Newsletters

17 days and counting  
Oh my...you should see my office. Boxes stacked, papers everywhere, last minute details. OH MY...but I'm so excited. I hope you are too. Remember, to pray for good weather. If you are still afraid of weather, go to the registration page, scroll down, and purchase travel insurance. I have great faith God will keep us on track.

Assignment 4 is up on the site
Assignment 4 is up on the site. You can click here for Andrea Merrell's awesome assignment on crafting great dialogue. Dialogue is where I see authors fall apart, over tagging, missing those beats, and sounding a wee bit corny. Andrea trains you well on how to write excellent dialogue. I hope you'll spend some time looking over her information and then doing the assignment.  These assignments 7 weeks prior to your arriving at the conference are something we feel sets us apart from the pack. We want to educate you as much as we can and you'll find these little snippet assignments are going to help you prepare your work for the conference. It's my hope you'll take advantage of them. Andrea Merrell is a top notch editor, you'll learn much from her wisdom.

So assignment 4 is up on the site. You can access it today by going to our blog by clicking this link: http://wp.me/p2Fbzx-N1

_______________________________________

Keep our conference focused - I've really hated to have to bring this up, but in light of social media and the misfire of political rhetoric, I feel I need to address this issue. We work hard and pray hard to provide you an enjoyable and informative weekend. Our world is in such chaos right now, and though we cannot hide from it, we can leave it outside for a day or two. I realize politics rage in the minds of everyone, but I ask that while we are at the conference, we keep our thoughts and minds centered on the subject at hand. Stay focused on writing, and learning all you can to be better writers. Leave the political rhetoric in the car. The Cove is a beautiful, God-centered retreat. Allow your minds to rest from the world, to focus on the call, and to pray and praise God while you are here. 

______________________________________
All CONFERENCE UPDATES - Please check out the conference update page. If you are a new conferee, recently registered, you will find loads of information there. Those who have recently registered, we need your short bio and a jpg photo for our Roster. Cindy Saab is working hard to pull that together. Please, even if you don't think you have a bio, it's fine. Tell us a little about you. 75 words or less and send us a photo. This roster will be your best friend before and after the conference. Please note, we are not doing a major edit on the roster.
From here forward, you will find all necessary information for your arrival at the Cove at this link. http://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/prepare-for-arrival/  

Everything from where we meet, to what to wear is on the conference update page.  About check-in - We are tentatively set to stay in Pilgrams Inn (this is the first hotel as you go up the campus of the Cove). You will park your car there and the Cove runs a bus every 10 minutes for the 2 minute ride to the main building. YOU CANNOT PHYSICALLY ENTER YOUR HOTEL ROOM UNTIL AFTER 2 PM...BUT you will go to Pilgrams Inn, check in and get your name badge. You'll also find Dee Dee Parker and Beth Fortune waiting there to give give you all necessary items you will need for the Conference. You'll go straight to the main building, Floor 3, after you get your badge - Early Bird classes begin at 1. There will be time after early bird classes for you to move your baggage into your room. The rooms are not ready for occupancy before 2 p.m. 

Also the Newsletters are posted under the conference update tab, by clicking Forms and Newsletters. Each newsletter is placed on this page so you can go back and review information you might need.

__________________________________________
THIS IS RED FOR A REASON!

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION - DO NOT RESPOND TO ME VIA REPLY ON THIS EMAIL.  Please send any responses to me in a new email to [email protected]. With over 120 people responding, the thread grows long and emails are missed. PLEASE ALWAYS SEND ME A NEW EMAIL WITH YOUR CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS. Do not text me or IM me on FaceBook - it is too easily lost.
___________________

Mentoring - Mentoring appointments are still available with Yvonne Lehman and Linda Gilden. Don't miss out on this prime opportunity to work one-on-one with the cream of the crop. Contact Terri at [email protected] for an appointment. 

___________________

ONE MORE TIME - SEND THOSE BIOS AND JPGS to Cindy Saab
IF YOU ARE NEW TO OUR NEWS LETTERS we need you to send a .jpg and a short bio (under 75 words to [email protected] . This is VERY IMPORTANT. We need your photo and bio along with your email address so that we can complete our roster. This roster will be sent to you just before the conference so you can use it as a networking tool and familiarize yourself with your peers. PLEASE send this to Cindy Saab (not me...but CINDY SAAB) asap. We want you all in our roster. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP US WITH THIS. We'll be sending you this networking tool the week prior to your arrival at the Cove. This is  soooo helpful. You'll be glad you have it. So send those bios and photos to Cindy Saab ASAP.

______________________________
Appointments - Appointment times are valuable. BUT...not so valuable that we have a cow herd rush, plowing down faculty. Terri Kelly will be explaining how we will take appointments. She will give you a card to write the appointments you'd like to have. We want every conferee to have the opportunity to have at least one appointment. So we'll fill those first. After that, Terri will explain how you can make additional appointments. But when she opens this up for you to sign up, I ask you to be courteous and kind. Last year, folks trampled one another to get to these appointment sheets and well, my sweet friends, that's just not acceptable. Our space is limited and our bookstore must continue to run. We ask that you form a single line along the wall and wait patiently. Decide prior to signing up, WHO you want to see so you can walk straight to that signup sheet and not hold up the line. Last year, I thought poor, Terri, Bennie, Kevin, and Renee would be smashed into the floor. Please be courteous. We're all big boys and girls here. 
_________________________

Critiques - Terri Kelly is preparing our critique schedule and mentoring schedule. Critiques cost you a little money but BOY ARE THEY WORTH IT. Consider taking this next step in your writing career and do a paid critique. You'll get amazing and professional feed back about your work, and who knows...maybe you'll get an invitation to send your work to one of them for possible publication. Check out the critiques page.

_________________________

ACWC 2018
We have our booked dates for February 16-18, 2018.  The Cove is wonderful to book ahead for us. Next year we are stepping out on faith and reserving 60 rooms. You have no idea how this scares me. But I want as many ON campus as possible. So if you think you might attend next year, pay your $25 deposit to hold the room of your choice (single or double - you'll tell us your preference when you reserve). This will assure you have a space on campus. This is the 5th year in a row we have sold out this conference. God is good. If you think you might attend, make a small deposit. We'll contact you mid-summer to see if you are still interested. Plan ahead. Get your spot reserved on campus.

_____________________________

MP3s of the Conference - This year our own Scott McCausey will be recording all our classes. He works hard to put them all in MP3 format so you can download them to your personal computer. There is no CD to worry about...you will simply download them from a secure page when they are ready. Our MP3s of the ENTIRE conference are only $35. I encourage you to purchase them. You'll have all the handouts in your ACWC Stepping In and Stepping Out Manual. The two together get you a year-round conference. I encourage you to purchase the MP3s. You'll be glad to have them for future reference.

Remember our mission of the year - The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Last year many of you met the hilarious and very talented Bob Hostetler. Bob has two small grandchildren who both battle CF.  I have a cousin who battles it. And last year, great strides happened in the research when a new medication came on the scene that is improving the quality of life for CF patients. Bob's grandchildren will be able to receive this medication this year. My cousin, received it last year. It's now approved for wide-spread usage in children age 7 through adult. We'll have a BOB JAR at the bookstore and I hope you'll help us raise much needed research funds for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. What ever $ amount is raised at the conference, Christian Devotions will try to match so that we can make a huge difference in the lives of Bob's grandchildren and the lives of thousands of others. I hope you'll give.

________________________________

Write With Responsibility
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13 NIV

Isn't freedom wonderful? We are fortunate to live in a nation where freedom is bought and paid for in advance. Yet, when we flip on the television or radio, all we hear is chaos and upheaval. Freedom? Well, yes it is. Freedom to speak, to protest, to write, to do pretty much whatever we want. 

Our freedom to write does not come without great responsibility. It's important to understand the power of words. We can craft sentences that scrape at the very soul or tear down any inkling of peace. Writers can touch hearts or incite havoc. Those who pen, have that power and the freedom to use it. 

It was once said, that the man with true power is to be feared and I believe that to be true. Those who have influential power are not necessarily politicians, but those who write the stories you read. Social media is flooded with fake news, people exercising their ability to write in freedom. But is it responsible to write anything you please simply because you can?

Paul wrote to the people in Galatia reminding them they were called to be free, but simultaneously warning, not to indulge in flesh. Earthly sinful natures include more than sexual desires. It includes greed, selfishness, and dishonesty. His words were, "serve one another humbly in love." 

When we take up the pen, we are armed with a mighty sword. How will you wield the sword - with integrity and honesty, or with greed and selfishness?  Your gift, your calling to write is to be used with great responsibility, for you are accountable for every word to the Lord God for all you say and write. Let your words be free, but let them be nothing short of a glory to the Father. Write in love, and teach by consequence in your writing. Change lives with the love of Christ. God gifted us with the passion to craft words that move. Pray over every piece you write and be sure before you send it into the world, it brings pride and glory to the Father above.

Cindy