Last week I got to attend, teach, mentor, and learn at the 2017 Oregon Christian Writers summer coaching conference. It was my last big writing conference of the year, and it was a wonderful time. The summer OCW conference takes place each year at the Red Lion Hotel on the River–Jantzen Beach, which isn’t far from where I live! My son was helping out with the tech team, which he loves, so we got to go together.
The event started out on Tuesday morning with an early bird workshop taught by screenwriting consultant, author, and lecturer Michael Hauge. I volunteered to help sell his books, which turned out to be a great chance to chat with him a little more. He is the Story Master, and he teaches in a wonderful way, showering his class with information and examples. I LOVED it! Took pages and pages of notes. I also bought one of his books and very much look forward to reading it.
Frank Peretti was our conference keynoter, and he was filled with wisdom and encouragement, as always. I’ve heard Frank speak many times over the years. He’s wonderful to listen to–that voice! And his books are amazing as well. Since I already own all his books, I brought This Present Darkness and Tilly from home to get them autographed!
Tessa Afshar was another keynote speaker, and she also taught the continuing class I took. She is a lovely woman, and I can’t wait to read her books. She tells wonderful stories. She got us thinking about the lies we believe and how we can incorporate our own life themes into our writing. Great stuff.
I taught a workshop on how to use timelines when creating your stories. There are so many ways to do this. It’s a subject I really enjoy, and I hope the class learned some useful tips.
And then . . . people! Friends and lots of fun. Here are many more pictures from this year’s conference. If you live in the Pacific Northwest or always wanted to get over this way, put next year’s OCW conference on your calendar. The keynote speaker will be Robin Jones Gunn!
Thanks for the great report. I hope to make it to that conference someday.
You’re welcome, Steve. I hope to see you there one of these years. 🙂
Fun times!!
Oh yes. Lots of fun! 😉
So fun! And your son did an awesome job! All the Go Teen Writers gals were amazing!
Thanks, April! Luke loves tech-ing. LOL And I love meeting Go Teen Writers in person. So much fun.
Jill – Thanks for those very kind words. I had a terrific time at the conference, it was great meeting you, and you did a fantastic job peddling my books and recordings. You should have held out for a percentage! I’ll be eager to hear how your writing progresses now.
Stay in Your Essence –
Michael
Thanks, Michael! I’m up to my neck in a major rewrite at the moment, but I can’t WAIT to use your process with my next book. I’m a little giddy about it, actually. I will definitely let you know how it goes. Thanks for the inspiration and for encouraging writers. 🙂
It was fantastic to meet you, Jill! I hope we will meet again sometime in the future!
Oh, yes. We must, Ivy. Lovely to meet you too! 🙂