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Study Hall: #AmWriting, #AmWandering & Following the Story

Last Sunday I met with a few writers online and in the studio for another session of Study Hall: #AmWriting.

I’m still early into this venture, so each time we meet there’s another tech issue to consider, maybe something with the sound, maybe recognition that camera placement is everything; I like for all writers to see or be seen, so setting the laptop in a perfect position matters.

(I apologize to those online this time, who saw mostly my chin and a dramatic wave of hand and my beauty mark…aka. my mole…aka. call-me-Cindy-Crawford-and-we’ll-all-feel-better.)

Annnyway, what isn’t new to the venture is the way writers come together in community. The way a simple nudge from a prompt will spur a full 10-minutes of pen to paper.

The way one story unfolds into another.

It’s what Beth Kephart talks about in her essay, “And There’s Your Mother, Calling Out to You: In Pursuit of Memory.”

Memoir is, among many other things, about what we remember; it is also about how memory is returned to us. About where we go to access the past and what we do when it floods straight through us.

We spent two hours exploring that idea, moving from one prompt to the next, letting a phrase or an image from the last 10-minute free write grow into the next 10-minute free write. And several of us were surprised at where our pens took us.

It’s what Dan Chaon illustrates in his story, “Shepherdess.”

This is one of those things that you can never explain to anyone, that’s what I want to explain—one of those free-association moments with connections that dissolve when you start to try to put them into words

But I consider it for a moment, trying to map it out. Look: Here is a china knickknack on my mother’s coffee table, right next to her favorite ashtray. A shepherdess, I guess–a figuring with blond sausage curls and a low-cut bodice and petticoats, holding a crook. a staff, in one hand and carrying a lamb under her arm….

Take a minute to read both Kephart’s essay and Chaon’s story. Think about how one image in your day tugs at your memory and another image rises to the surface, then another memory, and another. Join us for the next Study Hall on June 3rd.

You can participate if you’re writing nonfiction or fiction or poetry–the point is, you’re writing. Who knows what stories will fall onto your paper in the company of others.

(Details on dates, times, and links to register can be found HERE.)

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Study Hall: #AmWriting
Information & Registration on a Writers’ Meet-Up

The day job, kids’ activities, that book I long to read, an evening to binge on my favorite TV show, some days just a fear of failure. Reasons vary but the effect is always the same: it can be difficult to set aside time to write–just write, whether the goal is to revise an old piece or simply to engage with the page and create something entirely new.

Here’s what I’m guessing: I’m not alone.

Here’s what I know: 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.

Here’s my invitation for you….

Study Hall: #AmWriting

Once a month, I’ll host a Study Hall, where we will meet for two hours to touch on an aspect of craft and incorporate different techniques designed to get our pens moving. Because we will gather for a chunk of time, there will be room at the end for discussion about the craft, the process, and a chance to revisit one of those brand new pieces (or an ongoing story, essay, or poem) and revise.

And the best part? You can participate in person or online, which means camaraderie and the creative spirit are at your fingertips, no matter how near or far.

Meet in person at the studio: 1500 S. 73rd Street, West Allis, WI
Meet online via Zoom
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Sundays, 3-5pm (CST)
April 8, May 6, June 3
July 15, August 12, September 9

The first Study Hall is coming up in just a few weeks! Links to register are below. Give one session a try for $10, the cost of which covers online meeting software, space, and snacks if you come to the studio. Or sign up for a Punch Card for a bundle of sessions (buy 3 get 1 free; buy 4 get 2 free).

Once you register, you’ll receive an email with the option to choose specific dates if you signed up for individual sessions and information on your Punch Card if you purchased a bundle.

Individual Sessions & Punch Cards




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Remington Roundup:
First Drafts, a Book Festival, & Forest Avenue Press

1960's photo of woman at Remington typewriterI’m fresh off of teaching my online course, Flash Nonfiction I, and spending four weeks with an awesome group of women writers, so this week I’m recalibrating, recalculating, & settling back into story ideas and studio time. And, I’ve curated a fresh collection of links for this month’s Remington Roundup on first drafts, your next book festival, and Forest Avenue Press.

First Drafts

It feels like ages since I’ve written anything entirely new and of worth. Even after leading a group of writers through writing prompts and first-draft exercises, the pull at the back of my throat when I consider the blank page brings pause as my pen hovers over my notebook.

So I am especially grateful to folks like Allison K. Williams, Brevity’s Social Media Editor who posts often on Brevity’s blog. I love every word she’s written lately, all of them wise: on getting down to the work, on celebrating tiny successes, and yesterday’s post on first drafts.

As a writer, no-one wants to let our weak sentences out into the world before we’ve muscled them up and trimmed them down. But there’s value in a a sloppy, disorganized, poorly written first draft. It’s not a failure, it’s a necessary first step. It’s barre exercises before ballet, scales before singing, charcoal on newsprint before oil on canvas.

I’ve never taken ballet and I’m not much of a singer (though I do like to torture my kids with a little operatic tune once in a while), but man do I know the sloppy, disorganized first draft. The key to remember is that these early pages are always perfect in their own right.

A Book Festival

For all you writers and readers and general literary world lovers, you will want to check out the UntitledTown Book and Author Festival in Green Bay happening April 19-22, 2018.

Sign up for their newsletter, because (while they haven’t posted the full schedule yet) you’re guaranteed a whole weekend of *free* gatherings and activities.

Last year they hosted Margaret Atwood and Sherman Alexie (left, with me!) for their big Saturday night event. I bought my VIP ticket as soon as I could–okay, the big event isn’t free but it’s well worth your money–and sat just two rows back from literary greatness. I can’t wait to see who they bring to Green Bay this year!

Plus, among the long list of anticipated workshops and readings, I’ll be teaching one on Flash Nonfiction: The Art of the Short Essay and participating on a panel about The worst writing advice I ever got. I’ve marked my calendar and booked my hotel. If you go, shoot me an email. I’d love to see you!

Forest Avenue Press

Today in particular is a big day if you’re a novel writer with a manuscript at-the-ready. Forest Avenue Press opens up for submissions from now until March 14th. They’re on the lookout for novels that “subvert the dominant paradigm.”

We are intrigued by genre mashups, especially those with magical elements; our fall 2018 title, The Alehouse at the End of the World by Stevan Allred is a comic epic set on the Isle of the Dead in the fifteenth century. That being said, it’s quite possible that we might fall in love with a contemporary, non-magical novel.

If you’re a long-time reader here, you will recognize some of the books Forest Avenue Press lists in their publications: Liz Prato’s edited anthology of short stories The Night, and the Rain, and the River, Ellen Urbani’s Landfall, Michael Shou-Yung Shum’s Queen of Spades. Their catalog continues to grow with stories that dig deep and impress, and I’m honored to participate on the committee of readers for them again this time around.

So click here, read more, and Submit!