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We meet the first Saturday of each month.
10 AM - Noon
First Evangelical Free Church
820 N. 30th Street, Colorado
Springs
(Lower Level/Entrance in Back)
*Please check schedule below for exceptions.
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January 4
Beth K. Vogt - Learning Contentment as a Writer
Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she'd never
write fiction. She's the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who
said she'd never marry a doctor-or anyone in the military. She's a mom of four who said
she'd never have kids. Now Beth believes God's best often waits behind doors marked Never.
The Best We've Been is the final book in Beth's Thatcher Sisters series with Tyndale House
Publishers, following Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary
Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW
Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Weddings
series published by Zondervan. Having authored ten contemporary romance novels or novellas,
Beth believes there's more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. An established
magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs
for Novel Rocket and also enjoys speaking to writers' groups and mentoring other writers. She
lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary
people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.
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Previous Events
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January 5
Scoti Domeij - Life's Tsunamis: Barreling Through the Ultimate Writing Block
Deluged by
stressful circumstances? Suffocated by a
life-altering event? Is it possible to reclaim
the oxygen of motivation to stay afloat and to
write, when you're drowning and don't know how
to swim? At one point or another, rogue waves
will wipe out a writer's world, washing away
their desires, designs, and dreams to write.
Scoti Domeij takes a hard look at how to write
while submerged by life's tsunamis. When
swallowed by a monster billow, discover
how the salty psychology of seismic
circumstances unleashes a
tsunami of words.
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February 2
Donna Schlachter - Crafting Good Suplots, the key to every story
Regardless of the genre, readers want
stories that are more than just surface
excursions into the imagination. In this
class, we'll learn about using subplots to
add tension; flesh out characters; and offer
a distraction from the main story that
serves as a kind of red herring.
Bio: Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. She
writes historical suspense under her own
name, and contemporary suspense under her
alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been
published more than 25 times in novellas and
full-length novels. She is a member of
American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers
on the Rock, and Sisters In Crime;
facilitates a critique group, and teaches
writing classes. Donna ghostwrites, edits,
and judges in writing contests. She loves
history and research, and travels
extensively for both. Donna is represented
by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.
www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com
www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com
Receive a free ebook simply for signing up
for our free newsletter!
Facebook.com/DonnaSchlacterAuthor
Twitter.com/DonnaSchlacter
Books available on
Amazon and
Smashwords
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March 2
Davalynn Spencer - "Don't Be a Trouble Maker!": Creating Conflict in Your Characters' Lives
Conflict and obstacles are the last things any of us need in our everyday existence, so as authors we sometimes shelter our beloved characters to spare them the pain.
Stop that. Stop it right now! No one wants to read a namby-pamby story about some person with a perfect life who lives in a perfect world.
Conflict-riddled readers need conflict in their stories
because they need victory - even if it's someone else's.
Join us for a hands-on workshop presented by Davalynn Spencer (no fisticuffs, we promise) on how to be a trouble-maker.
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April 6
Write In The Springs
(click here)
Dream Big & Write
Powerful Stories with James L. Rubart
This was a fantastic conference. See what it was all about, click the link above! |
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May 4
J.D. Dudycha - Make Money Self-Publishing
**Note meeting location change above** Find out the tricks of the trade, whether you’re a new author or have
100 books published to your credit.
J.D. Dudycha believes the best stories are written with characters overcoming real life struggles and everyone
deserves a shot a redemption.
After a long stay in the baseball world, both as a player and a coach, J.D. has turned to his real
passion, creating gritty, in-your-face characters who leap off the page and ooze practicality. You
can’t help but continue to read because you don’t know where the story will take you next.
J.D. spends his time with his wife and children in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. When he
is able to step away from the world of writing fiction, he enjoys golf and fly fishing, and he never
met a mountain he didn’t want to climb or an ocean he didn’t want to explore.
His inspiration is drawn from many different authors. Some of his favorites are C.S. Lewis, Clive
Cussler, Vince Flynn, Dan Brown, and Lee Child. www.jddudycha.com
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June 1
Jeanne Takenaka - Nitty Gritty Blogging Basics: Learn the Down and Dirty of Setting Up
and Maintaining Your Own Blog
Does the thought of beginning and maintaining a blog overwhelm you? Come listen as
Jeanne Takenaka shares the nitty-gritty on setting up and maintaining your own blog, plus tips for successful
blogging. She’ll also share some benefits of creating your own space in the internet world. If you’ve thought
about beginning a blog but you aren’t sure how to start, this workshop may answer some of your questions.
Award winning aspiring novelist, Jeanne Takenaka, writes contemporary inspirational fiction that tackles
real life issues with a heart to draw women closer to God and those around them. She lives near the mountains
in Colorado with her amazing husband and two exuberant boy-men. She loves being God’s girl—always learning
about His grace, hanging out with friends and enjoying a great cup of coffee. When she’s not writing you can
find her with a camera in her hand, looking for #alittlebitofpretty in her days. You can connect with her on
her blog, on Facebook
and on Twitter
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July 6
Hallee Bridgeman - EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!:
Newsletter growth, development, and onboarding series: Bestselling author
Hallee Bridgeman will explain how she grew her newsletter more than 300% to more than 3500
subscribers with a greater than 80% open rate in just a year, how she creates it, what information
goes into it. She will go into depth with what her newsletter onboarding series looks like, and how
that engages her readers to inspire a higher open rate.
With over half a million sales, Hallee Bridgeman is a best-selling Christian author who writes
action-packed romantic suspense focusing on realistic characters who face real world problems.
Her work has been described as everything from refreshing to heart-stopping exciting and edgy.
Hallee loves coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. Above all else,
she loves God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength; has been redeemed by the blood of
Christ; and relies on the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide her. www.halleebridgeman.com
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August 3
Jane Kirkpatrick - Four Threads Workshop
Stories are woven of many threads. Author and Carol Award winner Jane Kirkpatrick
looks for four threads that bind plot, character and theme together: Landscape, Relationships, Spirituality
and Work. With discussion and short exercises she’ll show how characters stories can be deepened, the
landscape and setting add to the joy or drama or suspense, identify why work is so important to characters
and what it can unveil about a character and finally and perhaps most importantly, how a character’s spiritual
journey and faith-life helps readers discover their own longings and deepening faith. Jane presented a version
of this workshop over four days at the Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference in 2016.
Jane Kirkpatrick is a NY Times best-selling and award-winning author of 32 books most based on the lives of
historical women. With over 2 million copies sold, she has won the WILLA Literary Award for Original Soft
Cover Fiction, the Wrangler Award, Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award and Carol Award and been short listed
for the Oregon Book Award, the Christy, Spur, Carol and the WILLA Literary Award for both Soft Cover Fiction
and Creative Non-fiction. She is a founding member of WWW. A former rancher and mental health professional,
Jane now lives in Bend, OR with her husband and two dogs. www.jkbooks.com
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September 7
Tez Brooks - Preparing Pitch to Agents & Editors
Learn how to present your book idea with confidence and professionalism to make the most of a
10-minute pitch appointment during a conference. If time allows, Tez will walk us through creating a one-sheet, so bring
your laptop.
Award-winning author and international speaker, Tez Brooks, writes on family issues, with his work appearing
in Guideposts, The Upper Room, CBN.com, Clubhouse, Focus on the Family, and Cru.org. His editorials are
featured regularly on Jesusfilm.org and seen by over 20k readers each month.
Tez's book, The Single Dad Detour (Kregel) was winner for the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards. His comedic
screenplay Jangled, won 2016 Best Short Film in Florida at CENFLO. His literary works have won awards with
Jerry Jenkins' Christian Writers Guild, Florida Christian Writer's Conference and Florida Writer's Association.
Tez is a mentor of Word Weavers International. He and his wife serve as full-time missionaries with Cru.
They have four children and live in Colorado Springs. You can learn more at TezBrooks.com.
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October 5
Debbie Maxwell Allen - Customizing Scrivener
Learn to organize Scrivener projects with color, customize the toolbar, and use
the corkboard and outliner to plot with ease. Attendees will learn to revise with Scrivener's special
features and format the screen in ways you never before imagined. Helpful for all levels of Scrivener
experience.
I'm a homeschool mom, desperate for more time to write. I love to encourage other writers, and share
what I've learned so far. I'm finishing my second novel and researching my third, I'm a freelance writer
and editor, and I homeschool four teenagers. They're the reason I write while the rice boils. writingwhilethericeboils.blogspot.com
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November 2
Sandra Orchard - The Secret to Engaging Readers-Subtext: What it is, How to
Write it, and Why You Need it in Your Novel
Does your manuscript feel flat? Readers crave an emotional reading experience.
Exploiting subtext will hook your reader page by page, engaging them in the story to a much greater
depth than on-the-nose writing. As readers try to figure out what's really being said, and the real
intent behind the characters' actions and dialogue, they connect at a deeper, subconscious level with
the story. In this workshop, you'll learn what subtext is, and how to use it intentionally in your
plot, in the internal states of your characters, through their relationships and various forms of dialogue,
and through symbols. Time permitting, in class demos will help participants immediately put the techniques
to work in their own stories. Participants are encouraged to bring a page of dialogue from their own
writing to class.
Sandra Orchard is winner of the RT Reviewers' Choice Award, the National Readers' Choice Award, the
Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, in addition to several Canadian Christian writing awards. Best
known for her laugh-out-loud whodunit series featuring art-crime agent Serena Jones, she's also written
the Port Aster Secrets series with Revell Publishing, numerous cozy mysteries with Annie's Fiction and
seven novels in Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense collection. A former teacher and home educator,
Sandra enjoys conducting writing workshops. When not plotting crimes, Sandra hones her imagination by
playing make-believe with her growing tribe of young grandchildren. She lives in Niagara, Ontario, Canada.
Connect with Sandra at: www.sandraorchard.com.
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December 7 - P.A.R.T.Y!! 10 AM - Noon
Come join us for a time of fun and fellowship!
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