Mile High Scribes Monthly Meeting

November 2, 2009
7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble - Park Meadows

Special Speaker:
Megan DiMaria

A Writer's Journey

Megan DiMaria is an author and speaker who enjoys cheering on other writers in their pursuits and encouraging women to embrace life’s demands and delights. She is an active member of several writers groups and is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.

A New Journey, Writing Included

The sun warms my face as I listen to the soft rustle of autumn leaves and the faraway bark of a dog while I sit on my back porch. I sigh in pleasure at the musty smell of leaves and the brightness of the clear blue sky. This moment of peace and tranquility is something new for me. My world has been the scream of an electric guitar playing the same lick over and over as I stifle the urge to knock on my son’s door one more time and ask him to please find some headphones. Or the mindless entertainment of the latest reality TV show that my daughter has on. But for now, all I hear are the sounds of my Creator’s music. This is a good thing, I tell myself.

I am adjusting to a new season in my life. This isn’t something that I can try on like a new pair of pants at the store and discard if I don’t like them. This season is here to stay. I’ve passed the “raising my children” season and am on to the “empty nest” season of life. No more running after a toddler to wipe his runny nose or waking up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying child. No more cleaning out the Big Wheel that someone decided to use as a toilet since he couldn’t be bothered to stop playing and make it to the bathroom. No more listening to a teen complain about the social injustices of high school or even youth group. This is a good thing, I tell myself.

I know that many women might think that I am crazy to not embrace this new season with abandon. Isn’t it the goal of every parent to have finished this stage of the race? I never thought I would feel like I was 18 again struggling with what to do with the rest of my life. I had already answered that question and now I am faced with it once more. Is this a good thing, I wonder? Now I can act on my interests and desires like writing and speaking. Things that have been carefully stuffed in the back of the closet like clothes that don’t fit anymore but are kept because we just know that someday we’ll be able to pull them out again.

So now it is someday. I will dust off my dreams and sit on the porch to spend time reading the Word and hearing from the One who made me and knows the desires of my heart. I will take joy and pleasure in seeking Him as I start this new season that is the next step on life’s journey. And while I grieve for what once was, I look forward to experiencing all that He is setting before me. Obedience will bring fresh awareness of His long-term plan. This is a good thing, I know.

Writing As An Act of Worship

I love that time between slumber and awake when my soul is more open to HIS Voice. I especially love it when He speaks. He whispered sweet somethings to me twice this week. The first time it happened I struggled to pull out of asleep as I thought, it's another day, Lord. What should we do with it?

His immediate response was "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

My heart lightened, and I soon stood in the kitchen in my nightgown making hash browns and humming to a worship CD. Now before you think I'm spiritual, or a good mom 'cause I made breakfast, or even entertain the thought that I must be a morning person, let me clarify that both of those actions are rare. Mornings and I don't get along, and I have not praised the Lord as I wish I had over this last year of struggles. It is one of my greatest regrets.

Maybe that's why I felt so inadequate as I began preparation to speak at Mile High Scribes on Writing as an Act of Worship. It wasn't a topic I picked, and my recent whining about the writing journey didn't feel at all like worship. But the Good Lord confronts that nonsense--that "I'm not good enough to serve" mentality I slip into way too easily. I'd planned to tell you how He did this, but I just found out I'm speaking again Saturday on this topic, and well . . . if you want to know the whole story, I guess you'd better come to W!W!W! at 11:00.

So instead of giving you any more hints into the content of my presentation, I'd like to challenge you to just slow down for a minute or two. Breathe in and out. Acknowledge the One who is Author of All and Most Creative Being of Eternity.

Notice how your heart worships.

A writer, speaker, and homeschooling mother of four, Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God’s grace and intimacy with Jesus. Paula’s writing appears in magazines, book compilations, and devotionals. Most recently she’s written curriculum for David C. Cook publishing. Her devotional website, Soul Scents, offers a free weekly devotional. (www.SoulScents.us.) Paula serves as president of HIS Writers, the north Denver chapter of ACFW, and enjoys leading a Bible study group for high school girls. A devoted Pride and Prejudice fan, Paula loves good conversation, peppermint ice cream, and walking barefoot. Her greatest desire is to be close enough to Jesus to live His fragrance.

Mile High Scribes Monthly Meeting

October 5, 2009

7 p.m.

Barnes & Noble - Park Meadows

Special Speaker:

Paula Moldenhauer

Writing as an Act of Worship

A writer, speaker, and homeschooling mother of four, Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God’s grace and intimacy with Jesus. Paula’s writing appears in print and on-line magazines, book compilations, and devotionals. Most recently she’s written curriculum for David C. Cook publishing, and articles for Crosswalk.com where her work gets approximately 100,000 hits. Her devotional website, Soul Scents, offers a free weekly devotional and was highlighted in the fall 2004 issue of The Old School House Magazine. (www.SoulScents.us.) Subscribers for her weekly devotional hail from across North America and as far away as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Her website also includes book reviews and parenting hints. Her blog, www.gracereign.blogspot.com, is a popular stop for book reviews.

Paula serves as president of HIS Writers, the north Denver chapter of ACFW, and enjoys leading God Chasin’ Chicks, a Bible study group for high school aged girls, as well as public speaking. A devoted Pride and Prejudice fan, Paula loves good conversation, peppermint ice cream, and walking barefoot. Her greatest desire is to live His fragrance.

Kim Woodhouse - Book Signing - Sept 26th

Crosswalk Book Store and Cafe

Parker, CO 80134
Saturday, September 26th 2009

4-6 PM
Read more about the Woodhouses here & here.

www.kimberleywoodhouse.com

Writer- How Hungry Are You?

In the last two months, I've learned a good deal about hunger, a concept I knew very little about. I've always eaten from the brain. Head hunger. It's time to eat. I could eat. I feel like eating.

Now I am trying to listen to my stomach and let it tell me when to eat. It's a whole new world.

In learning about this, I discovered there are five levels of hunger:

Starving
Hungry
Satisfied
Full
Overfull

As I've been contemplating this, it occured to me that these levels fit writers and their desires along the writing journey.

I've been in the "writing world" for about three years now. What a wonderful place to grow and learn and live! It's become obvious to me that each writer is at a different place in this world.

I've met Starving Writers. This folks are wonderful in that they can talk about writing and books all day. But they also can be annoying. In their hunger, they often speed around in a marketing race car. They carry their business cards everywhere and often give them out just for the possibility of a connection that will further their goal. Starving writers are wonderful to take to lunch because the conversation is always interesting. But in a group, they tend to thrust their own marketing opportunities into conversation, even when it's not appropriate. (And yes, I have been a starving writer.)

Hungry Writers are fabulous people. Most writers I've met fall into this category. They want to learn about the business and they write not just for publication, but also to learn the craft. Hungry writers ask the best questions. In a group setting they are delightful because their eyes get wide often, either from dreaming or being inspired. (I believe today I am a hungry writer.)

Satisfied Writers are that lot of folks who don't necessarily NEED to be published again or even the first time. They write for the simple joy of writing. I love to be with satisfied writers. They often remind me that contentment in Jesus is the most important thing. Sometimes they just know their priorites, and publication is not one of them. OR they have a regular gig writing and in finding their niche, they are completely satisfied. (I find myself in this category in the summertime when I'm with Noah.)

Full Writers are ones who've just gotten a contract and are busy working to its fulfillment. And theirs. They are often writing mentors, at least the best ones are. Having found success they look for ways to help other writers - the hungry or starving especially. (I'm on my way.)

Overfull writers are those souls who just don't have time. Deadlines are approaching and they just can't seem to keep up with all the demands. They sequester themselves often to acquire that single-minded focus needed to finish. They have the experience to tell hungry writers that publication is not the end all of everything. Hungry writers smile but do not believe them. (Someday, Lord Jesus!)

Writers go through these stages consistently. I can be starving today and satisfied tomorrow. Often I'm satisfied in the summer. Noah is home and I know he is my priority. But fall comes and he goes off to school and hunger pains begin. My stomach growls for a new story, a new article to submit. Overfull writers can find a place of completion and suddenly they're starving for a new challenge.

My point is this: We are all in different phases. God has a plan and a desire for each of us, despite where we are on the hunger chart. Accepting each other, where we are, is the way to love other writers. This realization has helped me considerably in my expectations. See, if I sit down with a full writer and I am starving, I sometimes resent his/her lack of ambition and drive for the next publication. If I am hungry and talk to an overfull writer, sometimes I feel jealousy for their success.

Resentment and jealousy are thrown out of the equation if I remember that we are all individuals, in unique positions. Not every writer wants the accomplishment I WANT today. I don't want what other writers desire.

God works that way. And He is GOOD. When He created the starving, hungry, satisfied, full and overfull writers He said, "It is good. It's all good!"

By Robbie Iobst

Mile High Scribes Monthly Meeting

September 14, 2009
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble - Park Meadows

Special Speaker:
Kimberley Woodhouse

"Get a Grip"
Kim will focus on both craft & spiritual elements.
Bring the first paragraph of your WIP.

Click here & here to read more about Kimberly Woodhouse.

Are You Connected?

These statistics will astound you. If you aren't on Facebook and Twitter, you may want to re-examine why. Watch this video and consider these media forums in terms of platform and networking. Want to energize your writing career? Get connected.

Follow me on Facebook
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Welcome Home by Kimerley Woodhouse

We are pleased to announce Kimberley Woodhouse will be speaking at Mile High Scribes on Monday, September 14th. Though we typically meet the first Monday of the month, we are moving our meeting date back one week to accommodate Labor Day celebrations.

Kim graciously agreed to answer a few questions for my writing friends here on Mile High Scribes.

1. When did you first hear the call to write?
About sixteen years ago. I didn’t tell anyone for years though.

2. How did Kayla’s diagnoses change your writing direction and/or focus.
I realized that I didn’t have to have all the answers, because I knew the One who did. He calls us to be willing vessels. Several years ago if you would have asked me if I wanted to write non-fiction, I probably would’ve laughed. The thought simply had not crossed my mind. But the Lord loves to use you in those unexpected ways. Sharing our story with all the pain, heartache, joy, and triumphs – was so hard, but it has blessed and encouraged so many people already. I’m thankful for what God is doing through the book.

3. Do you have any tips for juggling home schooling, household responsibilities and writing?
I’m a planner – sometimes to my own detriment. I think a balance between setting goals and being flexible is the key. In my home - Everyone has assigned chores that help keep the household rolling every day. Our regular schedule consists of 5-6 hours of homeschooling (I do all the teaching and prep), and 5-6 hours of swimming. I’m learning how to get writing and “business” stuff done during my kids’ swim-team practices. Then there are days when TV and radio interviews intervene and we have to be flexible. I’m still learning day-by-day how to roll with all the stuff that comes my way. My life is crazy, but I wouldn’t trade a day of it.

4. How can we pray for you and your family as you move forward in your calling?
First and foremost, please pray that the Lord is glorified through all of this. Second, please pray for the readers. The Lord knows who needs it at what time. And for us as a family, we always appreciate your prayers as we continue to deal with Kayla’s disorder and our own “normality.” We are also really praying for the book to sell well. It would be wonderful to be able to afford some kind of medical coverage for our family.

Kimberley Woodhouse is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 600 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family's story have garnered national media attention for many years, but most recently her family was chosen for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, and Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER. Welcome Home: Our Family’s Journey to Extreme Joy, releases from Tyndale House Publishers September first. In addition to her non-fiction, she also writes romantic suspense and children’s books. Kimberley lives, writes, and homeschools in Colorado with her husband and two children in their truly “extreme” home.

Want to hear more? Come hear Kim speak:

September 14, 2009
7:00 PM
Barnes & Nobles by Park Meadows

Write Out - August 17th 11am-4pm

Write Out
*On The Border*
11am – 4pm

8555 S Quebec St Littleton

CO 80130-3604

Please RSVP

Planning a Write Out Day

Recently, I was lassoed into a Write Out at the Broadmoor with my WFTJ writers friends. I must admit though, it didn’t take a lot of convincing. Spending the day with my favorite people is incentive enough, but when you throw in the Broadmoor , I’m hooked.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of work I accomplished. As social as I am, I didn’t anticipate a highly productive writing day.

“We have to do this more often,” I reflected aloud as my fingers flew over the keys.

“Um hmm,” they muttered into their laptops.

The creativity was flowing so freely, I thought of asking for a ‘to go’ box, or at the very least, another couple of days.

Convinced yet? Ready to plan your own? Below are a few tips.
What to bring to a write out:

* Laptop
* Cord for laptop
* Lunch money
* Water
* Chocolate
* Idea’s
* Camera
* Pen and paper
* Light jacket
* Reading glasses
* Ipod


Other tips:

* Turn off your cell phone -Leave your family problems at home. They'll survive without you.

* Make a plan – stick to a schedule

* Drink plenty of water

* Take several projects so you can chose one that inspires you

* Go somewhere away from home

* Be prepared to socialize – but not too much.

Reasons to Plan a Write Out:

* Spend an entire day writing, free from distractions
* To bounce ideas off each other
* The creative energy is palatable

Writing Opportunity for the Incredible Power of Prayer

Dear Valued Writer,
We are now in phase two of the Incredible Power of Prayer series and I welcome you to join us. Guideposts is launching a series of 12 books on various aspects of prayer and how people from every walk of life have been transformed through God's response to their prayers. These books will be available by mail only, sent monthly as part of a book series promotion.

You may have contributed to the first three titles in this series (Praying from the Heart, The Healing Touch, and Expecting Miracles) or perhaps to my Cup of Comfort, Life Savors, or Love Is a Verb brands. Or perhaps I'm contacting you for the first time. Whatever the case, I eagerly seek your participation in this next phase of prayer volumes.

Book four, From Tragedy to Triumph, deals with the pervasive issues related to our trials, hardships, and suffering in life, whether physical, emotional, relational, financial, etc. The focus should not be so much on the trials or the stress they cause, but on how the power of prayer eliminated or helped you deal with these trials. What lessons did prayer teach you through these ordeals and how did God use them for good for your life or others?

Book five, Refreshed by the Spirit, focuses on prayers we send to God when we are spiritually dry; when situations might be okay but we don't feel His presence; or during a dark night of the soul when life is difficult. The fault may be our own because we're not walking with the Lord, or He may seem distant because of struggles in our lives. As we continually pray for His presence, suddenly things change and we are refreshed and filled with his reassurance, peace, and joy. How did God visit you in a new way that caused praise and thanksgiving and may have even changed your life?

Book six, Love and Forgiveness, deals with relationships that have been strained or broken due to offenses against us, or our own faults. When we pray for love for those who mistreat us and pray for the willingness to seek restitution and restoration we regain our families and friends and change the hearts of our enemies. How was prayer the determining factor in a renewed love, forgiveness, and eventual restoration of relationships?

We would be pleased to consider as many stories for these three volumes as you wish to submit. We'll look at stories of up to 2,000 words and prefer that they be at least 1,000 words. The stories should have a creative title, an attention-grabbing introduction, main body with a conflict or challenge, and a clear, satisfying resolution. They need to be descriptive, rooted in time and place, compelling personal experience stories with a realistic portrayal of the people involved. They need to be stories rather than testimonies, Christian living articles, and shouldn't focus on mere feelings or mental states.

Most important, they need to revolve around prayer itself and not the circumstances of the story. These are themed books but the purpose is to convince the reader of the power of prayer in these situations.
We prefer original stories but you may also submit previously published stories that you have full rights for and are not currently in print with a major publisher. We pay $25 fo stories under 1200 words, and $50 for stories over 1200 words. You may retain the right to publish the stories in magazines and in books with less than national distribution and not carried in nationwide bookstores.

We are accepting manuscripts for all three volumes until December 15, but the sooner you submit the better your chance of acceptance. We will notify you by February and send you a permission form if your story is a finalist for any of these volumes.

Please send your manuscript attached to the e-mail rather than pasting text in the email window. Feel free to send your manuscript in normal manuscript formatting, with your full contact information—name, address, phone number, email address—and whether you're offering First Rights or Reprint Rights at the top of each manuscript. Please include a biography of 30 words or less at the end of each manuscript.

Please direct all inquiries and manuscript submissions to my colleague, Jeanette Littleton, at incredibleprayers@earthlink.net. If this email has been forwarded to you and you can't submit to this call, but would like to hear about other editorial needs as they arise, please send us your email address and we'll add you to our notification list. Also please pass this along to any writing or praying friends who might be interested.

Blessing to you and yours,

Jim

James Stuart Bell
Compiler, Guideposts Incredible Prayer series

Incredible Prayers
A Guideposts Series
with James Stuart Bell

Writing Opportunity

VERY QUICK STORY CALL OUT FOR NEW TITLE!
ONE WEEK DEADLINE!!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings
101 Stories of Gratitude, Fortitude, and Silver Linings

This follow-on book to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People continues Chicken Soup for the Soul's focus on inspiration and hope in these difficult times. These inspirational stories remind us that each day holds something to be thankful for -- whether it is having the sun shine or having food on the table. Power outages and storms, health scares and illnesses, job woes and financial insecurities, housing challenges and family worries test us all. But there is always a silver lining. The simple pleasures of family, home, health, and inexpensive good times are described.

We are looking for true stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. They should not have been previously published by Chicken Soup for the Soul or other major publications.

Here are a few suggested topics:

How you count your blessings or express your gratitude
What made you realize that your life is good and that you are grateful
Silver linings that you have discovered in the midst of challenging events
What is really valuable in your life
Major life changes or events for which you are grateful
How you spread the message of gratitude to your family and friends
The joy of simple pleasures
The unexpected benefits of health challenges or other life changes

This book is in the process of being completed and will go to the printer in September for publication in October! It is a featured Chicken Soup for the Soul title for Christmas 2009. The deadline for submissions is soon, so if you can submit quickly you have a better chance than normal of being chosen.
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoupforthesoul.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story.

DEADLINE IS MONDAY AUGUST 3rd. THANK YOU!

Work by Joanna Demers

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23 - 24

I face a constant battle as a Christian writer. One part of me desperately wants to be published and recognized for my writing. The other part desperately wants to glorify and worship the Lord with what He has given me. Thankfully, these verses help quash my ego and everything is put into perspective.

These verses not only apply to my calling as a writer, but to my other roles as wife, mother, house manager, and so on. Whatever I do, I should see it as working and serving the Lord. That includes those days of folding underwear and scrubbing toilets.

What if I don't want to do the work? I have to admit, this has been an issue lately. Other than updating my blog and sending a few e-mails, I have not been writing (I'm in so much trouble now from my writer's group). I've been putting off my writing because "my heart just isn't in it." I've allowed distractions. I've taken my focus off of God and placed it on earthly concerns.

How do I remedy an unwilling heart? I'm reminded of Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Sacrificing what I want to do and focusing on what the Lord wants me to do is an act of worship. It may be difficult at first and will require discipline, but viewing my actions as worship prepares my heart for the work.

Also, it's considered an act of worship when I write for the Lord's glory and not for mine. It doesn't matter if zero people read my blog postings or if I ever become a published author, as long as I'm obedient to Him.

What is your motivation behind your work? Is it for you or for the Lord?

Joanna Demers blogs at: Write For a Purpose and is a valued member of Mile High Scribes.