OC Christian Writers Conference

• Session One: Opening hooks, meaty middles, and satisfying endings.
  
• Session Two: Participants will revise their manuscripts based on class discussion and written comments from instructors.
  
• Session Three: Critiquing of revised work; open discussion; instructors will share common mistakes non-fiction writers make.

Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. A devotee of purposeful pre-writing, Susan encourages workshop attendees to maximize writing time by mapping the writing journey and beginning from a place of intimate knowledge. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2008. She is a pastor's wife and a mother of four young adults. When she's not writing, Susan directs the Small Groups and Connection Ministries program at her San Diego church.

• A fully fleshed-out lead and/or supporting character.
• A relatable and relevant conflict.
• A storyline that invites discussion, introspection or wonder.
• Correlating subplot threads.
• A satisfying conclusion.
  

Come ready to assume the role of your lead character during discussion times. As your lead character, you must be ready to answer these questions at any time: what it is that you want, what or who stands in your way, why you want it, what will happen if you succeed, what will happen if you fail, how you are going to get what you want, what you will have to risk or give up to get it, how you think your life will be different when you have it, what God thinks about what you want, what your closest friends and family think about what you want, why you think you face opposition, what your limitations are, what you fear most in this quest, what you think your greatest strength is, what you think your greatest weakness is.

Kathy Collard Miller's Keynote Address:

Coping with Criticism, Compliments and Competition.

• Holding Court at The Shack: Reaching the Spiritually-Interested
  How a self-published run-away bestseller launched a secret publishing revolution--and what it means for you.
• Your Best Book Published Now: From Manuscript to Bestseller
  What does it REALLY take to become a published author?

Donald H. Alban, Jr. (PhD) is the editor of Power for Living, a weekly Bible-based inspirational magazine based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is also a professor of communication studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His publishing credits include numerous magazine and newspaper articles and scholarly writings in the area of religious communication. Don, his wife, Vangie, and their four small children, live in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Power for Living ministers to a broad adult readership from a variety of churches and age groups--from the many individual and Sunday School class readers to the tens of thousands of adults receiving PFL through a Christian outreach like church-to-home contacts, convalescent ministries and prison ministries. Whatever their circumstances, PFL readers find encouragement and strength through the Christian testimonies and teachings of believers--from past or present, at home or abroad.

Tapping into Christ's power for life--that's essentially why Power for Living started in 1943; and that's why today more than a quarter of a million readers still find it lives up to its name. PFL's focus has always been on the powerful work of God's Spirit and His Word, both in and through His people.

Don Alban's Workshops:

• The Editorial Perspective: Strategies for Publishing Inspirational Non-fiction in the Christian Writers Market.
• The Third-Person Testimonial: Writing Christian Profiles That Work.
  
  

Brian's other film credits include the Morgan Freeman-directed Bopha! (1993) for Paramount Pictures, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame drama Captive Heart (1996) (TV), and Call Me Claus, the highest rated cable film of 2003. He has also written screen adaptations of In Silence for Paramount Pictures, Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation for TNT, Before Time Runs Out for Fox Broadcasting Company, The Deaths of Sybil Bolton for CBS and A Dirty Business for HBO. His TV series producer and writing credits include more than 250 episodes of Touched By an Angel (where from 1998-2003, he served as co-executive producer and writer on the final five seasons on the series), Evening Shade, Step by Step and The Family Man.

Brian Bird's Workshop: The Basics of Screenplay Writing. 

John Fox has written nonfiction for the Los Angeles Times, US Airways Magazine, and PBS online.

• Top Blogging Secrets: How to Build Your Career and Brand.
• The Ultimate Strategy Guide for Literary Journal Submissions.

• Elves, Demons, and Space Marines--the fun and challenge of writing Christian speculative fiction.
• The Three Mistakes that Will Kill Your Novel's Chances with Editors, and How To Eliminate Them (the Mistakes, Not the Editors...)

• Writing Devotionals - Focuses on the four essentials for writing an effective daily devotional:  Bible basis, authenticity, concentration on a single dominant image, and universality.  Included will be information about the devotional market in general as well as specialized writing for The Upper Room, the world's largest daily devotional guide.
• Writing that Gets Published and Read - Do you want to produce writing with such sparkle and verve that it will knock the socks off editors?  Do you want them to be falling all over themselves to publish your submission and then clamoring for anything you might intend to write in the future? That's what this two-part class is all about.  These sessions will describe and illustrate the essential elements of style for writing in any genre.  Participants will come away with concrete tools for self-editing to produce polished works that attract readers and editors alike.

• Basic Building Blocks for Establishing a Successful Writing/Editing Career.
• Publishing Options in Today's Changing Markets?

• Bible-Teaching: evangelical, non-denominational.
• Reproducible: help stretch tight budgets by making as many copies as needed.
• Age-appropriate: books are designed for specific age level interests and abilities Creativity: fun, unique activities kids love.
• Flexibility: use for Sunday school, children's church, Bible clubs, Christian school, home school or VBS.
• Variety: crafts, games, puzzles, take-home papers, bulletin boards and more.
• Teacher-friendly: lessons that turn volunteers into teaching pros.
• Value: books packed with activities and patterns From Sunday school to home school to VBS.

Perils of Publishing - Extreme Makeover: Editing Edition

• Writing 101 - This class will teach all the basics needed to write your first article or short story. You will learn a three-step writing method, how to write and format a manuscript to an editor's specifications, and how to market.
• Writing from the Heart -  Only God knows what he has in mind for us regarding our writing. To write effectively we need to get in touch with our own feelings, get it touch with God, and get in touch with others. We need to: STOP - LISTEN - WRITE. If we can help others get in touch with their own feelings and in touch with God, then God has truly used us as his divine instrument.

• How to Build a Successful Career as a Children's Writer.
• Developing Characters, Plot, and Dialogue with Kid Appeal From Picture Books to Young Adult Novels.