Welcome writers!

Encouraging

YOur CALL to

Write.

THIS YEAR we are excited to bring the blessings of Live AND Zoom meetings to fit your needs.

COMING SOON:

PAST BLESSINGS:

Monday Oct. 4, 2021 7:00 pm

Heidi Killion Gaul

Heidi is a gifted social media maven, well-known in the industry for her Facebook group "Broken Dreams and Detours." In her talk of the same name, she asks, "Why does God allow tough challenges and heartbreak, even as we struggle to honor Him with our words?"

We will learn to study our life-paths, each as individual as our souls. As believers and scribes, we carry a responsibility to use our unique experiences to enrich our writing and bless our readers-- and most important, follow God's will. Come and explore fresh writing possibilities. Your past can feed your future.

 Heidi writes for Guidepost's devotional books: Every day with Jesus and Mornings with Jesus, The Upper Room devotionals and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. She has also written two novels and is a member of Oregon Christian Writers. A final judge for major writing competitions, she enjoys speaking, leading workshops and mentoring. www..HeidiGaul.com.

Monday, September 13, 2021 7:00 pm

Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner is a top shelf novelist of Historical and Women's Fiction. Five of her many CBA (Christian) books are still in print and she now has six out in the general book market. Susan inspires many with her warmth and storytelling and brings "True Plotting Tips."

September 14, 2020 7:00 PM

JD DeWitt

As a literary manager, JD, with 5x5 Productions, develops and packages material for film and television and is currently in co-production of four projects, two each for television and film. She just completed the film version of our own Lesley McDaniel's sweet romance, Home Sweet Home, Available on Amazon Prime. JD is always on the lookout for story which lends itself to episodic programming, and would love to hear your pitch!

Monday Oct. 5, 2020 7:00 pm

Tim Shoemaker

Diving into DEEP POV

Point-of-view—used right—is a tool to make your writing so much more real and powerful.  We’ll look at a balanced view of deep POV . . . and five secrets to getting there. Get this right—and you’ve got killer fiction. Mess it up and your fiction is already dead.  And learning to write in a deeper POV will even help strengthen your non-fiction—especially when you’re relating a story. Fiction or non-fiction, we’ll help show you how to make your story come alive!

Tim Shoemaker is the author of 14 books, including fiction for middle grade boys and family non-fiction. He speaks to parents around the country about living the Christian life in a way that influences the next generation. Happily married for over 39 years, Tim has three married sons, grandchildren and is active in church leadership.

Monday, Nov. 2, 2020 7:00 pm

Steven James

Critically acclaimed writer of more than 3 dozen  books, Steven is a masterful story-teller and great teacher. It's a reason to be thankful that he is willing to share his gifts and tips with us.

The Essence of Story: The Pathway to Transformation

When you focus on what lies at the heart of story—tension, desire, crisis, escalation, struggle, discovery—rather than plot templates and formulas, you’ll begin to break out of the box and write fiction that resonates with your readers. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, good storytelling is vital for your project. This workshop is ideal for writers of all genres and includes practical insights and easy-to-implement ideas.

Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 7:00 pm

Debbie Macomber

We're all needing an infusion of hope, especially this year. The fabulous NYT Bestseller, Debbie Macomber, has been bringing Christmas hope and joy to the world for years. This year, Monday, December 7th, she's sharing it with NCWA through Zoom! Please join us for this time of teaching and inspiration-- "Writing for Christmas: The Hope of the Nativity."

Whether you write Christmas Novellas, blogs, social media posts, cookbooks, Bible studies, or Christmas letters, we all tend to write for Christmas. Please do bring your questions. Fiction or non fiction, Debbie would love to share the tools you need to inspire.

Debbie Macomber is an American author of romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Six of her novels have become made-for-TV movies and her Cedar Cove series of novel was adapted into the television series of the same name. Debbie is also the author of cookbooks, novellas, and many non-fiction works. She's a dear and inspiring lady with a heart for God and people. It's truly a gift to have her speak in the Christmas season.

Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 7:00 pm

Paul Young

Being Human, Being God.

Paul Young is the writer of The Shack, Cross Roads, and Eve. A New Guinea missionary kid, and one of the first Non-Guinea children to speak the language, Wm. Paul Young got the joy of being part of the N.G. culture.

He became known for his thoughts on God and healing. At his wife's request, Paul wrote The Shack, and after 26 publishing houses said no, they formed their own company.

The Shack has spent significant time on the best-sellers list. As exciting as that is, he's more excited about its role in helping people see the wonder of God.

Monday, Feb. 1. 2021 7:00 pm

Genre Breakout Groups

Monday, Mar. 1, 2021 7:00 pm

Thomas Umstattd

Blogger, Podcaster, speaker, CEO, and generally amazing guy, Thomas has spoken on website design, and almost every writing-related subject.

He will be sharing his platform building toolbox with us.

Monday, April 5, 2021 7:00 pm

Melanie Dobson

Slip Time, Historical, and inspirational speaker extraordinaire.

Monday May 3, 2021 7:00 pm

Kathy Fellure

Kathy writes Children's picture books, Including Nana's Tin of Buttons, and Women's Fiction including The Language of the Lake. Kathy's talk on"Writing in an Ever-changing Storyland" will include marketing tips and a look into the ups and downs of the Children's market.

Kathy Fellure:

Interested in writing children’s books? Decide which market suits you ~ the traditional (CBA/ABA markets), Indie or self-publishing. Learn how to figure out what age group is your target audience and how to work with an illustrator. Pre-marketing and social media influences will be discussed. Learn how to turn the ideas floating in your head and on your computer into books that have take-away value that will last and make a difference in a diverse world of already published books. Current COVID complications will be discussed.

Caleb Breakey

Author, book consultant and inspiration.

Topic: How to Tell the Truth and Earn a Traditional Book Contract

Blurb: Why is telling the truth so important in your writing? Come explore the answer and discover the secret to landing your dream agent and signing with a world-class publisher.

Bio: Caleb Breakey is a Jesus-loving Book Proposal and Author Platform Expert. He is a proud partner of HarperCollins Christian Publishing and helps authors land their dream literary agent and secure traditional book deals using a turnkey book proposal collaboration system. The author of four books—most recently The String, a psychological thriller—Caleb is an ECPA Book Award finalist and he won the ACFW Genesis Award for speculative fiction. He is a Clickfunnels 2 Comma Award marketer and the founder and CEO of Speak It To Book and Sermon To Book, companies devoted to helping Christian leaders and pastors spread the gospel by turning their ideas and sermons into books. Caleb believes in building God’s Kingdom by helping you lean into your unique gifting, wiring, and positioning so that you can selflessly serve others. His clients have hit all of the best-sellers lists: New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, #1 Amazon.

NCWA Blog 

Check out our blog here

Monthly Meetings

NCWA meets September-to-June at Eastside Church in Bothell, WA, and on Zoom through member invitation.

***DON'T FORGET TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

Come join this wonderful, Christ-centered group for an evening of laughter, friendship, inspiration, and learning!

monthly meetings feature great keynote speakers, a Christian Writer’s Coach training segment, member book launches, opportunities to network with other writers, the chance to share manuscript celebrations—as well as redirections—participate in a critique group, be part of the Northwest Christian Writers community on Facebook, and much more.

Meet Our NCWA BOARD Family

Click link to watch video: IMG_0956 Meet the board 2021-2022.MOV

President:
Dena Netherton

Vice President:
Sonja Anderson

Secretary:
Liz Holtzman

Treasurer:
Durrone Schuler

Author Support Coordinators:
Nancy Aguilar & Marianne Petersen

Critique Group Coordinator:
Pat Schantz

Devotion Coordinator:
Jan Anderson

Editors Connection Coordinator:
Dori Harrell

Hospitality Coordinator:
Lynette Bishop

Membership Coordinator:
Vivienne Aulaire

Program  Coordinator:
Kathleen Freeman

Social Media Coordinator: 
Rose Angove

Technology Coordinator:
Eric Gollings

Writers Coach:
Tina Gollings

Conference Directors:
Charles Harris & Perry Harris
Janet Sergeson

Devotions

Are you eager to help others in their spiritual lives? Do you have a word of encouragement for those who are discouraged in their work or ministry? Has God lavished His care upon you and you wish to raise your voice in thanksgiving? If so, please consider signing up to give the five-minute devotion at one of our monthly meetings. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain some speaking experience and to allow fellow members the chance to know you better.

If you wish to participate, please contact our Devotion Coordinator, for more details. We all look forward to what you have to share!

Contact Devotion Coordinator

Writers Conference

NCWA Hosts an annual Renewal conference with well-known keynoters, literary agents, acquisitions editors, accomplished workshop presenters and tech trainers, manuscript critique opportunities, book tables, vendors . . . to name just some of what you’ll find.

This year, it's virtual and bigger than ever!

A word of thanks and  conference blessing by Ginger Kauffman :

"What a great conference! Thank you to the team that made this event possible, from the leadership that worked so hard to create the event to the instructors and others who brought the great content to us, to the tech team who were always there to get us where we wanted to go.

May our characters be engaging and believable and their words be well chosen, may our themes turn people's hearts to truth, our scenes come to life, and our worlds inspire imagination.

May all our prose be active, our hooks draw in our readers, our voice come through loud and clear in our writing. May the agents and editors of Christian publishing recognize the authors of NW Christian Writers by our careful attention to the four Ps, the killer first chapters of our nonfiction books, our well crafted proposals, and how carefully we follow the guidelines for submission.

Might writers of all genres delight their readers, may all our websites be engaging and easy to navigate, may our devotions speak a clear message, and may our podcasts attract people to Jesus.

May our platforms be for others and might we live in adventure as we develop them. May we not forget that all our marketing is to bring glory to God, not to ourselves.

And may all of our gardens produce a bushel of tame tomatoes!

#NCWARenewal2021

PAST WORKSHOPS

Dori Harrell, Editor Tips

Screenwriting 101Jennifer Dornbush led her class through the ins and outs of writing screenplays for Hollywood.

A Glimpse Inside the General Market with Debbie Macomber.

How to Craft a Marketing Plan with Thomas Umstattd.