A few months back, after my beloved writers group provided me with some firm but fair feedback on an essay, I wandered back toward my minivan in a haze. I’d spent weeks on that essay, and yet it seemed as if every last word had fallen flat. Frustrated and dejected, I returned to my minivan, collapsing into my seat and putting my key into the ignition. Or rather, I tried to put my key into the ignition, but it wouldn’t fit.

Odd, I thought, taking a closer look. It worked an hour ago.

And it still would have worked had I entered the right minivan. But in the midst of my writerly haze, I’d entered a stranger’s vehicle. That’s right: I’d inadvertently broken into somebody’s van. I leapt out, scanning the darkness for the cops who would surely arrive any minute.

When I was certain the coast was clear, I began to laugh. Ahead of me, I saw the silhouette of my buddy Ken, who by then was walking toward his own vehicle (and the one he owned, I might add). “Hey Ken!” I called. “I just got into the wrong van!”

He laughed. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d come to expect from a writer like me.

I share this wholly embarrassing anecdote to make a larger point: when we writers spend too much time in our own heads, we lose sight of the larger world. And losing sight of the world—and each other—is a trespass far greater than momentarily entering the wrong van.

The fix, of course, is to come together as a writing community. To rely on one another so we don’t have to rely fully on ourselves. For the past two and a half years, the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild has worked tirelessly to provide such opportunities. Over the past year, we’ve made our greatest strides yet, including grants from the Eau Claire Community Foundation, JAMF Nation Global Foundation, Visit Eau Claire and the Wisconsin Arts Board, as well as a city proclamation, and the formation of 6x6: A Reading Series, Writers Anonymous, and Barstow & Grand and continued partnerships with The UW-Eau Claire Foundation, The Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, the UW-Eau Claire English Department, Blugold Radio, Volume One, Wisconsin Public Radio, the Chippewa valley Book Festival, the Brewing Projekt, and so many other local organizations. In addition to all this, one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of (thanks to the generous support of Dotters Books, the Sultan Family, the Guild, and a pair of anonymous donors) was our ability to offer scholarships to 10% of our Cirenaica participants this summer. We are changing writers’ lives in fundamental ways, and through their writing, changing our world, too.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

I come to you now because we need your financial support. For as little as 5.00 a month, you can ensure the Guild’s long-term sustainability with your tax-deductible donation. Not only that, but by joining at any level (Scribblers, Scribes, Wordsmiths, Practitioners, or Patrons) you’ll be eligible for a wide array of gifts: free Barstow & Grand and Cirenaica submissions, stickers, postcards, as well as being entered to win personalized first-edition copies of books by authors from near and far. You can also receive a consultation on your own writing courtesy of a Barstow & Grand editor.

For complete details, click here, then click the “Give to the Guild” button and direct your gift to the “Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Monthly Sustaining Membership” campaign.

It’s hard to quantify just how significant an impact we’ve made together over the past year. Do we measure our success by books published, words written, or the friendships we’ve forged while pounding at the keys? As for my own success, I’ll rely on a single measure: my ability to avoid entering any minivans that don’t belong to me.

If you value our work, then help ensure that we can keep doing it. We are here for you, but we need you to be here for us, too.

Please make your gift today. And then, directly following, let us get back to the important work that warms our souls, enriches our lives, and helps build our community one word at a time.

Yours,
B.J. Hollars
Executive Director, Chippewa Valley Writers Guild