Afternoon classes will be held on Friday and Saturday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. You may attend a different session each afternoon – or return the second day to reinforce what you learned.
Audio recordings will be available for all clinics and workshops, and outlines for each will be printed in the conference notebook.
Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinic
Jerry is author of more than 175 books, with sales of more than 70 million copies, including the best-selling Left Behind series. He is former vice president for publishing and currently chairman of the board of trustees for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Jerry’s writing has appeared in TIME, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Guideposts, and dozens of Christian periodicals. Twenty of his books have reached the New York Times best-seller list (seven in the number-one spot). His 2011 novel releases include a Chicago-based cop novel trilogy called The Precinct Eleven Novels, the first of which is entitled The Brotherhood.
Michael is the editor-in-chief for the Christian Writers Guild. He has written for newspapers and other print and online outlets. He edited several nonfiction books, was the senior editor for a faith-based financial services and insurance organization, and is the ezine editor for American Christian Fiction Writers.
Is your writing ready for publication? Find out by submitting it for evaluation. Jerry will critique fiction, Michael nonfiction. Attach your submission to an email message addressed to ContactUs@ChristianWritersGuild.com. In the subject line, indicate Thick-skinned Fiction or Thick-skinned Nonfiction.
Submissions should be the first page of your manuscript and should not contain anything which identifies you as the author. Do include a title and be sure to submit in appropriate manuscript format.
Plotting with the Snowflake Method
Randy is the award-winning author of six novels and two non-fiction books. His most recent book is Writing Fiction For Dummies. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UC Berkeley and sits on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers. Randy’s goal is to become Supreme Dictator for Life and escape the domination of the three surly cats that control his house.
Randy is known for his unique plan of designing a novel that takes the stress out of writing the first draft. Presubmit both a one-sentence summary and a one-paragraph summary of your novel to ContactUs@ChristianWritersGuild.com. In the subject line, indicate Snowflake Critique. Randy will help you hone them.
Writing Devotions
Dennis holds four degrees in communications, including a Ph.D. in English from Ball State University. He is director of the Professional Writing major at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and recently published his 52nd book, Jack London’s Masterplots (Taylor University Press). He is a long-time member of the Christian Writers Guild’s Editorial Board. He and his wife Rose have two children and four grandchildren.
Dennis will show you how to discover endless ideas for devotionals and will share five formats you can use. Learn how editors target specific audiences and how to turn individually sold devotions into the foundation for a book. Submit up to two devotions in advance for critique by emailing ContactUs@ChristianWritersGuild.com. In the subject line, indicate Devotions critique.
Extreme Journalism Makeover
Todd is an author and network reporter for Fox News Radio. He is a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Associated Press Mark Twain Award for Storytelling. His first book, They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick, is a best-seller. His second, Dispatches from Bitter America, releases this summer.
Build your writing portfolio quickly by writing for your local newspaper. Learn tricks that will make you a valuable asset to a newspaper editor. Also learn tips for TV and radio writing.
A Beautiful Story: Why Aristotle Still Matters
Barbara is a screenwriter and the founder of Act One, Inc., which trains Christians for careers in Hollywood. She has a master’s in cinema from Northwestern University and is an adjunct professor of screenwriting and cinema at Pepperdine University. She co-wrote Mary, Mother of the Christ for MGM. The movie stars Al Pacino and Peter O’Toole. Nicolosi is the co-editor of Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith and Culture (Baker Books).
Learn the urgency of leading readers to a catharsis of fear and pity.
Effective Website Design for Writers (Friday only)
Matt oversees marketing and Web development for the Guild. He also solves technical problems in the office.
Capture the interest of your viewers and present your content effectively. Submit your URL in advance for Matt’s critique by emailing ContactUs@ChristianWritersGuild.com. In the subject line, indicate Website Critique.
Working with an Editor (Friday only)
An internationally-acclaimed author who has sold more than six million books, Davis is equal parts writer, scholar, teacher, and sportsman. Honored with three Christy Awards, his bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Warning, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt.
Dave is the author of 10 books, including the gold medallion award-winning Jumper Fables, co-authored with Ken Davis, and the recent novel The Missionary, co-authored with Bill Carmichael. He has an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Montana and spent 18 years as an acquiring editor at Zondervan. Dave is a member of the Christian Writers Guild’s Editorial Board, heads Lambert Editorial Services, and is editorial director for Somersault, a publishing services bureau. Epitaph, a novel of suspense co-authored with Terri Blackstock, releases in the fall of 2012.
The best books are the result of an amicable, collaborative partnership between author and editor. Dave Lambert has edited seven of Davis Bunn’s novels, five became national bestsellers. They will walk a manuscript through the entire editorial process, from initial receipt to final release and beyond. Learn what you can do—and what to ask your editor to do.
The Power of POV (Saturday only)
An internationally-acclaimed author who has sold more than six million books, Davis is equal parts writer, scholar, teacher, and sportsman. Honored with three Christy Awards, his bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Warning, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt.
Learn to enhance Point Of View through character, description, and plotting.
Insider Tips From a Fiction Editor (Saturday only)
Dave is the author of 10 books, including the gold medallion award-winning Jumper Fables, co-authored with Ken Davis, and the recent novel The Missionary, co-authored with Bill Carmichael. He has an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Montana and spent 18 years as an acquiring editor at Zondervan. Dave is a member of the Christian Writers Guild’s Editorial Board, heads Lambert Editorial Services, and is editorial director for Somersault, a publishing services bureau. Epitaph, a novel of suspense co-authored with Terri Blackstock, releases in the fall of 2012.
In the nearly 30 years Dave Lambert has been editing fiction, his goal has always been to make each novelist he works with a better writer. This class will share some of the insider’s tips Dave gives highly successful authors to take their skill to the next level. These are practical tips in: characterization, plotting, exposition, point of view, voice, and other aspects of fiction technique.
Ask Mr. Word Wizard (Saturday only)
Richard is the author of more than 35 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series and The Gift of Age. He frequently speaks on radio as a commentator on language and has been named International Punster of the Year and Toastmasters International’s Golden Gavel winner.
The best-selling author and former usage editor of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language welcomes your questions on all matters linguistic—from puns to punctuation, pronouns to pronunciation, diction to dictionaries, and palindromes to philological palaver. Come prepared to laugh and learn. Submit questions in advance by emailing ContactUs@ChristianWritersGuild.com—or just come and try to stump him on the spot. In the subject line, indicate Mr. Word Wizard.
Get Connected