As Director of Midwest Writers Workshop, my main assignments are to cheerlead and serve writers. I enthusiastically wave pom poms in their general direction and root for them as they pursue their dreams. And of course, my primary cheer is encouraging them to come to our workshop/events/programs. Fetch me my megaphone! M! W! W! Go! Write! Win!
Here’s the honest-to-God truth: I’ve been connected to MWW since my sophomore year of college and now I’m a granny, so basically about 67% of my life. {Don’t let your brain explode trying to do the math, let’s just say that I’m no longer middle-aged.} First, I attended as a participant, then after my MWW-impacted manuscript was accepted for publication, I came on board as a committee member. Eventually, I become the director. {OK, so Myers-Briggs got it right. I’m ENFJ (Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judgment): “You are warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. You are highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. You find potential in everyone, and want to help others fulfill their potential.”}
MWW set a torch in my chest for helping other writers turn their dreams into reality. That fire has burned in me for {redacted} years. It’s like a ministry for me. “Amen!” “Let’s make this happen!” I proclaim.
From the very beginning of my time on the committee, I’ve been called to cheer. And to serve.
From my way-back years to my now-year, I serve writers. Fiction writers, nonfiction writers, poets, and all those who are struggling to know what they’re writing. I serve writers who write mystery stuff, romantic stuff, inspirational stuff, children’s stuff, blog stuff, or scary stuff I’m too sensitive to read … and I even serve those who write their stuff on a Mac. Doesn’t matter to me. I’ll serve ‘em all. I love ‘em all.
I love so many of these MWW people more than I love a big ol’ hunk of chocolate. I love writers in all their diversity. I love that the common bond for all of us truly is that we want to be writers who make an impact.
So, if you are a writer who feverishly wants to improve and be a more skilled/savvy writer, MWW can help you:
Make tangible progress as a writer: Your confidence will grow and your skills will improve. You’ll notice a real difference in your writing.
Become someone who starts AND finishes: Your manuscript will no longer be trapped in your head or desk drawer. You’ll learn to get from idea, to draft, to done.
Navigate the publishing world: You’ll receive guidance from experts who have sold and published their writing.
Create friendships to last a lifetime: You’ll discover a group of creative folk who give support and cheer. You’ll find a tribe that can amplify your creativity and boost your momentum exponentially.
If you’re ready to get serious about the discipline and the craft, MWW can help you achieve your goals.
Just ask….
Kelsey Timmerman: “The workshop, located in my hometown of Muncie, is where I met Caren (Johnson) Estesen who sold Where Am I Wearing to Wiley. It’s where it all began for me.”
Lori Rader-Day: “I can honestly say that the MWW Fellows (2008) retreat changed my life. That’s where I found out I was writing a mystery, that I was a mystery writer. And that designation changed everything.”
Amy Reichert: “My favorite conference is the Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie, IN.”
D.E. Johnson: A 2009 MWW Fellow, Dan calls MWW’s summer workshop “one of the best conferences in the country and certainly the best value.”
Cathy Shouse: A 2007 MWW Fellow, Cathy appreciates “how MWW has it all in one place–manuscript critiques, craft classes in essay and novel writing, agent panels, the the latest social media techniques.”
Kelly O’Dell Stanley: “Jama Kehoe Bigger and the Midwest Writers Workshop deserve the credit for most of what I know about writing.” (Acknowledgements, Praying Upside Down)
Janis Thornton: A 2009 MWW Fellow, Janis says, “I’ve been attending Midwest Writers Workshop events since the late ’90s, and they have been an invaluable resource for information, ideas, instruction, inspiration, and a sense of belonging to a community of writers.”
Sarah Schmitt: “I’m a regular participant at the Midwest Writers Workshop!”
J.R. Roper: “My critique group has been instrumental to my growth as a writer. My friends from the Midwest Writers Workshop have been amazing.”
….and we have a very long list … {now’s your opportunity, MWW alums, post your news in a comment below!}
So all you writers in the midst of some heads down work on your writing, I think you need a big, awesome thing you’d like to do. MWW is that big, awesome thing. This summer. 2016. Be here.
Let me cheer and serve you.
GO! (Register for #mww16)
WRITE! (Words with impact)
WIN! (The agent’s nod, the contract, the big bucks, the movie deal …think BIG!)
