What a Fantastic Idea & Opportunity!

Here is a WONDERFUL IDEA from Linda Scisson.  The moment I read it I knew that I'M IN!  I want to do this.  I sure hope you can join us
Read On:

Linda Scisson was in Barnes & Noble and saw a sign about an upcoming book-signing and talk by a CHRISTIAN author,

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson,

Linda thought some of us might be interested in this.

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson has obviously got some good marketing going for her . . . with a book-signing AND talk at our local Barnes & Noble:

March 26, 2014

Wednesday, 7 PM
Talk and Book-signing
By: Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Book:
Heart Wide Open: Trading Mundane Faith for an Exuberant Life with Jesus

The cover of the book reflects an endorsement by author-speaker Sheila Walsh.

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and her husband live and farm in Louisiana, according to the bio part of her book.

AN IDEA:

On a related note: Would some of you like to meet . . . say at The Purple Cow (restaurant) across the street from Barnes & Noble at . .

6:00 PM (one hour before the event)

March 26, 2014 (Wednesday)

The Purple Cow (sandwich, soup place, milk-shakes -- very casual)

Eat there, and then walk over

to Barnes & Noble . . .

and support this Christian author,

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson,

. . . as a group: the Little Rock chapter of American Christian Writers

There.  I told you it was a fantastic idea. Would you shoot me an email to let us know you are planning to attend so we know the size of table to get?  I love love love the Purple Cow.  How about you?  Are you in?  I'm dohill@Reagan.com
I wanted to include Linda's email but didn't ask her first, so I'm not comfortable just handing out her email information...

Keep reading. Keep writing.

Contest Opportunities and Rules & A Writing Prompt

This a copy & paste version of the Contest catagories and the rules.  I want these out up front so you have time to write, revise and write some more. When you have buffed and polished your entry you can either email dotlatjohn@gmail.com or snail-mail (US Post Office) it to Dorothy Johnson.  She will ensure that the entries get to the proper judges by the correct date. 
I will need to find her mailing address.... sigh.  I thought I had it handy...

Little Rock American Christian Writers

2014 Writing Contest

 We would like to invite you to participate in our annual writing contest. Some of the categories have been named after our generous sponsors. Please visit their websites to see what they are working on right now and browse their archives.

 Contest 1: The Arnold Family Foundation Fiction Contest

     ·         1,500 to 2,000 words
     ·         Prizes--$50 first place; $25 second place; $15 third place

 Contest 2:  The Arnold Family Foundation Non-Fiction Contest

     ·         750 to 1,200 words
     ·         Prizes--$50 first place; $25 second place; $15 third place

Contest 3: StoryWriting Studio Humorous Memoir Contest:  (sponsored by Karen Jordan and The StoryWriting Studio) http://storywritingstudio.wordpress.com

     ·         Write a funny story about a person, place, or an event from your personal life.
     ·         1,000 words or less
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

Contest 4: Devotional (sponsored by Dorothy Johnson)
 www.reflectionsfromdorothy.blogspot.com
     ·         Write on the Subject: “You are a Letter from God” 2 Corinthians 3:3
     ·         500 words or less
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

Contest 5:  Poetry
     ·         12-48 lines
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

WRITING PROMPT:

There, is that big enough to catch your eye?? I'll try to find a way that is identifiable and not so loud to look at. But for today here we go:  The theme for March is NEW LIFE

The power to change is in my hands.”
― Helen M. Ryan,   
In this instance, Ms. Ryan's book is about a new body in 21 days. 

Connect this statement to your writing, your writing life. Think about it: how has writing changed you or cemented you or grounded you or challenged you? In regards to your writing How is the power to change in your hands. Do you agree with the statement? Write a journal entry. You determine the length.  Find someone you are comfortable with and share your thoughts.

I'm going to write on this topic too. 

Keep Reading. Keep Writing. 

Our Writing on the Rock Blog is about to undergo some changes. You will see more blog postings about things that are happening in the Little Rock Chapter of American Christian Writers.  I will be sharing information on and pictures of speakers we have had. There will be lots of information about upcoming events, like our Writers Conference in May. And Contests!  We welcome entries and are excited to read things right from your heart.

I will also be posting writing prompts for any who chose to use them.  We were reminded again by our most recent guest speaker, Deborah Howard, how writing prompts help us grow by challenging us to think & write 'outside the box'. 

March's theme is New Life.  So the posts will have some connection to that and the writing prompts will, hopefully, engage us in thinking and writing about that topic.

Just a quiet heads-up...April is Poetry Month, so the posts will be about poetry, the writing prompts will, too. We will explore some different kinds of poetry and hopefully share some as well.  I love poetry.

Enough for now. 

Write On!  

Celebrate National Poetry Month with LRACW!

By Linda Scisson

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Yes, indeed, thanks to the Academy of American Poets!

For poetry fans in Little Rock, there is a display of poetry books, quotes, and related items in the entranceway of the Terry branch library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive, in west Little Rock, across the street from Pulaski Academy. The display will be there through April 30, 2013.

I was fortunate to display poetry items at the Terry branch in February 2010, and you will find similar and new features with my current poetry display.

As a member of the Little Rock chapter of American Christian Writers, I would choose poetry as my favorite genre. Often I have turned to this form of writing to find literature that is pure, lovely, admirable, noble, truthful, righteous, excellent, and praiseworthy, as these attributes are what our sacred text tells me that I am to think on (Philippians 4:8).

By God’s grace, I have found a number of poems that tend to hoist me on the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8) and, as a lesson in contrast, I suppose, other poems that point in lesser directions.

While my poetry display in a public library is not distinctively Christian in nature, I certainly attempted to keep the guidelines of the Central Arkansas Library System in mind: To display “material that is “of educational, cultural, civic or recreational interest to a broad spectrum of the general public.” Also, I am not to “proselytize specific religious or ideological views” or include “materials that would be offensive to the prevailing moral standards of the community.”

The Terry Library is open 9 AM to 8 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and 9 AM to 6 PM on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Besides the availability to see this poetry display at the Terry Library in April, a number of published poets will take part in the Arkansas Literary Festival, a four-day event from April 18-21, 2013.

And April is one month of each year that various chapters of the Poets Roundtable of Arkansas (founded in 1931) have their monthly meetings throughout the state.

And did you know that April 18 (a Thursday) is “Poem in Your Pocket Day”? This is an event created by the Academy of American Poets, with these instructions: Select a poem you enjoy, carry it with you, and share it with co-workers, family, and friends. While it’s a simple idea, I find it to be quite a challenge to select only one poem. Right now, it’s a toss-up among three: Scott Cairns’ “Possible Answers to Prayer”, Richard Wilbur’s “A Christmas Hymn”, and Susan Ludvigson’s “The Lilies of Landsford Canal.” 

Next Meeting: April 2 (Tuesday)

April 2

12-1 p.m. in the Vonette Bright Room at FamilyLife

The Little Rock Chapter of

American Christian Writers will be conducting

Critiques

You are invited to bring

something that you have written for

input from fellow writers.

For more information on LRACW,

please go to our website at:  LRACW.org

March 12 Meeting Details

                                                            

March 12, 2013

12 - 1 p.m. at FamilyLife

 

Helen Austin 

Proofing and Editing

Helen Austin was food editor at the Arkansas Democrat for six years and has since been a contributor to Active Years and the Arkansas Times. Some of her true stories have been published in Tales from the South.

                                            Visitors are always welcome!

February 12 LRACW Meeting Details

February 12, 2013

12-1 p.m. at FamilyLife

Madelyn Young

 

Mastering POV in Fiction

 

Arkansas author Madelyn F. Young's interactive presentation, “Mastering POV in Fiction,” will address the following topics:

• The three basic kinds of literary point of view
• The advantages and disadvantages of each kind
• Choosing the right point of view for a story
• Changing point of view within a story
• Avoiding the most common errors when using point of view
• Skillfully using dialogue and internalization to reveal point of view

Madelyn has won numerous state and local awards for her short stories, memoirs, and essays. Her book, Views from an Empty Nest: Award-Winning Tales Written after Fifty, was published early in 2012. In her collection of 20 fiction and 11 nonfiction tales, Madelyn shares stories of family loyalty and love, discord, and intrigue. She takes real-life experiences and transforms them into compelling accounts that sometimes take surprising twists in the end.

A retired teacher and school administrator, Madelyn is active in the Village Writers’ Club in Hot Springs Village where she lives with her husband, Robin. They have three children and five grandchildren.

To learn more about Madelyn and her writing, she invites you to visit her blog: http://southernstorylady.wordpress.com


Visitors are always welcome!