The [...]]]>
When Dr. Brad Burke came to his first Write! Canada conference six years ago, manuscript in hand, he was looking for contacts. “I didn’t have an idea what to do with my manuscript,” he admits, “so I thought, ‘maybe I can get a hold of some publishers and find some way to get this published.’”

The physical rehabilitation specialist found what he was looking for. It was at that first conference that he met Les Stobbe, who would become his agent.

The following year, he met Heather Gemmen, then senior editor at Cook Communications.

“She liked the books, took them back to Cook and decided to publish four of the six books I’d written. Simultaneously,” Brad adds.

The time lapse between Brad's first conference and being able to claim the title, “published author”? Three years.

Today, Dr. Brad practices medicine in Windsor, Ontario three days a week. He lives in Michigan, where he devotes the other two days of his workweek to writing and speaking.

His book series AN MD Examines, contains the titles: Is God Obsolete?, Why Doesn’t God Stop Evil?, Does God Still Do Miracles?, and Why Does God Allow Suffering?

***

NOTABLE QUOTES:

“I really like the conference a lot. The people are awesome. It’s cool to see Canadians come from everywhere for a weekend of God and writing. It’s been a really good experience.”
                                                                                                     -    Jordana Shell, 19 from Clareshome, Alberta

***

Compiled by Patricia Paddey.

If you're a writer who hasn't been published, and you'd like to win free registration to Write! Canada or a gift certificate for part of the registration cost, this contest is for you.

Entries must be received by March 15, 2010.

Download  Submission Guidelines and Entry Form here.

Read [...]]]> The God Uses Ink Novice Contest 2010 is still open.

If you're a writer who hasn't been published, and you'd like to win free registration to Write! Canada or a gift certificate for part of the registration cost, this contest is for you.

Entries must be received by March 15, 2010.

Download  Submission Guidelines and Entry Form here.

Read the news release here.

Go to contest page here.

“I write poetry,” she says quietly when asked what’s brought her to the conference, “because when I write poetry, I can express my feelings.”

Corrine has traveled long and far to [...]]]> Corrine Clyne, 17, is one of those lovely, soft-spoken girls. You know the kind: sweet smile, dark, sensitive eyes and a heart that listens—intently—before it speaks.

“I write poetry,” she says quietly when asked what’s brought her to the conference, “because when I write poetry, I can express my feelings.”

Corrine has traveled long and far to get to this, her first writers’ conference. She lives in Norway House, Manitoba, a First Nations community, where she attends a creative writing after school club led by author Dorene Meyer.

“I really enjoy mentoring authors,” says Dorene simply, almost apologetically, as though encouraging and developing talent in others is really their gift to her and not the other way around. “I’m impressed with Corrine. She’s a beautiful girl inside and out. This is a Christian conference, and I wanted to see her develop more in that area, so I encouraged her to come.”

Dorene knows the difference that coming to a conference like this can make in the life of a writer. She came to her first Write! Canada conference in 2005. An unpublished writer, she had sent an entry in to the  God Uses Ink novice award. And she won. The prize? Free registration to the conference in Guelph, Ontario.

“My husband and I motorcycled down from Northern Ontario and camped along the way to get here,” she remembers.“I’d never met an author before. I thought I knew nothing. But once here, I realized I knew a lot. And I thought, ‘I can do this for people!’”

And so she does. In addition to writing four books (published under the name M.D. Meyer), she's a part-time instructor at University College of the North. She was a mentor in the 2008 Sheldon Oberman Emerging Writers Mentor Program, and she's the editor of six anthologies featuring the work of those she instructs, including the work of Brenda Fontaine.

At 61, Brenda joined Corrine and Dorene on the long trek to the conference. “I’ve been writing throughout my life,” says Brenda, “but I’d never shared my work with anyone.” Until she received encouragement from Dorene to do so. Now, she’s prolific, regularly writing articles on assignment for Northroots Magazine. Her book,
Babs’ Adventures, is based on stories her mother told her about growing up in the north in the 1950’s.

“I feel like she’s been waiting her whole life [for the opportunity to express her voice],” says Dorene. “She just needed someone to cut her loose and set her free.”

***

NOTABLE QUOTES:

“I think the prime value of the conference is releasing people to write the words and messages God has given them; this is done by honing their skills, igniting their motivation and helping them realize that it’s okay to have this passion to write.”
                 -    Les Lindquist, Chairman of the Board, Christian Info Canada, Conference Treasurer

***

This page written and compiled by Patricia Paddey

Find the tools and contacts you need at Write! Canada, where you’ll  “Ignite the Creative Side of Your Brain!”

No matter your profession, writing style, or experience level, there’s a place for [...]]]> Do you write, edit, or speak in public? Want to tell your story, write a column, publish a book, share your knowledge, promote your organization…?

Find the tools and contacts you need at Write! Canada, where you’ll  “Ignite the Creative Side of Your Brain!”

No matter your profession, writing style, or experience level, there’s a place for you at Write! Canada 2010, Canada’s largest Christian writers’ conference, in Guelph, Ontario, June 17-19.

Dynamic keynote speaker Dr. Joel A. Freeman will show you how to improve your communication skills and maximize your productivity as he explores the conference theme “Ignite the Creative Side of Your Brain!”

Freeman is an executive success coach and specialist in organizational change—with a list of clients ranging from NASA, IKEA and the FBI to prime ministers, pro athletes and multi-national business leaders. Raised in Three Hills, Alberta, he has authored seven books, including If Nobody Loves You, Create the Demand.

Whether you’re a professional or beginner writer, you’ll find classes to help you take control of your own career, create additional markets, add complementary skills such as speaking or editing, publicize your cause or organization, use social media marketing, understand how digital innovations are revolutionizing the publishing industry, and learn how to benefit from new opportunities.

Skilled instructors leading the six-hour in-depth continuing sessions include Canadians Jim Taylor (editing), John Longhurst (media promotion), Sheila Wray Gregoire (public speaking), D. S. Martin (poetry) and Audrey Dorsch (memoir/biography), as well as Americans Michelle Buckman (fiction) and Ginger Kolbaba (personal experience writing).

The conference also offers 18 workshops, covering topics such as “Why you need a literary agent” taught by American agent Kelly Mortimer; “Writing an unconventional Christian novel” by former Zondervan editor Andy Meisenheimer; “Writing leads, transitions and endings” by writer Jeanette Lockerbie Stephenson; “Understanding e-books” by Wiley Publishing’s executive editor Don Loney and Production Technology Coordinator Jenna Magnus; “Writing romance novels” by Harlequin Love Inspired editor Melissa Endlich; and “Creating a blog guaranteed to succeed” by Ann Voskamp, author of A Holy Experience, a blog read by thousands daily.

You can also take advantage of networking opportunities, manuscript critique services, appointments with literary agents and editors, open-mike reading sessions and a well-stocked bookstore.

This event, in its 26th year, is organized by The Word Guild, a national association of writers and editors who are Christian.

N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ontario, founder of The Word Guild and director of Write! Canada, says, “Canadian writers and speakers who are Christian have lots of great things to say. But they need to be said well, and we’re here to help with that. We aren’t likely to make an impact with our writing if we aren’t keeping up with the technology as well as the thought processes of our world.”

“It’s become harder to get published—and paid—by traditional media such as newspapers or book publishers today,” says Wendy E. Nelles of Toronto, The Word Guild’s other founder and co-director of Write! Canada. “At the same time, it’s now amazingly easy to share your writing with the public through blogs, self-published books and e-books.”

Lindquist and Nelles agree that in today’s changing publishing world, serious writers have to distinguish themselves by the quality of their work and their marketing savvy if they hope to get many readers or buyers.

The complete Press Release as a Word File.

While we aren't going to try to fix a format that is working very well, there have been a few important improvements.

1. Dorm rooms now have keys for each person in the room.

2. Keys will be given out [...]]]> We think we have a fabulous line-up for 2010. We hope you'll agree.

While we aren't going to try to fix a format that is working very well, there have been a few important improvements.

Improvements from the conference centre staff:

1. Dorm rooms now have keys for each person in the room.

2. Keys will be given out when you register; no need to go to the conference office.

3. We now have a vegetarian option for meals. There's a place on the registration form for you to let us know.

4. We'll continue to have coffee served in both the FULLER Lounge and in the OKE Room in the basement of the new Ministry Building.

Improvements in the schedule:

1. We now have a designated prayer room – the HANCOCK Room.

2. Prayer time for the conference has been moved from during registration to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

3. We have a new "How to Register" checklist you can follow.

4. We've invited image consultant Diane Callender back due to popular demand.

5. We've moved the Saturday morning workshop to 9:30 a.m. so the continuing class will be held just before and after lunch, without the workshop in the middle.

6. We've added a special half hour on Friday evening just before the plenary for The Word Guild's Managing Director to talk about "Why Canada Needs The Word Guild."

7. On Thursday evening, following the plenary, we've invited one of the founders of The Word Guild and directors of Write! Canada, N. J. Lindquist, and the Chair of the Board, Les Lindquist, to lead a hands-on session called "A Vision for Canada."

8. We've separated our "Brag Times" from our plenaries on Thursday and Friday. (More information in the registration package.)

New schedule for Thursday evening:

7:00 p.m. Plenary Session (1 of 3) with Joel Freeman – IRWIN ROOM (Ministry Building – upper level)

8:00 p.m. "A Vision for Canada" with Les and N. J. Lindquist – IRWIN ROOM

9:00 p.m. Brag Time – Part 1: everyone except authors – IRWIN ROOM

9:35 p.m. Coffee break – FULLER ROOM (Lounge in Main building)

New schedule for Friday evening:

7:00 p.m. "Why Canada Needs The Word Guild" by Denise Rumble, The Word Guild Managing Director – IRWIN ROOM (Ministry Building – upper level)

7:30 p.m. Plenary Session (2 of 3) with Joel Freeman – IRWIN ROOM (Ministry Building – upper level)

8:35 p.m. Brag Time – Part 2: authors only – IRWIN ROOM

9:15 p. m. Book Store Autograph Party – JANTZ ROOM (Gymnasium)

9:45 p.m. Refreshments – FULLER ROOM

See the complete schedule.

Great news! After burning lots of midnight oil, we've met our goal. All the pieces of the puzzle are in place and registration is open for the 2010 edition of Write! Canada. You can now see full information about the Schedule, the Faculty, the Workshops and the Continuing Classes. Register Now!

You'll see that [...]]]>

Great news! After burning lots of midnight oil, we've met our goal. All the pieces of the puzzle are in place and registration is open for the 2010 edition of Write! Canada. You can now see full information about the Schedule, the Faculty, the Workshops and the Continuing Classes. Register Now!

You'll see that in the midst of major changes affecting the media and publishing landscape, we're deliberately focusing on two areas:

1. Excellence in writing and editing. We're providing concrete help for writers and editors at all levels of experience to sharpen their skills. Even as delivery vehicles change, the need to produce high quality work when we tell our stories is more critical than ever.

2. Entrepreneurial skills. In addition to our amazingly versatile keynote speaker's insights, you'll find a variety of classes that will help you develop the skills you need to take control of your own career, create additional markets, add complementary skills such as speaking or editing, understand digital publishing innovations such as eBooks, and take advantage of opportunities created by new technology and industry shifts.

We're excited about this lineup, and about how Write! Canada can help you in your career. We'd love to see some comments about what you think about the conference offerings, what classes you're going to sign up for, what faculty members you're looking forward to meeting, etc. Just click on "Leave a comment" at the bottom of each post.

New! Don't forget to check out How to Register, a step-by-step guide especially useful for first-time registrants and beginner writers.

New! For people who think visually, we've posted a PDF of our planning chart so you can see all the continuing class and workshop choices on one page.

The entire Web site has been updated. If you notice any missing information or links that don't work, please let us know by posting a comment below.

We'll probably be adding more faculty members to take appointments with registrants, so keep watching this site for announcements. You'll get the specifics about our manuscript critique service and faculty appointments plan after you register.

We need your help to publicize Write! Canada. Please start telling your friends about the conference. Go to the Publicize page to download one of our badges (see an example at left) to link to this site through your own Web site or blog. Add posts on your social networking sites such as FaceBook or Twitter, to drive traffic to this site.

We're looking forward to seeing you. Let the countdown begin to June 17th!

Last June, Patricia Paddey spent time with each of them during Write! Canada 2009, to record their thoughts about a quarter century of conferences for Canadian writers who are Christian.

PP: [...]]]> Author and speaker N. J. Lindquist, and writer and editor Wendy Elaine Nelles have worked together as co-directors of the conference since the summer of 2001.

Last June, Patricia Paddey spent time with each of them during Write! Canada 2009, to record their thoughts about a quarter century of conferences for Canadian writers who are Christian.

PP: N. J., before you became involved in planning the conference, you came as an attendee. Help us understand what it meant to you.

NJL: I'd been writing for something like 15 years before I came to the God Uses Ink (GUI) conference in 1988, but I didn’t know what to do with anything I'd written. And although I had attended a conference run by Decision magazine in 1979 in Calgary, I really didn't know any other writers. The moment a friend of mine told me about the God Uses Ink conference, then held in November in Toronto, I knew I had to attend.

I learned a lot, but the pivotal point of that first conference was when another attendee took me to the bookstore, and showed me a Christian Writers’ Market Guide. That book was the key that opened the door to my getting published. I had several things accepted by magazines in 1989, and my first book for teens came out with Moody Press in 1991.

Over the years, the key has been the people I've met. Year after year, different individuals have helped me in all kinds of ways. It doesn't matter whether they're  editors or agents or other writers; each year I learn more. And I’ve made many of my best friends through the conferences.

PP: For people who don’t know, tell us about the scope of your involvement in Write! Canada.

NJL:  As i said, I came for the first time in 1988, and I've come every year since. I co-taught a workshop with Elma Schemenauer in 1991. A couple of years later, I co-taught a workshop with Ray Wiseman. The next year I taught a continuing class, and I’ve frequently taught workshops and classes ever since. Plus I was the keynote speaker in 2004.

I also was a member of the planning for a number years.

Then the day before God Uses Ink. in June, 2001, some of the planning committee and faculty were told this was to be the last conference. A number of us who said, "No way, it’s not the last year; we’re going to find a way to make it continue." Throughout that summer, I conducted research into why we should keep it going. That fall, the conference's original sponsor, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, gave us the right to use the name God Use Ink. So we quickly began planning for the 2002 conference (which, by the way, more than doubled in size from 2001.)

The Word Guild came into being because of our research, because we realized that we needed a year-round way to connect with people, and not just the once-a-year conference.

I've been co-director of the conference since we took over in the fall of 2001.

PP: As you look back over all the years of your involvement, and consider the millions of words that have been written, that might never have been had the conference not continued, what are your thoughts?

NJL: I believe it's made a lot of difference to a lot of people, but we may never really know the full extent of who has been impacted. Some people tell us, of course, but we can’t keep track of every attendee, and we often don't know who is influenced by the conference or in what ways.

But if we’re being faithful to our calling, and doing what God has given us to do, then God is going to use what we do. That's what really matters – being faithful to the calling God has given us. And trust me, God made it very clear to me and to others that this conference had to continue.

PP: Wendy, like N. J., you came to your first conference in 1988, and you haven't missed one. Do you have a favourite memory or anecdote you could share?

WEN: Around 2002 or 2003, soon after we had taken over the conference, a woman attendee stopped me at the end of the conference as she was about to leave. She had received a bursary to enable her to attend, and she wanted to express her thanks to me. She said, “Next to the gift of my salvation, and the birth of my three children, coming to this conference is the greatest gift I have ever received!”

She has gone on to publish at least three books for American Christian publishers and get a job in communications for a Canadian Christian charity. That statement touched me deeply.

PP: You've served on the planning committee for this conference longer than any other single person. What's kept you coming back?

WEN: I’ve been part of the leadership team for 21 years, and I keep motivated by the challenge of continuously finding ways to improve the conference. Over the years, the conference has changed significantly. In the past, the event was mainly education-focused, drew a higher percentage of wanna-be and beginner writers, had a very subdued marketing element (in typically Canadian fashion), and fewer opportunities for pitching proposals to editors and agents.

When N. J. Lindquist and I decided we had to take over the conference, we had three goals in mind:

a) Increase the attendance numbers, particularly through offering more professional development opportunities to keep the advanced writers coming back;

b) Increase the number of young adults and teenagers coming, thus training our next generation and lowering the average age of attendees; and

c) Increase the number of attendees coming from multi-cultural backgrounds, including from the black and Asian communities, to better reflect the Canadian demographics.

We've made progress on all three fronts, but we'd love to see more people coming from all three groups.

PP: Wendy, you’ve really devoted your life — for years — to helping build up Canadian writers and editors who are Christian: rewarding and celebrating them, creating the conditions under which they can connect, improve and grow. Why is this so important to you?

WEN: I’ve always been passionate about making my life count. I’m passionate about the Write! Canada conference and The Word Guild, because I know how much they would have meant to me when I was a student and young adult, longing to find someone to give me some guidance and encouragement. I can empathize with what it’s like to want to use my writing skills to bring glory to God, to want to get published, yet to lack the self-confidence or the contacts or the resources to know how to go about it.

I longed to find someone to mentor me as a writer, to give me that boost of encouragement I needed, and to help me plug into the writing and publishing industry. I never found an individual, but I found the conference. It was the only point of contact most of us had with other Canadian writers who were Christian.

We found a place where we were part of a community of people with similar interests and dreams. We learned a great deal from the classes, we networked with colleagues and editors, we found writing work through the contacts we made. And we made many good friends.

***

NOTABLE QUOTES:

“After my first conference, I learned that I needed to come back better prepared. So this time I prepared better before hand. I’m leaving with an assignment for a book review and requests for two proposals. So that’s looking good.”

-    Violet Nesdoly, children’s author from Langley, B.C.

Chip MacGregor is president of MacGregor Literary, a full service literary agency specializing in commercial fiction and non-fiction properties. He’s been a faculty member for more than one hundred U.S. writers’ conferences, but he didn’t make his first visit to Write! Canada until the 25th anniversary conference in 2009.  His site is MacGregor Literary

We asked [...]]]>

Chip MacGregor is president of MacGregor Literary, a full service literary agency specializing in commercial fiction and non-fiction properties. He’s been a faculty member for more than one hundred U.S. writers’ conferences, but he didn’t make his first visit to Write! Canada until the 25th anniversary conference in 2009.  His site is MacGregor Literary

We asked Chip why he believes so fervently in supporting writers’ conferences.

Here’s his reply:

In the Scriptures, it says that God’s going to judge everybody at the end of time. Which means, (depending on your eschatology) for instance, that Adolph Hitler has not been judged yet.

Hitler was an evil man who caused the deaths of millions of people. Why hasn’t he been judged yet? It’s because the full extent of his evil isn’t apparent. It’s going to be at the end of time when judgment happens, because his ideas are still influencing people for evil.

As Christians, we sometimes can’t know how the things we do influence people for good. We’ll have a writers’ conference and we’ll think, "you know it was fun and we learned some stuff but the fact is, I don’t know that the world really changed because of it."

Let me tell you a story: I was once part of a book that I did not want to do. The book was about abortion. I thought, "Nobody’s going to buy this book." But the publisher wanted to do it because it was an important topic. So we went ahead and, sure enough, nobody bought the book and it bombed.

But, one day, the phone rang and I heard this story: there was an actress, who had just found out she was pregnant, and she was flying across the country from New York to L.A. She sat down in her seat on the plane. She reached into the seat pocket in front of her for a magazine, and found a book had been left there. It was this particular book on abortion.

She had a four-and-a-half hour flight from New York to L.A. She read the book. Through the ministry of the words in that book—that book that didn’t sell and that lost money—she decided to keep her baby.

In other words, sometimes, we just don’t know, long term, what’s going to happen when somebody gets inspired and writes something.

And that’s why putting on a conference like this is important. Who knows how the world becomes a different place because of what somebody got inspired to do, or was taught to do, and is then able to write later—words that will change the world.

In the big picture, there is always the reality that God is still at work and still using us. So we continue to do this, knowing our plan is to serve Him in hopes that our words will go out and change people.

We live in a world that badly needs change.

Interview by Patricia Paddey, a freelance journalist and a member of The Word Guild.