Join LCW Saturday, March 18th, to Welcome Speaker/Author Emily Chase PLUS PR Offer to LCW Authors

Join Lancaster Christian Writers Saturday, March 18th, at Lancaster Alliance Church, 210 Pitney Rd (off Hwy 30 across from Costco) from 9:30AM-12 noon (registration opens at 9). We are delighted to welcome back well-known conference speaker and author Emily Chase. SPEAKER: Originally trained as an archaeologist, Emily Chase has lived and worked in places as different as Laos, Mexico and Peru. Now she serves as staff chaplain at Bethany Christian Services. She is the author of seven books, including Help! My Family's Messed Up! (Kregel) and Standing Tall After Falling Short (Moody). She and her husband of over forty years reside in Mechanicsburg, PA. WORKSHOP: When you shoot an arrow, you want it to hit the target, right? As a writer, you want to reach a specific audience. But how much time do you spend considering your audience as you prepare your manuscripts? You don't want your readers to snore, start to flip pages or, worse, close the book! In this practical workshop, discover hints on how to sharpen your writing so it hits your target audience every time. PR OPPORTUNITY FOR LCW MEMBERS: Professional editor/author Jeannette DiLouie of Innovative Editing, a recent transplant to Lancaster, PA, has offered the following opportunity to any LCW author, royalty or indie published, so do take advantage of this offer! "Innovative Editing Wants You! If you’re the published author of a novel, non-fiction book or children’s story, Innovative Editing would love to consider you for an upcoming Author of the Month spot on its site, www.InnovativeEditing.com. Along with an interview-style Q&A, each selected author will be featured online with a short bio, picture and links to their book(s), website and social media accounts. Young adult fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, autobiography—Whatever the genre, Innovative Editing wants to see your story! Reach out to JDiLouie@InnovativeEditing.com to start the submission process today." DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR SS2017!!!!!!  And please be aware that we are only six weeks out from our annual one-day conference. It isn't too early to get your registrations in. And please do help us make this conference a success by getting the word out. All links for registration, schedule, workshops and faculty bios, as well as paying on-line are now all live on our web page at (http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com). You can also print out or simply save and send our SS2017 Registration Flyer (download and print here or at webpage). CRITIQUE GROUPS: We will be making time as well for our usual peer critique groups, so if you have that last piece you'd like critiqued before Christmas, bring 10 copies of up to 1500 words. As always, more info can be found at our LCW blog: http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com Or email questions or concerns to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com Blessings, Jeanette Windle President, Lancaster Christian Writers

LCW Meets Saturday, February 18th PLUS Author Event Invite

Join Lancaster Christian Writers Saturday, February 18th, at Lancaster Alliance Church, 210 Pitney Rd (off Hwy 30 across from Costco) from 9:30AM-12 noon (registration opens at 9). We typically schedule just one speaker for January/February because historically one of those two dates has often been snowed out. If weather does cooperate in January, the February meeting is traditionally a Q&A panel. If you have a particular question or topic you would like addressed, please submit questions in advance to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com As time permits, you can ask questions onsite as well. 

 
MEMBER READINGS: All that said, since our Christmas party was cancelled, we've had requests to reschedule the member readings for another month. So if you had a reading you wanted to share in December, or even if your schedule didn't permit coming then, but you have a reading you WOULD have shared (5 minutes total time; approximately 750-800 words), we'd like to make time for those in this February meeting. If you'd like to read, we do need advance head count, so email request to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com 

 
FRIENDS OF LANCASTER COUNTY LIBRARIES ANNUAL AUTHOR LUNCHEON AT CALVARY CHURCH: Also, LCW has received an invitation to attend the Lancaster County Libraries' annual author luncheon, hosted this year at Calvary Church, Landis Valley Rd, on  April 27, 2017, with best-selling author Adriana Trigiani. More info can be found HERE.

 
 SUPER SATURDAY 2017!!!!!!  And our annual one-day conference is coming up on us quickly. Please do help us get the word out. All links for registration, registering and paying on-line, workshops and faculty bios are now all live on our web page as well as a flyer you can download and share. See column to right.

 
CRITIQUE GROUPS: We will be making time as well for our usual peer critique groups, so if you have that last piece you'd like critiqued before Christmas, bring 10 copies of up to 1500 words.
As always, email questions or concerns to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers

Celebrate the New Year by Joining Lancaster Christian Writers Saturday, 1/21/17 with Speaker/Author Lisa Betz

Happy New Years 2017. Still not sure where 2016 disappeared so quickly. But with the holidays over and curling-up-with-a-book-or-computer-screen weather settled in, it is the perfect time to set those writing goals for 2017. For a jump start, come and join fellow writers Saturday, January 21st, at Lancaster Alliance Church, 210 Pitney Rd (off Hwy 30 across from Costco) from 9:30AM-12 noon (registration opens at 9). LCW veteran and freelance writer/novelist Lisa Betz will be sharing a lightheartedly-practical (yes, that is a thing!) workshop on avoiding pitfalls that frustrate readers--an area every writer needs to improve on, so do join us!
 
SPEAKER: Lisa Betz is a freelance writer, blogger, and playwright. She has always loved books, especially ones that took her to far-off times and places. When not reading swashbuckling tales about Roman centurions or English knights, Lisa leads Bible studies, writes and directs dramas, works on her historical mystery novel, and opens doors for the cat.
 
WORKSHOP: "Seven Pitfalls That Frustrate Readers and How to Avoid Them." Whether you write flash-fiction, novels, memoirs, or true-life stories, these techniques will help you craft a stronger story and keep your readers from tearing their hair out in frustration—or just tossing your story into the dumpster.
 
SUPER SATURDAY 2017!!!!!!  Our annual one-day conference is now only three months away. We depend on YOU to help get the word out, so please do spread the news by posting to your social networks, printing out a flyer for your library and/or church bulletin-board, or invite a writing friend. A special thanks to LCW member Alison McLennan, who has not only created our SS2017 flyer, but has set up on-line registration by credit card or PayPal through our LCW webpage (see link right column), which makes inviting those friends and sharing on your social networks even easier. 

LCW FACEBOOK PAGE: Alison has set up a Lancaster Christian Writers FaceBook page as well, which will permit easier sharing of events online. Please do check it out and join group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LancasterChristianWriters/
 
CRITIQUE GROUPS: We will be making time as well for our usual peer critique groups, so if you have that last piece you'd like critiqued before Christmas, bring 10 copies of up to 1500 words.

As always, email questions or concerns to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers

LCW Christmas Celebration CANCELLED Plus Check Out This Writer Scholarship

LCW CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION CANCELLED:  After countless sweet emails from LCW members explaining conflicting schedules for Saturday and only a total of five confirmed to participate, not to mention the weather promise of wintry mix rain/snow for Saturday morning, it is with regret that we are cancelling our LCW December meeting. We've got a great speaker lined up for January, so I hope we can plan on seeing you then.

WRITER CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS: If cancelling leaves you with a free Saturday, may I encourage you to spend it writing an entry for the following scholarship contest we've just received, courtesy of Kathy Ide, founder of the Christian Editor Connection. She posts: "If you’ve never attended the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference but always wanted to go, I have exciting news for you!Mount Hermon is running a First-Timers Contest for the 2017 conference. Ten winners will each receive a full scholarship, including economy lodging and conference meals.There is NO FEE to enter this contest. It is open to both published and unpublished writers." Check out further details at:  http://kathyide.com/mh-first-timers-contest/
See you next year!

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Years 2017,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers

Join Us for LCW's 2016 Christmas Celebration Saturday, 12/17/16

Merry Christmas 2016! Can you believe it's that time of year again? Take a break from the Christmas frenzy and join fellow writers at Lancaster Alliance Church, 210 Pitney Rd (off Hwy 30 across from Costco) from 9:30AM-12 noon (registration opens at 9) for food, fun, fellowship, and fabulous speaker--YOU!!

 
SPEAKER: That's right. As per LCW tradition, December is for showcasing the creativity and genius of our own members. Submitting your work to a guaranteed and appreciative audience is an opportunity no writer should pass up. So pull out that inspirational prose, comedy sketch, poem, drama, devotional, even a scene (short!) of your novel, and come share with us. Time limit is 3-5 minutes (easy way to calculate is a maximum of 750 words), in order to permit as many to participate as possible. We do need an advance head count. SO please email if you want to participate so as to get you on the list.
 
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: AND if you have published titles or Christmas crafts, do bring them along for display.  What better or more economic gift can you get for family member or friend than a personalized autographed title or craft. WHICH also means you may want to bring your checkbook and cash for shopping.
 
FOOD!!!  If you are baking any Christmas goodies and would like to contribute to the party, any and all will be greatly appreciated. If you have nothing to bring, don't let that discourage you from coming. We've never run short yet!
 
CRITIQUE GROUPS: We will be making time as well for our usual peer critique groups, so if you have that last piece you'd like critiqued before Christmas, bring 10 copies of up to 1500 words.

As always, email questions or concerns to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers

Join Lancaster Christian Writers Saturday, November 19, 2016, with Author/Writing Coach Cheryl Weber

Join Lancaster Christian Writers Saturday, November 19, 2016, at Lancaster Alliance Church, 210 Pitney Rd (off Hwy 30 across from Costco) from 9:30AM-12 noon (registration opens at 9). Writing coach and author Cheryl Weber will be sharing one of the workshops she taught for YWAM's school of writing in Hawaii, Self-Editing 101.

SPEAKER: Cheryl Weber currently resides in Lancaster County, PA. She is a storyteller, missionary, and gifted, sometimes OCD, editor who also loves to make people laugh. She has ministered in nearly a dozen different countries including the U.S. Her latest adventure took her to Youth With A Mission in Kona, HI. She spent six months there helping to facilitate the School of Writing, where she also taught a week of self-editing. Cheryl has had various articles and devotionals published by periodicals such as Gem, and Faithwriter’s Great Multitude. One of her stories will appear in the Crossriver Media’s anthology Abba’s Promise. She is currently self-editing the second draft of her allegorical novel, Dream Keeper.

WORKSHOP: "Self-Editing 101". Time for the second draft of your book manuscript, short story or article? That means it’s time for the self-editing process—tightening, reducing, rewording, rearranging. Love it or hate it, editing must be done if you want your finished product to be all it can be.

Cheryl would like to make November's LCW workshop MTO for you (that's Made-To-Order for those who haven't memorized the acronym dictionary). She writes: "If there is an area of weakness in self-editing you struggle with or something you need further clarity on, please let me know and I will do my best to cover them. You can email me at iamasonflower@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions. (Yes, that really is “son” and not “sun.”  You wouldn’t want me to lead the workshop if I can’t spell!)." 

DEVOTIONAL SPEAKERS: We still have openings for devotional speakers (5-10 minutes; writing related)during this calendar year, including for the November meeting. If you are interested, please email jeanette@jeanettewindle.com. Preference will be given to those who have never shared before, but if you've already done so in the past, don't let that hold you back! If you never have, do consider this opportunity to bless fellow LCW members with your words and message.

SUPER SATURDAY 2017!!!!!!  AND it is not too early to mark your calendar for our LCW one-day conference, now confirmed for Saturday, April 8th, at Lancaster Bible College. More info and flyers to follow. 

LOOKING FOR CRITIQUE PARTNER:  One resource offers is the opportunity to network with other Christian writers. We are always happy to pass on a request or offer to meet with other writers or form a critique group outside the limited time of LCW's monthly meeting. We've had one such offer this month from Chris Wachter. If anyone is interested in participating, please contact Chris directly. Below is her info:

FROM CHRIS WACHTER: "If there are any other writers out there interested in forming a critique/support group with a focus on Christian Speculative Fiction (fantasy, science fiction, steam punk, etc.), I'm looking to connect. Or, if there already is such a group, would you consider a new member? Please contact me. Chris Wachter 717.201.3024 or aareadinglady@gmail.com."

CRITIQUE GROUPS: And don't forget to bring your latest work-in-progress from this summer for critique groups (ten copies up to 1500 words).

As always, email questions or concerns to jeanette@jeanettewindle.com

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers