Becoming More Active With Writing Groups

by

Walter Rhein

My name is Walter Rhein and my New Year’s resolution is to be more active in 2019 in Wisconsin writing groups. Truth be told, I’ve always been reluctant to join writing groups, but I’ve been writing for long enough now that I feel I can help new writers achieve some positive exposure for their work. Much of what I have to contribute is not what you’d hear in college classes or traditional writing groups, but we’ll get to that a little bit later on.

I’ve had success placing my articles, stories, and novels in small publications and presses throughout the years. I’ve written regularly for magazines such as Silent Sports and Packerland Pride. I’ve also been a regular contributor to Singletracks.com, and the editor of LivingInPeru.com (back when I was a resident of Lima, Peru). I’ve had novels published with Perseid Press, Harren Press, Burning Bulb Publishing, Rhemalda Press, and E-Press Online. If I’m “known” for anything, it’s probably the letter to the editor I wrote for the Eau Claire Leader Telegram in 2016 about the harassment my wife and kids endured during the Trump campaign regarding my family’s choice to speak Spanish amongst ourselves at home and in public. The article was titled Speaking Spanish in America, and was shared over a hundred thousand times becoming the most read article for the Leader Telegram in 2016.

Building a writing career is slow work, although it’s shocking how quickly you can get a blast of attention. ‘Going viral’ shows you how fickle notoriety can be. I was fortunate that when I went viral, it was to a positive response. However, as I sat in the eye of that hurricane, I realized that the good will could just as easily turn bad at any moment, and I wasn’t very comfortable. The extracurricular sensation can become detrimental to the writing. Also I found there are mechanisms in place to keep an author from really capitalizing on any fleeting viral moment.

By far, the more rewarding side of writing is seeing a few more people put your book on the “to read” list on Goodreads, or when they offer up an Amazon review. Most writers are compelled to write out of something other than to achieve a JK Rowling type portfolio larger than what the Queen of England controls. I say that with confidence using myself as an example. After all, I continue to write and I haven’t achieved anything close to JK Rowling’s success.

I don’t think there’s any shame at all in aspiring to be a small to mid-tier writer with less than a thousand reader following. That’s a fan base that allows you enough support to achieve the energy you need to keep going, while not being so large that you become a slave to the fickle nature and influence of ‘group think.’

It seems to me that many members of the literary community are instantly dismissive of what they perceive to be insignificant success. Too much attention is paid to becoming an author for one of the ‘major’ publishers. The belief is that only through endless revision might a novel achieve the “worthiness” to be picked up on a major contract. However, when you walk through a Barns & Noble and pick up a random book, you often find examples of authors breaking all the rules that are supposedly keeping your manuscript from publication. I’ve seen whole chapters italicized, tense shifts, and character point of view confusion in books that are supposed to be representatives of the literary big leagues. I believe this is another case of the surrounding hysteria providing a distraction from the actual writing. There are plenty of examples of books that received a large contract but did not resonate with anyone.

One of the things I enjoy doing is pitching a half-conceived idea to a group of people just to see where the debate goes. I use social media to this end, although the threads often become quite hostile. Our culture seems to be reluctant to believe an individual might pose an honest question, and crowds seek to transform all statements into a declaration of fundamental belief which can then be exposed as fraudulent. Well, to be honest, I can’t resist provoking a little bit because hostile people tend to tell you what they really think, and provocation begets interaction. I seem to recall Jonathan Swift taking a similar action when he failed to get a response to his more traditional commentaries—so I won’t apologize, precedent provides vindication.

I’m very interested in joining some discussions with fellow writers about the reality of modern literary culture, as well as embracing new ways to interpret and achieve literary success. I am always happy to respond to an email from a fellow writer, and I try to read and review as many books by independent or small press authors as I can. I can offer very good advice to individuals with a manuscript that they would like to see published with a small press. Everybody has an important story to tell, and writing communities may serve to amplify deserving voices that would otherwise go unheard. I’m happy to assist in such a cause because that, I believe, is the essence of what motivates all writers.

If you’re curious about my writing, my latest release, Paperclip, written with co-author Dan Woll, is currently available on Kindle for 99 cents. Reviews are greatly appreciated. For questions or comments please write me at:

WalterRhein@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, good luck with all your writing projects, and I hope to see you in a writing group meeting in 2019!

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