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I promised several people that I would write about the “Sharing Your Hope Workshop” I attended at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and here it is two weeks later – and I’m still trying to sort through what I want to say.
Part of the problem is that I went with some expectations that were off-track. I carried lots of old manuscripts with me thinking it would be a time to pick one out, dust it off, and get wonderful feedback that would turn it into something ready for the market. That didn’t happen.
But what did happen was so much better. After I got woke up good, that is… I struggled to stay awake the first evening after getting up in the wee hours of the morning on not enough sleep and spending the day in airports wrapped around two flights. It was still a struggle the second day, but I got some half-decent notes and some great handouts to keep me from losing too much.
The leaders, Kristi Holl and Paula Morrow, are awesome writers who had so much to share with us about what it takes to become a real writer. Wishy-washy wannabe feelings aren’t enough! Writers can sit around thinking about what they want to write, but if anything is going to come of it they have to get on with writing it. Facebook and networking have their place, but we have to learn to guard against letting them take over our time to the point that we never get around to writing the things we dream about writing.
The underlying theme of the workshop was to encourage us to write good books that offer spiritual hope. We were given many tips on how to accomplish this without sounding preachy. We were given ideas about developing strong characters that were believable and techniques for developing plots with tension.
Kristi Holl shared many tips about caring for oneself to assure that we preserve sufficient time and energy for our writing. She also discussed the importance of setting priorities and boundaries for ourselves so we don’t allow others to sap our energy. We discussed the difference between selfishness and self-care. Her discussions were supplemented with handouts and book lists.
Much was said about the benefits of aspiring to become published through traditional publishers instead of self-publishing. I have been leaning in that direction already, as I have become worn out by trying to wear too many hats. So I have set a new goal for myself to start submitting my work to traditional publishers, to keep writing new material, and to stop spinning my wheels trying to market my self-published books when 99.9999% of the world has never heard of them or me.
I have already ordered several of the books that were recommended and have begun reading from the ones that have come in the mail so far. My budget is small, but fortunately I was able to order most of them as used books on Amazon keeping my costs down. I have a special place on my desk for these books so they will stay at my fingertips as I work my way through them.
I am eager to become more professional with my writing day by day. The most important component in determining the value of this workshop for me is in my determination and self-discipline to put these concepts into practice and to make measurable progress daily.
I have been offered a Highlights Foundation scholarship to the Sharing Our Hope: Writing for Religious and Inspirational Markets 2014 workshop on March 27 – March 30. I am very excited about this possibility, but the rest of the story is that the scholarship only pays half of the cost of the workshop, and it is 700 miles away. I’m going to have to really beat the bushes to raise these funds in the next week to hold my spot in the workshop. Please pray that God will provide the needed funds so I may go and improve my writing skills for reaching children and teens for Christ. If you are willing and able to help me to attend this workshop, there is a PayPal link at the bottom of this post where you may contribute and a progress report that I will continually update to reflect the progress on raising the needed funds.
Why this particular workshop is important to me:
I have sought to share my faith with children and teens for many years through Christ centered activities and with my Bible storybooks. I have two self-published books, The Creation and The First Christmas, and have started another book about Jonah. I believe these books are important for children because they are designed to increase faith in God’s Word at a time when the world wants to discredit it. I intentionally choose to write about the Bible stories that are most under attack for this reason.
At this Highlights Foundation Workshop I will be working with multi-published authors and editors who can give me strong guidance on what I need to do to improve my skills, and to break into recognized markets where I may be able to reach a larger audience than I’ve been able to reach through self-publishing.
You may explore the links under the header on this web page to see some of the avenues I have been using to share my faith with children, teens, and adults. This workshop is precisely on target with my writing goals. It is also set up with a high ratio of teacher to learners so that we learners will have opportunities to develop our skills and get feedback on them.
Download my ebooks for free from Feb 26-March 7, 2014
Janice Ducker Green writes for children. Her books communicate truth on an age and reading level for her audience. Combined with her creativity is her joy of seeing children learn and absorb truth. Janice doesn’t write to simply write for profit, but she writes so that the lives and minds of children are blessed. Janice’s writing will outlast her and that is a life purpose that I can commend. When you invest in her conference training and books, you are investing in the lives of every child who will ever read her books.
by Robin L. Lewis
SEE Nancy Graham’s Comment below for a glowing reference.
February 24, 2014
About the workshop (info taken from the Highlights Foundation web page):
The faculty
Paula Morrow has been involved with children’s literature all her life, first as a child reader, then as a children’s librarian, and then as a long-time editor of children’s books and magazines at Cricket Magazine Group and Cricket Books.
Kristi Holl is a children’s choice award-winning author of 42 books for children, 2 nonfiction books for writers (Writer’s First Aid and More Writer’s First Aid), and more than 150 stories and articles for children and adults.
Never has there been a greater need for inspirational stories, articles, and books for children and teens. Religious publishers and general-interest publishers alike are seeking hopeful books with solid values. Some material can “cross over” into both markets. If you want to write books offering hope to young people, join Paula Morrow (Christian editor, writing teacher, and book reviewer) and Kristi Holl (author of forty-two books for general interest and Christian publishers) for a weekend that’s both practical and inspiring.
I am not likely to do much blogging on this site. I intend to use it to direct my readers to the blogs I write and/or maintain. You will find the “good stuff” as you click on the links under the header. It is on those blogs that I expect to do the most writing – and you will also discover that some blogs will be more active than others as my passions fluctuate. (Did I mention my A.D.D. tendencies?)
I hope you will enjoy browsing through my “stuff” and find something you like.
