Here you'll find past guild newsletters:

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April 2009

This month's inspiration comes from Jennifer Taylor:

God's Footprints

Recently, a girlfriend emailed me pictures of her ultrasound. My jaw dropped at the second image. It was the bottom of the baby’s right foot.

I stared at the picture, amazed at the sight and at the One forming that little life in its mother’s womb. God is truly a master designer. He creates such beauty on this planet and in our lives.

Sometimes His label is as clear as a baby’s foot or tracks in soft spring earth. Other times, when the image is blurred or the ground is parched and rocky, we have to look harder. Yet, if we take the time to search, God can show us how He forms our lives and seals us with His mark.

Writer’s Challenge:

Recall an instance when you saw God’s footprints in your life. Were His tracks clear like those in new snow or were they nearly obscured by time and wind? How did you discover them? Share that moment in any form of writing you choose.

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March 2009 

Thanks to Sheila Wilkinson for this month’s encouragement: "Mission Possible"

I recently gave a presentation to the local music teacher’s association. (Who me? I play banjo because you can never tell if a banjo is in tune or not!) My presentation was not about teaching music. These teachers, however, hold knowledge that others yearn for. They know the whys, wherefores and how-tos of music. With decades of experience and their own creative approaches, they are sitting on a gold mine of information.

My mission – to convince them to share what God has given them or allowed them to attain. When was the last time you encouraged a non-writer to write something? We often encourage fellow writers. But a non-writer? Think about it. Everyone is unique.

Who do you know who tells great stories? Who travels? Who reads? Who can you encourage?

What about you? What is unique about you? What has God given you that He wants you to share?

WRITER’S CHALLENGE: Write a paragraph convincing someone that they should write something. This can be fictitious, but using real people and ideas may bring appreciation of our God-given uniqueness.

Then write a paragraph from someone else’s point of view telling you why and what you should write. How do other people see you? What does God have to say to you today?

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February 2009

Thanks to guild member Becky Tidberg for this month’s inspiration.

I was watching “The Unit” one Sunday night and the commander of the Special Ops team was struggling with how to make their mission successful without having any casualties.  The light bulb came on while they rumbled to the scene and he told his team: “Inspiration is the momentary cessation of stupidity.” 

I agree.  It seems that my moments of inspiration come, not when the muse is in the mood, but when I have learned something new to help me out of an area of ignorance. 

As you think about your writing goals this month, take some time to determine where your writing weaknesses are and find a way to encourage your muse by learning something new. 

Some ideas:

• Pick the brain of someone who has arrived where you want to go.
• Take a class – online or at a local college.
•  
  Try something new:  If you’re a novelist, try writing an article.  If you are committed to non-fiction, try writing a short story.  If you love short stories, try your hand at poetry.
• Subscribe to a craft magazine or newsletter.

Writers Challenge (from The Write-Brain Workbook by Bonnie Neubauer):

You May Have Already Won

You have received a believable-looking, business-sized white envelope in the mail.  The return address is from a company called Peerless.  Printed on the envelope, in bright red letters, are the words “You May Have Already Won.”  Tell the story of what it is you may have won, or what it is you didn’t win.  Tell what you do with this envelope.

Start with:  Life takes some funny twists and turns…

(Thanks Becky for the great ideas!)

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DECEMBER 2008 

Thanks to guild member Ellie Paulson for offering us her insights for creating a great holiday letter:

The holidays are upon us. There are a million things to do and plan for. Topping the list are holiday greetings to send. As writers we may feel some pressure to achieve the perfect epistle—clever and newsy without bragging.

Think about the holiday letters you’ve received. Is there one that stands out in your mind? I hate to admit it, but wading through the endless stack of “form letters” (as my dear mother used to call them) recounting all the triumphs of each of our relatives is really boring sometimes. I usually put them aside to read later. Few are actually fun.

This year try to create something different—positive and authentic. Here are some suggestions:

• Have each member of the family write a personal note, arrange collage style on a page and scan it. Print on Christmas computer stationery.
• Write a letter from your pet’s point of view in his voice. For example: “Hi, my name is Rover, I’m the Jones family dog. This is what’s been going on around here this year.” Add a picture of the dog with the family.
• If you are camera literate, show the year in pictures in a tri-fold format.
• Try the bullet format to record highlights from the year past.
• Add a favorite new recipe or poem.
• Use clip art and/or favorite quotes to spice up the page.
• A month by month calendar format works if you keep it short.

However you do your Christmas greetings, don’t neglect your writing over the holidays. Writing is a great tension reliever and holiday stress reducer. Have a Blessed Christmas! (EP)

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WRITER'S CHALLENGE: Write the story of Jesus' birth, changing the time/place anyway you'd like. What if He was born in inner city Chicago (on Bethlehem Blvd. maybe) in 1998, or a ranch in Bethlehem, Montana in 1862, or a resort town (Lake Bethlehem perhaps) in northern Wisconsin in 1925? Where's the "manger"? Who would the "shepherds" be? The "magi"? What kind of world would He be coming to? What does your story teach you (and your reader) about the "essence" of Christmas? (MP)

See you in January! 

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NOVEMBER 2008

Thanks to WWCWG member Heather Cox for her thoughts as our guest newsletter writer this month:

November hosts a holiday that reminds me of family time together sitting around a large round cherry table with food covering every square inch of wood. Before the turkey was carved, the cranberry sauce passed, or the mashed potatoes heaped high upon our plates, my Mom asked us to go around the table sharing our thanks. As a teenager, I rolled my eyes at this robotic exercise of thanksgiving sharing with my father our disdain for this inauthentic activity. But, in time, I've come to realize that a regular practice of giving thanks can actually change my attitude to gratitude.

As I've tried to grow as a writer, I've struggled with finding new topics to write about or even food for thought. About a year ago, I began a practice that has greatly impacted me. Each week, I take the time to write about all the things in my life for which I am thankful. The process begins robotically: "What am I thankful for this week?" I list one, two, three items and then, before I know it, the writer in me takes over and begins to see the week with new eyes. Everything that once seemed grey and dull has now become fodder for a new devotional or an introduction for another article. A regular practice of thanksgiving not only changed my perspective, it helped my writing!

Today, the glorious colors of fall have all faded into a dull brown and the cut corn fields and gray skies add to the general dreariness of impending winter. The snow has not yet covered the barren land with its sparkling blanket of frozen beauty but the temperatures dip low enough to keep us inside huddled by electric or gas thermostats. In these days between fall and winter, as it becomes more difficult to get outside and be active, our outlook on life can get dull and gray too.

WRITER’S CHALLENGE: Make time this week to sit down and list the many things worthy of thanksgiving and watch those grey days transform into cheery days filled with praise. Begin with a list and let it grow into a letter of praise to God for all He has given you and all He is doing in your life.

But beware, the practice of giving thanks can be habit forming and highly contagious!

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Heather Cox’s writing mission is “Finding Moments for Meditation in Women's Everyday Lives.” Read more from her at her Mommy Monk blog: http://mommymonk.blogspot.com; Internet Cafe: http://internetcafedevotions.com/ and Laced with Grace: http://lacedwithgrace.com/

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OCTOBER 2008

Maybe the most common writer lament is, “I wish I had more TIME to write!” We dream of endless free hours—days, weeks, or months—uninterrupted by the stuff of life, to ponder our prose and polish our poems. But the hard fact of writing life is that most of us experience that kind of freedom rarely, or never.

If we’re going to write then, most of our writing will have to happen right smack in the middle of the other stuff of our lives. We have time for writing if we make the most of the little opportunities that present themselves. For instance, I wrote a rough draft while watching the news this morning. (I just got so mad I HAD to write.) I outlined another piece last night while waiting for the spaghetti to cook. (Cooking counted as research for the piece about family life management.) Last week I jotted down five points for a sidebar while I waited for the dentist. (For a future piece about stress management. Fitting, yes?)

It works this way because—and here is a news flash—writers are not like other people! Other parents just watch the Little League game; you see a child leaping for the baseball and birth a poem. Other folks sit in the hospital waiting room; your hospital vigil inspires a devotional piece. While others just wait in the long gas station lines, you draft an essay while you wait.

What stuff have you got going on today? What writing notions is it inspiring? Take a few minutes--smack in the middle of it all—and capture your thoughts. A few hundred words of journaling, or an article draft, or maybe a list of five possible articles...whatever's in your life and on your mind...don't just live it. Write about it.

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SEPTEMBER 2008

Our inspiration for this year is 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV): “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

Have you thought of your writing as a “trust” from God? How amazing to think that He has trusted us with this gift of creative expression.

Years ago I was in a career crisis, trying to juggle work and family and my desire to write. My son Alex asked me an incredibly clarifying question: “Mom, who will write your stories if you don’t?”  My “stories” (articles, poems, journal entries, letters, blogs, books) are writing assignments that God has entrusted to me. And the fact is no one can write them but me.

What writing assignments has God entrusted to you? If you don’t write them, who will?

This is a great time of year—new school year, change of season—to focus on your writing. Will you prove faithful to the trust of God?

WRITING PROMPT: Set the timer for 15 minutes and write a few hundred words on this idea of God trusting you (With what? For what purpose?) and how you might prove yourself to be faithful to that trust.

What obstacles do you encounter in trying to be faithful? (Maybe those obstacles part of your “story”? How can you be faithful in spite of them?)

May you be blessed as you pursue wholeheartedly that which He has given you to do!

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A HUGE THANK YOU to the Guild Board—Sheila Wilkinson, Jennifer Taylor, and Michelle Rayburn for working hard over the summer to put together a great schedule for this guild year. Countless hours go into the planning and executing of guild functions each year. Thanks everyone!

COMING UP: SEPTEMBER 9, 2008. Back by popular demand! We’ll kick off another guild year with CURVES FOR WRITERS –PART THREE. More exercise for your brain and your creativity with this hands-on and interactive workshop guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing! Be prepared to work your way around the four stations of the “training circuit” taught by experienced guild members.

DUES: Dues are $25.00 for the year, September through May. Visitors may attend for $7.00 per meeting.

MEMBERSHIP FORM: A PDF membership is available on the website. Please bring it completed with your check for $25.00 payable to “WWCWG” to the first meeting.

FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Feel free to bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

Can’t wait to see you on September 9th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce

APRIL 2008

It is coming, isn’t it? It will be here eventually, right? I’m talking about my tax refund, of course. Are you getting yours? This year most of us will be getting the extra rebate as well. So my question is this: What will you be doing with your extra money?

It’s a fun thing to ponder—the spending of a windfall. And this is where the creative mind takes over. Just imagine…

You get a letter informing you that your long-lost relative has passed away and left you a fortune. The problem is...

You receive a phone call that you have won a prize, but you aren’t sure what you’ll do with…

You check the numbers and WOW! You’ve won the lottery! You’d be happy but…

WRITERS CHALLENGE: Pick one of these story starters and give it a couple hundred words to work itself out. Make it funny or make it poignant. Write in first person or in third. Toss in a few unsavory characters and see where the action takes you. Have fun!

Bring your creation to the April meeting if you’d like to share it (optional). If you complete the challenge, you’ll be eligible for FABULOUS PRIZES!

Happy writing. And Happy Spring! (It IS coming, isn’t it? It will be eventually, right?)

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COMING UP: JOYCE K. ELLIS is back with us in April for help us understand how to “USE FICTION TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE YOUR NON-FICTION WRITING.” Joyce, as we know, is an incredibly talented writer, editor and teacher who brings her love of writing and her sense of humor to every session. We’re delighted she’ll be with us again. (April 8th, 7-9 p.m., Bethesda, State & Hamilton, Eau Claire)

SPECIAL SESSION: Joyce will lead a special afternoon session on the day of our meeting, April 8th, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. This is your chance to get to know her, ask questions, dig deeper, and well, “pick her brain.” It’s not often a person of Joyce’s expertise is available to encourage us on our writing path. Let’s take full advantage of this opportunity! (Fee for this special session will be $25.00, payable to Joyce. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED.)

WRITING OPPORTUNITIES ARE ANOTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!
We hear about market opportunities all the time and in the past we’ve sent them to everyone on the guild mailing list. We’ll continue to share this kind of information, but from now on only with paid members as another membership benefit. One paid acceptance will probably cover your dues for the year! (PAID MEMBERS: CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR MARKET NEWS.)

SPRING CONTEST: ENTRIES for the Spring 2008 contest are due at the April 8th meeting.

WRITE TO PUBLISH CHALLENGE: Those of us who attended WTP in June are so excited to go back next year! We’re issuing another WTP challenge for June 2008. Maybe this is YOUR YEAR to attend!

FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Feel free to bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

See you APRIL 8th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

JANUARY 2008 (Note the January meeting is on the 8th! "Early" this month!)

I refuse to do it this year! I refuse to make a list of promises I won’t keep. A list of expectations I’ll never fulfill. A list of New Year’s Resolutions. How about you?

Here is the one thing I will do, something I’ve found to be very helpful in the past. I will write a letter to myself, to be opened on December 31, 2008. In the letter, I’ll tell myself how I hope this year will turn out, the things I’m prayerfully planning to make the year a wonderful and fulfilling time.

The letter might include some “goal” type things, though it doesn’t have to. It might mention an attitude or two. (It might even—though it doesn’t HAVE to—mention my weight.)

Mostly it will be a statement of vision, of dreams, of desires. I’ll write to myself and say all the things I hope I can be saying truthfully at year’s end, when I will read the letter out loud. I might even include some prayers.

It’s so easy to lose sight of where we began, 365 days later.

WRITERS CHALLENGE: Why not, as the old song says, “Sit right down and write (yourself) a letter”? You begin with “Dear Me…”.

Bring your creation to the January meeting if you’d like to share it (optional) before you seal it up. If you complete the challenge, you’ll be eligible for FABULOUS PRIZES!

Happy writing.

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COMING UP: AUGUST RUBRECHT IS BACK with us in January. An award-winning master storyteller, August will be offering an interactive workshop that he guarantees will increase our observation and communication skills. We’ll get a taste of the entertaining teaching style that delighted his classes all those years at UWEC. Join us for a great evening! (Tuesday January 8, 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Bethesda Church, State Street and Hamilton in Eau Claire. Free to guild members. Visitor fee $7.00.)

DUES: Dues are $25.00 (visitors fee $7.00 per meeting). Make checks payable to WWCWG. You can download a membership form on the website.

WRITING OPPORTUNITIES ARE ANOTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT! We hear about market opportunities all the time and in the past we’ve sent them to everyone on the guild mailing list. We’ll continue to share this kind of information, but from now on only with paid members as another membership benefit. One paid acceptance will probably cover your dues for the year! (PAID MEMBERS: CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR MARKET NEWS.)

SPRING CONTEST: Details for the Spring 2008 contest are on the website. Click the link to check it out.

BOOK CLUB: NEXT MEETING is at Border’s in Eau Claire 7-9 pm on Tuesday January
22nd to discuss Mary Shelley’s classic, FRANKENSTEIN. (you can read it online at http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/

WRITE TO PUBLISH CHALLENGE: Those of us who attended WTP in June are so excited to go back next year! We’re issuing another WTP challenge for June 2008. Maybe this is YOUR YEAR to attend!

FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Feel free to bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

See you JANUARY 8th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce
President

NOTE: WE WILL NOT MEET IN DECEMBER. Have a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrating God's gifts to us all! See you in January.

November 2007

I googled “Thanksgiving prayer” and came across this: “A visitor to America from outer space in late November might conclude that we worship the turkey goddess. So what is the deeper meaning of this holiday, with its sometimes conflicting themes?”

Turkey goddess? What is the meaning of the holiday? What conflicting themes do you see? Your November Writer's Challenge is to write a short story, a poem, a song, a prayer, or an essay about Thanksgiving. Make it funny, poignant, sublime or ridiculous! Perhaps you’ll entertain an alien or travel back in time. How many words rhyme with “turkey” anyway?

Bring your creation to the November meeting and we’ll share them (optional) during the meeting. If you complete the challenge, you’ll be eligible for FABULOUS PRIZES!

Happy writing.

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A HUGE THANK YOU to Jerry Poling for sharing his experiences as a writer and editor at our October meeting. Jerry had this to say in a follow up email: “I enjoyed my hour with the writers group. Hopefully, I provided a little insight. If anyone there ever has any questions that I might be able to answer, please have them call me. Tell everyone to keep writing, that I really enjoyed my visit and thank them!” I hope we all appreciate the awesome opportunity it is to connect personally with editors—i.e. the people who can hire us and pay us for our writing—and to have them offer so generously to help us!)

COMING UP: MARY PIERCE on “SPEAKING YOUR HEART” (How do we talk about yours truly?) Join Mary as she shares her insights on discovering and developing your speaking niche. She’ll share her top five speaking tips for expanding your ministry and polishing your skills. Mary’s been speaking professionally since 1996, entertaining and educating community, church and retreat audiences through her multi-media presentations. Come and be inspired! (Tuesday, November 13, 7 to 9 p.m., Bethesda Church, State Street and Hamilton in Eau Claire.)

NOTE FOR DECEMBER: Due to guild leadership obligations elsewhere on December 11th, we are considering cancelling the December meeting. We’ll discuss alternatives at the November meeting.

DUES: Dues are $25.00 (visitors fee $7.00 per meeting). Make checks payable to WWCWG. You can download a membership form on the website.

WRITING OPPORTUNITIES ARE ANOTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT! We hear about market opportunities all the time and in the past we’ve sent them to everyone on the guild mailing list. We’ll continue to share this kind of information, but from now on only with paid members as another membership benefit. One paid acceptance will probably cover your dues for the year! (PAID MEMBERS: CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR MARKET NEWS)

BOOK CLUB: Much to our dismay, NOBODY showed up at Border’s on the 4th Tuesday last month for the book club. We’ll be rethinking this one. Your feedback is needed. Thanks!

WRITE TO PUBLISH CHALLENGE: Those of us who attended WTP in June are so excited to go back next year! We’re issuing another WTP challenge for June 2008. Maybe this is YOUR YEAR to attend!

FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Feel free to bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

See you November 12th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Thanking HIM for all of YOU,

Mary Pierce
President

OCTOBER 2007

Gorgeous, isn’t it? The colors, the sounds, the smells. I’m talking about football, of course. The green and the gold (or maybe it’s blue and gold, or red and white, or even (gasp) purple for you), the crowds and the cheering, and maybe the brats on the grills of the tailgaters.

Football is like writing. We suit up, hit the field and we get everything lined up. We sense the tension and then—SNAP—and we’re off and running. We give it all we’ve got and then—OOF!—we’re tackled.

Isn’t that just how writing is? We go, go, go toward the goal, and then someone, something, stops our forward progress, knocks the wind out of us, and down we go.

The important thing in football is the important thing in writing as well, and it’s simple: when you get knocked down, get up again.

Today, get up. Regardless of what’s knocked you down, get up. No matter how many times you’ve been “pre-accepted,” get up. Keep pressing on.

The goal is clear—write for all you’re worth for the glory of the One who has called you.

Get up. Get writing.

OCTOBER WRITERS CHALLENGE: (Back to where you thought we were going in the first place.) Get writing: write a descriptive paragraph (100 words or so) of a fall scene—trees, colors, landscape kind of thing. Here’s the challenge. You cannot use any of the following words: tree, trees, leaf, leaves, branch, branches, trunk, trunks, red, orange, brown, yellow, or blue. Happy writing.

Remember to enter your name for the prize drawing at the next meeting if you complete the writers challenge. Bring yours to share with the group if you’d like.

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THANK YOU to all who participated in the September CURVES PART 2, which was a great kickoff to what promises to be a great year of learning and challenge. Thanks also for the wonderful feedback on your membership forms. Bless you for encouraging all of us in leadership. We thank God for you!

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COMING UP: OCTOBER 9, 2007 Jerry Poling will be with us to share his experiences as a writer and editor. Twenty-five years with the Leader-Telegram, Poling has authored three books and co-authored two others. His freelance work has appeared in numerous publications.

Be sure to bring your checkbook. He’ll have his books for sale—great gifts for those “hard to buy for” guys in your lives! (Tuesday, October 9, 2007 7-9 p.m., Room 305, Bethesda Church, State St. & Hamilton, Eau Claire)

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DUES: Dues are due. (How redundant can we be?) In our quest to provide quality programming, and to remedy the budget busting of last year, we’ve raised the annual dues to $25.00 this year. Visitors may attend once (lifetime) for free and then $7.00 each meeting. Thanks for your support! (Checks payable to WWCWG. You can download a membership form on the website.)

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WRITING OPPORTUNITIES ARE ANOTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT! We hear about market opportunities all the time and in the past we’ve sent them to everyone on the guild mailing list. We’ll continue to share this kind of information, but from now on only with paid members as another membership benefit. One paid acceptance will probably cover your dues for the year!

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WRITE TO PUBLISH CHALLENGE: Those of us who attended WTP in June are so excited to go back next year! We’re issuing another WTP challenge for June 2008. Maybe this is YOUR YEAR to attend!

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FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Feel free to bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

See you October 9th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce
President

SEPTEMBER 2007

I love the inclusiveness of this year’s inspiration verse from 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms."

Each one of us has received a gift, perhaps several. Each one of us has a call to serve others with our gift. And in doing so, God’s grace is administered.

In thinking about creative gifts, we writers tend to think of the big gifts—the mega best selling book that changes the course of history. (Remember the woman in Atlanta who brought about the criminal’s surrender after reading Purpose Driven Life?) Or the authors of perennial best sellers that continue to touch hearts decades after they were written. (C.S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers and Andrew Murray spring to mind.)

Most of us aren’t in that “circle.” What about you? According to our verse, you have gifts and God wants to use you! What gifts have you received? How are you using your gifts to “serve others”?

WRITING PROMPT: Grab your journal, set the timer for 15 minutes and write a couple hundred words on the subject of “gifts.” Recount the ways God “administers His grace”--to you, to your family, or to the world--through your creative efforts. You might begin, “I have a gift for…”

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A HUGE THANK YOU to the Guild Board—Sheila Wilkinson, Jennifer Taylor, Deb Genskow, and Sharon Spencer for working hard over the summer to put together a great schedule for this guild year. Countless hours go into the planning and executing of guild functions each year. Thanks everyone!

COMING UP: SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 KICKOFF CURVES FOR WRITERS – PART TWO.

You asked for it and you’ll get it! We’ll kick off the guild year the way we ended in May with CURVES FOR WRITERS – PART TWO. More exercise for your brain and new challenges to your creativity with this hands-on and interactive workshop guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing! Be prepared to work your way around the four stations of the “training circuit” (15 minutes each) taught by your guild leadership team. (Tuesday, Septermber 11, 2007, 7-9 p.m., Room 305, Bethesda Church, State St. & Hamilton, Eau Claire. Workshop is free to paid guild members. Visitors may pay $7.00)

DUES: In our quest to provide quality programming, and to remedy the budget busting of last year, we will be raising annual dues to $25.00 this year. We are also raising the visitor fee to $7.00 each meeting. Thanks for your support!

MEMBERSHIP FORM: A PDF form will be emailed to you separately. Please bring it completed with your check for $25.00 payable to “WWCWG” to the first meeting.

WRITE TO PUBLISH 2008 CHALLENGE : Those of us who attended WTP in June can't WAIT to go back next year! We’re issuing another WTP challenge for June 2008. Maybe this is YOUR YEAR to attend!

FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share. (Bring what you’ve written in response to the prompt above, or something else you’re working on.)

See you September 11th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce
President
 

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"Summer time, and the livin' is easy...the fish are jumpin'..." and the Guild Board's been plannin'!

The Guild Board met last week to start planning for the 2007-2008 year and we are excited about the coming season! We decided to add two new features to our guild website. You'll see a "Celebrations" page, where we'd love to post YOUR good news! And we've added a "Resources for Writers" page where we welcome your book reviews, recommendations for online resources, or other useful information. 

A sneak peek at the schedule for next year is also on the website, though we are just now contacting speakers so the details are pretty sketchy. Due to the HUGE positive response in May, we've decided to kickoff the year with another "CURVES FOR WRITERS" with new topics. Spread the word.

That's it for now. May God bless you all with a restful or productive summer...or BOTH...according to His perfect plan!

Summer blessings,

Mary

MAY 2007

I’m thinking today about our inspiration verse for this past year: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17 NIV). Bible scholar Matthew Henry said this about our work: “Here is the character of a good work: it is done through God. Our works are then good when the will of God is the rule of them and the glory of God is the end of them; when they are done in His strength and for His sake.”

It’s so easy for me to focus on the “business end” of writing and speaking—the publication credits or the income (or the elusiveness thereof). It’s so easy to look at others and envy their “success” and become impatient with my own progress. I lose sight at times of God’s “big picture” for me—that my work is only “good” work when done in His name and for His glory.

How have you done this year? Have you been working through God, with the will of God ruling your work and the glory of God the goal? Have you worked in His strength and for His sake this past nine months? When have you been certain you were working in the name of the Lord with gratitude, i.e. “good work”? What was the result (visible or hoped for)?

When has your work been the opposite (perhaps with selfish motivations or trying to force your own results)? What was the outcome for you or others?

God has called us to do “whatever” we are called to do for the sake of His kingdom. Who knows what small act of obedience on our part will be magnified by Him to change lives for eternity! May He bless you with insight and peace as you write, prayerfully submitting your work to Him. “Lord, to You I submit…”


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THANK YOU to Randy Mortenson, our April speaker, for the delightful time and for such refreshing honesty! What wonderful things can be accomplished with prayer, patience, a laptop and coffee. (Landon #4 will be out in June and #5, the last of the series, will be out in October.) May God continue to bless Randy and Betsy, their ministry and their family. Thank you for coming!

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CONTEST: The entries are in. The results are being tabulated. Join us in celebrating the Spring Contest WINNERS at the May meeting.
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COMING UP: On MAY 8, 2007 CURVES FOR WRITERS WORKSHOP. Exercise your brain and your creativity with CURVES FOR WRITERS, a hands-on and interactive WORKSHOP that will get you fired up for a productive summer. Be prepared to work your way around the five stations of the “training circuit” (15 minutes each) taught by your guild leadership team:

STATION 1: FLASH WRITING: How to Draft An Article in 3 Minutes (Mary Pierce)

STATION 2: POV: Pinning Down Your Point of View (Sheila Wilkinson)

STATION 3: WRITING TIGHT: How to say what you want to say in as few words as possible, in other words how to omit needless words (ha!) (Sharon Spencer)

STATION 4: DECODING THE MARKET GUIDE: Getting What You Write Into the Right Hands (Deb Genskow)

STATION 5: DEVELOPING DIALOGUE: Crafting Conversation in Your Writing (Jennifer Taylor)

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn in this mini-writers conference setting on Tuesday, May 8, 7-9 p.m., Room 305, Bethesda Church, State St. & Hamilton, Eau Claire.

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UPDATE: WRITE TO PUBLISH. Ready to make this investment in your future? Our very own Michelle Rayburn and Cynthia Ruchti will be leading worship at WTP. And guild cheerleaders Jane Rubietta and Joyce Ellis help run the conference, so we’ll be among friends. Gather your courage, your ideas, and your dollars and join us! TO REGISTER, go to www.writetopublish.com

If you’re still mulling the idea and would like to hear why and how we decided to go, ask: Sharon Spencer, Sandi Stanton, Deb Genskow, or Mary Pierce.

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FEEDBACK (CRITIQUE) OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share.

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See you May 8th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce
President
Western Wisconsin Christian Writers' Guild

APRIL 2007

Tis the season for rebirth and sometimes rethinking...

I read a story recently about a man who was an engineer. He and his wife were, he said, working toward the American dream. He had sensed God calling him to the seminary but he resisted the call with the excuse that he had a family to support. At a church conference, the man heard God’s Spirit saying clearly, “Give your children to ME, and then you’ll be free to follow me… NOW!” He realized he had been miserable pursuing that worldly “dream.” Trusting God, he enrolled in seminary, feeling peace and joy as never before.

Another man, also a seminarian, after a year in school, sensed God releasing him from his call. He left school. He’d been miserable. Following God’s redirection gave him joy.

God calls. God releases. If God has called you to write, what’s holding you back? What's your excuse? Or maybe you sense a change in ministry direction right now. Is it time for a different dream?

What is God calling you to today? What is He releasing you from? Write a bit—two lists perhaps—beginning with “God is calling me to…” and “God is releasing me from…”. May He bless you with new insights as you pray and write.

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THANK YOU to JANE JEFFRIES for her thought-provoking presentation in March. What a challenge we have to bring truth into the arts. Thanks to Jane for inspiring us to prayerfully consider doing our part. May God bless Jane and Jim and their ministry among us! (And bring healing to that shoulder!)
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COMING UP: <<<<>>>>>

On APRIL 10, 2007 R.K. (Randy) MORTENSON, author of the acclaimed LANDON SNOW series for young readers, will be our guest. Randy is a Navy chaplain and attended UW-Eau Claire. Come and be inspired.

Young writers and readers are welcome to come and meet the author.

NOTE: FOR THIS TIME ONLY we’ll be asking a cover charge of $5.00 for all visitors ($2.00 for under 16). (Tuesday, April 10th at Bethesda, State & Hamilton, Eau Claire, 7-9 pm, Room 305.)

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>>>>> CONTEST ENTRIES DUE IN APRIL<<<<<<

ENTRIES for the Spring Contest will be collected in APRIL. This contest will have two options: “Creative Non-fiction” and “Flash Fiction.” (Contests are open to paid guild members only.)

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UPDATE: WRITE TO PUBLISH. Ready to make this investment in your future? EIGHT WWCWG members have declared themselves ready and will be in Chicago June 6-9 (traveling on Tuesday June 5 and return June 10.

Our very own Michelle Rayburn and Cynthia Ruchti will be leading worship at WTP. And guild cheerleaders Jane Rubietta and Joyce Ellis help run the conference, so we’ll be among friends. Gather your courage, your ideas, and your dollars and join us! TO REGISTER, go to www.writetopublish.com.

If you’re still mulling the idea and would like to hear why and how we decided to go, ask: Sharon Spencer, Sandi Stanton, Deb Genskow, or Mary Pierce.

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FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share.

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Happy Resurrection Day, eveyone. HE IS RISEN!

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MARCH 2007

GREETINGS, FRIENDS

I’m thinking today about the story Cindy Puent told us in February, about the woman who removed her shoes as she served on the Sunday worship team to remind herself that she was on “holy ground.”

Have you ever thought of your writing “space” as “holy ground”? With pen in hand, or hands on keys as the case may be, we answer God’s call and enter into His presence. Our writing place is a worship place.

One writer I met describes her writing ritual of lighting a candle and keeping it burning while she writes (long-hand on yellow pads). The candle reminds her of the sacredness of the place where her writing heart meets God’s as she worships through her work.

Another writer describes standing at the door to her office each morning and praying on the armor of God (from Ephesians 6) before she enters her sacred space, knowing that to write for the Lord is to invite battle with the enemy.

Perhaps you’ll write today on these ideas: Where is “holy ground” for you? How do you enter your sacred space? How do you prepare your heart? Your mind? The space? When, where and how do work and worship intersect for you?

May God bless you as you explore His holy ground.
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THANK YOU to CINDY RUCHTI for the laughter and the love in February. What a delightful and inspiring look at the life of King David, and his “artist heart”! May God continue to bless Cindy and her ministry among us in writing, radio and worship (and Write to Publish), and may she be inspired with great murder mystery plots!

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COMING UP: MARCH 13, 2007 A CALL TO ARTS! JIM AND JANE JEFFRIES are back! Writers and producers, this dynamic couple (www.jestscripts.com) return to the guild to share their passion to inspire more Christians to be involved in the arts. The Jeffries have been writing and producing madrigal dinner medieval dinners for ten years. Don’t miss the inspiration...and the fun!

>>>REMINDER- CHANGE OF LOCATION FOR MARCH: We will meet in the YOUTH ROOM at Bethesda, next door to the usual spot, for MARCH. (State & Hamilton, Eau Claire, 7-9 pm)
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CONTEST: ENTRIES for the Spring Contest will be collected in APRIL. This contest will have two options: “Creative Non-fiction” and “Flash Fiction.” Details available at the meetings. (Note: Contests are open to paid guild members only.)

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UPDATE: WRITE TO PUBLISH update: Ready to make this investment in your future? EIGHT WWCWG members have declared themselves ready and will be in Chicago June 6-9 (traveling on Tuesday June 5 and return June 10.

Our very own Michelle Rayburn and Cynthia Ruchti will be leading worship at WTP. And guild cheerleaders Jane Rubietta and Joyce Ellis help run the conference, so we’ll be among friends. Gather your courage, your ideas, and your dollars and join us! TO REGISTER, go to www.writetopublish.com.

If you’re still mulling the idea and would like to hear why and how we decided to go, ask: Sharon Spencer, Sheila Wilkinson, Sandi Stanton, Deb Genskow, Deetje Wildes or Mary Pierce.

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FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring 8 copies of your piece for the group to read along as you share.

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FEBRUARY 2007

FROSTY GREETINGS ALL!

What better way to spend these frozen hours than reading? (Well, writing would be better, but reading is so much less risky...)

Yesterday I laughed out loud as I read (for the fourth time in six years) Stephen King’s On Writing, as he explains his feeble childhood attempts at story writing: “When you’re six, most of your Bingo balls are still floating around in the draw tank.” I laughed because he captured the essence of “sixness” so perfectly. I’m inspired because I remember—not at six, but a little later—writing my first stories. (Most of my Bingo balls, however, were still floating well into my forties…)

On a recent Border’s binge, I picked up a few more writing books that might become favorites. The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises that Transform Your Fiction offers some stretching. I only write file cabinet fiction, but I can’t pass up a writing exercise. The Writer’s Portable Therapist is like creative rehab in a book. (Will the therapist offer a cure for my book-buying obsession? I hope not.)

And at the same time, I’m reading the next book in a mystery series, just for fun.

It’s a balanced reading diet: books that stretch me in the craft, books just for fun and books that inspire me to keep doing what God has called me to do. (Sometimes I can find it all inside one cover, and from the most unlikely authors.)

What are you reading these days? How balanced is your reading diet? Revisit your old favorites, yes, but this month, add something new. Try reading poetry, or suspense, or romance. Identify a new area to explore in science or history or politics. Challenge your mind and stretch your imagination. Then write something new—a suspense scene, a snippet of romantic dialogue, an op-ed piece, or a poem. Let your new reading transform your writing. (You might end up with a flash fiction or creative nonfiction contest entry!)

Balance your diet. As writers, we are what we read.

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THANK YOU to Dr. August Rubrecht for the entertaining and educational session in January. We’re so grateful for his gifts of humor and story weaving, as well as “that mischievous impulse to say something serious.” We’ll look forward to having Dr. Rubrecht back in the future to enlighten and challenge us again.
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COMING UP: FEBRUARY 13, 2007 Cynthia Ruchti presents THE HEART OF A WRITER. King David served as writer, worshiper, and warrior. All three aspects of his life made him a writer "after God's own heart." Join us as we are challenged: “Will the Lord claim the same about us?” Cindy is a writer and radio producer. Her HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME radio broadcast (www.heartbeatofthehome.org) is heard on 26 stations across the country (WHEM 91.3 FM, 9:03 a.m. weekdays). Come and be blessed!
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CONTEST: Details for the Spring Contest were distributed in December. This contest will have two options: “Creative Non-fiction” and “Flash Fiction.” Details available at the meetings. (Note: Contests are open to paid guild members only.)

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WRITE TO PUBLISH: We put out the challenge last spring to save up your pennies (well, dollars are needed actually) for the WRITE TO PUBLISH conference in Chicago in June. The dates: JUNE 6-9 with plans to travel on Tuesday, June 5 and return Sunday June 10. So far EIGHT guild members are committed to going. (DO I HEAR TEN??) Our very own Michelle Rayburn and Cynthia Ruchti will be leading worship at WTP. And guild friends Jane Rubietta and Joyce Ellis help run the conference, so we’ll be among friends. Gather your courage, your ideas, and your dollars and join us! For more information: http://www.writetopublish.com/

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REMEMBER: If you want to receive feedback on your work, come early (5:30 p.m.) to meet with others. Bring copies of your piece for the group.

See you on February 13th. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce

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JANUARY 2007

The ball drops in Times Square (And a giant peach drops in Atlanta? Where will it end?) and our thoughts turn to the New Year and 365 fresh days filled with possibilities. Something in the New Year inspires a burst of energy and fresh resolve to finally, once-and-for-all, (this year FOR SURE!) change our lives, lose that weight, get that exercise, get organized, read our Bibles more diligently, pray more passionately, and write more profitably… Regardless of what you call it—whether you make resolutions or do New Year Goal Setting—what’s on your list for 2007?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent too many Januaries making that list, and too many Februaries (or January fifths) frustrated and discouraged.

But this year really is different, because I don’t have a list for 2007. In fact, I no longer have a “To-Do List” at all! What? No “to-do” list? Can it be? YES! “What do I have to DO?” is no longer part of my thinking! I’ll share a little of this “TO-DO-FREE LIVING” with all of you during the January meeting Writer’s Boot Camp segment.

In the meantime, stop thinking about what you need to DO this year, and think and pray about what you really WANT out of this year. Ask the Lord to show you His perfect will for this time—that is, the results HE wants to achieve through you. (Maybe write a few hundred words beginning with, “WHAT I WANT IS…”)

May you be blessed with new perspective. Happy New Year!

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Speaking of blessings, THANKS AGAIN to all who participated in the December meeting! The season was more wonderful because of all of you!

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COMING UP: JANUARY 9, 2007 STORYTELLING WITH STYLE. Laugh and learn with UWEC English professor and storyteller AUGUST RUBRECHT. Born in the Ozarks and a featured teller at regional and national events, Rubrecht tells funny stories most of the time, but admits that once in a while he “cannot resist the mischievous impulse to say something serious.” Come and learn how all kinds of stories can be turned “to serious purposes.”

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CONTEST: Details for the Spring Contest were distributed in December. Copies will be available at upcoming meetings.

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See you on January 9^th for the storytelling fun. Meanwhile, may God bless your writing for Him!

Mary Pierce

President 

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