ACFW Blog

Michelle Stimpson can help you find it.
Multi-published author, speaker, and educator Michelle Stimpson will be with DFW Ready Writers Saturday, February 13th presenting: “Your Voice – Is It Unique?”

Let’s face it: next to a great idea, voice is what appeals most to editors and readers. Absent this essential human trait, a computer could have been programmed to spit out your novel. So how do you include your own voice without overwhelming the reader? And how can you bring “you” into a third-person narrative so that readers will fall in love with the way you tell a story?

In this session, Michelle will be addressing those questions by analyzing bestselling authors’ works to discover their unique voices and practice techniques to kick up the voice in your own novels. A touch of humor, a unique voice, and a Christian message is what you can expect from Michelle in her writing and in her workshops. You won’t want to miss hearing her.

Michelle Stimpson is an author, a speaker, and an educator who received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Jarvis Christian College in 1994. She earned a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002. She has had the pleasure of teaching elementary, middle, and high school as well as training adults.

Date: Saturday – February 13, 2010
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Meeting Place: La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121,
Colleyville, Texas
(Restaurant sits alongside the southbound access road between Hall-Johnson and Glade).

Hope to see you there.

Janice Olson
His Words, His Story, His child
Vice President, DFW Ready Writers Chapter
www.JaniceOlson.com

Start Time: Friday, April 23, 2010 at 6:30pm
End Time: Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 6:00pm
Location: Camp Eden
Street: 11583 Camp Eden Rd
City/Town: Golden, CO

Description:
Join us for a weekend designed for encouragement, refreshment, fellowship, as we take an in-depth look into the Word of God and how we can be prepared to write His answer—to Christians and non-Christians, through fiction or nonfiction. Through Bible study and prayer times we will explore what God has to say about His Word and its relevance to us today.

Speaker: Margie Vawter
Topic: Prepared to Give His Answer

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REGISTRATION INFORMATION

There will be three registration options this year:

Option #1 – Overnight at Camp Eden. $55 members/$60 non-members
Option #2 – Overnight at Eldora Lodge*. $65 members/$70 non-members
Option #3 – No overnight. $25 members/$30 non-members

Registration begins February 5th and ends March 31st.

Registration deadline for Option #2 is February 28th, with a non-refundable deposit of $10 due at time of registration and the balance due by March 31st.

Late registration (April 1st-21st): Add $5 to Option #1 and #3 (late registration is not available for Option #2).

You may register online, by mail, or at your local ACFW Colorado meeting.

To register online, go to www.acfwcolorado.com/events and click on the online registration link. ACFW Colorado accepts PayPal.

To register by mail, go to www.acfwcolorado.com/events and click on the mail-in registration link. Download the form, print it off and mail it, along with a check made payable to
HIS Writers
PO Box 19741,
Denver CO 80219.

Brochure with complete details can also be downloaded at the above website.

The retreat is open to ACFW members and non-members.

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Camp Eden is located off CO Hwy 72 in Coal Creek Canyon in the Roosevelt National Forest.

Eldora Lodge is located about 1/4 mile west of the Camp Eden Rd turnoff. To view the lodge go to www.eldoralodge.com.

Second Annual Peak Writing Conference here in Colorado. Last year’s was a huge success and help to many. Below are the descriptions of the three workshops as well as the bios on our incredible speakers this year – Erin Healy, Rachelle Gardener, and Colleen Coble.

The conference is an all-day event and will be held on Feb. 27 in North Colorado Springs, food is provided, there will be a booksigning, and Q&A time.

For more information, please visit: http://acfwcolorado.com/events.html
Make sure you check out the Early Bird price before Jan. 31!

Self-Editing for Novelists
You’ve read Browne and King and mastered many important details of fiction writing: pure points of view, snappy dialog, showing like a movie screen. Now go deeper by learning how to ask the questions that probe the very heart of your novel—plot, character, theme, pace, and originality. Having sat in both the editor’s and writer’s chairs, Erin can teach you how to self-edit what matters most before you shop your novel in this highly competitive industry.

Erin Healy is co-author with Ted Dekker of Kiss and Burn and has been editing novelists such as Colleen Coble, Melody Carlson, Lisa Samson, James Scott Bell, Jane Kirkpatrick and many others for more than a decade. Her first solo novel, Never Let You Go, comes out from Thomas Nelson in April 2010. Erin lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two children.

Grab an Agent’s Attention from the Very First Line
The opening page of a novel can determine whether a reader will turn the page or put the book down. It can also determine whether an agent or editor will read any further, making the difference between being published—or not. In this workshop, we’ll look at opening paragraphs from successful and critically acclaimed books, identifying exactly what makes them powerful. We’ll discuss specific techniques for creating captivating opening lines, including an in-depth examination of the Writer’s Voice—what it is, and why it’s so important. Please bring the opening page of your own novel for class interaction.

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Rachelle Gardner is an agent with WordServe Literary and works with both fiction and non-fiction authors. In the last two years she’s sold books to Zondervan, Bethany House, Baker Books, David C. Cook, Guideposts, Harvest House and others. Prior to being an agent, she spent many years as an editor and writer. She lives in Colorado with her firefighter husband, two daughters, and lovable yellow lab.

The Joy of Revisions: Yes that’s right – JOY. There’s something magic about revisions. The right ones can take your novel to a whole new level. Best-selling author Colleen Coble will discuss how to tackle those big revisions and put the unexpected into your story.

Colleen Coble is the best-selling author of twenty-seven novels and nine novellas. She is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and has won the ACFW Mentor of the Year award twice. Her books have won or finaled in numerous contests including RWA’s Rita award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, Booksellers Best, the Daphne du Maurier, and the National Readers’ Choice Award.
Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.

Register Now for Central Ohio Fiction Writers Workshop

Laurie Schnebly Campbell’s Workshop:
The Personality Ladder and Plotting Via Motivation
January 23, 2010
Time: 9-5
Holiday Inn, 7007 High Street, Columbus, OH

The session begins with tools that will determine each character’s personality — ideally in ways that bring them into conflict not only with other characters, but also with themselves.

Next we track the hero through the seven steps he needs to move through, covering the journey from Stasis through Triumph. Of course, every character has their own ladder to climb in parallel stages until they reach the final resolution together. (There’s even a ladder for the villain, although he rarely makes it to the top!)

Armed with a solid grasp of the characters’ personalities, we turn to plotting…which begins with motivation. External events might make a difference to the story, but they’re only one element of the plot. Because once we nail down any character’s motivation, it doesn’t matter what takes place in their world…they’ll create a plot from WHATEVER happens. There’s no need to prepare a story idea, character bios, goal
charts or anything else, because you’ll learn how to plot an entire book — and actually have it ready to type — by the end of this hands-on workshop.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN @ WWW.COFW.ORG

Cost: COFW members $40 Non-members $45 (fee for using paypal) Includes lunch

Hotel: $89 rate: 614-436-0700 or 1-888-HOLIDAY. Mention the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Workshop room rate.

We will be raffling a free registration for one of Laurie’s 2011
on-line workshops, an “I’ll Write Your Synopsis” certificate from Laurie, book basket.

Submitted by~
Laurie Kingery–Deep In the Heart Historical Romance
THE OUTLAW’S LADY, Steeple Hill LIH Aug.’09
www.lauriekingery.com