Robyn Dykstra
Captivating Presentations
Want your audience to lean in from your first word and be able to hold their attention for your entire presentation? Then you need to learn the art of delivery. You can carry a mediocre talk with marvelous delivery skills. But mediocre presentation skills will ruin a marvelous talk.
Serving your audience from the stage and beyond
We are to be good stewards of our gifts, talents, time, and finances. The focus of this workshop will be to serve the audience beyond the stage with your book or other offer. In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to unlock the potential to impact lives while making your ministry financially sustainable!
Telling Your “But God” Story
When you share your story, it’s easy to get caught up in too many details, make it all about you and lose the interest of your audience. The difference between “Your story changed my life”, and “That was nice” is invisible to most of us. Let me show you exactly what to include, AND how to piece your together your story so you can create a real impact on your audience.
Bob Hostetler
Blogging Your Way to Publication
How to get started, how to get noticed, and how to move from blog to print.
All the Wrong Moves
Sometimes a writer knows there is something wrong with a chapter (or book), but can’t quite put a finger on it. This session will provide a working list of the most common reasons a page, passage, or chapter isn’t working. Intermediate
The Write Sense
i.e., writing that appeals to the five senses—six, actually, including writing for “the gut,” too.
Writing Children’s Books
A literary agent and children’s book author will share up-to-the-minute tips for writing books for children, from the various genre to dos and don’ts and more.
Barb Roose
Writing Creative and Compelling Bible Studies
Writing compelling and insightful Bible studies can be a rewarding experience for both your readers and you. Not only can you aid them in understanding and applying the Bible to their lives, but you also benefit from the richness of the preparation process. Join Barb Roose and learn the five elements that you need to write creative and compelling Bible study as well as various strategies that you can incorporate into your next Bible study writing project.
Write to Video 10 Ideas & Solutions to Create Captivating Video
When it comes to connecting with our audiences and growing platform, video content is the train that audiences are addicted to riding. Creating video content doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or exasperating. In this hands-on, interactive workshop, Barb Roose shares ten ideas and solutions to help you create video content that will increase your engagement with your current and future audience.
Platform 101
Platform isn’t everything in landing a publishing contract, but it is an important part of the picture. In this workshop, Barb will explain the three types of platform-building approaches. She will also provide step-by-step instructions, encouragement, and lots of resources that will equip you to launch from zero platform and move with intention toward your publishing goals.
Heidi Chiavaroli
Ten Steps to Editing Your Fiction
Congratulations—you’ve written your story! But don’t hit that “publish” or “send” button just yet, because there are some tried and true methods to polishing your manuscript to make it shine before it hits shelves. Join multi award-winning novelist Heidi Chiavaroli as she explores ten steps you can take to edit your own work. Topics include refining point-of-view, showing instead of telling, writing likable characters, creating vivid story worlds, and more.
All About Plot
Whether you love to plot out your stories in intricate detail or you tend toward the pantsing method (writing by the seat-of-your-pants), it’s necessary to understand good plot and story structure. Join two-time Carol award-winning novelist Heidi Chiavaroli as she discusses approaches to crafting strong story beginnings, middles, and ends. In this workshop, we’ll explore brainstorming techniques, common plotting problems to watch out for, and how to keep the tension up to keep your reader turning the pages!
Everything You Need to Know About Point-of-View
Mastering point-of-view (POV) is so much more than deciding whether to write in first-person or third-person. Writing your characters with a solid point-of-view lends credibility and authenticity to your created people, and to you as an author. Join novelist Heidi Chiavaroli as she explains the nuts and bolts of POV, how to use it to hook readers and explore the many facets of your character’s personality, and how to master deep POV.
Lori Roeleveld
Productivity with Peace
Never mind how others fit writing into their lives without losing sleep, how will you? Learn to live and write from a heart at peace with a method that helped this author release six traditionally published books while working full-time, ministering, and caring for a family. Come with a problem. Leave with a plan.
Writing Over 40
Stop asking if you’re too old to be a writer. Instead, learn what you need to know to start (or start again) writing at your age. If you’re over forty and wondering if you’ve missed your chance, this workshop will answer your questions and prepare you to act wisely and well as you pursue publication.
Using Memoir in Fiction and Non-Fiction
Your life contains a gold mine of stories you can incorporate in both fiction and non-fiction writing. You may write a straightforward memoir, a novel inspired by real events, or you may use portions of your story in a topical non-fiction book, devotions, blog posts, or articles. Learn how to mine this gold and refine it for use as well as pitfalls to avoid when sharing your own story.
Deb Dufek
My Business Meeting with the Lord: Seeking God’s Wisdom and Direction
Join Deb Dufek as she shares about a meeting with Jesus that has changed the way she operates in her ministry and business. For 4+ years she has been meeting with the Lord weekly to seek the His plans, swapping her agenda for His, and so much more. The results have been astounding! Add this to your life and you won’t be sorry!
Tammy Gerhard
Give It To God and Go To Sleep — Expressive Writing for Effective Soul Care – NIGHT OWL
It is common for writers and speakers to get overwhelmed as they work to produce. This can lead to writer’s block, anxiety, and stress. Join us as we engage an age-old practice of journaling scripture, releasing our minds from the cares of the day, and inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts through the process of Expressive Writing.
Tracey Lyons
Writing the Christian Romance
In this workshop participants will learn what goes into creating a Christian romance. Tracey will teach the elements of writing a romance and bringing a Christian aspect into the plot and how this plays an important role in the character’s journey. She will also discuss why this genre is popular with readers and talk about what Christian publishers are looking for in a Christian romance.
Mel Tavares
Ten Benefits of Writing ‘Short’
Have you ever considered the benefits of short non-fiction writing such as devotions, blogs, magazine articles, and short stories? During this workshop, you will discover at least ten benefits including:
reaching a wider audience, learning to write ‘tight,’ building your portfolio and feelings of accomplishment in having a finished work. Fiction and non-fiction writers will both benefit from this workshop.
Paula Sorrells-Beene
The Interpretive Journey–Principles of Biblical Exploration
Have you ever written something that was published, or spoken to an audience, and later realized that what you said was not biblically sound? It is easy to take Scripture out of context, or totally misinterpret what the Word says. The Interpretive Journey will walk you through the discipline of understanding, translating, and explaining Scripture, considering the different types of literature and the methodology for understanding and interpreting each type, and addressing the barriers—cultural, customs, language, time, and covenantal—to discover how to grasp the meaning of the text as God intended.