“The faintest pencil is stronger than the strongest memory.” Poppy Smith, international speaker and writer, spoke these words at the Fall Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference on Saturday, October 16th. Her message was on the power of words and our duty as writers to answer God’s calling to write those words that matter. Poppy was an incredible speaker and the entire conference was full of inspiration and advice. Writing is no easy job, despite the common misconception of the writer lazily drinking coffee at a cafe and typing away with ease. For some, this may be the case, but for the other 99 percent of writers, it is tireless hours at...
OCW 2010 – Day One
The first day of the OCW Conference kicked off with a bang…literally. Vehicle issues nearly kept me from getting over to the Conference center but my husband came to the rescue. So, once at the conference, it was all old faces and new. Lots of laughter, smiles and wisdom! The incredibly talented Christina Berry taught a class on how to hook your reader, and by golly she sure is a great teacher! I walked away from that class very inspired and ready to re-tweak my manuscript’s intro a bit. The magazine editor and agent panels were both awesome, but there are some certain agents who sure caused a bit of...
OCW Fall One-Day Conference
This past Saturday, the Oregon Christian Writer’s Fall One-Day Conference featured keynote speaker, author Eva Marie Everson. I always look forward to these one-day conferences, and this one was no disappointment! Everson is a fiction and nonfiction published author who has won many awards. She has traveled to Israel several times, out of which came one of her most recent books, “Reflections of God’s Holy Land,” which tells of a moment that she truly “fell” into the Bible. What do I mean exactly? You should buy the book and see! She spoke about how God’s timing is His own, and He knows the perfect setup for us writers and our...
Stumbling upon the ACFW
After I graduated college, I had a sudden pang of regret. I really enjoy learning more and pushing myself. I even loved homework. So I enrolled in an online class about how to get published. The class was interesting enough, but in my own research into proposals and my experience being published in magazines and newspapers, it was all very elementary for me. However, there was one lesson I took to heart. And it would change the course of my writing career. The instructor encouraged us to find contests and submit our work. In researching different writing contests, I found the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and their contest for unpublished...
The value of non-fiction, for a fiction writer
At the Oregon Christian Writers Summer Conference, an agent I spoke with commented journalism is a great place for novelists – fiction writers – to start. I agree in many ways. In journalism, you learn to write concisely, use vivid, moving quotes, hook your reader from the very start, and follow the stylebook to the letter. One problem, however, is the differences in writing style. For instance, journalists use the AP Stylebook while CBA publishers use the Chicago Manual of Style. There are many key differences that after four or five years as a journalist, I find difficult to switch to. Spelling out all numbers, among other things, are habits...