What's Next? Getting Organized After a Writers Conference

Edie Melson

 

Writers ADVANCE! Writers Boot Camp is now just a memory (hopefully a really GOOD memory) and the euphoria of being with other writers has dissipated. You may have noticed a correlation between the excitement waning and the doubts returning. It’s not uncommon to come away from a conference with enthusiasm, only to have it replaced with insecurity after a few days at home.

My suggestion—don’t let that insecurity dig in and take root—get organized and get busy. Here are a few things you can do to capitalize on the connections you made and the things you learned while in the mountains.

• Make a list. Actually, make several. Start by writing down every one you talked with who asked you to submit something. Then list everything you learned that you want to immediately incorporate into your writing life. For example, if you’re a novelist you make have learned the difference between showing and telling and want to go back and incorporate it into your current manuscript. Finally, make a list of all the confirmations and positive things you heard during the week.
• Set your priorities. Obviously you can’t do everything at once. I recommend you pick a couple of things to start on immediately. Pick one short thing and one longer. 
• Commit to a due date. Even if you haven’t been given a date by someone else, set your own. Otherwise you’ll find the days become weeks, the weeks become months, and next year you’re right back where you started.
• Find an accountability partner or group. For me, it’s easier if that person’s also a writer. Other writers seem to instinctively know when I need a kick in the pants or a shoulder to cry on. Here are a couple of ways to find one if you don’t already have one.
• Look at the contacts you made at Blue Ridge and start sending emails. It doesn’t matter if the writers you connect with are near or far—with the Internet we’re all just a click away.
• Look for a local writers group and visit. 
• Come up with a schedule. Look at your lifestyle and carve out some regular time to write. It doesn’t have to be a normal time—but it does need to be consistent. When I first started out my kids were little, so my writing time was unconventional. I waited until my kids and my husband were asleep and then I wrote from about midnight until three or four in the morning. My husband would get the kids up and off to school and I would sleep in. Then I’d do my household stuff and be fresh when the kids got home from school. We’d have family/couple time in the evenings and then I’d be back to writing. Like I said, unconventional, but it worked for us. That’s the key—find what works for you.

Hopefully these tips will help keep your writing on track. If you’ve come up with other ways to get on track after the conference, leave a comment and share them with us!

Compelled to Write

I'd driven the 100 miles. Driven straight into the storm. The sky darkened with each mile that passed behind me. But I drove anyway; my family home and me alone. The wind yanked at my car...tugging at the doors and windows like a monster wanting inside.

The rage of bellowing black clouds boiled along the ridge. Safety, Father. Safety please. Then the rain came. Sheets of water pelted across my windows and the wheels of the car slipped and slid. Lord, safety.


I focused on the white line stretched long the road, depending on that to guide me...the path I needed to follow - to see what was invisible ahead. That's when it happened. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel and I leaned forward. The writer in me burned.

What a scene, I thought. And without a hestationI began to craft what lay before me into a scene for my novel. The elements were there, I only needed my imagination to make the perfect storm.

This is how a writer is compelled to write. Our eyes focus on our situation and the imagination from deep within, the creativity we are gifted, begins to mesh.

I've often sat and stared at the computer screen, my fingers tap gingerly against the keys but no words form. Some call it writers block, I call it lack of attention. It's easy to blame our inability to focus on our work, writers block when the fact is...the very moment we are in presents itself as a scene. Oh, occasionally we write ourselves into a corner and can't find a way out. The words we've crafted are good words but they take us no where. Blocked. Stopped cold - a sure sign we take the words we've written, toss them in a tumbler and shake them up.

As a writer, we are gifted with creativity. Every movement around us holds the possibility to become scene. Even the most mundane moments can offer us a tense situation in our story. Our life, the world around us is a plethora  of material.

Carry a pad wherever you go. Jot down moments of your day. Learn to ask yourself the question, "What do I see in this moment?" Look at every situation as a possible scene.

Writers see and are compelled to write and they write what they see. So look. The storm I drove into offered me a perfect scene in my Appalachian Mountain story. The emotion I felt as I gazed into the dark sky moved me to know something, feel something I'd not felt earlier. It was a scene.

When your page is blank, look up and look around. What do you see that can become your scene? Be compelled to write.

Where is Your Treasure? Where is Your Heart?

There is nothing more perfect than the Word of God. Even for the non-believer...even when they don't know it. We are called by Christ to step up, go into the world and make disciples, baptize and teach but that seems easier said than done.

Are you called to write and if you are how can that possibly be a way to spread the gospel? Well, it is. Writing as a calling from God doesn't mean you fill every page with scripture and preaching. It means you write for Him in a Godly manner. Clean, fresh, as an example of Christ.

But what if I want to be paid to write? Doesn't that go against writing for God? Absolutely not. We are worth our wage but at the same time our wage shouldn't be what rules our heart. Whether a writer or a corporate employee, wage should not rule the story we tell with our lives. Remember, where your treasure is, there is your heart.

Be a shining example. When others look at your life, allow them to be swallowed up by the love of Christ in all you do, in all you say...in all you write. Exemplify God.

Perhaps you write humor. Write it in a wholesome manner. God has a pretty good funny bone...after all, He created us and we're all class clowns. Or maybe you write romance. Show the love of Christ and the value in the sanctity of marriage.

We are called and He has equipped you to do His will. Write His words. Share His treasure. There you will find the heart of a Christian writer.

Little Ditties Fill the Bag - Puns, Punctuation and Prose

Cindy Sproles

Editors are creatures of habit. They’re eyes are trained to notice the details most of us forget.  I’ve often wondered if their bedtime ritual includes memorizing one or two pages of the Chicago Style Manual before they tuck themselves in.

Still, it’s those little tiny things that drive them nuts and push your work off their desk into the trash.

Writing is subjective. And though there are rules for commas, semi colons and quotes, there’s always the one time exception. So here are a few rules of thumb…keeping in mind things change on a regular basis.

*Always check the guidelines. They are the necessary evil, but being in line with them will move you one layer up on the slush pile. Why are guidelines necessary? They’re there to help the house or magazine you’re writing to stay on course. With the internet quickly overtaking snail mail submissions writers must play by the rules. Use Times News Roman 12 pt font or Courier New 12 pt when submitting. These fonts are fairly basic to most computer programs and do not insert funky little signs in place of punctuation. Most every computer word processing program and decipher these fonts.

*Double space unless otherwise noted in the guidelines.(Notice I said, GUIDELINES) 

*Period.  Not, period.  Okay.  Okay, I’ll translate. At the end of a sentence with a period, place one space. This is not as big an issue for those under 30 trained in “keyboarding” as opposed to those over 50 trained on a TYPEWRITER. The rule is different these days. Two spaces throws off the formatting and adds additional space in digital publishing. So learn to put only one space after your sentence.

*The shift key.  It’s the same on a keyboard as it is on a typewriter. Use it to capitalize. Please capitalize proper names and the beginning of sentences. Writers are not texters.

*Learn how to use quotes.  “words,”   Not “words”,   (Use your editor’s eye to catch the difference.” Check the Chicago Style on this one when in doubt.

*Passive voice is a no-no. Stay in the active voice. (Of course there’s always the exception to the rule, but more times than not…active voice is the way to go.

*Cliché’s.  Unless you’re a true southerner, most editors prefer you avoid cliches’. Challenge yourself to rewrite a cliché in a new a different way. Use description over comparison. Love your words enough to write with flare over lazy. (This is very hard for me because, I AM SOUTHERN and I love a good cliché.) I’m not a lazy writer…I just love the creativity in clichés. They make me laugh.

*Use strong verbs. Avoid over use of “ing” and “ly” words. 

*Avoid the dangling participles. However, she was sure she needed out.  Most of the time you don’t need the word before the comma and your sentence becomes a stronger statement without it. She was sure she needed out. See – much tighter.

*Stop over thinking things. Just say what you mean.  This came to me in a devotion:

I overtly realized how seemly overdone she was. Excitedly I suddenly and quickly watched across the room hoping without a shadow of a doubt, she would be noticed and wholeheartedly punished.

I had to scratch my head on that one then I rewrote it:

She was overdone, almost sleazy. I watched across the room sure she would be noticed and punished.

Still not great…but certainly, without a doubt, innately, better. (grin)

*Show Don’t Tell. Show your reader the imaginary world around them through dialogue and action. Paint the scenes. Use the senses. Draw your reader in.

*GWS – Goes Without Saying – These are very simple examples of goes without saying… it’s obvious when you sit, you sit DOWN. When you stand, you stand UP. Tighten up your writing by allowing the reader to use their own thoughts of deduction. You don’t need to explain the obvious.

*RUE – Resist the Urge to Explain. Allow the reader to fill in some of the blanks. They’re pretty smart readers so you don’t need to explain every tiny detail UNLESS it moves your story ahead. Too much explaining gets old real fast. Your reader grows tired and lays down your work. Bummer. RUE.

*Cause and Effect – This is common but it drives an editor wacky. You can’t slam a door until it’s been opened. You can’t answer a phone until it rings. We easily drop details out of order of sequence in a scene so read your work. Make sure your cause happens before the effect or consequence.

*The common margin is 1” inch around and intend is .5.

*Avoid explanation points like the plague. To a writer an explanation point is emphasis. To the reader, you’re shouting. In a 70,000 word document editors allow you one explanation point. WHY? Because your sentences around the ! should be strong enough to inflect the emotion. Description, description, description.

*ALL CAPTIAL LETTERS IS NOT ONLY HARD ON THE EYES BUT IT SIGNIFIES YOU ARE SHOUTING AT THE READER. IT EVEN IMPLIES ANGER. SO IF YOU AREN’T MAD DON’T CAPITALIZE EVERY LETTER IN A WORD. Again, the sentences around the word you want to emphasize should be strong enough to show the passion.

These are just a few little things that jump off the page at editors. Oh, shucks, for the fun of it…let’s use a cliché. They jump out like a sore thumb. All writers trip over the mechanics from time to time. Learn to watch for the ditties, punctuations and prose that fills the “trash” bin of editors.

8 Ways to Beat Post-Conference Blues

Edie Melson

I've been attending large writing conferences for twelve years and they all have ONE thing in common—post conference blues. It’s only natural. A week-long conference is an exciting, grueling experience. Just physical exhaustion alone could get anyone down—add to that the mental and emotional effects and you have the perfect set-up for a huge let-down.

For those who aren’t expecting the post conference blues they can—worst case—derail your writing career for a year or more. At the least they can set even an experienced writer behind several work days.

The feelings can run the gamut of a vague sense of unease to out-right panic. I’ve found that once I’m at home all the nice things people have said about my writing morph into something ugly.
• They were just being polite—they didn't really like my writing.
• They don’t really want me to send in that proposal.
• They’ll never publish that (article, devotion, whatever) they told everyone to send something in.
All of these are lies. I've sat on the editor side of the desk and believe me when I say this. Less than 30% of the writers I request something from actually send something in. I’m convinced that a big reason is the post conference melt down.

Here are some tried and true ways I’ve found to minimize the effects.
• Give yourself permission to feel deflated when you get home.
• Arrange your schedule so you have a few days to recuperate.
• Pamper yourself. Sleep in, go out to eat, spend some much needed time
with family.
• Before you dive into conference generated work take time to evaluate what
happened.
• Make a list of things you want to accomplish over the next year, next
six months and next month.
• Develop a plan to stay in touch with new friends and contacts.
• Reach out to others who may be feeling the same way.
• Take your next steps in small increments.
All of these things can help you navigate the post conference blues. Now it’s your turn. Have you experienced the let-down? If so, what have you found to help you cope?

Edie Melson is an author and co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

The Power Behind the Task - Cindy Sproles

It's over. Boot camp is over. The soldiers are weary but they are prepared. They came with open hearts,  minds, and willingness to serve.

We have forewarned them the high will hit a low and the road will be difficult but they are prepared. Girded in the armor of God, bound with the love and support of their peers...these soldiers have learned "The task ahead of them is never as great as the Power behind them."

Onward Christian Soldiers. We look forward to seeing the fruit of your labor. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Write. Write by His command and trust He will use the seed.

A special thank you to our awesome staff. Yvonne Lehman, Ann Tatlock, Eddie Jones, Andrea Merrell, Terri Kelly, Scott McCausey, Chris Yavelow and Diana Flegal - for you have prepared the army of Gideon.

This euphoria of excitement will wain as time passes, but it's important you remember...remember how and what you felt when you were at Boot Camp. That can never be taken.

Tonight you rest. Tomorrow...you go into battle.

Soldiers! Dismiss.

Regards,
Cindy Sproles
Company Commander.

Daddy's Got This - Janey Goude

I’ve struggled with what to do next. I think I’ve found my niche but wonder where in the world I will find clients. I consider how busy my life is right now (I homeschool four children, ranging from elementary to high school), and I’m not even sure I should be writing at all.

I’ve pondered this for quite some time, when Boot Camp appeared on my radar. I felt God’s nudge saying, “I’m going to use this to equip you for the next part of your journey.” So I stepped out in obedience, and all of the pieces snap neatly into place.

Take a deep, cleansing breath and relax, I thought. The assignments began to come and I was excited. Writing is energizing. Without warning, the doubts begin to settle in again, more intense, disturbing. My husband pursues a job that takes him away from home 26 weeks a year.  

Dear God, I can barely do this with him here. How will I ever find time to write being a single parent half the year? Is Boot Camp a waste of time? Is my husband’s job opportunity confirmation that I’m supposed to quit writing for this season?

I seemed to toss on waves of uncertainty. Unsettled in my every thought. Instead of turning to the One who has the answers, I found myself entertaining fear and doubt. Then, out of the blue, I remembered a pastor friend’s response to me during a time of need: “Don’t worry. Daddy’s got this.”

His use of the word “Daddy” caught me off guard. He didn’t say, “Your Daddy” or “Our Daddy”. No, he was referring to God simply as “Daddy”. He spoke of God as though “Daddy” was His name. Intellectually, I knew this was the level of intimacy our Creator desired, but it had never penetrated my heart before that exchange.

During the course of our day, I'll tell my children, “Daddy called,” or “Daddy will be home around 5,” or “Daddy will take care of that when he gets home.” “Daddy” is his name. No one else calls my husband “Daddy,” except me and our four children.

When I received those words of encouragement from my pastor-friend, I felt God in a more intimate way. I felt like a little girl sitting in her father’s lap, safe and secure in knowing he would take care of the situation.

Last week, rocked by a tsunami of doubt, I once again felt the reassurance of Daddy’s big, strong arms holding me. How silly of me to worry. God  delivered every client to my door, so to speak. Each project had its own God story. The most remarkable is He gave me a detailed playbook for contacting the authors: a couple who had already published multiple books and with a successful international ministry. They received my correspondence as an answer to prayer because God orchestrated every detail. A humbling, awe-inspiring reminder it isn’t about me at all. My writing is about His plan, His purpose, His Kingdom.

Why do I doubt when I have seen His hand over and over again in provision. Somehow I lose sight of Him, and I start looking at me. I’m sure I’ll do it again. But for now, I know Daddy’s got this. He is able to bring clients my way: the right ones at the right time. I just have to keep listening for His voice. Right now, it’s saying, “Get to Boot Camp. Get equipped so you are ready for My next assignment.”

Janey Goude and her husband of twenty years homeschool their four children, ranging from elementary school to high school. She enjoys exploring God’s open doors in writing, editing, and collaboration. You can read her blog at http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/pt_4/default.aspx

Welcome to Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp

A special thank you to Cecil Murphey and his foundation for writers in providing four scholarships to Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp 2012.  Listen to Cec as he welcomes you to Boot Camp.

Orange Wax Anointing - Mary Jane Downs

Hark! Was this a sign before Boot Camp? As I was talking on the phone with one of my writer buddies, I was also busy cleaning off my desk. You know the multitasking thing. Well, when I moved the lighted ‘Christ candle’ I keep on my desk, the candle fell over and orange wax went all over my hands, my computer, my tablet of writing ideas and of course the desk itself. The wax was hot, sticky, but all I could think about was cleaning up another mess. Then, The Holy Spirit began to illuminate the situation and I saw another reason for the mess. Was the wax pouring out the Lord’s way of anointing and sealing me before the Boot Camp experience next week? It WAS the Christ candle. The wax mostly fell on my hands, my writing ideas and my laptop.

Boot Camp for me is like a coming out of the shadows by searching to learn more about how to write better so I can use my hands to war through the pieces I will write on the computer. I have struggled for along time to see myself as a writer and that God had truly chosen me to be His “scribble.” (Typos are funny and sometimes revealing as well.) But as the days draw close, excitement is mounting and I am courageously stepping out to say, “Yes Sir, send me.”

The candle wax was orange. Oh how fitting. Orange is the color associated with passion and fire. Passion and fire are what I am asking the Lord for as I go into this weekend of learning. Do I feel a little overwhelmed at the task ahead? Yes. However, God’s passion inside of me will catapult me towards my goal of writing for Him alone. The fire is what He may need to put under me at times when I get to comfortable with where I am at in the moment.

So Lord…Thanks you for your anointing power on all of us. Without Your guidance, our words would be to no avail. Teach us how to war with our hands so that we can touch the lives you intend for us to touch. And Lord…Give us the courage and strength to see the task through. AMEN

 Mary Jane Downs is an inspirational writer of poems, stories, devotionals and children’s stories. She has been published in Awe Magazine, InspiredMoms.com, and judged the weekly writer’s contests for Faithwriters.com. Mary Jane graduated from LaGrange College, LaGrange, GA with a degree in Elementary Education. She is currently the assistant director for The Gathering-A Meeting Place for Creatives in Christ Conference. Contact Mary Jane at maryjanewrites@gmail.com.

More - Paul Newton

 Occasionally, we as writers need to slow down, sit down and shut down, long enough for us to see the joys God has given. We're often overcome with deadlines, worrying about the write, right, wright...words. Paul brings us back to the reality of Christ and our need to abide in Him. In Him, our gifts are made more. In Him, we are more. - Cindy Sproles

"I need more. I need more depth. I need more one on one." These words stayed with me as I left the hospital room. What can we say to a mind clouded by pain - to a focus that is blinded by tribulation, known and unknowable. Surely this is a place I have been before. The details were different but the need was the same. I need more!!

The blessing of trials and afflictions are, even now, awaiting me. Those blessings from the past comfort me. Thirty years ago, I was crying out to God for the same thing. At that time, I might have called it peace, health or a clear mind. My goal was to meet the needs of my world and hold on to my idols. My idols were "good" idols. All I wanted was to meet the needs of my family, the demands of my job and to save my marriage. One night, I was overcome by frustration and anger realizing that I had no clue to the puzzle of my life. I was also inebriated. Obviously, this was a perfect setting for a quiet time with God.  I picked up my Bible and selected my text by "the let it fall open method." God, who is the I AM, WAS in that moment - and ever shall be.

The complexity and the mystery of God revealed His mastery of the most minute detail. I was given the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 that night. I couldn't miss it because it was underlined. It was my Bible but I had no memory of that verse. When I read it, my body shook and every hair I had stood up. It seemed as if an electric current had just run through me. GOD HAD SPOKEN TO ME!! John Newton has said, "God works powerfully but for the most part gently and gradually." That moment was powerful. The next thirty years has seen God work gradually but also relentlessly. The gently has been hit or miss. I'm sure that if I listened better He would have treated me more gently.

Today my walk with God is still seeking the "..more .. depth .. one on one" of my hospital visits mentioned earlier. Today, I more completely trust God in and for all things. Today, I seek His will because I know my will is usually bad for me. In the future, I pray to seek His will because my desire is more of Him, more depth in Him and more one on one time in His presence. Today, I confidently say that my every need, my every question, my every hope and my every prayer has the same answer; "I AM!" "In Him (I) we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:28 "Jesus!" is the prayer that I breath many times in my day. "Father!" is the prayer He speaks for me every time. "I AM!" is the answer always. Thank you father for your faithfulness.