FLASH FICTION: A LIMINAL GENRE with CHAD SIMPSON

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” It might be said that these six words indicate merely something for sale; it might be said that they manage to convey an entire novel’s worth of loss. Very short stories, or flash fictions, have been around for a very long time. In the recent past, Richard Bausch has said that “when a story is compressed so much, the matter of it tends to require more size: that is, in order to make it work in so small a space, its true subject must be proportionately larger.”

As writers, we are always navigating how to get our story onto the page. What should we show? What should we tell? Writing flash fictions presents us with an even greater challenge because we have only so many words with which to convey so much world. The successful flash fiction, then, not only presents to us a world but lets us know what all is going on there, and why it matters.

Intrigued? Want to learn more, including how to craft your own flash fiction? Then make sure to attend Chad’s workshop June 26-28th at the David R. Collins Writer’s Conference at McCarthy Hall on the St. Ambrose University campus in Davenport, Iowa.  Attendees will read flash fictions and attempt to ascertain which elements of story the pieces contain to begin to answer questions of what makes a story a story or a flash a flash. They will also be given prompts to write their own flash fictions.

Chad Simpson is the author of Tell Everyone I Said Hi, which won the 2012 John Simmons Short Fiction Award and was published by the University of Iowa Press. His work has appeared in many print and online publications, including McSweeney's Quarterly, Esquire, American Short Fiction, and The Sun, and he has received awards from the Illinois Arts Council, the Atlantic Monthly, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. He lives in Monmouth, Illinois, and is an Associate Professor of English at Knox College.

The conference also features other three day workshops on memoir, poetry, essay, and novel. Critiques, pitches, and free evening events open to the public are also planned. Discounts are offered for MWC member and early bird (before June 15th) registrants. Click here for more details. The conference is made possible by our generous sponsors: Modern Woodman of America, St. Ambrose University English Department, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and Genesis Health Systems.

MWC's Young Emerging Writers summer internship program now accepting applications

Applications now are being accepted for the Young Emerging Writers (YEW) summer internship program through the Midwest Writing Center.

The six-week program is for teens ages 15-19 who are interested in creating and publishing works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and/or drama. The program will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, June 30; July 1-2, 7-19, and 14-16, culminating with The Atlas Launch Party at 7 p.m. Aug. 13.

Students who worked on the school newspaper, school literary magazine or yearbook, or who just love writing, or page layout and graphic design, are ideal candidates for YEW.

The ultimate goal of the program is the development of writing abilities, professional skills and the production and distribution of a literary journal, The Atlas, which represents the best work of the participants, and more.

Internships feature intensive seminars in poetry, narrative prose and collaborative writing and more. Interns will learn about magazine design and layout, as well as gain editorial and copy-editing experience, the release states.

Ten to 15 interns will be selected based on applications, writing or design samples, and interviews. The writing and editing of stories, essays, poems and/or plays at home is required, as is reading and responding to work by other interns.

Each intern also will receive a small stipend, a free full-conference registration to the David R. Collins Writers' Conference at St. Ambrose University June 26-28, a one-year membership to the Midwest Writing Center and three copies of The Atlas.

 Applications are available and the deadline for submission is May 17. For more information, contact Ryan Collins, 563-324-1410, or mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org

Applying the 4 P’s to your B: Creating a Book Marketing Plan with Jodie Toohey

In marketing, we talk about the 4 P’s: place, price, product, and promotion. This is just a simplified way to plan out how to promote any product, including a book. Place is where you will sell your book, more commonly known in the book-world as distribution. Price is how much you will charge for your book, but also encompasses determining if readers will pay that price. Product involves more than just your book’s title, but also includes, among other things, its genre, length, and ideal reader. Finally, promotion is figuring out how to tell people about your book.

To learn more about how to apply these 4 P’s to your book as well as other marketing tips, please attend Jodie Toohey’s workshop from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at MWC’s March 22^nd Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference. In this workshop, you will learn how to create a basic marketing plan so you can take focused action to try to get you book into readers’ – and buyers’ – hands. We’ll cover the four P’s (place, price, product, and promotion), the 5th P (people), holding giveaways, using social media, and setting up appearances.

Jodie Toohey is the author of three books: two poetry collections and one novel. She also runs Wordsy WomanWord Sales and Service, a professional writing and editing company helping people say what they want to say. She’s taught workshops at CASI, the Vet Center, and MWC. Jodie holds a Marketing Certificate and is focusing on Marketing as part of her two-thirds-completed MBA.

Click here to learn about moreabout Pen In Hand. Call 563-324-1410 or email mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org to register.

How to Make Media Your Partner with Joe Taylor

Have you ever wondered how some things get into the news while other things get passed over? Especially your book? One of the reasons why the media picks up certain books as a news story is timeliness; the book’s topic is related to a current news event or happening in the world. One way in which to tip the odds of getting your press release picked up by the media in your favor is to tie your story to current events and hot topics.

To learn more and get more great tips like this, please plan to attend Joe Taylor’s “How to Make Media Your Partner” workshop from 1 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at MWC’s March 22^nd Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference.

This interactive, hands-on, real world session will cover how to write effective press releases, target the right media for your work, find the right contact person at the media outlet, tie your idea or work to current news, and more. Joe says, “My session features practical, not theoretic, suggestions to interact with the media and to facilitate the media, making your story their story. I began working for a newspaper fresh out of college in 1977 and have worked ever since with national and local media. You will learn and you will have fun.”

Joe Taylor is president/CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and regularly appears in broadcast, print and on-line media outlets in the Quad Cities. He has been with the bureau since its inception in 1990 and has served as its president/CEO since 1998. Prior to tourism, he was a newspaper reporter and editor.

Click here to learn about moreabout Pen In Hand. Call 563-324-1410 or email mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org to register.

MWC Beginning Creative Writing Series

Workshop Series: This series is for anyone who has a story to tell, wants to preserve memories, has

never written creatively before, or used to write creatively and wants to get back into it, but is not sure how to get started. The classes will be tailored to participant preferences, but will cover such things as a creative writing practice, dealing with the inner critic, creative writing tools, voice and style, and revision and editing. In-class writing and feedback opportunities will also be provided.

Where: Meets 1-3 p.m. at MWC on the 3rd floor of Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport at 225 E. 2nd Street.

When:
March 12th & 26th
April 9th & 23rd
May 7th & 21st

Cost is $60 for the entire series for

• MWC Members
• Plus 60 Members
• CASI Members
• Rock Island, IL Genealogical Society Members
• Blackhawk Unit 21 RITA Members
• Any Independent Living/Retirement Community Residents

Cost for non-members/residents is $75

Note. If a class is cancelled due to weather or the instructor's/MWC's discretion, additional sessions will be added on the end until six sessions have been completed. No refunds will be offered for any missed classes due to a participant's discretion.

To Register:
Please call MWC at 563-324-1410 or email mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org

You may also mail a check with a note indicating your desire to register for the beginning creative writing series with your name, phone number, email address, and discount membership/residence to:

Midwest Writing Center
225 E. 2nd Street, Ste. 303
Davenport, IA 52801

RIPL & MWC to host Banned Books Week Reception & Reading

When	Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 6-9 pm
Where	Rock Island Public Library - Main Library
Event	Banned Books Week Reception & Reading
Address	401 19th St.
	Rock Island, IL
Phone	309-732-7300
	Co-sponsored by the Rock Island Public Library and the Midwest Writing Center; local-celebrity readers will read from their favorite "banned" or "challenged" books throughout the night; attendees can also win great Banned Books merchandise like cups, bookmarks, pins, bags, t-shirts, and more; free; for information and to register, call 309-732-7300

The Writer’s Surprise Party

 

Jodie Toohey

Jodie Toohey has two selections in the MWC Creative Writing Primer: "Writing as Creative Practice" and "Technique in Poetry."  The Other Side of Crazy, her second collection of poetry is set for release by 918studio in September. Her first collection was Crush and Other Love Poems forGirls (2008), and in 2012, she authored the novel, Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters, a correspondence between two teen girls, one living in the United States and the other in Croatia, who deal with their own turmoil, one of deep depression and the other of civil war, through pen pal letters during the early 1990s. When she is not writing novels or poetry, Jodie helps people say what they want to say through her professional writing and editing business, Wordsy Woman Words Sales and Service. She lives in Iowa with her husband, daughter, son, cat, and dog.

In her writing guides, Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, Natalie Goldberg encourages readers to practice timed free writing. The key to timed free writing is not that you write five minutes, or ten minutes, or twenty minutes, but it is what you do when you think you are finished. You set the timer for five or ten minutes more and keep going. The reason? You will often be surprised, even startled, by what your creative brain spits out when it thinks the free writing is over.

I have followed this practice many times during my writing life, and am always amazed at how well it works. Often, in those last few minutes, the meat or the meaning of what I was trying to say falls out onto my paper. This surprise in writing is one of the reasons why I love it so much. But free writing is not the only place where I enjoy surprise in writing.

During the poetry session of a writing workshop I led, I borrowed my daughter’s poetry magnets and gave each participant and myself a small, random handful. The group and I were almost astonished by the beautiful poems our brains produced with these random words. Everyone created pieces with meaning and insight. I’m not a brain scientist and it isn’t important how they do it, but it fascinates me how our brains can take random things and put them together to create something concrete and meaningful.

The best poems I’ve ever written are dripping with surprise. When I free write, many times I merely pay attention to the words flying through my head and I copy them down in my journal. As I’m writing, they seem random, independent, and not connected at all. Often when I’m done, I have an entire poem that I think is just comprised of haphazard words. But then I read it. Sometimes it happens immediately and sometimes it doesn’t happen until I read it maybe months of even years later, but I find meaning. A real, honest-to-goodness poem with insight and meaning my brain created when I was just paying attention to individual words. Usually, I’ll need a few words added to cement the meaning, but it is all there in the original transcription.

Even what I initially fear are mistakes in my writing sometimes end up being my brain actually saying what it meant to say. For example, the title poem of my poetry collection, The Other Side of Crazy, starts off with “Peddle down the street, past salted pines.” When the initial proof came, I thought, Oh no, I made a mistake. Peddle means to sell something and pedal a bicycle is what I actually envisioned. But then I read through the rest of the poem and I remembered when I wrote it. I was in the middle of a prospect-calling campaign for my business and I realized the poems described precisely how I felt about cold calling. And peddle actually fits better. So I kept it.

Surprise in writing practice can manifest in many different ways; the writer just needs to be open to it. And believe. But there’s a catch: you have to be writing to find it.

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MWC Creative Writing Primer Kindle Giveaway June 27-29! #collinsconference

Happy birthday MWC Creative Writing Primer!

 

June 15 is the first anniversary of the release of the MWC Creative Writing Primer, the first ebook

MWC Press (2012)

released by MWC Press. In honor of this, MWC is offering a free Kindle giveaway of the Primer during the David R. Collins Writers' Conference, June 27-29. 

 

Stay tuned for details and guest blogs on this site before, during, and at the close of the Conference from Ryan Collins & Primer authors: Julia Coleman, Sally John, Max Molleston, Trisha Georgiou, Steven Semken, Jodie Toohey, Ellen Tsagaris, Connie (Corcoran) Wilson and Robin Throne. Be sure to follow @MWC_write on Twitter for updates or #collinsconference.    

 

The Primer was produced in collaboration with 918studio and dedicated to Evelyn Witter, MWC co-founder, who taught creative writing basics for more than 30 years.  The Primer offers author perspectives on the essentials necessary to a creative writing practice as a diverse and insightful guide for the beginning to emerging creative writer.

Submissions for the 5th annual Great River Writers Retreat now open

Spend a week working on your latest project at the Great River Writers Retreat!          

Enjoy modern amenities surrounded by natural beauty at the Benet Retreat House in Rock Island, IL, minutes away from downtown.  Retreat will take place September 1-7, 2013. 

Benet Retreat House, Rock Island, Illinois

 

Application open to writers from Illinois and Iowa. For details, see MWC.    

 Submission deadline: July 1  

Writers' Conference early-bird discounts by June 15

Midwest Writing Center members who register before June 15 can save up to $35; non-member early bird registrants can save up to $25 for the 2013 David R. Collins Writers’ Conference, which will be June 27-29 at St. Ambrose University, Davenport.. Accommodations are also available for $40 a night in the St. Ambrose University dormitories.

The  conference features a variety of workshops on writing topics. It also features critique sessions, book pitches, luncheons and free events.

More information, including a brochure, is available at MWC via the conference link under the “Events & Opportunities” drop-down menu. Information and registration also is available by calling 563-324-1410 or email.

Sponsors of the conference include Modern Woodmen of America, St. Ambrose University English Department, Illinois Arts Council and Genesis Health System.

Take note: Collins Conference faculty Erin Bertram has two forthcoming chapbooks in 2013

Erin Bertram

Faculty member for the 2013 David R. Collins Writers' Conference, Erin M. Bertram, is the author of nine chapbooks. Inland Sea, won the Robin Becker Chapbook Prize, and two are forthcoming in 2013: from The Vanishing of Camille Claudel (Seven Kitchens Press, forthcoming 2013) and Memento Mori (Dancing Girl Press, forthcoming in 2013). 

 

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, and has led writing workshops for a variety of organizations, including St. Patrick Center and the Midwest Writing Center.  She is an Instructor and Faculty Tutor at Augustana College, where she co-coordinates the campus Safe Zone program. 

Now accepting submissions for the 2013 Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook Competition

The Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook contest (formerly the Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Competition) annually invites submissions for a chapbook collection of poetry to be published by the MWC Press. Submissions must be postmarked between May 1 and August 31. Past winners have included Stephen Frech (2008, went on to win the 2011 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize from the New England Poetry Club), Meghan Brinson (2009), Ryan Walsh (2010), Sandra Marchetti (Regional 2011), Monica Wendel (National 2011), and
Cindy Hunter Morgan (2012).

Stephen Frech's chapbook 
The Dark Villages of Childhood

went on to win the
2011 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize
from the New England Poetry Club.

Contest Rules
Submit between 16 to 24 pages of poetry; manuscripts should be paginated and secured with a binder clip (no staples). No names should appear on the poems. Enclose two cover pages: first includes chapbook title, author’s name, address, phone, and email address. The second includes only the chapbook title to allow for blind review.

No cover letter is required; however, if poems have been previously published, an acknowledgment page should be included. Poems may be more than one page in length, but only one poem per page. Winners will be posted online in late November or early December.

Midwest Writing Center will publish and make the winning chapbook available for sale. No manuscripts will be returned. Submissions that arrive ‘postage due’ will be returned unopened.

Contact/Submission Information
Submissions should be sent directly to Midwest Writing Center. If you wish to receive written notification of the contest results please include a self-addressed , stamped envelope. All entries that also include (optional) a 6x9 self- addressed envelope with $2.50 in postage will receive a complimentary copy of the winning chapbook. Contact the contest administrators with any questions by emailing mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org with the word “chapbook:” in the subject line. 

Prizes
The winners of the Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Contest will receive $100 prize money, have their manuscripts published by Midwest Writing Center, and receive 15 free copies of the finished chapbook.

Reading Fee
There is a $15 reading fee per chapbook entry (multiple submissions accepted). If paying reading fee by check, make check payable to MWC and include payment with the manuscript submission to:

Midwest Writing Center
Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook Contest
225 E. 2^nd St., Suite 303
Davenport, IA  52801

Pay via PayPal on the contest’s web page and MasterCard and Visa are also accepted. Please send your name as it appears on the card, the card number, expiration date, and v-code along with your manuscript.

Restrictions
As a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses and CLMP's community of independent literary publishers, Midwest Writing Center believes that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, friends, relatives, and/or past or current students of judges have been deemed ineligible to enter this contest, as have past and current board members and employees of the Midwest Writing Center.



Chip In For MWC

The John Deere Classic Birdies for Charity fundraising drive is currently underway. Pledge a one-time donation or a certain amount per birdie made at the classic and the Birdies foundation will give us a 5% bonus. You can also enter to win a 2013 Chevy Equinox or one of other several prizes. Pledge cards can be picked up at MWC or if you would like one mailed to you, call us at 563-324-1410 or email us with your name and mailing address.

 

Pledge cards are due to Birdies for Charity by July 12, 2013. Thanks in advance for your help!

MWC Creative Writing Primer coming in May

Coming May 2012

Writers and workshop instructors affiliated with the Midwest Writing Center have collaborated on The Midwest Writing Center Creative Writing Primer to be released as an ebook by MWC Press in May.  The Primer includes author perspectives on the essentials necessary to a creative writing practice and offers a diverse and insightful guide for the beginning to emerging creative writer. The Primer is dedicated to Evelyn Witter, MWC co-founder, who taught creative writing basics for more than 30 years.

Primer contributing authors include Julia Coleman, Stephen Frech, Sally John, Max Molleston, Trisha Nelson, Steven Semken, Robin Throne, Jodie Toohey, Ellen Tsagaris, and Connie (Corcoran) Wilson. Sarah Throne-Ploehn of Rivertown Creative & Co. contributed the cover and interior design.

Participants in MWC’s online Creative Writing Basics I & II workshops will receive the Primer included in their workshop registration, and the ebook will also be sold separately by MWC (more details forthcoming).

HOW DO I START AND WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

So you have a great idea for a story or a novel. You have a character and a basic idea of how you want your story to get to that “happily ever after”. But how do you take the story from “once upon a time” and sustain it for dozens of pages to get to the “happily ever after”? One way to help may be to invest some time in some advance story planning and outlining. Outlining provides the framing for your story, a basic structure through which to weave the substance of your story. The key to successful outlining is not to screw your frame down too tight; keep those screws loose enough you can move a beam here or there, put in a window where you first thought you wanted a door, or change the pitch line of your roof. Keep in mind it is a BASIC frame and not the final draft. Don’t be afraid to change your blueprint if your story takes you in a different direction.

Once you have your completed novel manuscript in hand, revised it once or twice or a dozen times, dotted your “I”s and crossed your “T”s, what can you do to try to get it onto a bookstore’s shelf? Nowadays, publishing can take many forms from print-on-demand, to subsidized publishing, to e-publishing to traditional New York house publishing. Getting accepted into the traditional publishing world requires playing the submission game. Generally it requires finding agents and/or publishers; sending them query letters with various synopsis, sample chapters, resumes, etc.; waiting; waiting; waiting; and more waiting; collecting rejection letters and maybe, just maybe getting someone to say, “YES!”

If you want to learn more about the “Before & After” of novel/fiction writing, plan to attend the identically titled session of MidwestWriting Center’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty, both prolific published fiction authors, will teach this workshop session. Mark is the author of 20-plus books, with more forthcoming, and more than 1,000 published stories and articles, in addition to his career as a marketing & PR professional. His books include MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL (with Michael McCarty), PARTNERS IN SLIME (with Michael McCarty), RAISING DEMONS FOR FUN & PROFIT, and MOTIVATIONAL SHRIEKER, among others. Mike's short stories and interviews have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies. He is the author of three books of interviews; a nonfiction collection; five fiction collections including All Things Dark and Hideous which was co-written with Bram Stoker Award-winner, Mark McLaughlin; a paperback poetry collection; novels and a novella. McCarty was the former staff writer for “Science Fiction Weekly” (the website of the Sci-Fi Channel)

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Click here or call 563/324-1410 for more information and learn how to register.

by Jodie Toohey, www.jodiet.com
Follow Jodie as she blogs about all things MWC

PLOT A LOT?

What drives a story? Is it the character? The dialogue? The vintage Model T with ripped up leather seats? The plot? The scenes? Setting? There are many different views on what “drives” a story or what makes it exciting so readers just can’t seem to put it down. Usually (from my view), what it usually comes down to is character or plot. But I’m a balance-girl so I think you need both. You can have a deep, rich, developed character but if nothing happens to her, any reader outside of your immediate family will probably end up snoring with your book face down, half way sliding off your bed with their glasses askew. Conversely, a story full of excitement without good characters might leave you thinking, “Who cares what happens to this bland maiden?”

The more literary-types seem to advocate for primarily character driven stories. But plot is important, too. Something needs to HAPPEN. Writing instruction books generally break plot down into the main plot, the main problem, the main question, or that big thing which leads to the climax of the story. Various sub or minor plots are weaved in for interest and excitement. All of the plot threads should resolve at the end, not positively necessarily, but resolved. The plot usually moves through the beginning, middle and end parts of your story. One formula to developing plot is to build a character, give him or her a big problem with high stakes, throw in some minor problems and some obstacles to solving the big problem, culminate the problem in the climax, and then resolve the problem. Viola! I know -- it is not as easy as it appears.

Luckily, you have the opportunity to learn more about how to add tension, energy and excitement to create a can’t-put-it-down-story by attending the “Stuck Like Glue” session of session at Midwest Writing Center’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Dr. Kelly Daniels, Augustana College instructor and author, will teach this workshop. Dr. Daniels’ fiction and nonfiction has appeared in literary journals such as Puerto del Sol, Cimarron Review, Sonora Review, Third Coast, South Dakota Review, Saint Ann’s Review, Mayday Magazine, Santa Clara Review, GSU Review, Orange Coast Review, Eyeshot and others. In 2004, John Updike awarded him the Agnes Scott College Prize for Personal Essay, and in 2010 he enjoyed a two-month residency at the acclaimed MacDowell Colony artist retreat. Most recently, his story “The Big Speech” won the San Miguel Writers Conference Award for Creative Nonfiction. He holds a B.A. from San Francisco State University, an M.F.A. from Georgia State University, and a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University.

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Click here or call 563/324-1410 for more information and to learn how to register.

by Jodie Toohey, www.jodiet.com
Follow Jodie as she blogs about all things MWC

WHO’S GOT CHARACTER?

Have you ever read a book where one of the characters (probably the main character) just seems to stick with you? You find yourself thinking about him or her as you fall asleep, marveling at her courage, admiring his tenacity or including a blip in your night-time prayers that they make the book into a movie so you can see the character in real life? If so, you have been a victim of author-manipulation. Memorable characters are not accidents. They are deliberately created to stick with readers. Authors expend a ton of time developing their characters with quirks, qualities, and back-story far beyond what shows up in their stories. If you are a writer, you may be struggling to create these good characters.

Numerous books about character development have been published. You can find scores of questionnaires and interviews you can hold with your characters in your head or on paper to find out what makes them tick; what makes them THEM. Then you can use this information to write your story. Even if you don’t directly use all of the information you learn, the work will pay off because the better YOU know your character, the better you can write about them. One interesting take on this character interview process is addressed in the book, “What Would Your Character Do?” by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. and Ann Maisel (Writer’s Digest Books, © 2006). The book presents over two dozen scenarios into which you virtually plunk your character and answer questions about what he or she would do in that particular situation. Following the questions are explanations of what that specific action most likely tells you about his personality and deeper motivations. The authors also provide additional questions for reflection to help you delve even deeper into your character’s – well – character.

If you want to learn more about character development, plan to attend the “Who Was That Masked Man?” session at Midwest WritingCenter’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Rebecca McKanna, corporate communications writer and fiction author, will teach the session. Rebecca McKanna's fiction has appeared in the New Delta Review literary journal. She has also taken graduate-level courses from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Rebecca says, “I think creating memorable characters starts with creating multi-dimensional characters. It's nuance that makes a character memorable. In the workshop we'll do activities that can help spur this process, as well as examine successful and unsuccessful examples of characters from literature.”

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Visit www.midwestwritingcenter.org and click on the Pen In Hand link under the “Events & Opportunities” tab or call 563/324-1410 for more information and to learn how to register.

-By Jodie Toohey (www.jodiet.com)

Midwest Writing Center offers young writer workshop

The Midwest Writing Center invites participants to register for “How to publish a book before the age of 10” to be offered Friday, March 9, at 4 p.m. at the center on the third floor of the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport.

Anna Shammas

The workshop is also geared toward young writers who desire to submit stories to the WQPT KIDS GO! Writers Contest, which has an entry deadline of April 10.

Workshop facilitator is young author, Anna Shammas, who published her first book, Very Snowy, before the age of 10. 

Registration for the workshop can be made by calling (563) 324-1410 or by email to mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org.   

THE POWER OF “SAID”

As a writer who is taught to “spice things up”, “make things interesting”, “don’t be redundant”, etc. it may seem intuitive when writing dialogue to substitute “he said” or “she said”, with “he whispered”, “she shouted”, “he bellowed”, “he growled”, or “she happily howled hoarsely” to let your readers know who is speaking in your piece. But those “in the know” will tell you it is okay and even preferred to use “said” every single time you need to describe your dialogue. And if you think about it, you will see this actually makes sense.

When a reader is reading an exciting verbal exchange in your writing, they are right there listening to what is being said, anxious to find out how the conversation ends. When they come across a fancy said-phrase, they pause and they realize they are not there but they are reading. Not what you ideally want. “Said” is almost an invisible word. Readers are so used to seeing it they just gloss over it, not pausing or stopping to think about you, the writer. Plus, if you write your dialogue (what is said) artfully enough, the reader will not need to know if the character screamed it or hollered it, they will already know by what is SAID. If it is clear who is speaking, you don’t even need to point out who is talking, just start a new paragraph and the new quoted dialogue.

Want to learn more about how to put great dialogue in your fiction? Then plan to attend the “Talk the Talk” session at Midwest WritingCenter’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Ann Boaden, Augustana College instructor and fiction author, will teach this workshop session. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in a variety of literary journals, including South Dakota Review, Big Muddy, The Heartlands Today, Buffalo Carp, British History, Lutheran Journal, Wascana (Canada) Review, and in the anthology Christmas on the Great Plains (published by the University of Iowa Press).  She has collaborated on two novels for junior readers, served as librettist for four musicals performed locally, and written three plays produced by the professional regional theatre group New Ground.  Her book Light and Leaven:  Women Who Shaped Augustana’s First Century, was released last May.

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Visit www.midwestwritingcenter.org and click on the Pen In Hand link under the “Events & Opportunities” tab or call 563/324-1410 for more information and learn how to register.

-By Jodie Toohey (www.jodiet.com)

Deadline Approaching for the Fall Poetry Workshop Series!

The deadline to apply for the Midwest Writing Center’s Fall Poetry Workshop Series is August 24^th. Those interested in attending the six-session series with award-winning poet Shane McCrae must complete the online application form and mail or e-mail two writing samples by that date. Class size is limited.

The workshop will focus on consolidating individual poems into chapbook-length books of poetry with special attention paid to voice, form, subject matter, self-editing, and self-listening. Shane McCrae, author of two chapbook-length books of poetry, has had or will have his work appear in “The Best American Poetry 2010”, The American Poetry Review, Fence, Agni, Denver Quarterly, and others.

Workshop participants will meet twice a month from September 1-November 17. The cost to attend the workshop is $210 for non-members, $180 for members, and $150 for students.

To register, visit MWC's website.