Meeting reminder - March 2nd

The Oshkosh Area Writers Club will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Oshkosh Public Library. 

Due to an event in the lower level, we will be meeting in a private conference room on the third floor. Meet at the first floor skylight at 10 a.m. and we will got up together as a group.

Write Now!

Calling all writers and creatives! Whether you're an aspiring or accomplished author or performer, Write Now! experts can help you fire up your creativity and breathe life into your words. Get to know others in the local writing community and share your work.

• All programs are held at the Oshkosh Public Library.
• All classes are 1.5 hours and are free and open to adults and teens. 
• You can come to as many sessions as you would like. 
• Registration is not required.
• Bring your writing supplies and devices.
• Wi-Fi is available.

The Prose and Poetry of Twitter and Other Social Media
6 p.m., Wed., March 20

Lower Level Conference Room
Poems that fit within Twitter’s 288-character constraints are a new genre of poetry. In this session, we'll create Twitter poems and post them. You don’t need a Twitter account to participate. Jazz up your Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram with a micro-poem combined with a picture.

Presenter: Thomas Cannon, fiction writer, poet and co-host of Author Showcase   on Oshkosh's CATV2 and YouTube. Cannon's story about his son is the lead story in the anthology Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Autism. He has published both poems and short stories. His self-published book is The Tao of Apathy.

One-Line Writing Prompts 
1 p.m., Thurs., March 21 and Mon., April 8
Lower Level Conference Room
Need some inspiration? Participants can choose any form they want: poetry, prose or memoir but all must use the same prompt. There's no critiquing; only encouragement.

Presenter: Writer Sharrie Robinson

Writing a Grandparent Memoir
9 a.m. Sat., March 23
Lower Level Conference Room
Deb Martin shares her experience writing a grandparent memoir and guides you through exercises to get you on your way to your own cherished memoir.

Presenter: Deb Martin has been journaling for decades and is the author of Daycare Advice from Haley. She works as a private consultant in Oshkosh.

Tactics for Horror Writing
10 a.m. Sat., March 30
Lower Level Conference Room
How to write scary, suspenseful and tense scenes through sentence structure, dark images and character perspectives in dark fantasy and horror fiction.

Presenter: Chris Welch is a freelance newspaper and radio reporter and an English instructor at Madison College’s Eastern Region campuses, where he’s taught courses on academic and business writing, British literature, and science-fiction and horror literature. His works have appeared in various small press and professional publications.

Journaling Means Writing (Almost) Every Day
1 p.m. & 6 p.m., Thurs., April 4

Lower Level Conference Room
Writing every day is a good way to get in the habit and improve your skills. Learn how to self-edit, sharpen your writing and decide what to do with your purposeful prose.

Presenter: Lynn Kuhns, a Wisconsin-based freelancer, has more than four decades of experience as a professional writer and creative-writing instructor spread over a whopping variety of venues and topics. She’s served as a journalist, staff writer, copywriter, editor, essayist and corporate communicator, with articles in the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel, Silent Sports, Fox Cities Magazine, Bamboo Ridge literary magazine, Wolf River Country and other publications. Lynn is completing an insightful and sometimes spicy contemporary novel set in rural Wisconsin and working on a series of children’s books showcasing the amazing lake sturgeon.

Stand Up Comedy and Public Speaking Punch Up
2:30 p.m. Sat., April 6
Lower Level Conference Room

Try out your material in a supportive environment. Use encouraging feedback to turn your work into a fully formed piece.

Presenter: Eric J. Egan is a stand- up comic, improv performer and board member of the Time Community Theater who can be seen all around the Fox Valley. He performs at the Backlot Comedy House in the improv shows and hosts their open mics Fridays at 10:30 PM. The first Tuesday of every month he presents Wisconsin's official comedy news show, The Wisco Show, at the Copperstill Bourbon Bar. Most importantly, Eric J. Egan is a proud cat dad of two who loves people reading bios about him.

Anatomy of Humor
6 p.m. Thurs., April 11
Lower Level Conference Room

Examine how to write humor and satire by identifying the funny components of each and by manipulating word usage, delivery and reader expectations in fiction.

Presenter: Chris Welch is a freelance newspaper and radio reporter and an English instructor at Madison College’s Eastern Region campuses, where he’s taught courses on academic and business writing, British literature, and science-fiction and horror literature. His works have appeared in various small press and professional publications.

Setting: It's Not Just Background Noise
1 p.m. Mon., April 15

Lower Level Conference Room
Take a deep dive into your work’s setting.

Presenter: Karl Stewart is the author of The Legend of See Bird: The Last Long Drive. Its sequel Devil's Backbone, received an Honorable Mention award at the 2015 Southern California Book Festival. His third novel, The Seventh Cruise, is the story of a young WWII sailor dealing with the growing burden of post-traumatic stress disorder and won an Honorable Mention at the 2017 London Book Festival. Up Harvey’s Creek, a boy’s memoir earned an Honorable Mention at the 2018 Great Southeast Book Festival.

Healing Through Storytelling
6 p.m. Mon., Apr. 15
Lower Level Conference Room

How do you write about subjects too painful to talk about or too personal to publicize? And how do you do it in a manner that’s both entertaining and informative? Learn how to carve a written path through the pain.

Presenter: Karl Stewart is the author of The Legend of See Bird: The Last Long Drive. Its sequel Devil's Backbone, received an Honorable Mention award at the 2015 Southern California Book Festival. His third novel, The Seventh Cruise, is the story of a young WWII sailor dealing with the growing burden of post-traumatic stress disorder and won an Honorable Mention at the 2017 London Book Festival. Up Harvey’s Creek, a boy’s memoir earned an Honorable Mention at the 2018 Great Southeast Book Festival.

You Can Live Your Write Life
1 p.m. & 6 p.m.  Thurs., Apr. 18
Lower Level Meeting Room B

Habits, tools, techniques, knowledge, connections and lifestyle habits that can make your life’s work more joyfully and productively for you - as a real writer.

Presenter: Lynn Kuhns, a Wisconsin-based freelancer, has more than four decades of experience as a professional writer and creative-writing instructor spread over a whopping variety of venues and topics. She’s served as a journalist, staff writer, copywriter, editor, essayist and corporate communicator, with articles in the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel, Silent Sports, Fox Cities Magazine, Bamboo Ridge literary magazine, Wolf River Country and other publications. Lynn is completing an insightful and sometimes spicy contemporary novel set in rural Wisconsin and working on a series of children’s books showcasing the amazing lake sturgeon.

First Lines
6 p.m. Wed., April 24
Lower Level Conference Room

This workshop looks at some classic first lines and what makes them work. Then we move into a workshop on how to write your first line. This session is for both fiction and non-fiction.

Presenter: Carmen Leal is an Oshkosh resident and the author of ten published non-fiction books including Faces of Huntington’s, You Can Market Your Book, and The Twenty-third Psalm for Caregivers. Carmen’s writings have been featured in Guideposts, Focus on the Family, Decision Magazine, the Orlando Sentinel, and numerous national and local publications. Her personal experience stories have appeared in several Chicken Soup for the Soul collections and dozens of compilation book series. A storyteller with a dramatic testimony, she is a popular presenter at women's retreats, church groups, conventions and writers’ conferences on a wide variety of inspiring and relevant topics. Her wit, humor, and poignant personal observations, coupled with her down-to-earth style and common sense approach to dealing with life, inspire her audiences. Through her transparency, she has the ability to encourage and bring hope to all.

Blackout Poetry
6 p.m. Mon., April 29
Lower Level Conference Room

Blackout Poetry is quickly gaining popularity as a new art form. During this session, you'll experience the creative process of making blackout poetry using text from a newspaper or magazine and a black marker. Most of the words will be blacked out to form an original poem. You can see fresh examples of blackout poetry on Instragram, Snapchat or in poet Austin Kleon's book Newspaper Blackout, available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Presenter: Literacy Teacher & ArtsCore Site Coordinator Angela Larsen

Roadmapping Your Novel in 90 Minutes
6 pm. Thurs., May 2
Lower Level Conference Room

You've got a great idea for a novel. Now what? Whether you are writing a romance or sci fi thriller, learn three different methods for plotting your book: the Snowflake Method, Mind Mapping and 250 Questions.  

Presenter: Dixie Jarchow (writes as Daisy Jerico). Dixie is the award-winning author of The Love Thief and Burning Love. Dixie co-hosts Author Showcase on Oshkosh's CATV2 and YouTube.

After Hours Open Mic Night
7 p.m.Fri., May 10      
Under the Dome (Enter through the Washington Avenue doors)

It's your turn to take the stage. During Open Mic Night, you'll have five minutes to read your work in front of an audience. Join other writers for a fun night of listening and sharing. Refreshments provided. 

Write Now! is sponsored by the Oshkosh Public Library in partnership with the Oshkosh Area Writers Club. For a detailed schedule of programs, go to https://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/content/write-now-series

Meeting Reminder - Feb. 16

The Oshkosh Area Writers Club will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16 in the lower level meeting room of the Oshkosh Public Library.


As always, meetings are free and open to any 17 and older. 

Driftless Writers Center Seeking Submissions

To celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2020, The Driftless Writing Center will publish an anthology of writing and images rooted in the Driftless area.

They welcome unpublished poetry, fiction, nonfiction, hybrid forms, and black-and-white art. They're seeking a broad range of voices, styles, topics, and experiences. People from all backgrounds are encouraged to be part of this collection.

Submissions welcome until April 1, 2019. Selections will be made by guest editors Matt Cashion (Fiction), Nikki Wallschlaeger (Poetry), and Amy Weldon (Nonfiction and Hybrid). Contributors whose work is chosen will receive $75 plus two copies of the anthology and may be invited to read at their anniversary celebration.

Learn more and submit your work online at: https://driftlesswritingcenter.submittable.com/submit.

The Driftless Writing Center, based in Viroqua, Wisconsin, connects writers, readers, and audiences through workshops, discussions, and public performances. 

More information at www.driftlesswritingcenter.org or (608) 492-1669.