…a guide to journals and magazines that publish flash nonfiction/micro-essays.

Because after all that writing you’re doing, you’ll be ready to submit!

 

Back to School: Opportunities for #Writing & #Community

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. I go in with the long list of necessities sent out from the district, I complain about the 72 sharpened pencils and 36 pens (though I buy them, to be sure), but let’s be honest: I go in with a list of my own.

I can’t help it. There’s nothing like a feel of a crisp new spiral notebook and the draw of good pencil. Even when my kids are through their high school years, I will quietly slip away into the seasonal aisle of Walgreens and run my hand along the row of Mead and PaperMate and Pentel.

I know I’m not alone. Something about the school season fires up a writer. And why not? We’ve just spent the last three months soaking up sunshine on family vacations and quiet bike rides alone and gathering story.

So let’s take advantage of that energy. Use it to get back to the page, to fine-tune a collection of stories or to craft a whole new essay. There are plenty of opportunities, online and in person, to put pen to paper and find a community of writing souls who will carry you through the winter months.


#Writing in Study Hall

Once a month, I lead Study Hall: #AmWriting, where a few of us come together and talk craft, read samples of great works, and write write write.

drawing of person pumping out page after page of writingSunday 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

We spend a lot of time with writing prompts, which push writers in new and unexpected ways. And sometimes the conversations alone are enough to inspire a new structure in a piece that’s had you stumped for a while.

Try one session. All you need is a laptop, high-speed internet, and a desire to hang out with a bunch of other writers. Our next meet-up is Sunday, September 9th, 3:30-5pm (CST). REGISTER HERE or contact me with questions.


#Learning in the Classroom

If you’re partial to face-to-face interactions and are local to the Milwaukee area, Red Oak Writing offers several Saturday morning craft workshops this fall for writers.

  • group of writers around a table talking craft(Extra)Ordinary Content on October 20th with Patricia Ann McNair. “For writers of all genres, this workshop will guide participants to identify and use their most compelling material to create new work and reinvigorate ongoing projects. Drawing from memory, imagination, and observation, writers will discover their own extraordinary content.”
  • Diving into the Details on November 10th with me. “Details play a significant role in our writing, whether we write poems, essays or novels. Details build storydeepen story, and provide more ways for readers to connect with story. In this workshop, we will look at all three functions of details as they apply to setting, place, and person….”
  • Story, Truth, and Beauty, Baby! on December 8th with Barry Wightman. “Ready to take your writing to the next level? Looking for ways to amp up your prose, streamline it, make it jump from the page? Like great music, great fiction is built from magic moments that produce shivers—riffs, choruses and solos that enchant the reader.”
*Photo above from Red Oak Writing’s website

Building #Community

If you’re new to writing or have been on hiatus for a while, Principles & Prompts is an online course that offers community and a fun, low-stakes space for exploring creativity, story structure, and writing prompts.

“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

Principles & Prompts opens for registration in September. I love teaching this course and witnessing the stories that evolve from letting go and diving into the work.

Whichever way you lean–Pentel or PaperMate, online or in person, grab your pencil. Stake claim on your notebook. Find your tribe and put your stories to paper. Your voice matters, and your muse is calling.