My Christian Writers Conferences

The Power of Commitment

July 17th, was the birthday of Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason series of books. He was a self-taught attorney who filled his days with court and composition. Born in 1889, he was a man who bored easily. While he enjoyed courtroom law, he found the rest of the legal profession boring, so he began writing for pulp magazines. Detective novels followed.

He wrote this about his writing life:

"I still have vivid recollections of putting in day after day of trying a case in front of a jury, which is one of the most exhausting activities I know about, dashing up to the law library after court had adjourned to spend three or four hours looking up law points with which I could trap my adversary the next day, then going home, grabbing a glass of milk with an egg in it, dashing upstairs to my study, ripping the cover off my typewriter, noticing it was 11:30 p.m. and settling down with grim determination to get a plot for a story. Along about 3 in the morning I would have completed my daily stint of a 4,000-word minimum and would crawl into bed."

When I read this in Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac I was dumbfounded. I've produced a lot of words in my writing career but I have an advantage: a computer. Gardner was pounding out his work on a typewriter and doing it in the wee hours.

His dedication to writing inspired me. Most writers start out with day jobs. Many keep those jobs throughout their working lives. In a sense, they have two jobs: a vocation and an advocation. Why would people do that? (Why did I do that for so long?) Because writing is that important. Important enough to push us to make sacrifices. Gardner, at least in the early days, wrote when everyone else slept. It was the only time he could do it.

The amazing part of his quote is his commitment to 4000 words a day. That would be about 16 typed pages. I can imagine him setting aside 16 or 18 blank pieces of paper by his typewriter and then having at it.

Writing takes commitment, a determination that the work is going to be done even at a sacrifice. Isaac Assimov wrote over 500 books. He loved writng so much he often turned down interviews, which he saw as loss of writing time.

Writers become writers through craft, imagination, and commitment. The first two items are useless without the last. Countless are the times when someone has said to me, "I've always wanted to write a book. I think I would make a great writer." When I ask why they haven'tdone so, they reply, "Well, you know, I'm busy."

So was Erle Stanley Gardner

Alton Gansky

Register for Southwest Christian Writers Studio and/orNext.Level Novelist Retreat by calling:

1-800-797-4222

 

Jeff Struecker on National Television

One of the highlights of this years Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference was our keynote speaker Major Jeff Struecker (retired). Jeff and I have recently released our third book together Fallen Angel. Over the last few weeks he's been interviewed over 40 times on radio and television. I thought you might like to see his recent appearance on Fox and Friends.

I post this not to promote the book (okay, not only to promote the book) but to show how God can use writing to open doors to proclamation. I spoke to Jeff after the interview and he told me had been praying for an opportunity to give the Gospel during the interview. Watch the "softball" question that opened that door. The video is short but remarkable.

Great job, Jeff.

Jeff Struecker on Fox and Friends - July 4, 2011 from Calvary Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Register or Southwest Christian Writers Studio and/or Next.Level Novelist Retreat by calling: 1-800-797-4222

Alton Gansky, Director

Deborah Raney Talks Shop

Last Friday novelist Deborah Raney and I had a chat about her work and how she does it. Deborah has a new book on the shelves, released just a few weeks ago. I asked her to share a little about that book and a few other things such a

• Her love of the editing process
• The editing process in general
• How she researched the world of firefighting
• How writing a series differs from writing stand-alone novels
• Her foray into social media
• The ofttimes conflicting emotions of Christians promoting themselves

As always, Deb was gracious, humorous, and knowledgeable.

Deb’s new book is Forever After:

A fire killed his best friend and his lifelong dream of being a firefighter. The same fire killed her husband and hopes for a family. Can new dreams replace old? Lucas Vermontez was a proud firefighter like his father. Now, not only has he lost his father and his best friend, Zach, in the fire at the Grove Street homeless shelter, but the devoted rookie can no longer do the work he loves after being crippled in the tragic event. When friendship with his buddy’s beautiful widow turns into more, he wonders, what could he possibly offer Jenna? Jenna Morgan is trying to grieve her husband’s death like a proper widow, but the truth is, she never really loved Zach. His death feels more like a relief to her. But that relief is short-lived when she loses her home and the financial support of her in-laws. Now the secrets of her past threaten to destroy her future.

Can the two forget the painful past and discover new reasons to live and love?

The book is available in print, Kindle, and Nook.

Deborah Raney's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was awarded a Silver Angel from Excellence in Media and inspired the acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Since then her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the National Readers' Choice Award; Raney was also a finalist for the Christy Award. She and her husband, artist Ken Raney, make their home in their native Kansas.

Alton Gansky, Director

Register or Southwest Christian Writers Studio and/or Next.Level Novelist Retreat by calling: 1-800-797-4222

A Creative Exercise for the Weekend

One challenge every writer faces is creating a way to hook the interest of editor and reader. Editors make their contract decisions based on your proposal. If the editor likes what s/he reads, then the proposal will be used to win over the acquisitions committee (sometimes called a pub board). Poorly crafted proposals go nowhere. In what must be some kind of cosmic irony, creative people are often the least creative with their proposals. This is true for fiction and nonfiction.

I'm not talking about fancy formatting and fonts that glow in the dark. I'm talking about getting your idea across quickly and in a compelling way.

I came across this movie trailer for a 2004 movie. It is a stellar example of how to grab someone's attention. Why? Well, that's what I want you to tell our readers. Watch the trailer and tell me what techniques the film makers used to get our attention.

Yes, I know, this is done with film, but the concepts remain the same.

So, how would you replace the visual elements in a written proposal?

What technique is used to draw the viewer from beginning to end?

How many emotional states are shown?

How does the trailer use felt needs to engage us?

Share your observations with us by posting a comment.

 

Alton Gansky, Director

Some "Webby" Changes

I've been making a few changes to the website (hopefully helpful changes). My goal is to make this site easier to use and easier to share with others. Why do this? I'm glad you asked. Let's take a look at "Our Reason for Being." 

Our Reason for Being. Why we do what we do, and what we hope to achieve. We exist:

• To provide the best training in the field of Christian writing.
• To provide training for all levels of writers.
• To equip writers to use their talents to enhance and advance the Kingdom of God.
• To provide a place and time of spiritual retreat for writers and publishing professionals.
• Mission statement: We exist to educate, edify, and encourage the Christian writer.
• Provide year round service that extends beyond physical conferences.
• To create a community of Christian writers.
• To promote the work of our faculty and published conferees.
• To become the "go-to" conference for faculty and editors.

These small changes and the ones to come are meant to help us meet those goals. Specifically: 1) To educate, edify, and encourage the Christian writer; 2) To provide year round service that extends beyond physical conferences; 3) to create a community of Christian writers. Those are three lofty goals. So here are some little changes I hope will make a big difference:

1. A name change. Okay, it's a slight change, but a change nonetheless. This site is now called "My Christian Writers Conference." By "my," I mean you. With LifeWay, I lead three conferences, each unique: the large Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina; the studio style Southwest Christian Writers Conference in New Mexico; and the new Next.Level Novelist Retreat, also in New Mexico.

It is cumbersome and inefficient to have three websites, so now you can follow the news about these conferences by visiting one site.

2. A new URL. I've added an new "addy" that directs people to this site: www.my-cwc.com. No worries, www.brmcwc.com and www.swcws.com will still get you here. You can keep the same bookmarks if you like. Like Rome, all roads lead to this site (okay, maybe not all roads, but you get the idea.)

3. You will notice a string of colorful icons at the bottom of this post and all other posts. These are designed to help you share a post with others through Twitter, Facebook, and other avenues without leaving the page.

4. In formation about the Next.Level Novelist Retreat has it's own page. Simply click the tab link above--the one labeled "Next.Level Novelist Retreat" and you will be transported to that page.

What's ahead? Many things. Soon I'll be doing more screencasts (next up: "How to Choose a Writers Conference" and "How to Create a Stylesheet.") There are more video interviews coming too as well as blog posts about the conferences and the writing world (and how to be part of it).

I hope to compile a list of faculty blogs and conferee blogs so you can easily access the online writing of your favorite faculty members.

There's more on the way, but why ruin the surprise? Stay tuned.

Alton Gansky, Director

www.my-cwc.com