Meeting: “It’s a Blog World" on Jan. 9

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2012

author/blogger

Sarah Hamaker

“It’s a Blog World”

Since its inception as an online diary in 1994, blogs have become popular ways to share information. SARAH HAMAKER will talk about two popular, free sites (Blogger and WordPress) and how to create your own. She will also discuss what makes a good blog and how to drive traffic to your blog. Sarah is scheduling guests for the CCW blog—a great way to get started as a blogger or to expand your audience! Be sure to add your name to the list on January 9!

Visit Sarah’s work-from-home blog at http://www.sarahhamaker.com/. She also guest blogs on www.stageoflife.com in the parenting section and on http://makinghomeworkblog.blogspot.com/.

THE LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL PERSONAL ESSAY CONTEST

From the fourth quarter Ink and the Spirit newsletter, which has contests, writing opportunities, conferences, articles of interest, and member news. Join CCW today to receive the quarterly newsletter.

THE LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL PERSONAL ESSAY CONTEST

Deadline: Dec. 13. Prize: $3,000. Entry Fee: Free. Sponsored by the Ladies’ Home Journal. The entries must be first-person narratives of personal growth, such as a life lesson or personal challenge. Length between 1,500 to 2,500 words. Entries must be original, unpublished and have not won any other prize or award. For more information, visit www.lhj.com/lhj/file.jsp?item=/contests/Personal_Essay/PersonalEssayOfficialRules. 

Travel Blog from Phil Barth

Phil Barth mentioned a travel blog he had written about his travels with his father over the summer. Since several CCW members were interested in reading the blog entries, here's the link: http://www.danieljosephson.blogspot.com/ . The road trip entries were posted in May and June 2011, under the title: "Finding Fritz, Sr."

Your Book's Two Stories

Did you know your book has two stories? Author Trish Perry reminded us of that and gave tips on how to craft those two stories during our bi-monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 14.

If you want to see what those stories are and how to use them in your writing, check out my notes from the meeting at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mUEU7VgWcl5hNzFUKnoIlCsZ1FzMmX0DWRA6KwnaI1A/edit?hl=en_US#.

Our next meeting will be January 9, 2012. Check out the website for speaker information and other news.

Sarah Hamaker

Join the fun with NaNoWrMo

It's not too late to join November’s National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWrMo, as it’s affectionately called, can be a blessing or a curse to a writer, depending on how you look at writing a 50,000 word novel from scratch in a month that has a major holiday. But it can be a great way to jumpstart that project you’ve always been meaning to write.

Come join the fun and let us know in the comments section of this blog what you're working on this month!

Trish Perry to Speak at Nov. 14 Meeting

Join the Capitol Christian Writers for our November meeting with author and CCW member Trish Perry. Our meetings are open to all writers, so come on by for an evening of fellowship and inspiration. Click on the directions tab for more information. 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011

author

Trish Perry

“Your Book’s Two Stories”

Wouldn’t you love to write a story that eventually made it to the big screen? Our very own TRISH PERRY will show us how writing your novel as if that were your goal will enhance your storytelling capabilities. An award-winning novelist, Trish has written seven books, including this year’s Unforgettable and Tea for Two. She will talk about how some of the most effective writing coaches talk about novel structure with film in mind. And they emphasize two separate story layers. Trish will define and study the external and internal story layers that will draw your readers in. Visit her online at http://www.trishperry.com/. 

Welcome!

Capital Christian Writers is an organization of Christian professional and non-professional writers who meet in Northern Virginia for seminars and encouragement. Members hail from a wide band of the tri-state area, including Shenandoah Valley, Richmond, and Baltimore. Meetings are held the second Monday in January, March, May, July, September and November.

Previous speakers include: Dr. Harry Kraus, surgeon/suspense author; Melanie Rigney, editor with Writer's Digest magazine, Os Guinness, author; David Aikman, journalist and author; Dick Schneider, senior staff editor of Guideposts magazine; Roger Palms, former editor of Decision magazine; David Yount, syndicated columnist, and literary agent Tamela Hancock Murray.

Our Number One Goal: Every Member Published! We want you to earn those clips and win those awards! Along the way, we want to get to know you, and encourage you. Writing is a solitary pursuit without the fellowship of other Christians.