Posts tagged Donna Goodrich

Kentucky Christian Writers Conference founders and attendees celebrated its fifteenth anniversary June 24-25, 2011, at College Heights United Methodist Church in Elizabethtown, KY. Conference offerings included Cecil Murphey, keynote speaker, numerous workshops, and private faculty appointments.

I attended two workshops by Cinda King, Hopefully Devoted to Devotional Writing and Curriculum Writing for Small Groups. In the devotional workshop, King advised us to be prepared for “unplanned inspiration.” She said she gets her ideas when she least expects it. The curriculum workshop included a step-by-step guide to writing studies for small groups or retreats. In both workshops, she provided copious handouts.

Carlton Hughes, a professor of journalism, children’s pastor, and award-winning freelance writer, taught Unlocking the Inner Journalist: Basics of Article Writing. Hughes covered the basics of getting ideas, planning, interviewing/research, writing, and submitting articles. He based part of his session on a book by William E. Blundell. Check out The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide on Amazon.com using the Look Inside feature. I’ve ordered the book so that I can study it in detail.

Stirring the Pot: Writing for Chicken Soup and other Inspirational Markets, led by Tracy Crump, included a history of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series along with tips on how to write and submit for future editions. It was news to me that Chicken Soup is not considered a Christian series. Although they are open to stories about faith, no scripture is used in the stories.

Donna Clark Goodrich led a session entitled How to Sell What You Write. At the beginning of her workshop, she quoted Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Then she gave us great directions to get us on the road to publication. She distributed several handouts to the class. The most valuable part of the discussion for me was the portion dealing with reprint rights and simultaneous submissions.

Goodrich also presented a keynote on “The Freedom of Letting Go.” She has a book in the works by the same title. The jist of her talk was that we must let go of all the things that keep us from being our best. Primarily, our reluctance to let go is a result of wanting to be in control. But, she said we have to let go of that, too.

Cecil Murphey gave three keynote addresses, all drawing on his extensive experience as a writer and ghostwriter. He began with examining why we write, emphasizing that writing is not a talent. It’s a gift from God. In his second appearance, he discussed voice. He noted that finding one’s true voice can be painful at times. He asked the group to affirm: “I am a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.” His third keynote dealt with learning to be genuine in your writing—“giving what you want to receive.” Readers appreciate writers who truly show their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths as they write. Murphey’s prayer for this session was: “Loving God, show me the truth about myself, no matter how wonderful it may be.”

Here’s the main thing that I learned at this conference. Very little of what I heard in workshops was new information for me. However, in every session, I picked up tips and tidbits that are useful to me right now. Networking with other writers gave me the jumpstart I needed to renew my interest in my writing. It definitely pays to take advantage of all opportunities to learn from and share with other writers.