Have You Registered Yet?

InScribe's Fall Conference is just around the corner! (Well, maybe not JUST around the corner, but it's coming soon...) 

If you've ever been to Fall Conference you'll know what a fantastic time of growing and learning it is, not to mention the opportunity for face to face connections with other writers of Christian faith. Join us on September 22 - 24 in Edmonton at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. Linda Hall is the keynote speaker and there will be tons of other informative workshops. 

For more information or to register, go to the Inscribe Website. (While you're there, take note of the beautiful newly revamped website. Thanks to our webmaster, Janelle Baldwin, for doing such a stand out job.) Early bird rates are still in place so don't miss out!

Also of note:

Visual Arts Contest

Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship would like to invite two dimensional art submissions from visual artists. The winning submission will be used as the November 2016 FellowScript Magazine cover and be featured on the InScribe website. The winning artist will receive a digital copy of the 2016 FellowScript Magazine cover. Second and third place winners will be featured on the InScribe website. For complete details see our FellowScript page on the website. 

ICWF Fall Conference 2015 - Ruth L. Snyder

A gourmet banquet meal comes to mind when I think of the InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship Fall Conference 2015. I had the opportunity to worship God, be challenged, encouraged, motivated, and equipped. Today I'd like to share some highlights by way of pictures.

Jeff Goins

This year we, as an executive, decided to have a pre-conference session on Thursday afternoon. Jeff Goins not only challenged us to figure out what God wants us to do personally, but also encouraged us to consider how we could meet each other's needs as a community of writers. He encouraged us to think about ways our passions and skills intersect with what people need and want. He also challenged us to share our needs with our InScribe community and see how God could meet those needs through other people we know.

Irish Beth Maddock

Melanie Fischer and Sheila Webster

On Thursday evening we had a delightful time of sharing and celebrating. Many authors shared a piece they had written by reading aloud. Irish Beth Maddock delighted us with her cat shoes and her charming children's book, The Great Carp Escape. We were thrilled to celebrate Melanie Fischer's launch of her book, Ya...But How? Connie Inglis received the prize for our inaugural art contest and we all benefitted by receiving a beautiful journal with her picture on the cover.

Bittersweet Memories by Connie Inglis

Connie Inglis receives art contest award

The Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre provided a welcoming environment which many attendees commented on. The weekend flew by all too quickly as we enjoyed a wide array of quality workshops, browsed the many tables of books available for sale, ate delicious food, renewed friendships, and networked.

Fall Contest Winner

WINNERS OF THE 2015 FALL CONTEST

NON-FICTION ESSAY (Contemporary issue from a Christian perspective)

FIRST – “Abortion: Canada’s Unfinished Debate” by Sharon Espeseth of Barrhead, AB

SECOND- “Connecting the Dots” by Violet Nesdoly of Langley, BC

THIRD – “Until Death Do Us Part” by Nina Morey of Saskatoon, SK

ADULT FICTION – SHORT STORY

FIRST – “Holiday Cheer” by Marnie Pohlman of Taylor, BC

SECOND - No prize awarded

THIRD – “Crash and Burn” by Nina Morey of Saskatoon, SK

HM –“A Shepherd’s Story” by Ellen Hooge of Calgary, AB

Bob Goodnough

POETRY

FIRST – “If Only” by Sharon Cavers of Cavan, ON

SECOND- “Like a Mustard Seed” by Alvin Ens of Abbotsford, BC

THIRD – “He Was Trouble” by Connie Inglis of Edmonton, AB

HM – “The Pebble” by Katherine Hoffman of Edmonton, AB

DEVOTIONAL

FIRST- “Remember” by Ramona Furst of North Bay, ON

SECOND- “Monkeys on My Back” by Marnie Pohlman of Taylor, BC

THIRD – “Trust Your Pilot” by Janet Seever of Calgary, AB

BLOG POST

FIRST – “Spirit-Led Writing” by Bob Goodnough of Delisle, SK

SECOND - “Take Up a Stone” by Marcia Laycock of Blackfalds, AB

THIRD – “Ideas” by Janice Dick of Guernsey, SK

Some of the contributors to 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers

We celebrated the launch of the paperback edition of 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers on Friday night after the banquet.





I'm grateful for the volunteer team of people God has brought together to serve on the InScribe Executive for 2015-16:

President: Ruth L. Snyder

Vice-President: Sheila Webster

Secretary: Sandi Somers

Treasurer: Bobbi Junior

Membership: Gwen Mathieu

Website: Janelle Baldwin

Local Writing Group Coordinator: Tracy Krauss

Publicity Coordinator: Karma Pratt

FellowScript Editor-in-Chief: Sheila Webster

Contest Coordinator: Eleanor Bertin

Conference Convener 2016:

Spiritual Advisor Team: Jack Popjes and Connie Inglis (Elaine Ingalls Hogg as able)

FellowScript Acquisitions Editor: Pam Mytroen

FellowScript Layout Editor: Janelle Baldwin

FellowScript Columns Editor: Nina Morey

InScribe Writers Online Blog Moderator: Tracy Krauss

Professional Blog Moderator: Stephanie Nickel

Listserv Moderator: Sheri Hathaway

Administrative Assistant: Marnie Pohlmann

ICWF Book Coordinator:

Provincial/Territorial Reps: Tracy Krauss, BC; Tandy Balson, AB; Janice Dick, SK; Addy Oberlin, MB; Glynis Belec, ON; Beverley Nippard, NL/Labrador (Vacant: Yukon, Nunavut, Quebec, PEI, NB, and NS)

Pray that God will continue to use InScribe to encourage and equip writers who are Christians!

Conference Reaction by T.L. Wiens

Last night I felt a sudden sharp pain in my toe. When I reached down in the darkness I realized an insect was having a meal. After taking my revenge, I thought about the different biting insects.

That brought up thoughts of the Brown Recluse Spider. This small creature’s bite goes from a small itchy red spot to massive swelling, loss of skin,  difficulty breathing, permanent nerve damage, and in small children, can lead to death. One little spider bite.

That sent me to thinking about the conference. For me, an introvert, the thought of going to conference is very much like that spider bite. It starts with the pain of travel, meeting people and then I think about sitting in workshops where my attention deficit will kick in. Unlike the spider bite, the long term effects are not debilitating but positive.

So I’ll push myself out of my comfort zone, let the pain come and likely meet a few other writers who are suffering the same symptoms of conference attendanceitis. Then I'll head home with some new strategies for my writing and maybe even a few new friends.

See you all at the Inscribe Fall Conference!

A Call to Prayer - Ruth L. Snyder

Have you ever wondered how your actions would be different if you could see activity in spiritual realms? The Bible gives us glimpses, like Satan's discussion with God about Job, Isaiah's vision of a seraphim who cleansed his unclean lips with a live coal, and Daniel's vision where the prince of the kingdom of Persia delayed the answer to his prayer by twenty-one days.

Sometimes it's easy to forget we are in a spiritual battle. However, the battle is real, whether we acknowledge it or not. Each time we as Christians write for the glory of God, we are engaging in battle. When we meet for fall conference so that we are better prepared and armed to write, we will face opposition.

Whether you are attending conference this year or not, I invite you to join the executive in prayer. Pray daily if possible. If God leads you to do so, set aside a day to fast and pray. Here are some ideas (based on ideas which Janet Sketchley "borrowed" from ACFW):

• Promotion: that the message gets out to those who God wants to hear it
• Enough volunteers to share the load
• More than enough registrations to cover costs
• Clear communication with speakers and workshop leaders
• Registration process online to work properly
• Fall Contest judges as they select winners
• Sponsorships to cover some costs
• God's Spirit to cover the Sawridge Inn and protect attendees from spiritual attacks
• Keynote speakers: Jeff Goins, Caleb J. Seeling
• Workshop instructors - preparation, clarity of thought, ability to explain well
• Ruth L. Snyder (our fearless leader)
• Conference Registrar: Gwen Mathieu
• Bookstore preparation
• Health and allergy protection, safety onsite
• Divine appointments, making contacts and friends
• Travel to/from safely and uninterrupted, belongings not to get misplaced
• Good rest, adjustment to time zones, peace about (and protection for) families at home
• Prayer times and worship sessions
• Spiritual blessings and tangible presence of the Spirit
• First-time attendees
• Flow of creative ideas
• Encouragement for each participant
• For people who don't win awards or who get disappointing results from critiques or appointments
• Banquet and celebration of Fall Contest participants
• Launch of paperback edition of 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers
• Blue pencil critiques
• Sound equipment, projectors, laptops, recordings etc to work well
• Practical learning for each participant
• God's anointing on whole event
• God to surprise us
• Participants to go home equipped and encouraged 
• Re-entry into the “real world”
• Protection on each one’s spirit
• Processing of what was learned
• Following up on opportunities and contacts
• Enthusiasm to apply what’s learned, even with winter coming on
• Career plans, God's leading
• Participants to feel "courageous in becoming word warriors - that they would have a greater sense of the contribution they can make in proclaiming truth through the written word

"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31

The Birth of a Book - Ruth L. Snyder

This anthology sprang to life in the spring of 2014 at an executive meeting where someone voiced the thought, “What if . . .?” A motion transformed the dream into a plan. A small band of volunteers (Kimberley Payne, Stephanie Nickel, Sandi Somers and I) agreed to work together on the project, with the goal of having the book ready to launch at Fall Conference 2015. Our team grew to include Ellen Hooge, Beverley Nippard, and Carolyn Wilker. During conference 2014, the official call for submissions went out. One by one submissions trickled in until the deadline.

We decided to use 99designs for the cover to get better exposure for our organization. This resulted in an amazing selection of covers, which we narrowed down to one.

            

Making selections for the anthology was a challenge. A team of four prayerfully read and marked the submissions, then had a candid discussion. Pieces were chosen based on content, quality, and how well they fit the applicable theme. Some pieces, which were well written, did not fit with the rest of the submissions, so were rejected. Editing, layout, obtaining ISBNs, writing front and back matter, asking for endorsements, formatting, and more editing followed. Hundreds of volunteer hours were donated for the glory of God. 

The anthology features 28 Canadian authors who come from all walks of life and write in various genres for a range of audiences. Through fiction, poetry, and non-fiction such as devotionals, essays, and articles, they generously share their own discoveries, success stories, and hard-won lessons to encourage and support other Christian writers.

The e-book version of 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is now available on Kindle. The paperback version will be released during our InScribe Fall Conference in September. Share the news with your family and friends and come celebrate with us in Edmonton by registering for conference today!

Endorsements

“I love seven things about this book: It is practical. It is affordable. It is encouraging. It is worth highlighting, underlining and dog-earing. Plus it made me forget about my toothache. Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran writer, you’ll discover 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers to be jammed with instantly actionable advice that will make you a better writer. Dig in.”
—Phil Callaway (www.philcallaway.com) is the best-selling author of more than 25 books, a popular speaker, the host of Laugh Again Radio, and a grandpa.

“7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is an absolute gem! I love that it covers all the basics a writer needs to know, making them simple and practical. I also love that the book has many authors, giving us ideas and suggestions from their own writing journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously considering writing as a vocation or even an avocation, particularly those writers who see their work as a ministry—which it certainly is!”
—Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com) is an award-winning author of more than 50 books. A wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Kathi lives in Southern California with her husband, Al.

“7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is loaded with actionable advice that will make you a better writer. Whether you are a multi-published author or a beginning writer, this book will benefit you.”
—Shelley Hitz, author coach and best-selling author
www.ShelleyHitz.com 

“This book is a beautiful blend of faithfulness and craft. It will help you answer the practical questions of what it means to be a writer while honoring what you believe. I wish I’d read this when I got started.”
—Jeff Goins, Best-selling author, The Art of Work

“There are hundreds of how-to-write books on the market, but none that I know of touches BOTH of the vital aspects of writing as a Christian better than this anthology from InScribe. The practical AND the spiritual are woven into a whole by a remarkably creative group of writers who are in the trenches as we speak. I intend to snack on this fare again and again.”
—Nancy Rue, best-selling Christian author and creator of Shadow to Shelf, a mentoring program for writers.

For more details, check out the media page at http://inscribe.org/media-page-7-essential-habits-of-christian-writers/

InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship Fall Conference 2014 - Ruth L. Snyder

InScribe Members Sheila Webster, Glynis Belec, Carol Schaefer, Ruth Snyder, Tandy Balson and Greg McKitrick at the ICWF Book Signing, The Fig Tree in West Edmonton Mall

Thursday night mixer

What a wonderful few days I've enjoyed! The fun and fellowship started on Thursday afternoon at the InScribe book signing at The Fig Tree in West Edmonton Mall. Six of us were able to participate. Although we didn't sell books that day, the manager invited us to leave our books in the store on consignment. He also set up a special InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship section in the store! That evening we held our first ever Artists and Writers Coffee House Mixer. About 40 people came out and most attendees shared either a reading or a description of art. One attendee commented,

"This was a great way to meet others and share stories. I appreciated having the stories connected to the art piece."

Plenary session at Fall Conference

Attendance was up a bit for this year's conference, and before the weekend was over we gained 15 new members :). The extra workshops on Friday went over extremely well; in fact, people are asking for conference to start Friday morning next year. Attendees commented they appreciated the variety in workshops and the warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Keynote Speaker, Phil Callaway

Phil Callaway shared stories from his own writing journey and walk with God. On Saturday morning his session was called, "If Phil Can Write...So Can You!" He encouraged us to:

1. Be talented
2. Be a reader
3. Be self-critical
4. Be neat
5. Be strategic
6. Be focused
7. Be knowledgeable about words & markets
8. Be personable; Act like a Christian should!
9. Be observant (Show, don't tell)
10. Be persistent
11. Be yourself
12. Be prayerful; Ask God what He wants you to say
13. Be a doer (Psalm 34:3-4
14. Be faithful

"It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer. Those who do not do this remain amateurs." Gerald Brenan

Executive members for 2014 - Back (L to R) Bryan Norford, Tracy Krauss, Ruth L. Snyder, Glynis Belec, Gwen Mathieu, Eleanor Bertin. Front (L to R) Sheila Webster, Shirley Patterson, Sheri Hathaway, Sandi Somers, Janice Dick, Bobbi Junior

 I'm thankful we have almost a full slate of officers on our executive for 2014. We still need someone to step into the Vice-president role. Here's a list of our current executive members:

President: Ruth L. Snyder
Vice-president: (Vacant)
Secretary: Sandi Somers
Treasurer: Bobbi Junior
Membership: Gwen Mathieu
Website: Janelle Baldwin
Local Writing Group Coordinator: Tracy Krauss
Publicity Coordinator: Glynis Belec
FellowScript Editor-in-Chief: Sheila Webster
FellowScript Acquisitions Editor: Pam Mytroen
FellowScript Columns Editor: Joanna Dawyd
FellowScript Layout Editor: Bryan Norford
Contest Coordinator: Eleanor Bertin
Conference Convener 2015: Shirley Patterson
InScribe Writers Online Blog Moderator: Tracy Krauss
Professional Blog Moderator: Stephanie Nickel
Spiritual Advisor: Sheila Webster
Listserv Moderator: Sheri Hathaway
BC Rep: Tracy Krauss
Saskatchewan Rep: Janice Dick
Manitoba Rep: Addy Oberlin
Ontario Rep: Glynis Belec
New Brunswick Rep: Elaine Ingalls Hogg
NL/Labrador Rep: Beverley Nippard

One of our new members sums it up well:

"I’m very grateful for the effort put into the conference this year.  Glad to have met so many new friends."

For God, in the World, With our Art - Ruth L. Snyder

Yesterday, September 28th, was the first day of the ICWF Fall Conference. Nancy Rue challenged us to consider what kind of writers we are:

• The Monk - Comes to a conference teeming with ideas, with nothing written. Praying lots. Her interior monastery (Pustinia) pulses with life, but she can't get a reading on actual production.
• The Blue Collar (Hard Hat) - Comes to conference with a perfectly formatted manuscript and knows all the marketing routine. Writing schedule. Works hard, but no soul.
• Balance Beam Gymnist - Totally gets the importance of both a connection with God and writing. Comes to conference hoping for a magic formula.

Nancy went on to share how she sets goals every year on her birthday. This year it was like God asked her, "Why don't you pray first and then set your goals?"

She challenged us to pray, "God, please show me what goals YOU have for me and how to accomplish them."

She encouraged us to continue to discover and celebrate our strengths as writers.

At conferences, and throughout the year we should:

1. Be a good steward of our time. This looks different every day! Rather than trying to cram in everything you can or just kicking back and relaxing, pray and ask God, "What do I really need to do here?"
2. Focus on the work God has shown us 
3. Be part of our spiritual community. Writing is a solitary profession. When we have an opportunity to commune with fellow writers, we need to enjoy it!
4. Listen to God through the place we''re in - Get outside and enjoy nature etc. God is always saying something! Are we listening?

Remember: This is your chance to allow God to establish His rhythm in you.

This morning I had the opportunity to prepare for my day by taking a walk, enjoying the scenery, and talking with God. I'm looking forward to what God is going to teach me today.

What about you?