
Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord
The DAY: Saturday, June 25, 2022
The TIME: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The PLACE: Kokomo Public Library –
South Branch, 1755 E. Center Rd. in Kokomo
The AGENDA: Fun, fellowship, and
insightful instruction from experienced authors and editors . . . and lunch too!
In the morning, we’ll hear from award-winning, best-selling,
author of more than 35 books, Cara Putman, on the nerve-wracking topic of
pitching. Cara will be our “pitch coach,” giving us tips and pointers as well as critiquing
our pitching efforts. Stay tuned for the details on how and when to submit your
pitch for an anonymous evaluation from Cara.
Then, we’ll break bread together and chat over a catered
lunch from Mancino’s, or attendees may choose to bring their own brown-bag munchies.
The afternoon will be host to our 3rd (or is it 4th??)
“First Page Follies.” We are excited to hear from an esteemed panel of authors/editors/teachers including Tish
Martin, Linda Taylor, and Jim Watkins who will critique and review as they instruct
and encourage our attempts to create the perfect first page for our WIPs. Again,
watch for the specifics on how and when to submit those uber important opening
scenes for an anonymous consult from our experienced panelists.
A bonus to this day of connections and instruction will be
the opportunity for authors to display/sell their books and for attendees to peruse/buy
said books.
In the next couple of weeks, all the details about this awesome opportunity to be with people “who get it” will be posted on the “Upcoming Events” page on our Hoosier Ink website, on our ACFW Indiana Chapter Facebook page, and sent to members via email.
See you June 25!
Prolific author Barbara Brown Taylor admits being a perfectionist. This can be a real handicap if we keep revising and tweaking, unable to let go. Taylor was asked recently what she does to silence this inner critic. “I give it $50 to buy a pair of shoes and tell it to come back later,” she said.
I had to do this with my first book, which I kept
polishing and enlarging until my late wife Judy appeared at my shoulder to watch what I
was doing. She eventually said, “I think it’s time to let this
child go out and play in the street.” I knew she was right, so I sent the manuscript off to my publisher
and didn’t look back.
Don’t get me wrong. I think every writer needs enough objectivity to evaluate and improve a manuscript; but if our inner critic paralyzes us, our work will never speak to the world. It becomes like a floundering swimmer who grabs an able swimmer and pulls him underwater. How do we get the benefit of our inner critic without allowing it to drown us?
I suppose there’s no hard and fast rule, but try this: Heed
your inner critic as long as it builds your confidence, clarifies your meaning,
and engages your reader. But when the inner critic becomes a voice of self
doubt, pay it no mind. Take that as the cue to let your child go out and play.
Joe Allison writes both fiction and nonfiction, and has been a member of the Indiana chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers since 2010. His most recent book is Hard Times (Warner Press: 2019). He lives in Anderson, IN, with his wife Maribeth.
After a lo-o-o-o-ng covid winter and feeling almost as frigid as Narnia’s spell-frozen, snow-covered landscape, I was more than ready to meet with other writers in person. I’m sure anyone reading this post understands the emotional impact after so much isolation. For a community of mostly introverts, we writers yearn to spend hours with, talk nonstop with, and truly connect with other writers.
A few days ago, I was finally able to attend a retreat in-person with my local critique group, Heartland Christian Writers. We spent three days and two nights at Shepherd’s Gate Inn where we were pampered with lavish meals and the luxury of writing for as long as we wanted to.
No cooking, no cleaning, no day job, no errands to run. Ahhh.
We could write new material, revise old material, meditate on what comes next on our writing agenda, or do absolutely nothing, allowing our souls to refresh. The labor of writing could start again once we returned home.
The days naturally fell into thirds: mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Each portion of the day contained in some order: a meal, a writing session, sharing what we’d worked on, and chatting about anything and everything. (Eat, write, shoot the breeze, critique. Then repeat.) The entire experience met or exceeded my expectations. Perfect! Except for the cold and snow outside. In April.
We left the retreat inspired and energized, affirming what
we knew to be true: WE. ARE. WRITERS.
Daily life will get in the way, and our energy will eventually ease into more ho-hum levels.When I slide back to that point again, I’ll be casting about for a new retreat. It won’t have to cost a lot of money, maybe only the price of meals, but I know (for me) a retreat can’t happen at home. Too many distractions.
What has been your experience with a writing retreat? Have you taken yourself to a solitary place, or must you have other writers around? Have you designed a retreat at your home, or invited other writers to join you in your home? I’d love to know how you made it work.
Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She has completed a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister and is currently working on a women’s fiction series.
Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.
A wife, mother of three, and grandmother to eight, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!
Where Linda can be found on the web:
www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan
www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan
Because I totally spaced writing a post for Hoosier Ink this week, we're reposting this gem from Mary Allen. And what a timely message for where I'm at in my journey. Thanks, Mary!
Spring has come—a time for renewal and growth. Warmer weather makes travel easier, and relaxing pandemic guidelines open doors to gatherings that have been unavailable for the past couple of years. So this is a perfect time to reserve a slot at a writer’s conference.
Beth Steury's blog, "It's Conference Time, Baby!" whetted our appetite with several nearby Christian writer's conferences. I encourage you to revisit that page and delve into these opportunities.
And there's more. In Indiana, we have access to several writer's conferences that are not tailored to Christian writers but are nonetheless helpful. Here’s a sample of such conferences coming up soon. I hope they'll entice you to get out of isolation and learn some new skills.
April
23 – 2022 Gathering of Writers. Sponsored by the Indiana Writer’s Center, the Gathering is
keynoted by Angela Jackson-Brown, author of When Stars Rain Down (Thomas
Nelson: 2021) with workshops in a wide variety of writing genres. Tuition is
$99 for IWC members, $175 for non-members. Held at the Indiana State Library,
Indianapolis. Details at https://www.indianawriters.org/product/gow-2022/
April
23 – Pen It! Writer’s Conference. Sponsored by Pen It! Publications, a Columbus publisher owned
by Pastor Ray Stanton and his wife Debi, this conference features workshops on realistic
dialogue, believable scenes, and more. The conference will be held at the Brown
County Historical Society building in Nashville, IN. Tuition is $45 in-person
or $35 via Zoom. Details at https://penitpublications.com/2021-virtual-writers-conference/
April
30 – Riley Children’s Author Workshop. Children’s authors Annie Sullivan and Chadwick
Gillenwater present a day of seminars on writing children’s and YA books. Tuition
is $100 and the event will be at the James Whitcomb Riley home, 528 Lockerbie
Street, Indianapolis. Details at http://alturl.com/5bvra
June
2-5 – I.U. Writer’s Conference. Indiana’s most prestigious writer’s conference, this program
has featured several Nobel and Pulitzer winners, National Book Award winners,
and New York Times best-selling authors. All presentations are held on
the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. Tuition is $375 for classes (your
choice of 3 per day) or $750 for workshops (including a manuscript critique,
limited to 15 participants each). Details at https://iuwc.indiana.edu/
If your life
has been enriched by writer’s workshops, I encourage you to support the Indiana
Prison Writer’s Workshop, which offers twelve weeks of classes to inmates of
three Indiana prisons. Consider making a
donation, hosting a reading at your public library, etc. Details at http://inprisonwritersworkshop.org/
When we have five Tuesdays in a month, or if one of our regular contributors is unable to make a deadline, we've been digging out some gems from the archives. Today's post was written by Cara Putman, as timely now as it was four years ago.
I've been
feeling the itch to spring clean. There’s something about the feeling of order
coming from chaos. The fact that everything has a place that it belongs.
There's also something therapeutic about throwing old things away that truly
don't serve a purpose anymore. It's hard to do, but it's good. That means I've
been tackling a drawer here and a hutch there. I pulled all the out-grown kids
clothes from various stashes and separated them for four families. Crazy!
What does this have to do with writing?
Sometimes our writing needs a spring cleaning. We've hit a point where we just
need to go through and cut some words. We've gotten a little flabby with our
sentences and need to exercise the delete key.
Maybe there's a character that needs to be punched up. A scene that's
unnecessary. A chapter that needs to be enhanced.
We need to take a fresh look at what we've written and critically evaluate it.
How?
Maybe it's time to read an award-winning or much talked about book in your
genre. How does that writer craft their story? What can you learn from them?
Or it's time to crack open that craft book you purchased years ago and
remind yourself how to put tension on every page or create three
dimensional characters. to crack open that craft book you purchased years ago
and remind yourself how to put tension on every page or create three
dimensional Could it be time to pray over your writing and ask God how you're doing?
Or maybe you need to step way back and take a break from writing. Try another
creative endeavor. Give your subconscious a chance to noodle the plot points
that are giving you fits.
Whatever you do, take a few minutes or hours to spring clean your writing.
The award-winning, best-selling author of more than 35 books, Cara
Putman graduated college at 20 and completed her law degree at 27. FIRST
for Women magazine called Shadowed by Grace “captivating” and a “novel
with ‘the works.'” Cara is active at her church and a full-time Clinical
Associate Professor on business and ethics to undergraduate and
graduate students at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management.
Putman also practices law and was a second-generation homeschooling mom
for twelve years. Putman obtained her Master’s in Business
Administration from Krannert and her J.D. from George Mason University
Antonin Scalia School of Law. She serves on the executive board of
American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization she has
served in various roles since 2007. She lives with her husband and four
children in Indiana. You can connect with her online at: caraputman.com.