November FREE Workshop: What’s Missing from Your Writing Toolbox? Get the Power Tools You Need to Power Edit Your Manuscript

When: November October 9, 2009, 6:30p.m.–8:00 p.m.

Where: Stone Chapel, 280 East Woodmen Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Workshop Description: Do you want to push your writing to the next level? Do you want publishers to take you seriously?

• Kris, a prolific, beginning writer, has no clue how to self-critique or edit.
• Kelly, an intermediate, published writer, submits self-edited articles with obvious sloppy, editorial faux pas.
• Kyle, a published and experienced writer, doesn’t recognize lazy writing habits that drive critique group members and editors crazy.

What do they all have in common? Their writing toolbox lacks crucial power tools to ramp up their writing from good to great. Scoti Domeij’s jam-packed workshop includes:

• Top 10+ must-know ways to develop the skill of self-critiquing to edit your manuscript—tomorrow.
• Self-critique/editing checklists to polish your manuscript—next week, next month, next year.
• Discover quick fixes for common and not-so-common mistakes
• Learn 2 easy ways to flip dull, passive sentences into active, powerful copy.
• Find out 3 user-friendly tips to figure out your most common writing errors and how to fix recurring problems.
• A valuable list of online resources and recommended books to further your writing and editing skills.
• An interactive critique and editing time to mark your WIP (work in progress).

Bring 1-2-3 pages or your entire WIP, colored pencils or highlighters and one blood-red pen. And don’t forget a little extra spit to shine your rough draft to polish ready for submission.

Speaker: Scoti has used her writing, editing and research skills to write educational curriculum for Standard Publishing, David C. Cook, Rainbow Publishers, Christian Ed Publishers, Harvest House Publishers, Precept Ministries International, Focus on the Family, Gospel Light Publishers, and The Association of Christian Schools International.

As Senior Research Assistant/Art and Editorial Production Coordinator for the 27-part film series entitled That the World May Know. Scoti also wrote Favorite Bible Heroes and co-authored: Wrong Way, Jonah! with Kay Arthur. Her stories were included in The Mommy Diaries: Finding Yourself in the Daily Adventure edited by Tally Flint (Revell) and Christmas Miracles by Cecil Murphy and Marley Gibson (St. Martin’s Press). She’s written over 300 articles, some of which have appeared in The New York Times, Contemporary Christian Music, Family Life Today, School Daze magazine, Southwest Art, Bookstore Journal, Single Adult Ministry Journal, The Orange County Real Estate Digest, World Report, Get Up and Go, Charlotte Parenting, Focus on the Family magazine, and other parenting magazines. Currently, Scoti, the Colorado Springs Single Moms Examiner, writes a daily column for www.examiner.com and a monthly Solo Parenting column in Colorado Springs Kids magazine

Find out more about Scoti:

The Writing Road blog

Daily Reflections for Single Parents

Colorado Springs Single Moms Examiner

New! Springs Writers Critique Group

Springs Writers will offer a critique group opportunity on one Saturday each month at Scoti Domeij’s home. Writers will receive feedback on their manuscripts and also learn how to critique other writer’s manuscripts. Dates and details will be available soon.

Please note: Springs Writers does not meet in December to help you enjoy the holidays with a little less stress.

Snow Policy: If School District 20 closes, the evening workshop will be cancelled. If the school district is not closed, we will make our decision to cancel a workshop by 3:00 pm and email the Springs Writers E-News subscribers. You may also call 719-548-9723 for snow closure information.

Breathing New Life into Faith

“I see more passion for trees in the Sierra Club than I do for Jesus in the church.”—Richard Dahlstrom

Breathing New Life into Faith

Author: Richard Dahlstrom

Paperback: 272 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (July 1, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0736922148

ISBN-13: 978-0736922142

About the book

Your physical body needs oxygen in order to survive. Inhale, exhale ... one leads naturally to the other. Inhale too long and you feel as if your lungs will burst. Exhale too long and you get light-headed.

The same rhythm is essential in the life of faith. You inhale life-giving strength from God through things like prayer, study, solitude, and silence. You exhale generosity, hospitality, and service to the poor. If you try to do one without the other, you wont' last very long.

This fresh perspective on the classic disciplines of the faith will empower you to process the oxygen of the Spirit. Discover how you can develop a balanced spirituality that reflects the life of Jesus and keeps your faith growing stronger.

About Richard

Richard Dahlstrom is Senior Pastor of Bethany Community Church in Seattle, WA, in the heart of the city, among university students, young professionals, families, the homeless, and the elderly. He is also a popular teacher in North America and Europe for the Capernwray Missionary Fellowship of Torchbearers. He holds a M.Div. from Talbot Theological Seminary.

For more information

Check out Richard's blog.

Watch a video about the book.

Follow Richard on Twitter @raincitypastor.

October FREE Workshop: Dialogue: Everybody's Talking About It

When: October 12, 2009, 6:30p.m.–8:00 p.m.

Where: Stone Chapel, 280 East Woodmen Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Workshop Description: In fiction, dialogue allows your readers to eavesdrop on your characters. When you're eavesdropping on someone, you never know what you're going to hear. In the same way, your readers never know what your characters are going to say. If your dialogue bores your readers, you'll lose them-every time. In dialogue, every word must count. Count for what? What is your dialogue accomplishing? In her workshop Dialogue: Everybody's Talking About It, author and editor Beth K. Vogt:

• reveals five things dialogue can accomplish
• shares two surefire ways to use your dialogue to your advantage
• lists the 10 ways to make sure your dialogue is "done right," so that it passes an editor's standards
• provides interactive time for you to create dialogue using writing prompts.

Speaker: Beth is a national speaker and author of Baby Changes Everything: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35. She is the editor of Connections, the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International leadership magazine. She contributes regularly to MomSense magazine and to the Hearts at Home blog. Beth is also the national Parenting Toddlers to Teens Examiner for Examiner.com, the fastest-growing local content network in the U.S. Her stories are included in Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Tribute to Moms and The Mommy Diaries. Beth has been published in Discipleship Journal, Virtue, ParentGuide, ParentLife, and The Christian Communicator.

Find out more about Beth:

Beth’s website

Mommy Come Lately blog

The Writing Road blog

7 Secrets Every Christian Writer Needs to Know

The following outline is taken from Lorraine Pintus' Powerpoint.

1. What it means that you are “called” to write.

· Faithful servant multiplies the gift and is praised. (Matthew 25:21)

· Worthless servant buries the gift and is rebuked. (Matthew 25:30)

· The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

2. That obedience is more important than a publishing contract

3. The power of the written/spoken word

· My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the SPIRIT’S POWER, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on GOD’s POWER. 1 Corinthians 2:4

4. The value of your writing toolbox. Your toolbox is:

· T: Technique

· O: Others

· O: Observe Trends

· L: Library

· S: Solitude

5. The importance of wrestling

· “The author who benefits us most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance.”—Oswald Chambers

6. The priority of the Three W’s: Worship, Wait, Write

7. The need to maintain a growth mindset

· Mindset: A collection of individual thoughts that, over a period of time, influences how we perceive life.

· Fixed mindset: Human qualities/abilities are determined early on; they are fixed, established traits

· Growth mindset: Human qualities are something we cultivate. Central attitude is LEARN, LEARN, LEARN!

· “Our mindset is not a personality quirk; it creates the mental world in which we live. It shapes our goals and attitudes and predicts whether or not we will fulfill our potential.”–Carol Dweck, PhD, The New Psychology of Success

· Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your power of your out-stretched arm. Surely nothing is too difficult for you. Jeremiah 32:17

Recommended Books on Writing for Beginning Writers

A Complete Guide to Writing for Publication by Susan Titus Osborn

AP Stylebook (for editing newspaper and magazine articles)

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Creating Fiction by Julie Checkoway

Eats Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

Fiction Writing Demystified by Thomas B. Sawyer

Getting into Character by Brandilyn Collins

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block

The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and how to avoid them) by Jack Bickham

The Artists Way by Julie Cameron

The Chicago Manual of Style (for editing books)

The Christian Writer's Market Guide by Sally E. Stuart

The Elements of Style 4th Edition by William Strunk and E.B. White

The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall

Writer Tells All by Robert Masello

Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

You Can Market Your Book by Carmen Leal

Blog Book Tour and Contest: Boy-sterous Living

Blog Book Tour: Boy-sterous Living: Celebrating Your Loud and Rowdy Life with Sons

Author: Jean Blackmer

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City

ISBN-10: 0834123908

ISBN-13: 978-0834123908

First, I LOVED the title, Boy-sterous Living: Celebrating Your Loud and Rowdy Life with Sons, because it encapsulated my surprise at how loud and energetic raising boys can be. As a mom of two boys, I was not prepared for how different boys are. I laughed out loud at Jean's hilarious stories. This encouraging book helps moms of boys realize they are not crazy—the mom or the boys. Both are different and wonderful. If you need a better insight into your sons and how to relate to them, then you'll enjoy this book. Jean provides wonderful ideas of things to do with your sons.

About the Book

Raising boys isn't easy. Life with them is loud. If it's quiet, they're probably up to something. Boys are messy, competitive, fearless, and proud. Living with them pretty much guarantees that you're in for an adventure.

As the only female in a house with three sons, a husband, and two male dogs, Jean Blackmer has learned a lot about living with boys. She knows that as a mom it isn't always easy to communicate and connect with these creatures of noise and energy. Everyday, they force you to live in a world where bugs are cool, safety is an afterthought, and "talking is torture."

In Boy-sterous Living, Jean shares a few of the priceless stories and laugh-out-loud lessons that she and her boys have experienced over the years. With humorous insight and practical advice, she offers encouragement and ideas to help both mothers and fathers impact and shape the lives of their sons. From understanding their love of sports to overcoming the superman complex, Jean shows moms how to find joy and contentment in everyday life by celebrating the laughter, passion, noise, and endless energy boys bring to our lives.

Additional features include:

• Thoughtful questions to help parents explore their views on raising sons
  
• Bible verses to help parents apply God's truth to the trials and joys of raising a family
  
• Suggestions for more information on several topic and issues related to parenting boys.
  

About Jean

Jean is currently the Publishing Manager for MOPS International and she's been freelance writing for 16 years. She has been published in a variety of local and national publications, including: Guideposts, MomSense, Today's Christian Woman, Christian Parenting Today, American Girl, Proverbs 31 Woman, Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son Soul, Chicken Soup Cookbook for the Busy Mom's Soul, Focus on the Family's Teen Phases, Guideposts Miracle Series, and others.

She also co-authored her first book, Where Women Walked: Powerful True Stories of Women's Perseverance and God's Provision. (Tyndale/Focus on the Family, 2004) This book was nominated for a Gold Medallion Award.

Jean graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a Bachelor's (1987) and a Master's (1992) degree in Journalism. She lives in Boulder with her husband Zane; three boys, Josh, Jordan, and Jake.

To find out more about Jean, visit her website.

Boy-sterous Living Contest

Enter your grossest or funniest moment as a mom of a boy (No boys? That's okay – we still want to hear your story!) and you could win movie tickets and a snack for you and a friend to escape! Share your story by emailing your entry to amy@litfusegroup.com. This e-mail address protected from spambots.

Or post your stories on the Moms Raising Boys Facebook page. You'll need JavaScript enabled to post your story or view stories by others on the Moms Raising Boys Facebook page.

Follow the Book Blog Tour

Read what other moms, bloggers and reviewers are saying.

September Workshop: 7 Secrets Every Successful Writer Must Know

September FREE Workshop: 7 Secrets Every Successful Writer Must Know

When: Monday, September 14, 2009, 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Where: Stone Chapel, 280 East Woodmen Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Workshop Description: Lorraine Pintus will share seven secrets that cover everything from methods to marketing to motivation. These secrets are the culmination of over thirty years of her experience in public relations, marketing, and writing. Lorraine will also help each writer identify your "writing mindset" and determine how to break through obstacles by moving from a "fixed mindset" to a "growth mindset."

Speaker:Lorraine's early background heavily emphasized marketing and media. She served as media relations manager for a Fortune 200 company, promotion manager for the University of California, and a press manager for a gubernatorial candidate. In the last fifteen years, her work has focused on writing and speaking. She has written for many major magazines, including Country
and Today's Christian Woman. She is co-author with Linda Dillow of the best seller, Intimate Issues (WaterBrook Press) and of Intimacy Ignited
(NavPress), Diapers, Pacifiers and Other Holy Things (Cook Communications), and Gift-wrapped by God (WaterBrook Press). She currently speaks at conferences around the world, and serves as a writing and speaking coach.

Find out more about Lorraine:

www.intimateissues.com

www.lorrainepintus.wordpress.com