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The theme for the 2011 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference(aka Revival) was “Write Courageously”.
Our first keynote speaker, Retired Army Ranger and Chaplain Jeff Struecker, knows a little bit about courage.
He lived through the events portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down and told us of how he transitioned from Ranger to Chaplain because the other men in the operation began coming to him for counseling.
You see, he had something that the others didn’t have—peace in the knowledge that no matter what the outcome of the mission, he was going home—either to his wife or to his Father in Heaven. He knew.
Warning: There is violence in this video–the story cannot be told without it.
No violence in this video:
Check out Chaplain Struecker’s novels:
Other conference memories:
Praying a very specific prayer with Cecil Stokes.
Being taught and critiqued by script consultant, Dr. Linda Seger.
Edie Melson talking about her son gearing up for deployment.
Eva Marie Everson talking about her mother at last year’s conference(I didn’t cry until I was sharing her story with my husband after I got home).
Sharing a meal with Deborah Raney, Yvonne Lehman, Jim Watkins, Ramona Richards, Aaron Gansky, Nancy Lohr, and the many conferees who shared their personal stories.
Angela Hunt instructing us on how to use Scrivener.
Crying as Janet Roller led us in worship.
Laughing with keynote speaker, Jane Herlong.
Christy award finalist, Gina Holmes, offering to critique the first few pages of my manuscript.
Experiencing the Staff talent show (How could you forget?).
Pitching to Ramona Richards (my one sheet was very misleading— I didn’t realize the connotation it would have in other people’s eyes) –she gave me permission to submit it after I explained what I meant.
Pitching to Film Producer, Christy Lee Taylor—started out with my screenplay Poison Ivy Bride(bombed), then my full manuscript, Absalom’s Beauty(bombed), but my little humor story, Eve’s Apple, received a request for the treatment.
It takes courage to come to conference and put your ideas out there. Sometimes you’ll face rejection, but sometimes, you just might find success. But you have to go out there and do it. If I had one regret in my experience is that I did not seek out the opportunities to fellowship outside the cafeteria. I am an early-to-bed person(aka boring), so I miss out on what was called “the afterglow”.
Did I mention that Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference is the highlight of my year?
Thanks Alton Gansky and Edie Melson for a wonderful worshipful time!
If I had to choose a favorite book, I would have to choose Jane Eyre. Which is odd, because there are parts of the book I don’t like.
I don’t like it when she is mistreated by her Aunt and cousins. I don’t like it when she is punished at Lowood or when her only friend dies.
Would these scenes have made it into the book if it were published today? Would it be considered back story? Because it definitely is. But it has a place in the story.
We need to know what she suffered as a child. Because it made her into the woman she became–the woman who forgives her aunt, the woman who flees when she discovers Mr. Rochester’s secret.
Others would say that running away is cowardly–not heroine material. But when you consider she is leaving the one place where she found happiness, I would say she is doing a very brave, very selfless act.
And yet, I hate it when she leaves, but I know she must. She forsakes love to do the right thing. Now that’s a strong character.
I’ll be dragging my poor husband to see this in March(with the agreement that I have to go with him to see Thor).
I’m not sure I’ll like it as much as this version:
Before the new movie comes out, I”ll be re-reading my Reader’s Digest Hardback edition (gloriously purchased at a Friends of the Library book sale for $1).
I’m the only one in my household that likes watching TV with the closed-captioning turned on. What can I say, I love to read. The words are very important to me.
I’m glad I had the subtitles turned on when I watched the movie, Bright Star, because it is all about words–the words of poet, John Keats.
One line in the movie had me sighing: “There is a holiness to the heart’s affections.”
Another such quote I must add to demonstrate the mind and heart of a writer. The words are spoken by Mr. Brown, “If Mr. Keats and myself are strolling in a meadow or lounging on a sofa or staring into a wall, do not presume we are not working. Doing nothing is the musing of a poet.” and might I add the musing of a fiction writer, as well.
I should make Fanny Brawne my spokesperson for Put A Ruffle On It since, as a designer and seamstress of clothing, she made the most beautiful of ruffles (at least on screen).
If you’d like to read about John Keats, go to the google books link: http://books.google.com/books?id=YrY8AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=john+keats&lr=&cd=25#v=onepage&q=&f=false
I don’t normally write about movies. Maybe once or twice. But I just watched a movie that I loved–Secret Santa on Lifetime starring Jennie Garth (of old 90210 fame).
This is a sweet tale about a journalist who sets out to reveal the identity of the generous person who bestowed gifts to deserving individuals in a town called Hamden.
Unlike a lot of Christmas movies, this movie doesn’t skip the true meaning of the season. At one point in the movie, the journalist is at the town Inn, but there was no room, so she has to stay in the Rest Home in town–great plot point, I must say.
It appears the movie came out in 2003, but somehow I missed it. When I watch movies like this, it makes me wish I could write stories that are fun and at the same time convey a deeper meaning.
I loved the movie. If you see it on TV again this Christmas season, I highly recommend watching it.
Oh, and I love the WordPress snowflakes falling through my post. We might get some of the real white stuff in good old Roxboro tonight.
In celebrating the beginnings of our great country I watched the movie First Landing.
I highly recommend watching this movie. Especially if you have children studying US History.
So, I’m a sappy person. I went with “the girls” to see the Hannah Montana movie last weekend. My poor son, age 14, went because he didn’t want to be left out. He was hoping noone from his school saw him in the theater. He managed to go undetected, I think.
Anyway, I’ve always liked the premise of Hannah Montana–at school she is a regular girl. No one except her closest friends knows the secret that she is a pop star. The conflict in this story is to keep her true performing identity a secret so she can live a “normal” life without the poparazzi and be able to experience all the things a teenager goes through.
There really is no point to this blog, I just wanted to post that I like Hannah Montana and I like Miley Cyrus.
I want my child to excel in school. He did at one time. And sometimes I don’t know if the reason he no longer excels has something to do with his seizure disorder or just that he is a teenager. Many people tell me it is because he is a teenager. Well then, this too shall pass as they say to people with kidney stones. But in the meantime it can be painful.
There are two movies that I find inspirational and Iwant to recommend them to you parents out there: Akeelah and the Bee and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.
I don’t know if Akeelah and the Bee is based on a true story, but I know that Gifted Hands is. I had read a book about Ben Carson and am amazed. You see, he was the “dumbest kid in class” and rose from that status to become one of the most well-known neurosurgeons in the country and heads the neurosurgery department at Johns Hopkins University. What made the transformation in his life–reading. His mother turned off the TV and made him go to the library instead.
It will come on again on February 21st on TNT at 9/8 c.
So, I posted earlier that my wedding anniversary(#20) is New Year’s Eve.
My husband and I celebrated by going to The Melting Pot(Thank you CMFG, you know who you are). Whew, can’t afford to do that too much.
Later, we watched A Kiss at Midnight not realizing it was a New Year’s Eve related movie since I had recorded it a few days before. I was delighted to find that the movie ended with a New Year’s Eve wedding, just like mine. And as Faith Ford’s character said, he should never forget the date.
If you’re having problems in your marriage…
If you’ve grown apart…
If you hate your spouse…
If the spark of romance has long since been extinguished…
Then see the movie, Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron.
I saw it this weekend and loved it. Go see it soon before it is out of the theaters.
I had wanted to catch the BBC versions of the Jane Austen movies when they were on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. Unfortunately, I missed a couple. So, at my first opportunity, I rented Persuasion from Netflix. I had seen an earlier version, but I think this(2007) was far superior. My romantic inclinations were definitely satisfied.
I’ve been told to study movies and their structure to help in the writing of fiction because you can watch them in a shorter time than reading a novel. And let me say my day was an enjoyable one “researching”.
The second time I watched it, I convinced my husband to watch it with me. Of course, he did not appreciate it nearly as much as I did. At the beginning of the DVD there were a few trailers of other BBC movies that I thought looked interesting. I found one of them on Netflix for immediate play. When I started it I didn’t realize it was a 4 hour movie. But once I started it I couldn’t stop.
What was the movie? It was one I had never heard of before–Daniel DeRonda written by George Eliot. And may I say it was one of the best movies I’ve seen. I loved every minute of it. Hugh Dancy, the actor who played Daniel DeRonda, was perfect for his role.
I watched another movie today called North and South (not about the U. S. Civil War Movie, but a British movie). I loved it so much that I stayed up until 12:00 am watching it (another 4 hour movie–and I like to go to bed at 9:00 pm).
What do these movies have in common:
Set in England
Great Romantic Stories
and
Great looking men.
If you like romance from the 1800s set in England, then certainly watch those movies.
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