ACFW Conference – Day 40 Prayer – God’s Presence & Blessing Psalm 127:1 CEB – “Unless it is the Lord who builds the house, the builders’ work is pointless. Unless it is the Lord who protects the city, the guard on duty is pointless.” Father God, everything we do is for You, to You, because of You, and in Your …
A To Don’t List for Writer’s Conferences
By Tamara D. Fickas Springtime is easing into summer. Trees and flowers are blooming. The temperature is inching upward. On cue, the writing world is easing into conference season. One-sheets and proposals are bursting forth. Social media is a twitter (see what I did there) with what works best and words of encouragement. This season is a busy time for …
An Elevator Pitch with a Hook
by Lee Carver Here’s the scenario: You enter the hotel elevator during the ACFW Conference and recognize an agent or editor you’d love to impress. Each of you selects a floor choice, and she turns to you and asks, “So what are you writing?” Being prepared for the question, you unabashedly speak your thirty-word pitch in the twenty seconds or …
How to Know When It’s Time to Give Up
by Cathleen Armstrong I met her the second day of the ACFW Conference when I sat down next to her at the lunch table. “How’s your conference going?” I smiled at her as I opened my napkin. This is conference-speak for, “How are you?” The usual answer is, “Great! How about you?” Not this lady. “Not so good. In fact, …
Conference — the Cornerstone
By Kathy Harris Registration for the American Christian Fiction Writers 2016 conference is now open. If you’ve never attended the ACFW conference, you’re missing a special opportunity. One that will connect you with other writers, help you learn the craft, and build your writing career. I attended my first ACFW conference almost eleven years ago. The friendships I made, and …
The Squeeze
by Linda Brooks Davis Ever feel squeezed to your limit? I have. Many times. As a first-time novelist, I’ve learned what the squeeze produces in characters-and in myself. Take the recent ACFW Conference. My husband had massaged the family budget to life support status. A fresh idea had inserted itself into my WIP, calling like a siren as I shut …
Beating the Post Conference BLUES
By Susan May Warren Are you home from the ACFW conference? Finally unpacked? I hope you came home filled with encouragement and new ideas on how to make your writing breathtaking. Now what? Conferences can be overwhelming, between the requests for proposals or full manuscripts, new story ideas, craft lessons, marketing epiphanies and loads of new friends. Where and how …
Post-Conference Planning
By Danica Favorite Whew! Some of you are home from the ACFW conference, and you’ve gotten back into the groove of life. Some of you didn’t get to go and are sad about that. Either way, it’s time to make a plan for moving forward. The problem with going to a great conference like ACFW is that you learn a …
8 Ways to Minimize the Effect of Post Conference Blues
by Edie Melson I’ve been attending large writing conferences for over fourteen years and they all have ONE thing in common-post conference blues. It’s only natural. A week-long conference is an exciting, grueling experience. Just physical exhaustion alone could get anyone down-add to that the mental and emotional effects and you have the perfect set-up for a huge let-down. For …
ACFW Conference 40 Days of Prayer
2015 ACFW CONFERENCE 40 DAYS OF PRAYER PRAYER TOPIC: FOR ATTENDEES Father, hundreds of attendees will be present this year in Dallas. New, tender-hearted writers hoping for encouragement and guidance. There will be folks who have progressed to the next level in the industry, but who still look for encouragement to move forward. Some writers will have been offered contracts …