We had a great time at our special meeting in April. Anna Destefano presented an awesome workshop on plotting and planning.  She covered a lot of aspects and we helped a WORD member define her characters in her current work-in-process. We had a great turn-out and we missed you if you couldn’t be there.

The May WORD meeting features members Missy Tippens and Belinda Peterson. They are presenting “No Love Scenes Allowed.”  This workshop will explore sensuality, emotion, faith, and creativity
in inspirational romance. We will talk about appropriate levels of
sensuality and about characters’ emotions as they discover love. We
will touch on the faith plot thread and will also talk about setting up
the story to let creativity fly.

 Please join us on Tuesday May 27th. We look forward to seeing you. 

ACFW Writers of Remarkable Design invites you to join us, Saturday, April 26, 2008 for a hands-on workshop with award-winning author Anna DeStefano!

Anna will present two of her popular workshops, Plotting Through Character and Planning and Rewriting.

OPEN TO PUBLIC!

This event will be held at Sugar Hill United Methodist Church from 10 AM to 2 PM. Cost for ACFW local group members is $8, nonmembers $10. Price includes Chick-fil-A lunch.

Please RSVP via e-mail to: treasurer@acfwword.com Email reservations must be received by April 14 and payment received by April 18 to assure lunch reservation. Late reservations and walk-ins are welcome, however lunch will not be provided. (Sorry, no refunds after April 18.)

We look forward to having you join us!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late registrations are welcome! 

Please send an e-mail to: treasurer@acfwword.com

Lunch will not be provided for those who register late, but feel free to bring your own. The cost of the event for those who register late will be ten dollars and can be paid at the registration table upon arrival. 

All of us at WORD hope to see you there!  

The WORD meeting for March with Ginger Garrett was an incredible time filled with tons of tips and insights on creating story structure. Ginger shared some of the stunning art she uses for inspiration and offered a plethora of ideas on finding the tools that work for each individual writer.

Not only did Ginger show up and inspire us, but she also shared about her exciting new book. To let you all in on the wonder, here’s a link to a video clip about this upcoming novel, In The Shadow of Lions.

http://www.youtube.com/GingerGarrettAuthor

It’s almost time for another meeting

If you missed February you missed a great meeting with our own Julie Garmon. Julie taught us about Writing With Heart using some very poignant visuals to illustrate key points. A sure-hit object lesson was the fudge Julie shared to show us the point of writing with heart~ a sweetness that draws you in and a powerful sensory experience. We also talked about curlers and masks in terms of what writing from the heart requires~ a willingness to be transparent and share your struggles as well as writing without masks and with honesty.

Please join us this month as we welcome Ginger Garrett. Ginger is going to share her insights on plot and structure. Come have fun and learn-all in one night.

Don’t forget to leave a comment. We are still giving away Scraps Of Love.

Our WORD book giveaway for the month is Scraps of Love—An anthologoy written by authors Tracy V. Bateman, Lena Nelson Dooley, Rhonda Gibson, Janet Spaeth  ~

A patchwork quilt weaves its way through these 4 stories.

Leave a comment and you are entered for the book giveaway. The winner will be drawn at the beginning of March.

January Meeting Recap:
We had a great January meeting. Amy Wallace discussed the snowflake method with us which turned into great conversation and ideas.

We hope to see you next month as author Julie Garmon talks about a great topic: Writing From the Heart. To learn more about Julie, read the interview below.

Belinda: When did you realize you had a love for writing?

Julie: I grew up the daughter of a writer. Marion Bond West—Guideposts’ most published/most rejected author and author of seven books. My mother picked me of her four children to become her junior editor. I hated it. I wanted to go out and play. I got even by being really tough on her. When something didn’t snag my interest I’d write, “Boring, who cares” with a red magic marker across the pages. But God must have had a plan because despite my irritation with my mother, I learned a little bit about transparent writing way back when. Without trying to, my mother taught me the beauty of writing real.I’ve always loved to read but didn’t start writing until I turned 40. Writing became my sanity. 

Belinda: You write stories, articles (not sure about the correct term there) for Guideposts.  Tell us about that journey.

Julie: I won a spot to the Guideposts writer’s contest in 2004. I sort of cheated and wrote the story from three POV’s. My daughter was date raped as a freshman in college. After much healing took place, she asked me to write her story. I wrote it from my POV, my daughter’s, and my husband’s. Even though I won the workshop with that story, it never worked for Guideposts. I rewrote it in the form of a devotional for Daily Guideposts. It was published from my husband’s POV in Today’s Christian. I learned if a story won’t let go of me, I don’t quit. Different articles suit different publications.
One of my Guideposts teachers at the initial workshop was Elizabeth Sherrill. She’s been with the magazine since it began. She taught me so much. She says writing is like taking a hunk of marble and carving. The more you carve, the better the story gets, and a story can have many different themes, depending on the way you carve it out. Of course, only one theme is allowed in an article.
I’ve also written for some of their other Guideposts publications—Sweet 16, Angels on Earth, and PLUS. I’ve been a contributor to Daily Guideposts (devotional book) since 2003. I’ve published on www.sober24.com, by Guideposts. Writing for Guideposts sparked other publications like Today’s Christian and Today’s Christian Woman. My first “yes” came from Homelife. I’ve returned to two subsequent Guideposts workshops based on stories I ghosted. I’ve discovered that I love to ghost.

Belinda: What do you love most about writing?

Julie: Speaking and teaching has followed writing. My favorite thing is to connect with people and hear, “Thank you for writing. That’s exactly how I felt. I feel like I’ve always known you. Your story helped me.” The creative process of writing goes like this. I write like a mad woman. Driven. Obsessed. Probably not a very healthy and balanced way to write. I don’t dress. I drink too much coffee. I forget to eat. The day goes too fast. Writing with heart feels natural. Sure it’s work, but it’s doable. Writing with structure, outlines, and following the rules, that part, I don’t like—makes me grind my teeth. What I am loving big time, is writing fiction. My prayer/goal/dream is to become a novelist. I plan to go to Mount Hermon this year with my novel. I was in an editing group led by Cec Murphey for a couple of years. He said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Did you realize you have a flair for fiction?” Well, no, of course not. That sparked something inside me. Cec and my mother were in an editing group 30 years ago. I’m forever grateful.

Belinda:Where is your favorite place to write?

Julie: My husband built us a log cabin in the woods. He made a writing loft for me. I can look out the windows and feel like I’m in a bird’s nest. This is the only place I write—though I think most writers are always writing no matter where we are. I have a laptop but I don’t use it much. I jot down ideas when I’m away from my loft. Writing with noise bothers me—anything but the birds. Thank you so much for the interview. Julie

See you at the February WORD meeting!

This interview is with newly published author Missy Tippens. Missy’s first novel hits the shelves February 2008. Missy has stated in many interviews that she has been writing for ten years. We all know this is a tough business. Missy’s going to help us understand why we stay true to this crazy business for so long.

Why did you start writing?

I was a big reader and kept thinking that I would enjoy writing a romance novel. I waited until we got our first computer, though. I wasn’t dedicated enough to try it on my electric typewriter. <g>

What was your biggest challenge when you started?

I had a five-year-old and a nursing baby at the time so ended up working a good bit with the baby in one arm and typing with the other hand. But you know, I finished that first book in 4 months! I worked late at night and during nap times

What do you think your turning point was?

I’ve had several. One, when I took an online writing class to learn the craft. Next, when I joined RWA and Georgia Romance Writers. I learned so much about the business from those groups. And the next was when I realized I was writing inspirational fiction and joined the Faith, Hope & Love Chapter of RWA, then later, ACFW.

You’ve said before sometimes you felt like quitting. Why didn’t you? What gave you the determination to do this thing?

I’ve had several times where I was at the point of giving up. Those points usually hit when I would do badly in a contest and got painful feedback. I also had times of discouragement when the money I was spending on writing, contests, and conferences took a toll on our family finances. But I had prayed years earlier asking God to help me earn money with my writing, and I had felt His promise that I would. I held to that promise all those years, even through those hard times when I wanted to give up. And you know, each time I got to that “breaking” point, God would send me something to keep me going–an encouraging comment from an agent or editor, a contest final or placement, a workshop that really spoke to me. Of course, I’m also stubborn and don’t really know if I ever could have given up anyway.

What was it like when you got THE CALL?

I was totally in shock. And nervous. I had a message to call the editor back, so I knew it must be good news. I was a shaking mess when I dialed that phone! I was also a nervous wreck until I called her back later to accept the deal she offered. Once I did that, though, the reality sank in, and I started to feel like I was floating. I immediately got online and started shouting the news.

What has thrilled you the most regarding the release of your first book?

Seeing how excited my kids have been to see the actual book. I think they’re proud of their ol’ mom! Also, my first letter from a reader saying she loved the book, and that she could see Jesus in the story. That was truly a great moment, too.

What is one bit of advice you would give an unpublished author?

Have several books ready so that when you sell the first, you’ll have something else to offer them immediately. I wasted a lot of time re-writing the same books over and over. Keep moving ahead with new stories. You’ll get better each time and will have inventory ready to go.

Thank you Missy for this interview.

Thanks for having me, Lindi! I enjoyed the interview.

Our local writers group, Writers of Remarkable Design, had a wonderful holiday meeting on November 27th. We had plenty of goodies, Christmas music, games, and a good showing of members and visitors, which gave us two hours of fun and fellowship.

Vicki Cato (above) served as secretary to WORD from its inception two years ago until this past month. Before elections, she decided to step down. We’d like to thank her for all she’s contributed to WORD!

Amy Wallace (on the left) and Missy Tippens

Sitting beside our incumbent president is our new secretary, Missy Tippens. We were playing a game of Taboo, which explains a lot about that photo Missy has been a part of our group since its inception and we’re all looking forward to working with her over this next year.

Even when it’s not a Holiday party, our meeings are sprinkled with fun as we learn helpful tidbits about writing. And, in spite of how this snapshot looks, we’re not an all female group. The redhead in the pink sweater is Ane Mulligan. She’s an ACFW Board member. As ACFW’s Zone Officer she works hard to help develop new local writers’ groups across the U.S.  

The next meeting:

Because we don’t meet in December, our next WORD meeting will be January 22, 2008! For more info click here. Our topic will be Snowflake Plotting and Creating a Synopsis and it will be taught by WORD President, Amy Wallace.

Posted by Cindy Woodsmall, WORD Treasurer. Can anyone from WORD tell who took the photos?

Here are the unanimous election results from our meeting in November:

President: Amy Wallace

Vice President: Belinda Peterson

Treasurer: Cindy Woodsmall

Secretary: Missy Tippens

Thanks so much to everyone who voted! We’d all appreciate your prayers as we serve the WORD group in the coming year.

Wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

The next WORD meeting is a special holiday gathering on November 27th at 7 pm. We’ll enjoy desserts, games and having a great time together.

If you are not a member of WORD, but are interested in visiting our group, we’d love to have you join us. Please view the How to Join page for more information.