murder.booklocker.com

Young Chicago Authors (YCA) “encourages self-expression and literacy through creative writing, performance and publication. YCA provides student-centered, artist-led workshops free to youth ages 13-19 in schools and communities.”

• Saturday Writing Program
  A 3-year writing workshop series
• GirlSpeak
  Enlightens young women about self-love, healthy lifestyles, activism through art and awareness of the world around them.
• Say What Magazine
  Chicago’s premier youth writing publication with over 20,000 readers
• Watch the Steps Press
  Two trimester magazines and an end-of-year anthology
• Louder than a Bomb
  Six-day poetry slam, workshops and panel discussions
  “Over 400 participants representing over 50 schools and community organizations”
• WordPlay
  Chicago’s longest running teen-oriented weekly open mic
  Tuesdays 6-9 p.m.

[Lisa Laing included this from Jennifer Stevenson.]

I was a dedicated but clueless writer when I joined in the winter of 1998. Chicago North educated me in how romance works, sure, but they also educated me in basics of the publishing industry, information I’d been craving for twenty years. I learned the things that make the realization of my ambitions seem possible.

CN also prepared me to get The Call, prepared me to negotiate with agents as well as editors, prepared me for a realistic understanding of how success happens in publishing. I learned when to fire my agent (fired her soon after!) and when to hold my peace, do my job, and earn my clout. I learned how to impress my editor =after= she’d loved and bought my book, how to work with departments within the publishing company, how to negotiate the cover art and promotion issues which many authors will tell you are nonnegotiable.

CN has a library of over 700 tapes and CDs, recordings of seminars, workshops, and speeches by writers, editors, agents, book distributors, publicists, and other experts in the field. One winter, I listened to every one of them while trapped in traffic in my car. What Chicago North members couldn’t teach me directly, I learned through our library.

Best of all I got unremitting support. And laughed at a lot–I write humor. In the writer’s groups I’d attended before, too often the message was, “Why should you ever get published?” At Chicago North, the message was, “This can work. How can we make it work?”

In 2003 I sold my first book, TRASH SEX MAGIC, to Small Beer Press and CN taught me how to promote it. In 2005 I sold a two-book deal to Del Rey and landed a terrific agent. In 2006 CN gave me a wonderful opportunity to meet the Borders buyer for romance, which I could then parley into a third sale to Del Rey before the first two books had even been published. If I had not been prepared for these opportunities by my RWA chapter, I wouldn’t have known how to take advantage of them. I owe everything to Chicago North.

Jennifer Stevenson
TRASH SEX MAGIC
Small Beer Press 2004
THE BRASS BED, April 2008
THE VENUS MACHINE working title, May 2008
THE HAUNTED PORN FACTORY working title, June 2008
Ballantine Books

Lisa Laing answered some questions about her writing group, the Chicago-North Chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

How did the group start?

The feature story in that issue reviewed the history of the chapter.

How did you choose where to hold your meetings?

We meet twice each month. The first meeting of the month is held at the Des Plaines Public Library. The second is at the Arlington Heights Historical Society. Site selection considerations include cost (a big factor), size of meeting room, availability on our desired days at our preferred times (very few places stay open until 10pm), and accessibility for our members. We try to choose a central location in order to make it easy for the majority of members to attend.

What’s an ordinary meeting like?

At each meeting we discuss chapter business and do a large-group critique of at least one manuscript (20 pages max). On program nights we also have a speaker, workshop, or program of some type. On non-program nights we critique a second manuscript. We also take long breaks to give members time to catch up with each other.

Do you have a limit on the number of folks who can participate?

There is no limit on our membership. We welcome both published and unpublished authors. Our mission is: “We, the members of the Chicago-North Chapter of RWA, come together to support published and unpublished writers in an atmosphere of integrity, harmony, and peace. We encourage our fellow writers with unconditional support, incisive critiques, and a professional network. Our purpose is to nurture each other as we strive for excellence and achievement of our publication goals.”

Are there expectations of participation by members?

There are no hard-and-fast rules. Some of our members have moved away from Chicago and participate only in the online e-mail discussion group. Some of our members have the time to take on a board position or to head a committee (e.g., web site, publicity, conference, contest, etc.). At meetings, some members participate actively in discussions and others simply listen and learn. We hope that everyone will find a way to contribute and that everyone will learn something new.

Do you have a waiting list? Do you vet participants?

We do not have a waiting list. We have no need to vet participants.

What good things have come out of the group?

Each year, several of our unpublished members join the ranks of the published authors. We all learn so much from each other. Those who have advanced in their careers support those of us who are following in their footsteps.

[NOTE: There are two other RWA groups in the Chicago-area:

• Love Designers Writers’ Club
  Romance Writers of America Chapter, Region 2
  1507 Burnham Avenue, Calumet City, IL 60409
  Phone (708) 862-9797
• Windy City RWA

I saw David McNelly’s post looking for folks to join a small Chicago writing group on Craigslist and asked him to describe the group for me.

All our writing group’s decisions are made by consensus. When someone new wants to join, we try and trade a few pieces of fiction first so that  we establish the writing is both good and what we are looking for.

We haven’t added anyone other than our original five because many who have asked to join recently are novelists, playwrights, or poets. We want to concentrate on critiquing short stories and we all are either sending out stories for publication or are getting our stories honed so that we can do so soon.

By having a diversity of people in the group, we are able to get some different readings of the piece so that the writer can choose what sort of audience to focus on.

I formed the group by posting on craigslist and the first five people who responded who wrote short stories and other short fiction were invited to meet at a coffeeshop on the north side. We ended up meeting at the Belmont stop, but then realized we all lived close to or in Andersonville, so we switched to a coffee shop there. We meet twice a month and turn in stories once a month in a rotating basis.

In an ordinary meeting, we talk for about half an hour at the beginning, especially if people are trickling in, about what sorts of artistic things we do, about books we are reading, the publishing process, our dreams, literary journals, bikes, moving, etc.

Then, we take about half an hour for each story (normally 3) talking first about what we think the story is about, and what it is in it’s essence, then we move on to things we liked and then suggestions for revision. It’s the standard process for workshopping.

We would like to ideally be between 6-8 people, but we like the balance that we have so much, that it’s hard to add anyone else. We expect each group member to write out their critique, make it a page single-spaced or the equivalent, and make editing notes on the story and give it to the writer.

We’ve only met 4 times now, but we get along really well together, and I hope we start to see some acceptance letters from literary journals soon.

I just want to add a note that Craigslist is not the only way to find other like-minded writers. This was posted to the CWA forum:

I’m a member of two writing groups — I found them both via meetup.com. Both are small and meet in coffee shops. One is focused on speculative fiction and meets monthly in Lakeview. The other is more general although we have a fondness for poetry, experimental dramatics, and lit-fic — it meets every
other week in the Loop (and no longer uses meetup).

Lynn Voedisch has a lot to say about writing groups.

When I asked for information on local writing groups, one of the folks at the Chicago Writers Association directed me to a page on their website. True enough, it has groups of writers — which is NOT to be confused with writing groups. However, the information is worth passing on.

• Sisters in Crime Chicago Chapter
• Illinois Woman’s Press Association
• Neighborhood Writing Alliance
• Chicago North Chapter of Romance Writers of America
• Independent Writers of Chicago
• Society of Midland Authors
• Midwest Writers Association
• NewTown Writers
• Chicago Women in Publishing
• Young Chicago Authors
• TallGrass Writer’s Guild
• The Poetry Center of Chicago
• Guild Complex
• Poetic License Writers Group
• Chicago Screenwriters Network
• Director/Playwright Alliance of Chicago
• Authors Marketing Group
• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Illinois Chapter
• Literary Writers Network

[NOTE: The page also has info on Publishing Houses, Self-Publishing, Agents and Websites.]

Saw this posted on the Chicago Writers Association forum.
Schaumburg:

I think I might have mentioned this before but I belong to a writer’s group at the Schaumburg Library. We have a great core group of about 17 people and we meet twice a month - the first and third Saturday of the month from 10am - 1pm. Folks bring two pages, double-spaced of whatever they like to read, and pass around copies for everyone to write their critique on the pages. Check out their website.

Wheeling:

I [Michelle True] lead two writing groups at the Indian Trails Library in Wheeling. I started Poetic License (poetry writing) in 2003; we have 25 members and average 12-14 at each monthly meeting (last Wed. of the month, 7 p.m.). I started Write Your Life (memoir writing)in March 2007. We have 20 members and have averaged 10-12 at each meeting (2nd Monday of the month, 7 p.m.). Anyone who lives or works in the Wheeling area is welcome to join us. The library requires people to register for all meetings by calling the library at (847) 459-4100.

Des Plaines:

Romance writers of America, North Chicago Chapter.  We usually have 20 - 30 people at each meeting, and our total membership is over 80. We meet on the second and last Monday of each month (some exceptions for holidays). The details are on our web site.

Oak Lawn:

Oak Lawn Writers Groups – Year-round — If you seek motivation and support from your peers, join one of the library’s writers groups.  Their informal meetings consist of readings, critiques and writing exercises. All three groups are intended for adults high school age and up. No registration required.  Mary Nelson Room, lower level.

10:00 a.m. - noon	Second and fourth Saturdays	General Interest
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.	Second Saturdays	Screenwriting
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.	Fourth Saturdays	Writing to Sell

Lisle:

This one, Windy City Romance Writers of America, barely makes the cut since most of the meetings are NOT at the Lisle Library, but at the Municipal Center in Naperville.

 our website is:

www.windycityrwa.com

On general meeting nights, our meetings will be held from 7-9 PM at the Naperville Municipal Center. (Downtown Naperville) Generally, the first half of our meetings are slated for guest speakers and the second half for chapter business. Speakers begin their presentations at 7:00 sharp. Please arrive early enough to be in your seats by that time.

The fourth Wednesday a month is always held 7-9 PM at the Lisle Library (777 Front Street, 630-971-1701). This is our learning-the-craft night, which will entail panel discussion, critiques submitted by volunteers, as well as speakers on the topic of writing. There is no critique meeting in July, November or December.

If anyone has more library writing groups to add, just leave a comment and I’ll be happy to do it. Thanks!

A forum on Crimespace asked this:  

• Do you belong to a writing group?
• Have you found it helpful if and when you did?
• In the long run, did it help your writing?

I was particularly intrigued by the response of Rick Bylina.

I tried five writing groups before I ended up at one I felt comfortable with for two years. With the more serious writers in the group, we broke away and created a more focused, smaller group.

Three years later, I think I need to go to the next level and find one or two writing partners. Despite a few stumbles, the groups remained solidly focused on the works and not the writers, but disappointments have dwindled the original eight down to four, with two teetering on leaving.

I suspect writing has a much higher attrition/failure rate than anyone really knows. Based on all the stories I’ve heard, I feel I’ve learned a lot and been fortunate. Many stories of writing groups are horror stories of pompous asses and prima donnas. [my emphasis]

Perhaps when my first novel gets picked up, I’ll have more confidence and some insight into the “real” expectations of agents, editors, and the buying public to go solo and find the writing soul mate or two with whom to bounce ideas and get honest feedback in a more concentrated fashion.

I’ve submitted eight novels (parts and whole) to these writing groups. To the more direct question, yes. I have tossed two novels (both with over 50K words written) because neither seemed to be moving in a direction that would lead to publication. I have continued on a third one they never liked, but now, after years of effort, it seems, according to my beta readers, as my strongest story yet.

There is this fine line between listening to the committee and listening to yourself. It is a lucky few who develop that ear early in their careers and manage to succeed because of it.

[Reproduced with the author's permission]

There’s a flurry of …

[I was going to say excitement but it's a lot more passionate than that. Come to think of it, it's probably more than a flurry, too. Flurries in Chicago we can live with. It's the snow blowing sideways into huge drifts, the white-out conditions that aren't much fun. This is somewhere in between.]

As I was saying there’s an opinionated exchange going on over at the Chicago Writers Association forum.

It started innocently enough with a request for a critique partner. From there it blew up into entirely something else. On Saturday, Ed Toolis joined in.

This was his introduction:

I’m new here, so I don’t know my way around yet.

This is what I’ve done and what I’ve gone through. I’m and ex-business owner and I’ve been working on a humorous, battle of the sexes novel for around 14 years. I recently finished the 13th draft, I’m finally happy with the manuscript, and now I’m looking for an agent. (I’m also working on another novel, but it’ll be the end of the year before I even get a first draft.)

Now, I define a writer as someone who pours his or her heart and soul into a draft, sends it out for critique, gets told it’s crap, cries and swears for a day or two, then sits down and writes a list of impossible problems to solve, then gets to work solving them. And this is how I learned the craft, the structure of the novel and scenes, humor, and how to deal with the powerful negative emotions that come with this field.

I joined this group because I’m embarrassed that a world-class city like Chicago doesn’t seem to have hundreds of writing groups, all struggling and helping each other, in a conspiracy to kick literary ass. And because of this, I want to help anyone I can.

Personally, I didn’t think his remark about Chicago was inflammatory. Derogatory maybe. Others took exception and the discussion took off in several directions. [None of these, of course, became their own threads because CWAers aren't very savvy about forum use. Which is why you'll find so many disparate things included under the same heading. Don't let that stop you from joining ... you just need to make good use of the search function!]

Suddenly, at least it seemed so to me, Ed posted the following. It is reproduced with his permission. I thought it would serve as an interesting introduction to my series on Chicago-area writing groups.

So are we going to just whine . . . [Ed's header]
about not having a vibrant writing community here or are we going to do something about it, besides everyone getting an MFA? We’re Chicagoans, for crying out loud! We’re capable of anything we set our minds to. Chicago is a town where amazing things can happen. I know. I came here with nothing, which included anybody thinking I’d ever amount to anything, and I retired from the business I started with a fair amount of money. And if I can make it here, everybody can.

Let’s start by making a list, as if we’re going to write an article to go in the Writer’s Digest or something.. If there was a vibrant community here, what would it provide?

Let’s start with two types of writers. (1) A beginner who has gone through hell and has finished a first draft. (2) A writer who has written a lot but can’t seem to get accepted by a good agent.

Isn’t it out responsibility to help them, us? Do you think that (1) has the potential to be a great writer? This person needs the help you wish you had gotten, right? You remember what it felt like to make a list of all the things that needed to be done to turn your novel into something decent, saw that everything on the list was impossible for you to accomplish, and didn’t know where to turn, right? Don’t you feel obligated to make sure this person doesn’t finally give up, so that all those beautiful hopes and dreams become a waste? And (2). Do you really believe that all those lessons you’ve learned the hard way are of no use to anyone? That we all live in our own isolated worlds and can’t speed up each other’s development? In your heart, you have to believe that all novels have the potential for greatness; otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to take yours as far as you did. Can you really live with yourself if you don’t do what you can to help this person take theirs to the next level?

Are you with me? Show of hands. Who’s got ideas to help these people? What other types need to be added to the outline of this “article?” Because I swear, if I don’t see the creativity that we’re all supposed to have, I’ll kill this cute little puppy.

[Note: do not panic. No actual puppy is being referred to. At least I don't think so.]

I decided to do one of Marlys’s assignments which is to use a photo as a jumping off point for memoir. The photograph that heads this post was taken by Luanne McMillen, my partner of thirty years.

Up until October, 2001, I had been the photographer in the family. I can remember the date of my release from that responsbility because I was on assignment, shooting photos of a local writing conference. On the second day I was forced to ask Luanne to take the pictures. I could no longer hold the camera steady. For the rest of the weekend I directed, and she graciously complied.

Since that time I still see shots that I’d like to have and sometimes she will take them. But for the most part she’s totally replaced me in selection as well as execution. It was she who took the photos at the Printers Row Book Fair. She’s the one who saw something of interest in the details on the building across the way.

Sure, some of them are hokey. But occasionally, make that frequently, she comes up with some stunners. Like the one above. She can even make a weed look great.

She works the same magic with the bouquets that she takes to work. One day it’s a delicate combination of lilies of the valley and grape hyacinth. The next it’s a blowsy cluster of white peonies punctuated with purple iris. 

You can see more of our gardens and Luanne’s handiwork at MSN’s live space.

If you haven’t yet checked out Blooking Central, I’d suggest that today might be a good day to do so. I spend quite a bit of time researching my posts and several times I’ve felt that the reward has been all mine. You deserve to enjoy what I’ve found.

Mom’s Cancer, a comic strip blook written by Brian Fies, has won numerous awards and has been translated into French, German, and Italian. A quick glance at even two of the links that I provide will show you why.