Wisconsin is good for more than just beer and brats! Here are five reasons our state is great for writers, courtesy of bestselling novelist and Wisconsin native Jess Riley.
1. Long, brutal winters.
Even if you own a set of cross-country skis, a snowmobile, snowshoes and an ice shanty, you can only engage in such outdoor winter pursuits for so long. After a few hours, ice crystals are forming on your nose and your joints have seized up so badly you could chug tart cherry juice and still wake up shaped like Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick the next morning. What you need at that point more than fish oil, a heating pad or a miracle is a cozy chair beside a fireplace in a tavern. Or just a tavern, really. Bring your laptop, especially if it’s a bar at a supper club in a small town, because again – you will make new friends and learn the most entertaining, interesting things. Order a Tom & Jerry, or after you’ve warmed up a bit, a whiskey old fashioned sweet. If you need a snack, order the deep fried cheese curds or a pickled egg. After four hours at Pinky’s 919 Club, the next novel practically writes itself, if Sweepstakes Steve has anything to say about it.
2. Festivals.
Regardless of where you live in Wisconsin (even if you live in a place where most of your neighbors say "irregardless"), there is a festival. Beginning with the Wisconsin Book Festival, of course. The Fox Cities Book Festival in my neck of the woods. Pulaski Polka Days. The World’s Largest Brat Fest. Fighting Bob Fest. Larry Fest. The Musky Jamboree. The Wisconsin Gourd Festival. Milwaukee, you are luckiest of all, because you are Festival City! Irish Fest, German Fest, Festa Italiana, Polish Fest, Mexican Fiesta, African World Festival, Lebowski Fest and the granddaddy of them all, Summerfest. Why are festivals great for writers? People watching, of course! And some of the best conversations you’ll ever overhear standing in line for a bathroom that’s just run out of paper.
3. Gorgeous, inspiring scenery.
No matter what kind of landscape you’re longing for, Wisconsin probably has it. Shoreline along two giant lakes with sand dunes, beach grass, crashing waves and nothing but endless blue stretched out as far as you can see? Small lakes with loons, campgrounds sending up fragrant fingers of smoke, trolling fishing boats pulling a quiet wake behind them? And forests, hills, rivers, prairies, rocky bluffs, even kettles, moraines and drumlins, which sound more like pieces of industrial kitchen equipment than interesting glacial formations. Sure, we’ve got humidity that can make your hair as big as a VW bus, but we also have Copper Falls and the Horicon Marsh and awesome people dressed like whooping cranes in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, all of which are guaranteed to inspire at least one halfway decent haiku.
4. Madison and Waukesha.
I love that the most liberal and conservative cities in our purple state are merely 60 miles apart. I also love that we’re as purple as a Concord grape; we may have our differences, but ultimately, we love each other like family. As long as everyone in the room is a Packers fan.
5. Local flavor.
Every state has "local flavor," but I love ours the best: the Menard’s jingle, Beansnappers, the Miracle Mile, "Bathtub Mary" as lawn ornament, Schlitz and Stroh’s, parish picnics, brat frys, people who say "bubbler" and "couple-two-tree" and "N’so" and "Oh yah." All of this really boils down to the people who live here. Yeah, we had Ed Gein, but we also gave the world Laura Ingalls Wilder and "Whad’Ya Know" and John Unger, whose love for his dog Schoep made us all a little misty-eyed.
Jess Riley was born in Milwaukee and currently lives in Oshkosh with her husband. Her debut novel, "Driving Sideways," was released in 2008 and became a Target bestseller. Her latest novel, "Mandatory Release," came out earlier this month. Look for Colleen Jurkiewicz's interview with Riley this Saturday on OnMilwaukee.com.
