About The Milwaukee Writers' Group

The Milwaukee Writers Group: An Overview

Purpose

Our group is focused on helping aspiring authors develop their writing abilities. We hope to provide an extensive group critique and discussion of each member's writing. MWG is a small group that values consistent membership.

Most of our writers practice the craft of creative fiction and non-fiction. Typical contributions include: poetry, short stories, narratives, etc.

Our membership consists of individuals who aren?t published, but who are genuinely interested in working towards the professional level. Thus, originality in both subject and creativity with language are skills we hope to foster.

?Who's Who?

The group organizer is Liz, the assistant organizer is Trev. We can be contacted through meetup.com. Boone, one of our members, supervises The Milwaukee Writers Workshop.

Submissions

We are open to examining works in any stage of the process; however, there are advantages to work-shopping pieces in their early phases. If you choose to submit an early piece, keep in mind that fewer typos and garbled sentences enable the group to focus on the merits of your work. Try to revise for grammar/punctuation prior to the meetup to avoid distracting readers from your story/poem/etc.

Some of us prefer submissions to be in a standard manuscript format. This is typically defined as:

• 12 Point Font; Courier, Times New Roman, or Lucida.
  
• Double spaced, single sided.
  
• Standard margins (usually 1" on all sides).
• 
  

This format allows for room to write comments and corrections in the margins and between lines, or make notes on the opposite page.

We do not currently have a set limit on length. It has been proposed that we limit writing to 2500 words or 10 pages.


A Typical Meeting

Our meetings begin at 7:30. The group will participate in a writing exercise or presentation that may last for an hour. Exercises/presentations are usually organized by the group administrators; however, we wish to encourage others to engage themselves in the meetup creation process by volunteering to lead discussions/topics. Contact Liz or Trev for details regarding meetup setup.

After this activity concludes, the critique portion begins. Adhering to the following pattern for each writer is necessary:

Introduction: Typed copies are handed to attending members. The author will introduce him/herself and provide any information or background that may be required before reading the story. Examples of background information may include:

Late draft vs. an early draft.
Is there a specific element of the story that the author wishes to develop: character, plot, setting, use of language, etc?
Any background information not included in the text; such as, an earlier chapter of a novel, or an unfinished piece.

Reviewers should keep the above information in mind and use it to direct their examinations of the submission.

It is best to conceal events and allow readers to develop their interpretations. Also, unhindered interpretations are sometimes valuable when understanding your own work.

Reading: Upon receiving a copy of the piece to be reviewed, the critic should write his/her name on the copy so the author knows ?who? wrote ?what? notes. The author may decide to read the story aloud, or ask the group to read silently.


Some suggestions on what to look for:

? Did you feel the ideas were original?
? Did the author use too many clichés?
? Were the characters realistic?
? Was the plot believable?
? Did you enjoy the author?s use of language?
? Were there any places where the meaning was difficult to interpret?
? Was there anything overtly distracting, or any point in which your attention waned?

Problem areas should be marked on the reviewers copy so the author can make changes at home.

Round Table Review: The first stage of the review allows each reviewer to provide feedback. Moving clockwise from the submitter, each person begins with positive criticism.

If there is a political or philosophical difference of opinion with the author, it is acceptable for the author to make a brief statement of ?defense?. However, it's important not to get embroiled in a debate during the review process.

Once the critic states the positive values, the reviewer can classify what he/she disliked about the piece. It's not important to go deep into grammatical errors unless it's a late draft, or the author requests help. Again, the main focus is to aid the author in developing an original work that is intelligently designed.

Discussion: Lastly, the author is given a chance to pose questions to the reviewers; or alternatively, the group leaders (or anyone who has a good discussion topic) can pose a question to be discussed. It is up to the author to decide when he/she feels they have a reasonable understanding of how his/her submission was received. Once this landmark point is reached, the copies of the edited manuscript are collected by the author.

Wrap Up: The session is complete when we run out of time (or run out of authors). In some cases, all authors may not be reviewed, and those authors will read first the following month. If enough people are interested, a special session can be scheduled, or the author can allow members to take home his/her submissions; reviewers may provide input at a later date (or through electronic means).

The final stage of the meeting is reserved for a review of the session process: Do we like the meetup format? Is there anything we should revise? It is crucial to give and receive feedback so that MWG meetings accommodate the needs of its writers.

The wrap up is also the ideal time to share upcoming events; such as, writers appearing in the area, ideas for opening
exercises/presentations, etc.

Last but not least, keep in mind that socializing after the meetup is completely acceptable; however, the MWG meetup is committed to serving the needs of our writers during meeting times.

Thanks,

Trev and Liz