AUTO CRIT- IS IT FOR YOU?

Whether you self-publish, have a team of editors with your traditional publisher, or are somewhere in between, we all need tools to help us write crisper and in a more polished manner. Agents, editors and publishers (as well as our readers!) appreciate well-worded, well-paced works.

Join us on Saturday, January 9th at 10:30 a.m. as multi-published, award-winning author Julie B Cosgrove reviews the self-editing program called Auto-Crit. She will explain each of the layers of the program, go through some samples of how it works, and relay her honest opinion and her experiences with using it. Then you can better decide if this tool would be beneficial to your writing career this year. Unfortunately, there won't be enough time to input pieces of each member's writing, so it is not necessary to bring a laptop.

Julie is our DFW chapter webmaster and has self-published as well as been traditionally published. She has four novels in the market place and is under contract for five more in 2016-2017. She was awarded the honor of being one of the "50 Writers You Should Be Reading in 2015" by The Author Show, and one of her short stories won second place in a statewide competition hosted by Texas Authors Association.
 She regularly contributes to several devotional websites and publications including The Journey, Light from the Word, Thoughts About God, The Life.com, Good News Daily and Faith-Filled Family Magazine. She has published six non-fiction works and is a professional workshop leader and speaker.
Julie has achieved the highest level of speaking in Toastmasters International and was awarded outstanding club secretary (2013) and outstanding club president (2015) for District 25, which encompasses an area from Abilene to Irving and from Waco to the Red River. She is also the outgoing president of the women of her denomination in North and Central Texas.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.

JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY!!

The annual ACFW-DFW Christmas party will include a pot luck lunch with ham provided and the exchange of gifts in the $10-15 range (but it doesn't have to be store-bought).

 Several authors of short Christmas stories will read them to us, we'll play one game with a writer's twist, and install the new board officers.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

                                       Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge!  

Writing Through the Chaos and Not Losing Your Mind.

When your life suddenly takes a  ninety degree turn and you have deadlines, and your perfect world spins out of control, how do you keep writing? 

Join us on November 14th to find out. 

Leann will share some of the lessons she learned on her journey from being on top of the world to finding herself looking up from the bottom of the well, and about the God who walked with her through it all.

Leann Harris ( a.k.a Barbara Harrison) has always had stories running around her head, and started writing when her youngest child started school. Her first book was published in 1993. She’s a teacher of the deaf and written all her adult life. She’s been contracted with Harlequin through her eighteenth book. She’s written romantic suspense, inspirational romantic suspense, futuristic and inspirational romance. She has also ventured into Indie books. In the series of Legacy of Lies, Book1-The Last Lie, 06/14, Book 2-The Last Truth, 11/14 are out. Book 3-Stolen Secrets should be out at the end of 2015. Her last LI book, A Rancher for Their Mom, had a June 2015 release. Book 3 of Rodeo Heroes Series will be out in June 2016.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.

JOIN US ON OCTOBER 10th

READY WRITERS presents:
Author Frank Ball and...

How to Write a Captivating Story 

Good grammar, interesting or helpful information, and abundant details help you write great blogs. But you need more than basic skills to produce a captivating story—or a book that will keep readers up all night to find out what happens. Learn the five essential elements of great storytelling so you can hold your readers’ attention from the beginning to the end.

Frank Ball founded North Texas Christian Writers and is now building the ministry of Story Help Groups to encourage and equip all Christians to tell their life-changing stories. In preaching, teaching, and counseling, he tells stories that strengthen people’s faith and causes the light of Christ to shine brightly. He is a writer, speaker, and thought provoker—a weird dreamer who thinks he will one day snow ski a left and right track past both sides of a tree.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.

The Write Image- How to Get It...Why You Need it.

Does this outfit make me look ______? Fill in the blank.

All kidding aside, what exactly makes me….me?

As Christian writers, is it how we see ourselves? How others see us? Or is it what our readers think of our work? Do we present ourselves in the best possible light? Does that light shine through us?

Join Cathy Rueter, Saturday, September 12, as she examines the various impressions we broadcast as Christian Writers in ‘The Write Image.’

As an added bonus, photographer Sheila Stone of Personal Perspectives Photography, will be on hand to take professional headshots. As time is limited, these will be on a signup basis. Approximately six spots are left. Please see flyer below for cost, website, and other specific information. Contact for signup is currently through Cathy at RueterC.Writer@gmail.com or 817-422-4802.

Cathy Rueter took time away from an active freelance writing and editing career to work as a reporter and newsletter editor. Now she is returning to her passion of article writing and pursuing a career as a Christian author. The former technical industry editor finds more joy in working as a development editor; assisting new authors with finding their unique voice and worth as writers.  

Originally from the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area, she is embracing her adopted state of Texas where she resides in the Fort Worth area with her husband, two sons, and her writing partner, Indigo, a Betta fish who is more interested in his yellow box of food than in any real literary discussions.

You can find a variety of topics discussed on her website/blog ‘Up in the Attic with Cathy Rueter’ at www.cathyrueter.com or stop by for a visit on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cathyrueterwriter.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.

JOIN US SATURDAY, AUGUST 8th as we polish our POV!

Who Is Telling Your Story?

An Exploration of Point of View

Point of View. We’ve all heard it but we’re not always clear on what it means or why a solid and consistent point of view is so crucial to our story.

In this class we will discover

·         The importance of point of view

·         Deciding which character or characters will tell the story

·         The differences kinds of point of view

o   First person

o   Third person

·         And the subtle differences in various types of third person

·         How the point of view choice affects the telling of the story

·         We’ll explore the strengths and weaknesses of each

·         We’ll identify traps and pitfalls that can limit or distort the point of view and jerk the reader out of the story

We’ll come out of the class with a clearer understanding of point of view and the impact of this concept on our story telling. 

BIO:

Henry’s novel, Journey to Riverbend, won the Operation First Novel award sponsored by the Christian Writers Guild and was published by Tyndale House in January, 2011.

Henry has a life-long love for the American West and the stories of the people who lived there. In his fiction, he seeks to bring their adventures to life, to show the struggles and triumphs over man and nature that helped build a strong people.

Henry and his wife of nearly fifty years live in North Texas. From this base, they enjoy their church, their friends and traveling, especially to visit their far-flung family.

He is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. He serves as Associate Director of North Texas Christian Writers. He regularly teaches at conferences and workshops, leads writing groups, edits, and mentors and coaches.

Besides his writing, Henry treasures working with other writers and helping them on their own writing journeys.

Visit him at http://www.henrymclaughlin.org.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft. 

12 Photographic “Shots” to Plot Your Story

Join other Christian authors on Saturday, July 11 as Janice Thompson shows us a unique and helpful way to plot those plots! 

Every story needs a beginning, middle and end. Careful plotting will lead the reader on a satisfactory, realistic journey through each of those stages, creatively weaving in and out, up and down.  
       But how do we begin to plot our stories? 
       Is there a magic formula?

 In this lesson from author Janice Thompson, you will discover the “Plot Shot” method, and will learn how to plot your novel in twelve easy snapshots.

You will definitely want to take lots of notes!

Award-winning author Janice Thompson also writes under the pseudonym Janice Hanna. She got her start in the industry writingscreenplays and musical comedies for the stage. Janice has published over ninety books for the Christian market, crossing genre lines to write cozy mysteries, historicals, romances, nonfiction books, devotionals, children’s books and more. In addition, she enjoys editing, ghost-writing, public speaking, and mentoring young writers. Janice formerly served as Vice-President of CAN (Christian Authors Network) and was named the 2008 Mentor of the year for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), where she has finaled multiple times in the prestigious Carol Awards.  She was thrilled to be named the 2010 Barbour/Heartsong Author of the Year, with three books on the top ten list for that house. Janice is currently the vice-president of her local writing group, Writers on the Storm, where she regularly teaches on the craft of writing. Her online writing courses have been helpful to many who want to earn a living with their writing. She also shares her love of writing in her monthly column at CFOM (Christian Fiction Online Magazine). Janice is passionate about her faith and does all she can to share the joy of the Lord with others, which is why she particularly enjoys writing. She lives in Spring, Texas, where she leads a rich life with her family, a host of writing friends, and two mischievous dachshunds. She does her best to keep the Lord at the center of it all. You can find out more about Janice at www.janiceathompson.com or www.freelancewritingcourses.com.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft. 

Maximizing Research - Be empowered!

Empower your writing with well researched information. Join us on Saturday, June 13th as Lynne Gentry shows us: "How to sprinkle research into your stories without sounding like an information dump.'

Lynne Gentry has always been a storyteller.

Trained in theater arts at Oklahoma Christian University, she’s written and produced everything from full-length musicals to a children’s theater curriculum. As the former Director of the Dallas International Performing Arts Academy, she now teaches private acting lessons. Her students have successfully auditioned for Broadway, Disney, Nickelodeon, American Idol, various television series, local and national commercials, talent agencies, and major college theater programs.

A professional writer for twelve years, Lynne has written for Christian Woman magazine, Guideposts, Tyndale, Worthy, HCI Books, and now Howard Books/Simon & Schuster.  Her stories have been finalists in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest and the prestigious Westbow’s Fiction contest.

Believing we can work together to change our world, she has co-founded The ECHO Project, a humanitarian organization dedicated to becoming the voice for the poorest of the poor in one of the darkest corners of the world…Africa.

Lynne love spending time with her family or working the Baylor oncology wards with her medical therapy dog Roman. 

Her books will be on sale: $10 for Healer of Carthage & $15 for Return to Exile or $22 for both.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft. 

COULD WRITING BECOME YOUR NEXT CAREER?

Join us on May 9th and find out!
Jackie Castle will clue us in on... 

Building Your Business Plan:

Moving from a writing hobby to a writing life.

How to plan out the steps to your writing career and why you should.

Bio--

Jackie Castle is the author of The White Road Chronicle series. She graduated from UT Southwestern Medical Center of Dallas with a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She's a published freelance writer, storyteller, and former elementary school educator.

Her favorite pastime, besides reading, is traipsing through her fantasy worlds in search of another story.

You will probably want to bring a laptop, but it is not mandatory.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers
(fondly dubbed Ready Writers) 
meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft. 

FIGURATIVELY WRITING...

JOIN US ON APRIL 11TH

Figurative Language--You can't leapfrog from Hell to Valhalla! Or . . . can you? When you describe something by comparing it to something else, you're using figurative language. How about that? Find out what you're doing right and wrong, when enough is enough and how a little can go a long way in your manuscript. "Hey, I am literally writing a book, ya'll." 

After a short business meeting, multi-published author and blog radio host, Linda Kozar, will guide us through using figurative language successfully and correctly in fiction.

Linda Kozar, represented by Amanda Luedeke, MacGregor Literary, is the co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Hardcover/eBook, Howard/Simon & Schuster 2009), Misfortune Cookies and Just Desserts (“When The Fat Ladies Sing” cozy mystery series, Print, Barbour Publishing 2008), and Strands of Fate (Hardcover/eBook, Creative Woman Mysteries 2012). Her cozy mystery series again published and expanded as ebooks at Spyglass Lane Mysteries, MacGregor Literary from 2012-2014, and in September of 2014 Linda indie-published and the continues the series: Misfortune Cookies, A Tisket, A Casket, Dead As A Doornail, That Wasn't Chicken, and Felony Fruitcake. Her latest foray into indie publishing, produced Alligator Pear, (a gothic historical romance, 2013), Moving Tales, Adventures in Relocation, (a nonfiction anthology 2013), and Doomsday Devotions (an end times devotional 2014). Linda is an active member of Cozy Mystery Magazine, which publishes an annual Christmas anthology of its contributing authors, A Cup of Cozy (Short Mysteries and Holiday Recipes, 2013) and A Cup of Cozy 2 (Short Mysteries and Holiday Recipes 2014). Her speculative fiction story, Aperture, will release in an anthology book titled Out of the Storm (HopeSprings Books 2015), the proceeds of which will be donated to the ACFW Scholarship Fund. 

In 2003, she co-founded, co-directed, and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers Guild. She received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, founded and served as president of Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas ACFW chapter for three years and continues on the board. In addition to writing, Linda has served as Lead Host of the Gate Beautiful Radio Show, on the Red River Radio Network/BlogTalk Radio since 2010. 

Linda belongs to: CAN (Christian Authors Network), RWA (Romance Writers of American), NHRWA (North Houston Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas Chapter of ACFW, Toastmasters (Area 56) The Woodlands, Texas, The Woodlands Church, The Woodlands, TX.

She and her husband Michael, married for over 25 years, have two lovely daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers, fondly dubbed Ready Writers, meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.

Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft. 

Join Us March 14th For a FREE Workshop

 

Setting: the Unsung Character of Your Novel

 (estimating 1.25 hours//Laptop suggested)

J.A. Marx helps authors refocus their imagination in a way that will up their story's suspense, add depth, possibly create humor, and potentially cause a plot twist. As part of this workshop, authors will have a chance to write a scene involving their own story character and apply the elements J.A. teaches.J.A. writes suspense with a heart to mend souls. Her companions are adventure and imagination. Add in the supernatural, and her day is complete. 

Above all, J.A.’s desire is to see people set free to live and love. She feels her purpose on earth is to participate in what Jesus Christ came to do: destroy the works of darkness. (1 John 3:8b).Her desire to promote health and wholeness grew from 17-plus years in marriage coaching and developing small group ministries in four different states across the USA.

Her books, both independent and traditionally published:

The Destiny Series, 2014 http://amzn.to/1EvrKBj

Destiny Defied, book 1

Destiny Delivered, book 2

Destiny Defended, Rakshasa’s Curse, book 3 (official release summer of 2015)

A Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt (co-author) 2012 http://amzn.to/14JBJyv

A Ruby Christmas (co-author) 2013

Family Lies, Deadly Ties Releasing in 2016

Website: http://jamarx.net/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JA_Marx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embattledspirit

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/embattledspirit/boards/

The DFW Chapter of the American Fiction Christian Writers, fondly dubbed Ready Writers, meets the second Saturday of the month 

              from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon at               

Arlington Community Church

1715 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, TX 76012

(click on name for directions.)

Guests are always welcomed to attend free of charge! Members pay $2.00 per meeting.Please join us for a Dutch Treat lunch at a local restaurant nearby after the meeting to network and fellowship with other Christian writers who are serious about their gift and their craft.