Today is Monday March 11, 2013.
I am attending the Colorado Christian Writer’s Conference in May 2013. It meets the Wednesday through Sunday after Mother’s Day. The conference fee was $350 USD. Lodging and meals $306 USD. Travel and transportation are extra. The conference is full of workshops, continuing sessions, worship, writing, and information. Workshops I will attend:
“Write a Compelling Short Synopsis” – It’s often easier to write a chapter-by-chapter synopsis than to condense your novel into a two-page synopsis. Helpful how-to tips. Teacher – Nicola Martinez.
“Writing Flash Fiction that Sells” – How to create a compelling story in 1,000 words or less and where to sell it. Teacher – Ben Erlichman.
“Character & Culture Creation” – How to create interesting personalities that defy their stereotype and build an alien/fantasy civilization. Teacher – N. Paul Williams.
“A Love Affair with Words” – Use but don’t abuse them. Play with them, take them seriously, cherish them, listen to them, pray for them, respect them, and release them. Teacher – Cathy Lawton.
“Being the Poet” – Do you want to grow as a poet? Practice, professionalize, publish! Bring a working draft of your “poet’s resume” and 2 to 3 original poems to share. Teacher – Jane Beal.
“Craft of Fantasy” – Learn the theory and how-to of creating believable secondary worlds using techniques from the art of drawing and real-life geography to help visualize your world.
Teacher – Jane Beal.
Over the four days of the conference I’ll be attending continuing sessions with one teacher. There will be a session in the morning and afternoon each day. The total hours with the teacher is six. My Continuing Session is “Inspiration and Perspiration”. The teacher is Dina Sleiman. Dina writes lyrical stories that dance with light. Since finishing her Professional Writing MA in 1994, she has enjoyed many opportunities to teach literature, writing, and the arts. Her debut novel, Dance of the Dandelion, received an honorable mention in the 2012 Selah Awards. Her latest release, Love in Three-Quarter Time, is the launch title for the new Zondervan First imprint. Dina serves as an acquisitions editor for WhiteFire. Join her as she discovers the unforced rhythms of grace. www.dinasleiman.com Writing is both a right-brained and a left-brained activity, engaging both the head and the heart. More importantly, Christian writing touches the spirit as we attempt to share the life changing message of the Word of God. This class will demonstrate how to hear God’s voice, take the lump of clay idea that the Holy Spirit births in your heart, and begin to hone and shape it into a work of art, using the model of biblical authors.
Encourage your friends, keep reading and write.
Jimmie A. Kepler
