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Susan K. Stewart, Director Kathy Ide, Managing Owner

Equipping Christian writers to change lives

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Daily Schedule (Pacific Daylight Time) Daily Schedule (Pacific Daylight Time)

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Continuing Education SessionsChoose the same Continuing Session Track to attend all three mornings

TAMMY WHITEHURSTFearlessly Speaking

BILL MYERSOverview ofFiction Writing

VALERIE COULMANWriting for Children

JEFF WILLIS &BOB SAENZScreenwritingBasics

LINDSAY FRANKLIN& MATT MIKALATOSWorld-Weaving: Building Universes

AARON GANSKYFour Pillars of Character Development

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Key Note Speaking Themes

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8:45 a.m. Thursday Workshops

Fiction:Writing

Bill Myers

Nonfiction Book WritingJoseph Bentz

Sci-Fi Fantasy WritingJaneen Ippolito

Screenwriting:Basics

Jeff Willis & Bob Saenz

Speaking FearlesslyTammy Whitehurst

Writing for ChildrenValerie Coulman

10:00 a.m. Thursday WorkshopsFiction:

Character DevelopmentAaron Gansky

Marketing:Marketing ProfileStephanie Alton

Publishing:Writing for SoCal Voice

Beckie Lindsey

Screenwriting:Difference Between Novels

and ScreenplayJeff Willis & Bob Saenz

Specialty:Scrivner

Jennifer Crosswhite andLiz Tolsma

Writing Life:Failure is Not an Option

Jennifer Farey

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10:00 a.m. Thursday Workshops

Fiction:Character Development

Aaron Gansky

Marketing:Marketing ProfileStephanie Alton

Publishing:Writing for SoCal Voice

Beckie Lindsey

Screenwriting:Difference Between Novels

and ScreenplayJeff Willis & Bob Saenz

Specialty:Scrivner

Jennifer Crosswhite andLiz Tolsma

Writing Life:Failure is Not an Option

Jennifer Farey

12:30 p.m. Thursday Workshops

Fiction:Writing Mysteries

Linda Kozar andJanice Thompson

Marketing:Creative Marketing

Tamara Clymer

Publishing:Working with a Freelance Editor

Erin Brown

Screenwriting:How to Survive Hollywood

Ted Baehr

Specialty:Writing for the General Market

Mike Duran

Writing Life:Thriving in the Hardest Years

Kelly Harrel

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1:45 p.m. Thursday Workshops

Fiction:Backstory

Jennifer Crosswhite

Marketing:Stories That Stick

Rachel Marks

Publishing:Writing for Clubhouse

Kate Jameson

Screenwriting:Business Basics

Jeff Willis

Specialty:Differences in Spoken Words

and Written OnesTim Riter

Writing Life:Writing with Long-Term Illness

Chris Morris

8:45 a.m. Friday Workshops

Fiction:Writing

Bill Myers

Nonfiction Book WritingJoseph Bentz

Sci-Fi Fantasy WritingJaneen Ippolito

Screenwriting:Basics

Jeff Willis & Bob Saenz

Speaking FearlesslyTammy Whitehurst

Writing for ChildrenValerie Coulman

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10:00 a.m. Friday Workshops

Fiction:Building Suspense

Liz Tolsma and Jennifer Crosswhite

Marketing:Marketing from a God-Honoring

PerspectiveJaneen Ippolito

Publishing:Publishing Choices

Frank Ball and Marji Laine

Specialty:How to Make Money Writing

Janice Thompson

Specialty:Write Other People’s Story

Robin Gunder

12:30 p.m. Friday WorkshopsFiction:

Writing Your Past into Your FictionSusan Baganz

Marketing:Instagram 101

April Dillow

Publishing:Self-Editing for Writers

Erin Brown

Screenwriting:Day Jobs & Side Gigs

Jeff Willis

Specialty:Generating Mulitple Author Income Streams

Chris Morris

Specialty:Embracing New Technologies

Linda Kozar

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1:45 p.m. Friday Workshops

Fiction:Subtext in Fiction

Lori Freeland

Publishing:The Dreaded Rejection Letter

Liz Tolsma

Screenwriting:Use Your Faith to Change Hollywood

Bob Saenz and Jeff Willis

Specialty:From God Through YouDr. Sharon Norris Elliott

Specialty:Transforming Spoken Words to Written

Tim Riter

Writing Life:Writing with a Full-Time Job

Kelly Harrel

8:45 a.m. Saturday WorkshopsFiction:Writing

Bill Myers

Nonfiction Book WritingJoseph Bentz

Sci-Fi Fantasy WritingJaneen Ippolito

Screenwriting:Basics

Jeff Willis & Bob Saenz

Speaking FearlesslyTammy Whitehurst

Writing for ChildrenValerie Coulman

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10:00 a.m. Saturday WorkshopsFiction:

How to Write Romantic ChemistryJaneen Ippolito

Publishing:Escape the Maybe Pile

Kate Jameson

Fiction:Demolishing Readers Stumbling

Lori Freeland

Screenwriting:Turn Your Novel into a Screenplay

Bob Saenz

Specialty:Just Say “Tocsynop”

Dr. Sharon Norris Elliot

Writing Life:Putting Pop Culture in Its Place

E. Stephen Burnett

12:30 p.m. Saturday WorkshopsFiction:

Writing Inspirational RomanceSusan Baganz

Publishing:Writing a Series

Rachel Marks

Screenwriting:Marketing Strategies

Jeff Willis

Specialty:Legacy Writing”

Robin Gunder

Specialty:Writing Can Be So Taxing

Chris Morris

Specialty:Writing For a Postmodern Culture

Mike Duran

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1:45 p.m. Saturday WorkshopsFiction:

Should Christian Fantasy Include Magic?E. Stephen Burnett

Marketing:Branding, SEO, and Content

Denise Colby

Screenwriting:The Kingdom Is within You

Nathan Scoggins

Specialty:Spoken Words to Written: Poetry in Prose

Tim Riter

Stephanie Alton: The Blythe Daniel Agency

Theodore Baehr: MOVIEGUIDE®

Susan Baganz: Editor at Pelican Book Group/Author

Frank Ball: Frank Ball Enterprises LLC

SoCal CWC Faculty MembersJoseph Bentz

Erin Brown: The Write Editor

E. Stephen Burnett: Lorehaven

Tamera Clymer: CrossRiver Media Group

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Denise M. Colby: Marketing for Authors

Valerie Coulman

Jennifer Crosswhite

April Dillow: The Stamped Lily

Mike Duran

Sharon Elliott: Agent and AuthorizeMe CEO

Lori Freeland

Aaron Gansky

Robin Grunder: Legacy Press

Kelly Harrel: Author

Jayme Hull: EABooks Publishing

Janeen Ippolito: President / Editor-in-Chief of Uncommon Universe Press

Kate Jameson: Assistant Editor, Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr.

Molly Jebber: Amish Historical Author

Linda Kozar: Author

Marji Laine: White Integrity Press/Faith Driven Book Production

SoCal CWC Faculty Members SoCal CWC Faculty Members

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Beckie Lindsey: SoCal Christian Voice, Editor

Rachel A. Marks: Author/Artist

Chris Morris: Chris Morris CPA

Bill Myers

Tim Riter

Bob Saenz

Liz Tolsma

Tammy Whitehurst:tammywhitehurst.com and owner ofChristian Communicators Conference

Julie Williams

Jeff Willis

SoCal CWC Faculty Members SoCal CWC Faculty Members

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SponsorsThe Christy Awards (Diamond)

Christian Editor Network (Diamond)

TheBookTable from Storm Hill Media

EA Books Publishing

Kensington Publishing Corp.

HANDOUTSChristian Editor Network (Diamond)

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HANDOUTS: BENTZ

Handouts: Joseph BentzWriting the First Chapter of a Non�ction Book

The first chapter of a nonfiction book is more than simply the first point you want to make about your topic. It is a plan for the book that will help readers decide whether or not they want to join you on this journey of the book. Think about it. To read a book is a big commitment of time and energy. As a reader, do you want that writer’s voice in your head hour after hour? Do you trust that writer to take you somewhere productive and enjoyable? As a writer, if you get the first chapter right, it can help the rest of the book flow naturally into place.

When I wrote my first nonfiction book, I attended a seminar taught by the renowned nonfiction book editor, David Kopp. He shared these principles about the first chapter, which were the key for me to pull my book together. With his permission, I would like to present those principles:

Quoted and Adapted from David Kopp:

Your First Chapter:

You are selling the book. You still have an undecided buyer. The first chapter is the fine print before the purchase.

First, a deal has to be struck: “Here’s why you need this book, here’s what it promises to give you, and here’s how we’re going to get there. Want to come along?”It’s much too soon to launch into a head-on argument.

The first chapter in most nonfiction books needs to address these questions:

• Why are you writing this book (other than you’re concerned and right)? What have you experienced personally—not theoretically—that has led you to want to help readers in this area? Why should I listen to you?

• Why is this book necessary now? What’s new? Is there a trend, a change, or new development or threat?

• What is the main problem to be addressed here, and what is the broad solution?

• Why does this particular reader need this particular book? Convince readers that this book is for them: “Do you ever…? Do you find yourself…? Have you ever wondered why…? Convince readers that they want what you have to offer, then promise them progress (what will change for the better?).

• What qualifications need to be made? Things you won’t do or require, for example. Any given points of view or belief system issues that the reader should know about.

• What is the promise for the reader? By the end of the book, in what certain, dramatic ways will the reader’s life be changed? The writer also needs to assure the reader that this task is one the reader can do, and that it can be enjoyable.

• What is the extra, surprise benefit (the freebie)? This book will not only do _____, but it will also do ______.” The first blank is the main purpose of the book. The second blank is a secondary positive benefit.

• End on a banana peel. . .to skid the reader into the next chapter! (“If this sounds good to you, then I invite you to join me.”)

Sample First Chapter

After I learned those principles from David Kopp, I went away and wrote my first nonfiction book on the subject of Waiting. It is called When God Takes Too Long: Learning to Thrive During Life’s Delays (Beacon Hill Press, 2005).

Here is a draft of the first chapter based on those ideas:

Invitation to the Reader

Learning to �rive in the Midst of Life’s Supreme Frustration

When I look at the lives of the college students I teach, it’s hard not to be envious. Young, full of energy, full of endless possibilities, they live a life that is temporarily free of many of the responsibilities that will later bog them down. They have the opportunity to spend their days studying fascinating subjects, socializing with friends, dating, pursuing interests in other activities like sports, music, or drama, and dreaming of their plans for the future.

And yet, when I recently stopped on a sunny campus sidewalk to talk to one of my top students, her first words were, “Only twenty-seven more days ‘til graduation!”

Though in my eyes her circumstances were so inviting that she should want to hang on to every moment, for her, the Now was simply an inconvenient time she had to endure long enough to get to her Real Life, which was after graduation. She rattled off a list of the tests, papers, and other stressful tasks that stood in the way of “getting this semester over with.”

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HANDOUTS: BENTZ HANDOUTS: BENTZ

I told her, “Someday you’ll look back on your time in college and wish it hadn’t gone by so fast. You’ll wish you would have let yourself enjoy it more.”

She nodded and smiled, but I could tell she didn’t believe me. I might as well have been saying, “Someday you’ll wish you could have spent more time in the dentist’s waiting room reading a magazine.” The Present moved too slowly for her. Life would begin when the Waiting ended.

I understand how she feels. I, too, spend most of my life Waiting—to get to the next break in the school calendar, to push through traffic, to inch my way toward the checkout counter, to get a phone call returned, to get my food from the waitress.

Social commentator Carl Honore recently wrote that “the whole world is time-sick.” He borrowed his definition of “time-sickness” from Dr. Larry Dorsey, who describes the condition as the obsessive belief “that time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.”1

Part of our time-sickness can be dismissed as simply an inconvenient byproduct of living in a fast-paced world. Our frustration builds as we waste precious time waiting for cars ahead of us to move, waiting for the stoplight to change, waiting for pages on the Internet to pop up, waiting for the mail to arrive, waiting to get through lines at the airport, waiting for the plane to stop taxiing around the runway and finally take off, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for our prescription to be filled, waiting for the doctor to see us, waiting for the microwave to cook our food.

These are small examples of the frustration of waiting, but for a time-obsessed people, even trivial incidents like this can lead to dire consequences. Honore writes of a man in Los Angeles who started a fight in a supermarket when someone ahead of him was too slow in packing his groceries, and of a woman who threatened to kill a delivery man whose truck blocked her way for a few minutes. Describing the “chronic frustration that bubbles just below the surface of modern life,” he writes, “Anyone or anything that steps in our way, that slows us down, that stops us from getting exactly what we want when we want it, becomes the enemy. So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people.”2

As bothersome as those countless everyday incidents of waiting can be, the time-sickness that I have struggled with goes even deeper and is more disturbing. One of my greatest frustrations as a Christian is that I am always waiting on God to act. This complaint—that God is too slow—is not one that I have frequently stated out loud. It sounds too disrespectful, hints of too much of a lack of faith.

Yet I know that I am not alone in this feeling. How many of us have felt that, for no reason we can fathom, God is dangling the things that are most important to us just out of our reach? We wait, sometimes for years, for our prayers to be answered, for our deepest longings to be fulfilled.

Some devoted Christians get stuck in dead-end jobs even though they feel certain they could serve God in greater ways if only he would open the opportunity. Why doesn’t he? Some wait for a godly spouse, some couples wait for the gift of children, some parents wait for years for their grown children to return to the Lord. People who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord wait in disappointed bafflement as their work seems to yield no fruit.

Often I have watched others move forward so confidently, while I am still waiting for my life to happen. At a time like that, part of me senses God’s distant call, remembers his promises, and wants to believe what I’ve long been taught, that God has a plan for my life and will fulfill it if I trust and obey him.

But another part of me believes the fulfillment never really comes, that I’m only tantalized with it, and I’ll be left discouraged, doubting, waiting. I feel on the verge of a breakthrough, but it never quite gets there. A nagging sense of longing remains.

I yearn to serve the Lord, to step forward and obey him like the great figures of the Bible—Abraham, Moses, David, Paul—but I am confused, waiting for clear orders, stuck in traffic, kept at a distance by the invisible barriers of God’s silence, his inaction, his dawdling pace. Why would he make me wait so long for the very things he wants for me?

His delays bring doubts in my mind. Is he silent because he’s not there? Does he not act because I’m not important to him? What is the purpose of all this waiting? Does it have meaning? Why would God build this frustrating element into the way his world operates?

As I approached this book, I decided that in order to seek answers to these questions, I first needed to read the entire Bible with the issue of Waiting in mind. I also wanted to find out what other writers and thinkers had said about it, and I wanted to talk to fellow Christians to see what part waiting had played in their lives.

I discovered that I am far from alone in my perception that I spend much of my life waiting on God. Not only do my fellow Christians struggle with God’s apparent slowness, but waiting is pervasive in the Bible as well. Abraham’s story includes decades of waiting on God to fulfill his promise. The Bible is full of other great “Waiters,” such as Moses, Joseph, Noah, David, Jeremiah, Jonah, Zechariah and

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HANDOUTS: BENTZ HANDOUTS: BENTZElizabeth, Paul, and others. Though we often focus on the most dramatic moments in these people’s lives, the truth is that they spent far more years waiting on God than they did parting the Sea of Reeds or building an ark or giving birth to a prophet. How did they endure that frustration? What gave them the wisdom to hold out for those astonishing breakthroughs that often came only after the darkest and most discouraging periods of silence from God, after most people would already have given up on him?

Another question I wanted to examine was, how does God’s sense of Time differ from ours? When we are in the presence of a God who transcends time, what does it mean when we call his actions “fast” or “slow”? How can those terms be defined? I read of a giant sequoia tree that has taken more than three thousand years to reach its magnificent height, and yet I grow impatient waiting thirty seconds for the traffic light to change. What is fast? What is slow? What is Time?

Over and over I see that God’s ways of accomplishing his purpose are so unusual that his eccentricity becomes the norm rather than the exception. Will his timing in our own lives always be unpredictable and seemingly capricious? How can we enter into the flow of God’s plans for us even when that stream carries us along a strange, unpredictable route?

When God makes us wait a long time, one of our biggest temptations is to abandon his slow plan and search for a shortcut. Scripture is full of people who tried to “improve” on God’s timing and speed things up a bit, with devastating results. How can we avoid that trap?

In a time-obsessed culture, it is easy for our lives to become so future-directed that we never live in the present. We get so focused on what life will be like after some future event—once I get that promotion, once I graduate, once I get married, once I retire—that we lose the present with all its richness and joy and purpose. How can we keep Waiting in its proper perspective? How can we reach toward the future that we long for while also being passionately alive to what God is doing in our lives right now?

These and similar questions guided me as I wrote this book. Many people face the frustration of waiting with a sense of resignation, a belief that life is just that way, and there isn’t much you can do about it. Some blame God for being too slow, others assume God has nothing to do with it, while still others see waiting as so uniquely tied to their particular circumstances that they don’t even bother to question it.

As the ideas that I confront in this book gradually emerged, I was able to change

not only my perspective on waiting, but also my actions in response to it. As I alter my attitude toward waiting, I feel released from the pressure to make everything happen faster and to force a certain outcome. Instead of resisting God’s path or trying to replace it with a shortcut, I am learning to embrace his timing, to settle into the work he has given me to do and to trust him with where he is taking me and how long it may take to get there.

I am cutting away the needless striving, the constant worry over the future, the second-guessing of God, the destructive spirit of envy and over-competition that makes me believe I need to speed up my life to gain some elusive advantage over those who move at a different pace. I feel freer to enjoy the moment, not ignoring the future, but not sacrificing Today for it either. God works in creative, miraculous, surprising ways, and I don’t want to miss a single detail of what he wants to do in my life.

This book is for people who have struggled with a God who seems too slow but who still want to follow his plan in their lives. If you have been discouraged by the fact that that life is mostly a game of waiting, and you want to break the power of that frustration in your life, then I invite you to read on.

Notes

1. Carl Honore, In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004): 3.

2. Honore, 12-13.

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HANDOUTS: BENTZ

Handouts: Joseph Bentz“Straddling the World of Fiction and Non-Fiction”

JOAN DIDION

From Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream 1966

This is a story about love and death in the golden land, and begins with the country. The San Bernardino Valley lies only an hour east of Los Angeles by the San Bernardino Freeway but is in certain ways an alien place: not the coastal California of the subtropical twilights and the soft westerlies off the Pacific but a harsher California, haunted by the Mojave just beyond the mountains, devastated by the hot dry Santa Ana wind that comes down through the passes at 100 miles an hour and whines through the eucalyptus windbreaks and works on the nerves. October is the bad month for the wind, the month when breathing is difficult and the hills blaze up spontaneously. There has been no rain since April. Every voice seems a scream. It is the season of suicide and divorce and prickly dread, wherever the wind blows.

***

Like so much of this country, Banyan suggests something curious and unnatural. The lemon grooves are sunken, down a three- or four-foot retaining wall, so that one looks directly into the foliage, too lush, unsettlingly glossy, the greenery of nightmare; the fallen eucalyptus bark is too dusty, a place for snakes to breed. The stones look not like natural stones but like the rubble of some unmentioned upheaval. There are smudge pots and a closed cistern. To one side of Banyan there is the flat valley, and to the other the San Bernardino Mountains, a dark mass looming too high, too fast, nine, ten, eleven thousand feet, right there above the lemon groves. At midnight on Banyan Street there is no light at all, and no sound except the wind in the eucalyptus and a muffled barking of dogs. There may be a kennel somewhere, or the dogs may be coyotes.

Banyan Street was the route Lucille Miller took home from the twenty–four-hour Mayfair Market on the night of October 7, 1964, a night when the moon was dark and the wind was blowing and she was out of milk, and Banyan Street was where, at about 12:30 a.m., her 1964 Volkswagen came to a sudden stop, caught fire, and began to burn. For an hour and fifteen minutes Lucille Miller ran up and down Banyan calling for help, but no cars passed and no help came. At three o’clock that morning, when the fire had been put out and the California Highway Patrol officers

were completing their report, Lucille Miller was still sobbing and incoherent, for her husband had been asleep in the Volkswagen. “What will I tell the children, when there’s nothing left, nothing left in the casket,” she cried to the friend called to comfort her, “How can I tell them there’s nothing left?”

In fact there was something left, and a week later it lay in the Draper Mortuary Chapel in a closed bronze coffin blanketed with pink carnations. Some 200 mourners heard Elder Robert E. Denton of the Seventh –Day Adventist Church of Ontario speak of the “temper of fury that has broken out among us.” For Gordon Miller he said there would be “no more death, no more heartaches, no more misunderstandings.” Elder Ansel Bristol mentioned the “peculiar” grief of the hour. Elder Fred Jensen asked “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” A light rain fell, a blessing in a dry season, and a female vocalist sang, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.” A tape recording of the service was made for the widow, who was being held without bail in the San Bernardino County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.

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HANDOUTS: BURNETT

Handouts: E. Stephen Burnett

Should Christian Fantasy Include Magic?

Explore these biblical quotes and notes for E. Stephen Burnett’s workshop.

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you.

Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Deuteronomy 18:9–12 (ESV)

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen . . . I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.

Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Deuteronomy 18:15, 18–20 (ESV)

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

. . . One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:1–3, 5–6 (ESV)

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 8:1–13 (ESV)

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. . . . You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. . . . Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:1, 13, 19–21 (ESV)

Putting Pop Culture in its Place

Explore these biblical quotes and notes for E. Stephen Burnett’s workshop.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

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HANDOUTS: BURNETT HANDOUTS: BURNETTAnd God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

human author unknown, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Genesis 1:26–28 (ESV)

In the Cultural Mandate, God calls us to act as stewards, carefully nurturing and developing creation’s hidden potential, filling it with creations of our own. In fact, by planting the garden for Adam and Eve to develop, God had started creating and enjoying culture before they did. As writer Andy Crouch reminds us, a garden “is nature plus culture.”

This means human culture is rooted in God’s good creation. Culture was originally God’s idea. Our original purpose is to glorify God, love other people, and nurture the earth, and we do all of this culturally. Culture forms our worship of God, our community as his people, and our stewardship over the world. Making culture is the human response to God’s divine call to develop the world God has generously given to his image-bearers.

What then about popular culture?

This is part of the Cultural Mandate. Though Genesis gives us no specific instructions concerning popular culture, if we consider the glimpses the Bible gives us of the ordinary life of his people, popular culture’s role begins to emerge. . . .

Popular culture doesn’t sow the seed or reap the harvest. Rather, it provides the songs that accompany the harvest celebration, the tales that would be passed on, the games played. It helps a person woo his beloved or adorn the wedding. It is the way God’s people relax and enjoy him, his world, and one another.

Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, and Jared Moore, The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2020), 19–20 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, 1 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV)

By [New Jerusalem’s] light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. . . . They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

John the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Revelation 21:24, 26 (ESV)

Our works have staying power. When Jesus returns, he will not take out a giant eraser and wipe out several thousand years of human history. He will not send us back into a pristine garden to start from scratch. He will start us out in a well-developed city, the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven. The difference between a garden and a city is culture, so it seems we will enter the new earth with whatever cultural level we have achieved.

Michael E. Wittmer, Becoming Worldly Saints: Can You Serve Jesus and Still Enjoy Your Life? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 168

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HANDOUTS: COLBY

Handouts: Denise M. ColbyBranding, SEO, and Content Handout

SoCalCWC 2020, July 11, 2020Denise M. Colby, Marketing for Authors, www.denisemcolby.com

Brand OverviewWhat is Brand & Why is it Important?

• A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

• Your brand should be tied into everything you do – social media, blog posts, website, what you write.

• Consistency builds brand as well

•

•

NOTE: Your brand will constantly evolve and grow. Don’t think of it as one and done or that it needs to be set perfectly right away. It takes time to build a brand.

Elements that impact brand:

Exercise #1: 100 Brand Brainstorm – use attached sheet

SEO OverviewWhat is SEO & Why is it Important?

• SEO is the method of changing the rank of a web page or a website in the search results of a search engine

• Goal is to be on first page near the top for the keyword or phrase used

• Search Engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Ask, AOL, Pinterest

• Drive traffic to your website to sell more of your writing or to reach more readers

•

•

SEO Terms: Keywords, Alt Text, Link Building, Duplicate Content, Categories & Tags, Metadata

Exercise #2: Categories & Tags – use attached sheet

Content OverviewYour content should always be in alignment with your brand

• Create a Brand Style Sheet/Guide with colors, fonts, and ideas for design.

• Logo’s, images, photography, social media graphics should follow brand guidelines

• Creating consistent content on a regular basis is key, so develop a schedule that is manageable. One blog post per month or quarter. Incorporate similar ideas into newsletters for efficiency.

Exercise #3: What’s two things you will do differently after this class?© 2020 Denise M. Colby, Marketing for Authors; denisemcolby.comSign up for my newsletter at http://denisemcolby.com/tips-on-how-to-build-author-brand/ to receive a FREE 12-page guide on how to use images to improve your SEO on your website.

HANDOUTS: COLBY HANDOUTS: COLBY

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© 2020 Denise M. Colby, Marketing for Authors, www.denisemcolby.com

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Handouts: April Dillow

Q U I C K L O O K I N S T A G R A M T I P S

S T A R T W I T H W H Y Think about the heart behind your mission. Do you want to

help? What are your goals? What do you hope your audience takes away from your feed? The answers to these

questions will drive your content.

W R I T I N G C O P Y

R E L A T A B L E Write like you’re talking to a friend.

IG is social. It’s not formal. Think about what you’re trying to say and type it as if you’re sending a text message or an

email to a good friend.

C A L L T O A C T I O N Give them a reason to respond.

You are trying to grow a community, so lead them to answer a question, or start your post with a question to

engage your audience. You want to write in a way that makes them WANT to respond.

M A K E I T P E R S O N A L Talk to directly to your target audience.

When you know your target audience, you can write directly for them. What do they struggle with? How can you

meet them there? What can you do to help them?

I G I S A T E L E P H O N E N O T A M I C R O P H O N E

Talk WITH your audience. Not AT them.

Engage with your audience in an authentic way to build relationships.

IG Feed IG Stories? Post at least once a day, same time

every day.

Yes! At least once every day.

Engagement Have Fun! Respond to every single comment.

Ask questions, build relationships.

It should be fun! Create a

community you’re proud of!

Helpful accounts to follow: @annaistheworst (IG tips) @hopewriters (similar audience)

I M A G E S IG is a visual platform, designed to

catch your eye. Bring consistency to your grid by using the same fonts,

colors, and image templates. Use simple, clear, and bright images, with little text. Save excess words for

your caption.

Handouts:Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott

From God �rough You

Passage Chosen Possible Approaches

Book

Section of a Book

Passage

Character

Event

Verse

Word

Issue

Once you’ve decided upon the passage or point, do the following:

1. Prepare a working outline2. Work out the details3. Develop a catchy hook – a way for your audience to remember your mes-

sage4. Prepare at least one handout

If the outline will be a book:

1. Storyboard2. Use a focus group3. Present idea to members of your proposed audience4. Work out the details to completion (book proposal)

What about your audience? How do we see Scripture through contemporary eyes?

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HANDOUTS: ELLIOTT1. Reality2. Revelry3. Reason 4. Roster

©2020 Life That Matters Ministries * Sharon Norris Elliott * LifeThatMatters.net * AuthorizeMeNow@gmail.com * 310-508-9860

Handouts:Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott

Just Say, “Tocsynop!”

TOC = _______________________________________

SYNOP = _____________________________________

The Just Say Tocsynop method© is a simple, 8 step processthat helps authors use their table of contents an chapter synopsis

to write their book efficiently, effectively, quickly, and purposefully.

Step one: Information in L____________ O___________; C__________ N__________

Step two: Write a O______ _P_____________ S_________________

Step three: Place each on a D_________________ P_____________

Step four: For each chapter, S_______________ each P_____________; L_________

Step five: Type P, I, E, R vertically.

P = _____________________

I = _____________________

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HANDOUTS: ELLIOTTE = _____________________

R = _____________________

Step six: Fill in the D____________________

Step seven: Compose each S_______________ of each chapter including PIER.

Step eight: Include finishing touches.

1. S__________________________2. C__________________ name the S_______________________3. Remember to use the S________________ F________________

©2020 Life That Matters Ministries * Sharon Norris Elliott * LifeThatMatters.net * AuthorizeMeNow@gmail.com * 310-508-9860

Handouts: Kelly HerrelMaking it �rough the Hardest Years

Prioritize

• Take it _________ by __________.• List ____________ for the day.• Make time for what you ___________.• Do what’s necessary to have ______ _____________.

Spend Time with and Reach out to Those who UnderstandProverbs 18:24 ~ There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

This may include:

• _____________ groups • People who have __________ ______________ similar experiences • Follow people on social media who are ___________________ in your

struggle.

Know Your Limitations and Make AdjustmentsEcclesiastes 3:1-8

• ___________ right• ________________• Take ___________ breaks.• Give yourself ______________.• Explain your ________________ to those who need to know

Speak Positive Truth to YourselfEphesians 4:29 ~ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.We remember:

• 10% of what we read• 20% of what we hear• 50% of what we see and hear• 70% of what we say

There are ___________ truths and ____________ truths. Dwelling on negative truths makes the situation worse.

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HANDOUTS: HERRELBe ThankfulColossians 4:2, Philippians 4:6-7

• Name ____________ things a day. • Thankfulness _____________ your stress and ______________ your attitude.

Write as a releaseRomans 12:6 ~ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.

Questions? contact me!Website: kellyharrel.comFacebook: kellyharrel.author.speakerInstagram, Twitter, Pinterest: @kellyharrel

Handouts: Kelly HerrelMaking Your Dreams Come True(Without Quitting Your Day Job)

Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

God wants us to trust in His perfect plan. It is possible to meet your writing goals, but it’s all about priorities and how you spend your time.

What are your priorities?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Tell your family and close friends your goals

• SMART goal: Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely

• Celebrate together when you accomplish each goal!

Who do you need to tell for accountability/encouragement?

What is your goal?

Identify yourself with your dream

• It’s all about introductions! Hi my name is Kelly and I’m an author ... and an ES.

• Network with others in your field/chasing their dream

• Attend classes/conferences

• Follow blogs/people in social media

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HANDOUTS: HERRELIs there a certain group you should join? Class to attend? Person you should

follow?

Make The Most of every Moment

• Time driving

• School breaks

• Working smarter not harder

• Notes in email

• Create time for YOU and your passion (20 minutes a day)

How can you add extra time in your day or make every minute count?

Eliminate Time Wasters

• Games

• TV

• Chores

What time wasters do you need to cut out of your life?

Handouts: Kate JamesonClubhouse Writer’s Guidelines

Focus on the Family Clubhouse is a 32-page magazine designed to inspire, entertain and teach Christian Values to children ages 8-12. The magazine, which has a circulation of over 80,000, reaches young readers and their parents all over the world. We want parents to trust that Clubhouse provides wholesome, educational material with Scriptural or moral insight. The kids should anticipate stories with excitement, adventure, action, humor or mystery. Your job, as a writer, is to create work that pleases both parents and children.

FictionWe feature fiction stories in each issue. We look for fresh, creative stories, especially those with children our audience’s age as the main character. The characters should be well-developed, the story fast-paced and interesting, and the prose descriptive and engaging. While our stories aren’t always explicitly Christian, they should be built upon a foundation of Christian beliefs and family values. Key elements in a strong story are humor and charm.

What we’re looking for:• Historical fiction featuring great Christians or Christians who lived during great times (900 or 1,800 words, depending on the story and space available)• Contemporary stories with multicultural or ethnic settings (1,800 words)• Fantasy or sci-fi stories, avoiding graphic descriptions of evil creatures and sorcery (1,800 words)• Choose-your-own adventure stories (1,800-2,000 words)

What we don’t need:• Stories where adults solve every problem• Mystery stories (we have a monthly column)• Stories that deal with boy-girl relationships• Poetry (we don’t print poems, but Clubhouse Jr. does)• Preachy sounding stories with an overbearing moral or message

NonfictionWe are always looking for unique and interesting nonfiction stories and articles, especially stories about real-life kids. Every article should have a Christian angle, though it shouldn’t be overbearing. The concepts and vocabulary should be appropriate for our audiences’ ages. Nonfiction stories should fall between 400-500 or 800-1,000 words in length. What we’re looking for:

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HANDOUTS: JAMESON HANDOUTS: JAMESON• Personality features of ordinary kids doing extraordinary things (400-500 or 800-1,000 words)• Activity theme pages with 3 to 5 fun things for kids to do (400-500 or 800-1,000 words)• Short, humorous how-to articles (how to get good grades, how to be a good friend) (400-500 words)• Quizzes (multiple choice or true/false) that teach a biblical concept or character trait (more along the lines of personality quizzes than factual quizzes) • Factual stories from a Christian worldview that talk about apologetics, biblical archeology or Christian values (800-1,000 words)• Short craft or recipe ideas centered around a theme or holiday (400-500 words)• Interviews with noteworthy Christians or Christians who experienced noteworthy events (athletes, actors, etc.) (400-500 or 800-1,000 words)

What we don’t need:• Bible stories¬—as of Jan. 2007, we only publish Truth Pursuer stories• Science or educational articles without Christian insight• Biographies told in an encyclopedia or textbook-style without a kid angle

PaymentWe generally pay between 15 and 25 cents per word, depending on the amount of editing required. Feature-length fiction stories are usually bought for $200 and up. Nonfiction pieces are purchased for $150 and up. Authors sign a contract and are paid upon acceptance of the story and sent complimentary copies when the piece is published. We do not consider reprinted stories. We purchase a non-exclusive license, and simultaneous submissions are not accepted.

SamplesIf you would like a sample of the magazine to read and study, please go to our website store and order one, send $2.50 and a large self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below or call 1-800-232-6459.

SubmissionsAll manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, on one side only of 8½-by-11 inch paper. The author’s name, address, phone number, email address and an approximate word count should appear on the first page of the manuscript or in the cover letter, as well as the genre of the story. We only accept completed manuscripts; no query letters. Material will not be returned unless a self-addressed envelope with adequate postage is included. Seasonal material should be sent in at

least eight months in advance.

Address all submissions to:Rachel Pfeiffer, Clubhouse Associate EditorFocus on the Family8605 Explorer DriveColorado Springs, CO 80920

We do our best to respond to submissions within 12 weeks.

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HANDOUTS: JAMESON

Handouts: Kate JamesonWriting for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr.

1. Writing for Kidsa. Plot

i. Even short stories need a complete plot ii. Slice of life isn’t interestingiii. Be original

b. Charactersi. We want vibrant, interesting charactersii. Use kids and/or animals, not adultsiii. Spend time with kids and the media they consume. See what captures their attentioniv. Interesting and realistic dialogue brings characters to life

c. Ordinary, Exaggerated and Extraordinaryi. 3 major elements (plot, character, setting) can be one of these three thingsii. Ordinary gives reader something concrete to relate toiii. Exaggerated gives absurd, but still realistic twist

1. Best used for humoriv. Extraordinary captures imagination and engages minds

1. Best used for sci-fi and fantasyd. Message

i. Plot should resolve in a way that teaches or emphasizes a lessonii. Should not be preachyiii. Be genuine, not patronizingiv. Leave the readers with a Nugget of Truthv. Let the characters discover the lesson

1. Helps characters grow in a real way and helps readers learn the thought process behind the idea

vi. Don’t confuse the message with a happily ever aftere. Do’si. Know industry trends

1. Read kids’ books, watch movie trailers (they’re far enough ahead to be on the same schedule)

ii. Play by the rules1. Standard writing rules still apply

iii. Use humoriv. Use vibrant, active verbs

f. Don’tsi. Underestimate audience. Kids are smart. They make intuitive leapsii. Let adults solve all the problems. Let the kid characters wrestle with it and figure it out.iii. Use lots of adjectives. Kids stories are illustrated, so don’t waste your limited words on descriptions that will be illustrated anyway.iv. Overuse clichés.

2. Overview of Focus a. Conservative Christian nonprofitb. Our focus is, in fact, on families: parenting, marriage, etc.c. Multi-platform outreach (audio, print, digital)d. Our kids’ magazines are not a part of our publishing department. We are more a parenting resource than a periodical and are a part of the parenting department.

3. Clubhousea. Nonfiction

i. Truth Pursuer devotionals (800-1,000 words)ii. Kid features (400-500 or 800-1,000 words)

1. Ordinary kids doing something extraordinary2. Needs a faith tie-in3. Needs quotes

b. Fictioni. We get more fiction submissions than anything else, so it’s not recommended to start there

c. Specialty Piecesi. Kid Features (400-500 or 800-1,000 words)ii. Choose Your Own Adventures (1,800-2,000 words)iii. Truth Pursuer (800-1,000 words)

d. Needsi. Nonfiction, specifically kid features

4. Club Jr.a. Nonfiction (400-500 words)

i. Bible storiesii. Nature featuresiii. Rebus storiesiv. Crafts, recipes and activities

b. Fictioni. Feature fiction (800-900 words)

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HANDOUTS: JAMESONii. Poetry (16-24 lines)iii. Rebus stories (200 words or less)

1. Six or seven repeating words, must be concrete and illustratable

c. Specialty Piecesi. Rebus storiesii. Choose Your Own Adventuresiii. Nature Features

d. Needsi. Bible storiesii. Nature featuresiii. Rebus storiesiv. Crafts, recipes and activities

5. Some Extra Advicea. Just because there’s a kid, doesn’t make it appropriate b. We purchase pieces far in advance of when they will be published, sometimes a year or more. We work at least 6 months ahead, so plan accordinglyc. All submissions, no matter how good or bad, are viewed through the context of the magazine. That’s the real deciding factord. Make sure you do your research (and include your sources for nonfiction pieces)

i. Use good sources (.org, .gov, reputable websites/institutions

Handouts: Kate JamesonEscape the Maybe Pile: Making Your Submissions Stand Out

1. One of the most important things to know: All submissions, no matter how good or bad, are viewed through the context of the magazine. 2. Terms to Know

a. Slush Pileb. Unsolicited Manuscriptc. Queryd. On Assignmente. SASE

3. Before you write the story: Researcha. Why?

i. Gives you the best shotii. Clues editor in immediately as to how serious you are.

b. What?i. Publication

1. Audience2. Style and voice3. Guidelines

ii. Audience1. Know who will be reading the publication2. Make sure you’re covering age appropriate topics3. Make sure you align with publication’s vision/mission/beliefs4. It can be as simple as knowing things like Club doesn’t address romantic relationships or Jr. doesn’t talk about Halloween

iii. Style and voice1. Learn how publication speaks to readers

iv. Guidelines1. Find out how long pieces should be2. Find out how to format 3. See what information to include4. Can give you a list of what stories they’re most in need of

v. Topic1. For nonfiction, make sure to research the topic thoroughly 2. Include your sources

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HANDOUTS: JAMESON HANDOUTS: JAMESONa. Use reliable sources (.org, .gov, not blogs)

3. Fiction still requires some research, especially if it’s historical or cultural

a. Cultural doesn’t just mean putting a white American kid in another country where he/she saves the day

c. Where?i. Websitesii. Submission guidelines (usually found on websites)iii. Samples (generally available on request or for purchase)

d. Don’t be afraid to ask questionsi. I’m happy to send themes list and lists of specific needs to those who ask.

4. Preparing Your Manuscripta. It takes more work, but tweak or write story specifically for publicationb. Make sure your work is original c. Edit thoroughly for grammar, punctuation, spelling and story d. Use standard formatting unless directed otherwise: 1” margins, 12 pt font, Times New Roman or similar font

i. Avoid excessive bold, italics, and underliningii. Avoid excessive capitalization iii. Do not handwrite story iv. Avoid unusual punctuation

e. Don’t send stories more than once unless directed. 5. Preparing Your Submission Packet

a. Read guidelines and make sure to include everything asked for (for us, full manuscript and SASE; for others, might be partial manuscript and summary)b. Please, please, please include a cover letter c. Edit all parts of packet with equal care d. Address correctly: Send to specific editor of publication (can be found on submissions guidelines) unless stated otherwise.

6. Crafting Your Cover Lettera. Why do you need it?

i. Club Jr alone gets 20-30 submissions a month. Cover letters help me identify and remember stories quickly.ii. It’s your first impression on the editor, so you shouldn’t hurry through it. Don’t make it an afterthought.

b. What makes a good cover letter?i. 1 page, same formatting as story, typedii. Familiarity with publication or connection to it or editoriii. Full summary of story, along with genre and word countiv. Publishing history or experience (if lot, only what’s relevant)1. Experience with audience is just as important as publishing experiencev. Contact information

c. Don’t include:i. A full bio ii. Full resumeiii. Copies of published work iv. Endorsements

d. Tonei. Informative, respectful, professional ii. Don’t be presumptive: it’s one thing to be proud of your work and confident, it’s another to think you know better than the editoriii. Don’t make excuses iv. Be aware of what you’re saying and how it might come across. v. Let your story speak for itself.

7. Etiquette a. Send in publication’s preferred method: mail or email. b. Trust that it gets there. Ask for confirmation only if you aren’t sure it’ll get there.c. Read guidelines closely to see what response to expect.

i. Follow up only if necessary, after the appropriate amount of time.

d. Respect their time: editors are doing more than just reading submissions. e. It’s ok to send more than one piece, but be considerate and don’t overwhelm the editor

8. Once You Get a Responsea. If it’s a no, it’s not always for simple reasonsb. Take their advicec. Don’t give upd. Rewrites aren’t a bad thing, in fact they’re a good sign e. If it’s a yes, your journey doesn’t end there

i. You may be asked to rewrite the piece and we will certainly edit and change it ii. Be patient

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HANDOUTS: LAINE

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Handouts: Marji LainePublishing Choices

Fill out the boxes below with pros and cons about each of the publishing choices

Pros ConsTraditional Publishing

Subsidy/Vanity Press

Independent Publishing

Book Production Services

Tips for Each Option

Book production:

Independent Publishing:

Subsidy Press:

Traditional Publishing:

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HANDOUTS: LAINE HANDOUTS: LAINEAdjust Your Expectations

Subsidy Press:

The Hype:

The Truth:

Marketing –

Book return policy –

Independent Publishing:

The Hype:

The Truth:

Process –

The best marketing –

Traditional Publishing:

The Hype:

The Truth:

Advertising –

How to Get Started?

Books:

James Scott Bell – Plot and Structure

Susan May Warren – The Story Equation

Randy Ingermanson – The Snowflake Method

Donald Maas – Writing the Breakout Novel

Programs:

LearnHowToWriteANovel.com – Susan May Warren

JerryJenkins.com – Jerry B. Jenkins Writer’s Guild

Evaluations – If you have to explain your reason for doing something, you should cut it out.

First you

Alpha Readers – not friends or family

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HANDOUTS: JAMESONCritique Groups

Beta Readers

Be Teachable and willing to change things that don’t work.

Handouts: Beckie LindseyWriting for SoCal Christian Voice

Beckie Lindsey, Editornews@socalChristianVoice.com

Our primary mission is to draw people to Christ• All of our stories have some Christian component even if it is just a Bible verse.

Our Secondary Mission• Publish Christian News, Activities, Events, Information, and Inspiration.

Community Christian NewsWe publish articles on what’s happening in:

• Communities • Interesting stories in the lives of believers• Family life• Education, health, and finance— anything that you can weave into a

message of faith• Movies and book reviews

National and World Christian News

• We share national and world news articles that are relevant to our Christian readers.

Secular News• We also want to be a valuable source of information to the secular world • All articles will still bring honor to God

We do NOT publish articles on the following:• Divisive to the Christian community • Point out or determine what is and is not sin for any particular

population

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HANDOUTS: LINDSEY HANDOUTS: LINDSEY• Topics on which the body of Christ is divided or content that criticizes

any particular denominationStory Topics

1. Missions2. Worship3. Entertainment4. Technology5. Finance6. Travel7. Sports8. Humor9. Health

Content We Are Looking For1. Church Events 2. Charitable Organizations3. Articles that Provide General Information 4. Reviews 5. Devotions (we love devotions, but please keep in mind our greatest need is

NEWS)6. Self-help and fitness7. Local businesses giving back to community

General Article Submission Guidelines• Find a division near you• Read over submission guidelines• Promotion: Articles are not to be written for promotional purposes• Length: 750-1,200 words—Longer submissions may be divided into more

than one article• Format: New Times Roman

• Credentials• Attribution• Use of Content

Writing to Get Read• CONFLICT—Stories with conflict are much more likely to get read.

Sometimes it’s not easy to find the conflict. Don’t make it up. Search for it.• STRONG EMOTION—Articles that elicit deep emotion are more likely to be

read and shared.• FAMOUS PEOPLE—The fact is, people want to read about famous people.• PROXIMITY—The geographically closer the person is to the topic of the

article, the more likely they are to read it. • SCOPE—The size of the population that will be affected.• INTEREST—Is it unusual? Does it have shock value?

Structure: Headlines, summary leads, and content• The Headline—Just as you would spend time choosing a name for a book,

spend some time inventing a catchy headline.• Writing a Lead—Tell us in one sentence (or two) what the story is all about. • The Content—Who, what, when, where, why, and how. • Highlights first—Put the most interesting content first.• Be brief—Be Concise. Paragraphs in journalism are short.• Use quotations—Lots of them. Use what other people say.• Conclusion—You don’t have to summarize the story at the end. Just finish

telling it and add a quotation if you have one.

Submitting Your Article• Submit it to a local division: We don’t publish anything that doesn’t go

through a local division unless it’s written by our staff writer.• Include the following information:

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HANDOUTS: LINDSEYa. The title of the articleb. The articlec. A quality photo you have taken or a copyright-free image. Suggestions: Unsplash, Pixabay, Wikimedia.d. A bio and image of yourself (if we don’t already have it).

Handouts: Bill Myers

THREE ACT STRUCTURE Dark moment ACT III ACT II THE

WALL ACT I Inciting incident CHARACTER WANT

Inciting incident

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Handouts: Bill Myers

PLOT WEBBING