Song Writers Workshop at All Writers March 10

“My goal is to help students discover the songs that are just lying there all around us, pick them up and shake them til they sing.” – Carter Hunnicutt Sign Me Up! A SONG IS BORN! SONGWRITING FROM CONCEPTION TO RECORDING MARCH 10th, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  If your heart beats and your lungs breathe, you already have cadence and phrasing. If you can write a post-it note, you can put your thoughts into words. You are a song-writer! This workshop for all experience levels will get you started or move you forward in your own songwriting. We discuss what to do once you have a living, breathing song on your hands. The class will be conducting dissections but you won’t need a lab apron. Songs will be dismantled to see how they work. We may sing, dance or bang on the table to ob-serve literary principals at work and learn just enough music theory to make us dan-gerous! You will hear songs in their native habitat and develop strategies to capture and train wild ideas (also known as verb husbandry). While many songwriters work alone, collaboration can offer new ideas, insights and support that may improve your work. Each student is requested to bring at least to share: an idea for a song, a title, a band or album name, a lyric, a melody, a poem, or a complete set of lyrics with or without music. You may wish to have a dozen copies. While you don’t need to have ever written a lyric or a note, you are encouraged to bring an instrument and your lyrics. Extra Credit: Students who would like to have a set of lyrics, music or a song featured in the workshop should submit either lyrics, music, sheet music or recordings at least two weeks in advance. If you are willing to perform the song live, I will have a guitar and keyboard available. The work can be finished or in any stage of development. We will examine several of these as a group which will either convince you that your song is perfect or help find ways to make it more “perfecter.” Legal disclaimer: Songwriting is invigorating, exhausting, infuriating and immensely rewarding. Rules will be broken. Sign Me Up! “To be human is to think Writing is thinking Putting words to music separates us from the whistling birds and growling beasts. But not by much!” – Carter Hunnicutt CARTER HUNNICUTT has been songwriting for four decades. His 2016 release Dangerous Worldshowcases his funky style of rock and roll infused with island accents. He currently performs solo and with the Dangerous Band. His music credits include: songwriter and keyboardist in One Way Records, recording artists Those XCleavers, lead singer and songwriter for The Flat Rabbits and writer and synthesist with The Xposed 4heads. Carter lives in Milwaukee where he writes, records and teaches music. Find Carter Hunnicutt on You Tube, Itunes and CD Baby.

New Regency from Susan Baganz

Lord Phillip’s Folly

Susan M Baganz

Christian Regency

November 2017

Pelican Ventures

Buy on Amazon 

Buy on Barnes and Noble

Ebook $5.99

About the Book:

No good deed goes unpunished. Lord Phillip Westcombe is a younger son and sufficiently independent. He has no need upset his tidy life with the messiness of love, but when he comes to the rescue of the lovely Lady Elizabeth Follett, and the two are found in a compromising position, his life takes an unexpected turn. Barely knowing each other, they are forced to wed. Embarking on a new life they must learn to trust God as they face an evil which threatens their lives and the security of the British Empire. Will the minions of the Black Diamond--the bounder who owns the soul of Elizabeth's father--succeed in their evil plans? Will Phillip and Elizabeth's new love and faith survive the test that awaits them? Or will they all fall to the Black Diamond?

My Review:

The undercurrents of Regency England are fraught with a plot to aid the enemy, and forces of evil influence the vulnerable. As the second son of an earl, Phillip’s older brother has the title and privileges thereof all wrapped up. Phillip will not inherit a title or much responsibility and earns a reputation as a reckless young buck in Regency England. When he does inherit a small country estate and turns his life around, his parents don’t believe he could change and set their hearts and minds to bear him from a distance. When he makes another reckless decision during his sister’s coming out ball and rescues a fair damsel in distress, he further inherits a boatload of trouble.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of plots with its twists of creepiness. A young lord who turns his life around takes responsibility for a young lady who’s been victimized for most of her life. As devastating as Elizabeth’s life has been, she is in possession of a fine spirit and courage to beg rescue from a handsome stranger. I would think a woman who’s been through the terror hinted at might be more leery of strange men and wifely duties, but this young couple’s growing faith and mutual love for each other was clearly portrayed.

Sir Phillip’s Folly is another fine addition to the wily Black Diamond series. Characters intertwine and add to each other’s stories, but each book stands as a story on its own. Recommended for those who enjoy inspirational Regency romances. Told in multiple viewpoints with flair and drama and good period accuracy.

About the Author:

Susan M. Baganz chases after three Hobbits and is a native of Wisconsin. She is an Acquisitions Editor with Pelican Ventures LLC specializing in bringing great romance novels and novellas to publication. Susan writes adventurous historical and contemporary romances with a biblical world-view. Website: www.susanbaganz.com

Driftless Writing Center offerings

FEBRUARY 25, 2018

Please email driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com with questions 

or for a registration form. 

Nickolas Butler Craft Talk

New York Times bestselling author Nickolas Butler will offer a talk on writing craft, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Butler is the author of two novels, The Hearts of Men (2017) and Shotgun Lovesongs (2014), and the short story collection, Beneath the Bonfire (2015). The event is targeted toward prose writers and others interested in the craft of writing. 

Speaker: Nickolas Butler

When: Sunday, February 25, 2018, from 10 a.m. until noon.

Where: Encore, 114 S. Main St., Viroqua

Cost: $15

Butler will continue his visit to the area with a public reading that afternoon in Westby, at the new Westby Fine Arts Center on West Street. 

This free public reading is hosted by the Bekkum Public Library and will begin at 2:00 pm.

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MARCH 10, 2018

Serving Up from Memory's Kitchen

Have you ever told a story about a great meal? Or perhaps a food disaster?

Food sears into our memories because it engages our senses.

Join in this three-hour workshop where we will playfully use food as writing inspiration, and cook up material for generating prose and poetry. Through writing exercises, prompts, and even recipes, we will craft delectable creations as we work together.

This workshop is intended as a spring jump start for all writers – those who have never written to those who write regularly and seek new ideas.

Instructor: DWC board member Catherine Young

When: Saturday, March 10, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Where: Encore, 114 S. Main St., Viroqua

Maximum enrollment: 15 participants.

Cost: $35

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BEGINNING MARCH 6, 2018

Six-week Manuscript Critique Workshop

Have you taken your story, essay, or chapter as far as you can on your own? Let the Driftless Writing Center help you make it even more compelling. Learn how to identify strengths and weaknesses in your own and others’ work. Master strategies for bringing a story to life. Find out what publishers look for in fiction and nonfiction. Instructors will lead in-class critiques and offer comprehensive, individualized feedback.

Instructors: Author Tamara Dean and Editor David Hough

When: Tuesdays, March 6 through April 10, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Where: Viroqua location to be shared with those who register

Maximum enrollment: 10 participants

Cost: $220